Eleven years between them. Our Patches, on the left, worn out and happy; our youngster Luna, seventeen weeks old, crashed beside her—worn out and at peace.
Stillness—Life will be good for about 1 hour!
Luna is still wearing her house leash. She drags it behind her everywhere she goes—runs, jumps, and hops— because that’s what she does. We started calling her “The Flash” because we never really saw her in the house—I have a ton of empty pictures to prove it. We watched a leash disappear around the corner, but that was it. We had some serious concerns and feared our dog was part kangaroo.
“We’re walking…walking…walking.” A new command we use when Luna needs to walk nicely, like a normal dog. We sound like fools, but it’s working. She can stop running—temporarily! My husband walked her through the parking lot to the vet’s office to finally get her rabies shot. “Walking…walking…walking.” She looked up to him, strode puppy-style beside him without pulling. A bit bouncy, but she managed to hold back her desire to dash toward everything.
People around us stop and smile when they hear us.
This week she was invited into the holy grail, my workroom. She had two jobs: try not to be killed by the tools or me, and sit on your bed, be a good girl, and play with a toy. Surrounded by a new world of “No-Nos,” she quickly got bored.
She is so smart and most certainly a challenge. She wants to learn. She processes new vocabulary and commands quickly. “Four on the Floor” means not jumping up on people or things.
She gave one of our placemats a new design and was caught in the act. She didn’t like being busted. Something clicked inside her that day. She respects our things now. She is perhaps the smartest dog we ever had, which doesn’t make our lives easier.
Smart children want to learn and feel easily bored; the same goes for animals.
She has tons of balls, ropes, and squeaky toys, yet she plays with a stick she found in the yard. Beats me! Why do we buy all these toys? It’s like an inner voice makes me do it (it’s my fault, most of it…darn Amazon).
Our dog Vader is helpless. Some days she is on his nerves. I can see it in his face. But then, right before he wants to show her his boundaries, she starts kissing him, and he melts like butter in the sun.
Look at that: “Four on the floor.” She is watching my husband refill the treat jar and doesn’t bounce like a maniac toward … everything.
She is learning.
Our little Luna, the malnourished little puppy. She looks all grown up. Doesn’t she?
SHE is learning? Ha! Ha! Ha! She has you all by the short and curlies . . . clever girl! A looker also . . . you did mange to get the whole package, didn’t you . . . 🙂 ?