11 vues de la flèche de la cathédrale by Gerard Michel [not Berkeley]
It's foggy this Friday morning in Berkeley. Goose is asleep in his circle bed by my dresser. He is a good boy. Desie has just finished chewing her bone and is stretched out on her l.l.bean bed that I moved over to the center of my room so she could have a place close to me. [Her circle bed over by the brown chair is empty for the time being.] Desie is quite inconstant about chewing her bone. She seems to discover it anew every once in a while, spend an amount of time working on it, and then push it away. Chewing her bone is not a part of her quotidian endeavors as it was for my dear Isidore. He chewed regularly--perhaps to fend off his worries about things. Desie is napping now, a bit of let up after a eventful Thursday night.
To begin with, Desie was a naughty girl on our walk last evening. In the courtyard at the Clark Kerr campus, she ran off during our off leash training. She had been such a good girl up until then: running back to me on command [and with a determined look and playful gait]. But, as in the past, she became distracted and chose to disregard my call and instead, ate many many many tiny tree berries before I could get to her.
When I did get to her, I insisted on a few moments of reflection: I told Desie [who was in a sit] that she must never never eat berries because they can make her sick. She had a hard time with such principled talk. She would not look at me: a sign of submission of sorts, I know, but too, this is a stubborn girl when it comes to repentance. We walked home with Desie on leash. I was despondent. I worried that the berries could be poisonous. And, Shanan was due at our house in a little while to deliver Goose Dog for the weekend.
When we got home at around 7:00, I fed Desie her usual dinner and she waited close by [in a down] while I prepared my salad. Desie always gets carrots during this salad making time. And she did. But, uncharacteristically, she got up and walked over to me, leaned in a bit, and threw up a massive amount of stuff. On the little rug by the sink. Poor girl. When she was done, she leaned in even more for some comforting. I comforted her.
Only minutes later, after I had hosed down the rug in the driveway, Shanan and Goose arrived. And of course, lots of hugs [people] and pats [people and dogs] and running around in the yard [dogs] for a fine family reunion. Then a brief visit in the living room with talk about Shanan's trip to D.C in the morning, his job, my teaching adventures and Brandon and everyone in Evanston. As for Desie and Goose, to our surprise, lots of rolling around and growling playfully on the rug. Usually, Goose will have nothing to do with Desie. Her attempts to get him to romp with her are steadfastly ignored. [I do hope they will play together a bit over the next few days.] After Shanan left, Goose and Desie and I snuggled for a short while before we headed upstairs for bed.
[A few words for further thinking about things:
I am pleased Goose has his very own circle bed from home for sleeping in at my house. Especially since Shanan, who thinks my notions about dog beds are crazy [good crazy] and wanted not to abide by my request for him to transport Goose's bed to Berkeley for the weekend, remembered to bring his bed over last night. I think it is important that each dog have his/her own home base bed. I am very sure such accommodations provide for much needed security and a hint of dog joy.
Just yesterday afternoon, I mentioned to a dear friend how much I still miss Isidore. I think Izzy is on my mind more so than usual because my dear friends Ina and Ron put down their beloved 12 year old dog Corky on Wednesday. He was a good dog. They loved him very much. I have been talking with them about such difficult to do acts. And remembering how it was with Isidore.
And just now, Desie moved to her circle bed over by the brown chair. And Goose has gone downstairs. I think he is sitting by the window so he can watch for Shanan.]
No comments:
Post a Comment