Sunday, November 26, 2017

Wait quietly until you are called


Visitor from the future arrival card.


The idea of going towards love even if grief lives in the same room.


We still haven't returned to Mackworth since the incident with the Frightened Man. This is partly because our routine has changed to accommodate our goal of keeping Gus walking on all four legs, which involves limiting his activity somewhat. Often Mark will take Clover somewhere she can run off-leash (legally) and play with other dogs, and I will take Gus on a sedate neighborhood stroll. Every two or three days we'll take the two dogs together, to the beach or the woods. 

A couple of mornings ago we went to one of our favorite beaches at low tide, and we had what I thought of as the opposite of the Frightened Man experience. I let Clover off her leash to play with a very nice boxer. As we started to head off in opposite directions, a woman who'd been walking by stopped to tell us that she was a dog trainer and dog behaviorist, and that she enjoyed watching our dogs play. "They're like the model of the ideal way for dogs to play!" she said. "The way they're taking turns chasing and being chased, the way they take breaks in between to shake." She turned to me and said, "I could just tell from your dog's body language what a nice dog she is!" A five-star interaction! I was so happy she'd taken the time to say all that.

It's been colder at night lately, and both dogs have been uncharacteristically cuddly at night (cuddly for Gus means lying at the foot of our bed instead of across the room, but for Clover it means sleeping between Mark and me with her head on the pillow).

In non-dog news, we cooked a mini Thanksgiving dinner for two, which was lovely and delicious and a little bit sad and lonely. We both really missed our grown-up, far-flung offspring. Mark is so kindly indulging my love of holiday music. We are trying to make significant progress on Christmas shopping this weekend, and to be super organized about the whole thing. Egg nog has been consumed.

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

I'm glad you had a positive encounter with the dog trainer. I have been attacked by a dog or rather a group of dogs which involved me having to spend several hours in the ER of the local hospital. Luckily I have not been too badly affected by it. One of the things I'm looking forward to when I retire is getting my own dog.

Liz Woodbury said...

That is so terrifying, your bad experience with dogs. I'm so sorry that happened, and really glad that it didn't leave you afraid of all dogs. It's understandable that it might, and I'm guessing that the frightened man had experienced something terrible in the past. There are a lot of immigrants in Portland who come from various cultures in which dogs are disliked or feared, and I try to never assume that someone will be delighted to say hello to my dogs! I can't recommend getting a dog highly enough!! How long til you can retire and get one?

ganching said...

I'm only afraid of dogs if their owners look aggressive. It was a very frightening experience as I was bitten and went into shock but no lasting damage. I am hatching a plan to retire in 18 months and probably moving to Ireland where it is almost obligatory to have a dog! All my siblings have dogs and we had them growing up. One of the benefits of living in the country.

Liz Woodbury said...

I can't wait to read your blog when you're living in Ireland with a dog!