November 8, 2022

Oh The Choices

The four-footed one happily loves to ride in the car. She doesn’t care where we are going. She only cares that we allow her to come with us. But, for the most part, she does come along anywhere we go.

It is a bit indulgent on our part, and some might even call it wrong to do so. However, Beloved has always felt that the four-footed one should go with us to as many places as we go because he doesn’t like leaving her home alone.

So the four-footed one is an experienced passenger in our vehicle. She looks forward to us grabbing the keys. She knows once the keys are in hand, we are heading out. And if we are heading out, she knows it’s highly likely that she will be heading out with us.

So today, when I grabbed the keys to head off on a short errand, the four-footed one beat me to the door. She looked up expectedly, her whole body wagging with energy and joy, which made it hard to tell her that she had to stay home with Beloved. But tell her I did. And to appease the pain of being left behind, I offered her a small kibble.

And yes, I know that can also be a whole other issue. But I’d do that rather than leave the four-footed one in the car while it was cold outside.

July 3, 2022

Parting Is Hard

Time changes all of us, despite what we might think. Over time we meet new people, learn new things, and experience different places, foods, and ideas. Change, therefore, is inevitable.

Change is also a sign of growth, an evolution of sorts in our personhood. However, sometimes these changes mean we outgrow places or people we never thought we’d be leaving behind.

I have a dear friend who’s seen me through my diagnosis, horrible relationships, toxic jobs, and moves. We’ve transformed our careers and who we are as women. It’s been a heck of a journey, and while she’s someone I’d like to keep walking with, I feel that the time has come when we will be diverging down our separate paths soon.

Perhaps it is because she is so near and dear to my heart that we’ve had this odd lingering, slow parting and coming back over small things. I know, deep down, that we are at very different places and have different needs now. And still, we randomly reunite, and it is not the same but is held together by a bit of old glue and love.

It’s a bit like when you are swimming in the ocean and keep the shoreline insight, knowing you can safely reach that at any moment, but also knowing you need to head further out to see your next adventure. If you continue to keep the shoreline in sight, it is safer, but even the shoreline changes while you are still out in the open water.

Maybe looking back or keeping an open eye on the shoreline isn’t the best approach to embracing adventure full-heartedly.

April 13, 2022

Pockets!

The four-footed one loves pockets. No, she doesn’t have any of her own. She loves pockets that humans have instead. Pockets carry many beautiful things, such as treats and other goodies.

I’m sure the four-footed one thinks we forget that we have pockets, so she’s always pointing out where our pockets are. It would be a tragedy if we forgot about our pockets and had some dog treats in them.

I don’t mind her going after my pockets, really. I mean, it is my fault for carrying treats in my pockets. I am not, however, an enormous fan of her trying to investigate the pockets of strangers. Thankfully, the four-footed one is short, so reaching pockets is challenging for her. It doesn’t mean she won’t try, though.

Recently the four-footed one has decided purses are nothing more than giant pockets with other pockets in them. If you come anywhere near the four-footed one and set your purse down, she will stick her head in it. She will root around sniffing for treats and other curiosities. She will also pull things out of your purse with no shame or remorse. After all, a purse is a pocket, and pockets need to be emptied.

April 11, 2022

Loosey Goosey

The four-footed one encountered a goose today. A large goose. A large goose who had made up its mind that the grass where the four-footed one was rolling around was meant for geese.

The four-footed one isn’t afraid of geese. The size simply doesn’t matter to the four-footed one. She is, however, curious about geese. Most likely, it is the smell of them that has her interest.

So when the goose waddled near the four-footed one and hissed at her, the four-footed stopped rolling on her back and barked. The goose hissed again but came no closer, so the four-footed one jumped as she barked.

Now the four-footed one doesn’t realize that geese can be mean. They have knuckle-like endings on their wings, and they aren’t afraid to punch. But, unfortunately, they aren’t afraid to beat you with their wings or stomp on you with their odd feet. In other words, it was my job to remove the four-footed one from the goose’s presence before things got, well, hairy.

So I picked up the four-footed one, and we moved away from the location the goose was claiming. Because, let’s face it, I’m not in the mood for a feather fight or goose poop everywhere.

April 3, 2022

Spring Is In The Air

Beloved took the four-footed out for a ride today. He thought they’d take in the early spring sights and sounds. The four-footed one had other ideas, though. She wanted to smell the spring smells, which meant she wanted the windows down at the very least.

As a result, Beloved pulled the car into a parking lot and took the four-footed-one out for what he hoped would be a short walk. Instead, it turned out to be a huge new adventure—a muddy and somewhat smelly adventure, but an experience nevertheless.

There were so many smells to follow. According to Beloved, the four-footed one was like a crazed being, running to and fro smelling everything. He said her whole body was wriggling with excitement as she ran up one way and back down that way.

Mud, you say? Yes, there was mud. Did she care? No, of course not. She may have thought the dirt was a type of spa treatment. And as we all know, what we find smelly, the four-footed one finds aromatic.

The four-footed had been so delighted by this outing that she didn’t mind Beloved wrapping her up in a towel to contain the mess on the ride home. She also was too tired from her adventure to protest her bath.

April 1, 2022

Well Rested

I envy the four-footed one’s ability to sleep whenever she is exhausted. She is the kind of girl who can acknowledge she is tired. And once she has made that type of acknowledgement, she knows what she needs to do to fix it.

Let’s face it; the four-footed one prioritizes sleep and will do what she needs to to be well-rested. If that means finding a set of comfortable human fit to use as a pillow, so be it. But, of course, she’s more likely to look for a comfortable chair, bed, or sofa as a full mattress.

If we have company over and the four-footed one is tired, she has no shame in getting comfortable and having a nap. Snores? Who cares. She doesn’t.

She doesn’t care about odd sleeping positions either. Legs straight in the air? So what? She’s getting a good stretch at the same time as a good rest and sleeping half in and half out of the doggie bed, with your head lower than your bum? Hey, it’s a thing for the four-footed one.

The thing is, the four-footed one knows rest is essential to enjoying life fully and completely. She knows you must be well rested to have fun and adventures and enjoy a slow afternoon.

March 24, 2022

A Different Floor Show

The four-footed one was not thrilled with the weather. She wanted it to be hot, sun shining, and warm rocks to bask upon. But, instead, it was damp and overcast. As a result, the four-footed one wasn’t interested in going outside.

I needed her to go outside, though, to get the floors clean. She runs away from the vacuum, so that’s not an issue, but she likes to ride on the mop when I use it in the kitchen. She also wants to lick every damp spot on the floor. And her licking the floor is not the type of cleaning of the floors I wanted. Or needed to tell you the whole truth.

So Beloved picked her up and got her ready for a car ride. Typically, the four-footed one loves car rides, but she could sense the diversion today. She did not want to go outside, and she did not want to miss out on whatever was happening in the house.

Beloved said she groaned and grunted the whole time they were in the car. She turned her back to him and ignored him until he stopped at the coffee shop to get us drinks. The coffee shop employees know the four-footed one and always have a small treat for her. She came into the clean house unhappy and let me know she wasn’t ready to forget the betrayal. Maybe a dog bone or such will help. All I wanted was clean floors.

March 22, 2022

Pick Your Energy

There are times it seems the four-footed one is like one of those wind-up toys. She is constantly on the go as long as she has been wound up. The only difference is that she doesn’t require anyone to wind her up. Instead, she is a high-energy dog that is happy to keep going until it’s time for a nap.

When she is napping, the four-footed one is like a wind-up toy that has run out of all the stored energy. Finally, she collapses into a heap and is ready to recharge and recuperate through a nap or a night’s sleep. Keeping up with her is a full-time job for me. Beloved has confessed that there are days he struggles to keep up with her too.

There are days that the four-footed one knows that we need her to be slow down so we can keep up with her. So, the four-footed one will rest against our feet or on our laps on these days. Then, she settles in for a long rest or a slower set of adventures.

Alas, these days never last as long or come as often as I’d like. But then I knew that when she came to live with us. She is a high-energy, full-of-love kind of girl, and I wouldn’t have it any other way.

March 17, 2022

Such A Day

Little Miss Four-Feet had a full day. It started with a long walk before breakfast. A walk down by the river followed by a nice breakfast of kibbles and a few strawberries.

After breakfast, she joined us for a car ride to the country, where she met cows, donkeys and sampled carrots. She also made friends with a few large sheepdogs who seemed to take her antics in stride.

She walked in the stores with us, got a few dog bones and was excited for the extra fish we picked up. And then, she got in the car to head back home.

She spent the ride home napping so she’d be ready for lunch, followed by an afternoon walk with Beloved. They made it home just in time for her afternoon nap before helping Beloved prep the food for our evening meal.

After that, we put her back in the car to take her on a visit with our friends. They do not have a dog, but they have a very active toddler who likes to hug anything that looks fuzzy. The four-footed one looks fuzzy and doesn’t like hugs, so she did some running around and ducking behind people’s legs to stay safe. Then it was home and off to bed so she’d be able to get her beauty rest.

March 9, 2022

So Much Depends Upon A Small Dog

Sometimes all you need is a small dog to curl up against you to make you feel better. Sometimes all you need is that same small dog to curl up in your lap to make the world right.

Sometimes that tiny dog may not be able to make everything all right, but she can do enough to help make the moment or two better. You can shift things and pause to feel what you need to feel during that moment or two.

Now and then, that wee dog can make all the difference in the world. She’s just the right weight and warmth for resting on aching joints in the mid-afternoon. She’s an ideal foot warmer when your feet hurt too much from the early morning cold. And when you need to have a small heater for the evening chill, she will do it in a pinch.

Sometimes the same small dog will have nothing to do with you. She will not offer you the warmth of her body, the weight of her snuggly-ness, nor will she provide companionship. Instead, the dog will insist upon getting your attention so you can join her on an adventure, an outing or something else. After all, the dog knows what you need more than you do now and then.