Lambiedog

The void we fill

Here's an article about the importance of dogs to empty-nesters.

Postprandial treat

    Some are partial to cigars after a good meal.  But when my family congregates after dinner, I prefer to bring out my rawhide.  

Of course, back in the day, before my family cracked down on my bone consumption, a bone would have been my postprandial treat of choice.

Wherein I realize that I am among the slower students in the class

    Out at the bluffs this morning I ran into my old aquaintance Ziggy with his owner.

    It turned out that Ziggy has talents I was unaware of. 

                  

        
 
           
    He responds to a lot of commands and can perform quite a few tricks.  On top of that he's a friendly, affectionate guy. 

    It was impressive to watch Ziggy, yet also sobering as I realized that my own talents are, charitably speaking, more subtle.  So I read Proust and reflect on philosophy...what skills do I actually offer the world?  Ziggy responds to both English and German commands. The dog is brilliant.

 

    Ziggy and his owner tried to reassure me, Ziggy modestly downplaying his accomplishments.  

Then Howard and entourage showed up, and Ziggy went over to greet them because of course he also moves in that circle.

    He's a Renaissance dog, make no mistake about it.  Just being on the bench with Howard he excelled without even trying, as he performed an incredible leap of agility over the bench to go back to his owner.

Then Ziggy ran off to frolic on the bluff.  I followed him for a bit.  But I realized that he was a star so bright that I was happy just gazing at him in wonderment.

 

Of all the bluffs in all the towns in all the world, he walks into mine

 

Juanito!  

I've just met a dog named Juanito,

And suddenly that name

Will never be the same

To me.

    ...

....

    This dog Juanito appeared at the bluffs tonight.  He had been adopted from the Westside Animal Shelter six days ago, and he's about a year old.   He looks a lot like me, but thinner, and with a big tail that he seems to like to keep tucked under his body.  

    Could Juanito and I be kin?  

Curvature of the earth

The party gets old

It was a typical bluffs evening.  Dogs were running all over.

A minstrel was strolling around dispensing his craft.

Ollie was playing dead as the minstrel's dog sniffed him.

I took it in for a while, but let's remember that I'm not the most outgoing guy when it comes to other dogs.  So when the socializing got too intense, I took a solitary moment for myself.

Then I cast my owner a pleading look.    

I noticed Trudie had had it with the hoopla as well.

Finally, between the two of us, we got the party moving home.

Thank goodness.

My bed

My bed is one of my favorite places.  I always feel secure there.  Fortuitously, it is on the ground, and easy to access without requiring any embarrassing tests of my jumping abilities.

Me and my Boswell

Social IQ

Oliver is always in the center of the crowd.  He radiates calm, and dogs seem drawn to him.

Whether he's mixing it up in a group, or sharing private confidences, he always looks comfortable.

 Social IQ is such a hard thing to analyze. Where does it come from? Why does one dog have it and another not?

Me, for example. I'm great with people, but cool with other dogs.

I've been studying Ollie, trying to pick up some of his ineffable secrets.

Apparently it helps to have short legs.

Return to Squirrelville

I was wandering the bluffs yesterday when my attention was caught by a hole.

It reminded me strongly of my halcyon days monitoring squirrel activity in precisely this area of the bluffs.  

I did some further investigation in other areas that the squirrels used to frequent.

 

     I'm not quite ready to make a decisive statement, but I have reason to believe that the squirrels are back in town.  I don't see them yet, but I sense their presence.