Wrangling

Chihuahuas

There are three little dogs that live around the corner from us.  Two are chihuahuas and the other is, well, I haven’t a clue, but she’s little and she always has some fancy coat on. We rarely see them though occasionally they go on a walk with their owner who talks to them the entire time they make their way around the block.

Well, today we saw those little dogs two times and each time they were running loose without any owner in sight.

The first time, Monty and I were coming back from our morning walk and romp with Saber. We’d walked through Judkins Park and then picked up Saber who was thrilled to see us. Of course, Saber is always thrilled, but you could say he gets particularly thrilled when Monty and I show up.

Anyway, we played at the tennis courts (the only real clean place to play) and then went for a walk up the hill and then back to Saber’s house.

Yes, that’s Saber looking dignified and almost adult-like followed by his fascination with Monty’s leash, which he pulled off the bench where Monty likes to hang out…and jump off of when his ball rolls off the bench!

At the tennis courts, our play was interrupted by squirrels. Six of them, racing around in the trees, leaping from limb to limb, and rustling around in the leaves. Good thing there’s a locked fence around the tennis courts or those six squirrels would be toast!

So Monty and I were kind of tired after we dropped off Saber, but when we came around the corner by our house and were met by three barking, scurrying little dogs we kicked into gear. Monty went into overdrive because he LOVES other dogs and he seems to have a particular fondness for females and little dogs. Not that these little ones would let us get close to them, but still, Monty was a zealot in trying to get a closer look. But every time we got closer, the little dogs raced back toward their house.

This pleased Gretchen because she knew those little dogs shouldn’t have been out and unsupervised. So even though Monty and I didn’t realize it, we wrangled those dogs back into their house, but unfortunately, the door wouldn’t shut all the way so Gretchen wasn’t sure what to do. She did the best she could to keep the door closed, but she had a feeling she’d see those dogs again.

Monty and I ate lunch and Gretchen headed out to pick up Gemma. After a short walk, they headed back to Oshi and Perrito’s house (who live next door) and yet again, ran into the three loose dogs. Gemma was beside herself with the prospect of wrangling something small and energetic. I think she imagined the three dogs were squirrels and she herded them, once again, back into their house. This time Gretchen put the recycling bin in front of the door, worried they’d get out once more.

After picking up the boys, they too headed over to the tennis courts for a romp. Usually Gemma’s energy is way too much for Oshi and Perrito. They stay away from her as best they can, but today, Perrito thought she was the best playmate ever and he chased her around that court like a man on a mission.

They even practiced levitation!

Meanwhile, Oshi stayed away or head between Gretchen’s legs while she squatted down to take photos of the other two.

After their romp, they walked through the park and up through the neighborhoods and finally back to Oshi and Perrito’s house. Gemma got even more of a walk as they headed back to her house venturing a completely different direction.

When Gretchen made her way back to our house, she looked for the scurrying chihuahuas, but luckily the owner’s car was parked in the driveway and she could hear the dogs parking from behind the door. Emphasis on behind!

Our final walk of the day was once again Saber. If he was excited to see us the first time, he was exuberant to see us the second time! Even though she knew we’d get dirty, Gretchen let us play fetch at the little field so we could help Saber burn off some of his energy. We loved that. He loved that.

Of course, then he found a stick…I mean, a branch, and Saber got really silly while Monty and I got muddy chasing after the ball!

By the time Saber got back home, his tongue was hanging out and he had bits of the branch stuck between his teeth. Now that’s the sign of a good time!

Even though our walks were done for the day, we still had to make our way over to the school for our visit with the student. Gretchen made a deal with the boy: If he had five good days in a row she’d get him a dog training treat bag. Well, what do you know? Today was the fifth day and there he was! Five good days! I made sure to give him lots of kisses and wiggle my best wiggle when we said hello and from his smile, I think he was as proud of himself as we were of him!

He likes to take photos of Monty, who got to play a bit more fetch. The student loves taking photos and is, apparently, quite a good artist. Maybe soon we can see the drawings he’s done of us. The next goal? Ten days in a row! The reward? A box of colored pencils. I bet he can do it! Maybe as another reward, we can wrangle those three little dogs down to the school to see him!

I hung out by Gretchen and though I’d really wanted to play more fetch, I must admit that I was pretty tired from the long, wet work week. So, I watched Monty chase the ball a few times and then rest while the student practiced his photography skills. Not bad!

Have a great weekend…stay dry (if at all possible!)

Rubin