January 26, 2013

  • Another Saturday at the Farm

    Annie graduated from basic obedience class today.

    On command Annie can sit, lie down, take a treat when offered (and given permission to have it,) walk on a loose leash, and come when called. Annie can walk on a loose leash all over the PetSmart Store without attacking, growling at, or piercing the ears of other dogs.  Annie is tolerant of small children who want to pet her, and because she has a very fine, light coat of hair, Annie impresses total strangers with her Red Riding Hood coat and cape. Annie is a fashionista. Annie struts up and down the store aisles. Let's get this, Cheryl. Wow, look at that, Cheryl. Can I taste this, Cheryl? Look--that dog is my class!

    Total strangers stop me to admire what a beautiful dog she is. (Those strangers who do not pull up their hands and cautiously step back.) Now to be honest, I was never in any real danger of bailing an ugly dog out of the pound, but I can't say she struck me as 'beautiful' when I chose her. She has these ears that stand up, but the tips fall over, and when she's feeling comfortable and relaxed, she tends to let her ears roll off to the sides, reminding me miserable house elf Dobbie in the Harry Potter stories. Her face is impressive, but it always strikes me as being a little bit too big and blunt. There is a lot of some variation of bulldog in Annie's face.

    What was not clear to me when I picked her out, and remained unclear to me for a long time, (since my appreciation for her behavior was so often focused in another direction,) is how charming she can be. When I first met her, she was shy, perhaps even slightly shell-shocked. Since she has decided that she lives here, we are her people, and we are on this journey through our lives together, she is much, much more confident, and with that confidence she has developed into this happy, prancing little princess who loves her red coat, who expects small children to want to pet her, who is perfectly happy to stop and gather a few compliments from dog lovers as we move along. You may touch me she informs her audience, and she throws her head back with her eyes half-closed, like a tiny Egyptian goddess.

    "She's so calm," the other dog-owners in our class sigh, and I pick my jaw up off the floor one more time. 

    Our intermediate obedience class--the one where we learn to 'come' off-leash when called even when we don't think we need to and we have better things to do--begins Tuesday. It is possible--possible--that Annie may eventually learn enough social skills to be able to return to the dog park. But hell, a whole bunch of people came to our house today to help move Nancy's mother into the guest room, and Annie was utterly charming. We confined her in her crate while the doors were open and things were being hauled back and forth, but after everyone settled (and before we left for our graduations) Annie made the rounds and greeted everyone. Hi Hi Hi, who are you? Why are you here? Do you live with us now?  No one got bitten or even barked at. There were no unauthorized piercings of ears. (Annie put her tooth through another dog's ear at the dog park: she has not been to the park since.)

    So for the diary aspect of this blog, several important things happened today. The Girlchild ran a 5k race and won in her age division. This is the same Girlchild (Murphy's woman) who lived in our guest room for a  year while trying to figure out how to survive. Nancy's mother left the assisted living facility down the street from us and moved in with us. And Annie graduated from basic obedience class.

    I also bought a paper shredder, but in the overall scheme of things, it's not all that.

    Unless, of course, you have a lot of paper you need to shred.

    And I'm not a pack rat. No sir. But I did find a box in the basement with all of my pay stubs and bank statements from 1995 to 2003.

    So while we all adapt to more cohabited lifestyle, I personally am shredding.