Fun with Dogs

If you don't have a dog, you probably won't understand or appreciate this post, so you may want to go elsewhere temporarily. I won't mind.

We are taking care of our daughter's dog Nessa, a big, happy, slightly neurotic Chocolate Lab whose life centers on sleep, play, and food, not necessarily in that order. When she's hungry, she'll bring you her empty food dish and drop it repeatedly at your feet just to remind you that it's empty. When she wants to play, she'll bring you the preferred toy and drop it right in the middle of what you're doing until you throw it, play tug-of-war, or let her chase you to get it back. When you take her for a walk, she'll carry the day's preferred toy with her to remind you that the walk is just the prelude to playing with her when it's over. She's a lovable dog. She'll even play catch with someone who can't throw the frisbee more than about three feet..

She is also, like all dogs, easy to spin up with simple things. Like lights.

Nessa will go crazy chasing the spot of light reflected from your wristwatch, the glass from which you're drinking, the suncatcher hanging in the window, or anything else. At night, when I take her for her before-bed constitutional, she will happily try to chase the beam of light from the flashlight I carry to help find the deposits she invariably leaves in the most intensely pitch-black spot she can find. This is especially fun when it's raining and I have to hold the leash, the umbrella, and the flashlight in one hand while carefully scooping up the ... um ... stuff with the other.

People other than I have noted the propensity of animals to get hysterical about lights...

I frequently wish my boss were so easy to please...

Someone once said that if you want a friend in Washington, DC, get a dog. If you want companionship and entertainment, do the same.

As it happens, I might be able to make you a good deal on a happy, clueless Chocolate Lab. Let's talk.

Have a good day. You may not be able to spend it sleeping happily in the sun or chasing frisbees, but do the best you can.

More thoughts tomorrow.

Bilbo