Dog

I used to get confused about where I was supposed to be living. Was I supposed to be living with the woman and the man, or the other woman and the other man?

It was never resolved as far I was concerned. There seemed no rationale for the frequent and irregular shifts of location for my bed.

I decided that where I slept each night was not an issue. If I had my bed to sleep in, was fed at the usual times and could be taken outside for a walk, be allowed to snuffle around in the woods off my neck restraint, or be let go to play with others in the parks, or dive in the lake for stones, all was fine and dandy. Where I was required to sleep each night was immaterial. I learnt that either location was safe and warm at night. There was the same food at both places.

I am easily pleased I suppose, but I did enjoy the company of the older woman. She was able to walk further, more often. She was also less timid when it came to the weather, I think she enjoyed the variety of smells and sensations changes in weather bring.

She would appear quite energetic when the time for a walk came round. She was sensitive to my needs most of the time and responsive to my demands, even though her routines were more variable. She was also noticeably quicker to cool if I had done something that annoyed her.

The younger one had a sharp bark and I could feel her anger was slow to dissipate. I would have to suffer her strident tones for two or three days when she had been particularly enraged. Hey! I am a dog, I mess up. Live with it! Move on.

But everyone has moods, perhaps she had pains. I am not happy when I have a pain either. It can take days before a pain I might have will be noticed. They spot any injury to one of my legs soon enough, it’s the stomach pains they find harder to identify.

As I said, she may have suffered internal pains. She was often unhappy, as far as one can tell with people. Most mornings she would have to be up and out before the sunrise, then be gone all day after dragging me, half asleep to the verge downstairs for a crap. Other times she’d be gone all night then sleep in the day. I am sure that I would be in pain if I lived like that. It must destroy the metabolism to be awake and outside at nights. Take it from me, night time is sleeping time.

The older woman seemed able to put on a happy face when she stepped outside and followed my lead. Perhaps her owner had trained her to be well-behaved when out and about in polite society. The younger one didn’t seem to have an owner, I think she may have been one herself, as she had a couple of changes of men staying at that home over the years, while she stayed put.

The older one was a bit like me, enjoying meeting others in the park, or by the lake, even up in the town. They were often men, but men who came along with us for a season or two before being replaced by another after a break of a few weeks. Her women friends, on the other hand, kept reappearing. When they did she seemed happy all the time when they were out together. She had a lovely laugh. I heard it more when she was with the women.

The only thing I disliked about being with her was being dragged into cafés and made to lie under a chair while the woman ate and talked for a couple of hours. It didn’t happen often, but when it did, oh pup! I would eventually have to articulate my need to get moving through whining and pulling at the lead. Once she was talking for so long to a lunch companion I had to bark to be taken outside. No one likes to have to bark to get attention.

That’s me being picky. The older one just seemed to know me better and was quicker to respond to me. She was gentler in tone. She smelt nicer too, less artificial.

~

CLP 30/10/2021