Wednesday, October 24, 2012

What I Love is Near at Hand

I'm back in the world of dogs and dog people, after only one dogless month. But Minnow was ten, and we'd settled into our own particular, easy routine. He loved to romp on the beach, but he was a people's dog, not a dog's dog, and while he was entirely civilized and polite to every dog he ever met, he really just wanted to walk along with us and periodically chase a ball down the beach.

Gus, on the other hand, is an almost-six month old puppy, and he loves other dogs. Loves them, wants to romp and spin and tumble with them, fling a goofy arm around their necks, sniff them and wrestle with them. We took him to the emergency vet last weekend with a mysterious pain--we're still not positive what's going on with him, but it might be related to a weekend of playing on beaches and at dog parks. He's feeling much better now, but there may have been some back injury in his past that we'll have to investigate further.

So even now, while we're taking a break from beaches and parks and off-leash situations for a few days, I take him for really really long walks, and I end up having multiple dog conversations every day. Today, for example, I talked to a man who gestured to his snarling dog and said, "That guy just got hit by a car last night. He's fine, he walks eleven to twenty miles every day." Another man, walking a purebred collie, kind of snorted at my suggestion that Gus might be part collie or sheltie. Yet another man told me with authority that Gus was "a hundred percent Golden Retriever."

Watching ducks, looking like a Golden Retriever.

Walking down the street with a stick. Check out that funny tail!

Hanging out on the beach, looking less like a Golden Retriever.


People are funny, but mostly I've had such pleasant conversations with the dog people. Most of them have adopted from rescues (my vet told me yesterday that sixty or seventy percent of their clients have adopted, rather than purchased dogs), and they love to tell their own dogs' stories. And you know, they're dog people.

Yesterday Gus and I went over to Mama D's house for tea, his first outing to a friend's house. He was very good: he chewed the special chew I brought, did not kill our seventeen year-old toy poodle friend, Maisie, happily gobbled up the chicken Mama D gave him, and fell asleep in a patch of sunlight on the floor.

Of course we still adore this guy. Just look at that belly fur.
If you know me, you know that my number one goal in life is now to take a really cute picture of these two doing something adorable together.


Yes, it's all puppies and kittens all the time around here. In between, I read stuff and write stuff and cook stuff and eat stuff. And then there's the stuff I do when I'm not getting stuff done.

3 comments:

Danni said...

That video is great. And your puppy is so so cute and sounds like a very good dog.

Anonymous said...

i thought to myself, "i know what i need! yes! mean mama!" and i just lost myself in these wonderful posts (i think you are way overdue for a Pulitzer)...
& i am reminded that when we first rescued GF, Chuck would tell people that she was a rare Tibetan snow hound... Ze is fond of people, but he LOVES dogs, & he would be deliriously crazy about Gus. woof.

mama d said...

Gus can visit us anytime!