December 11, 2009

monty benchBenched

Gretchen tells me that in human games there is a concept of being benched — pulled out of the game and made to sit while everyone else plays. She said it wasn’t a good thing to be benched, that it was more like punishment for not playing well.

In the dog world, being benched is by personal choice and the King of Benches is, of course, Monty. For Monty the bench is more like a throne or a regal perch where he can monitor the events in the world. Today there were many events in his world since he spent a good part of the day with us as he does most Fridays.

The events started when I got left at home while Gretchen went off to school. Normally, this would upset me, but I’ve been going to school for quite some time now and frankly, I needed a break. I told Gretchen so and she was kind enough to let me relax in the morning while she worked with the students. They missed me, she said, but they understood my need for a 3-day weekend.

But when Gretchen returned from school, she brought with her the King of Benches – Monty and together we all went for a nice walk up to the gardens and then back through the park. Monty would have liked a bit of a romp, but Gretchen was saving that for later.

After our walk, we had a nice lunch and got to rest some more while Gretchen took Saber out for a walk and a romp all by himself. At first he was disappointed when we weren’t there to play with him, but once Gretchen pulled out the ball for fetch at the courts, he was thrilled to be running around.

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Then they went for a walk where guess what they found? A bench. Saber was more than willing to pose for a rather regal pose, don’t ya think?

regal

After Saber came Gemma who walked with Gretchen to Oshi and Perrito’s house. They’ve become fast friends of late and once again enjoyed their walk through the park where they found, of all things, the perfect bench on which to pose.

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Once Gemma dropped the boys back home, she came over to our house for a romp in the backyard. At first, Monty wanted nothing to do with the romp and sat by Gretchen observing. You could say that he made the porch into a bigger bench, but later he even found a place to watch from the yard while Gemma and I do what Gemma and I do best — frolic!

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moreobservingmorefrolic

Of course, once Monty saw how much fun we were having, he joined right in and I was the designated “it” while both of them tried to tag me.  It wasn’t an easy job, but I kept those two running, but believe me, I had to employ all my clever moves to keep them at bay!

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Eventually though, it was time to take Gemma back home though she continued to bump into me the entire way there saying, “Come on! Let’s keep playing!”

Once Gemma landed safely at home, Gretchen took Monty and me for another walk. At first I thought we’d head back home, but then she took us through the tunnel, up over the hill, and then to bakery where Gretchen treated herself to a little lunch while Monty and I waited patiently outside.

After lunch, we headed to the tennis courts where Monty and I got to play some fetch and yes, Monty practiced his many and varied bench poses.

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Until…Bella showed up! She was thrilled we were there and we romped around the courts catching balls and practicing our dance moves. Well, Bella did anyway.

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But then it was time to pick up Saber. This time he was overjoyed that Gretchen brought us along and while we were going to go for a walk, we headed back to the tennis courts to play a bit before we headed out on our walk.

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By the time we were done walking and playing, Monty and I were pretty tuckered, but there was a lot of activity at our house. Apparently, a party was played for the evening, which meant that Monty had to go home early and I got to go to Jessica and Quillette’s house. What fun! And before we hung out, I got to go on another walk. Can you imagine?

It’s been a full week and though I’m a bit antsy this evening, I know once I crash I’ll crash. I guess in a way, it’ll be another version of being benched when Gretchen says, “Go to your bed, Rubin and nighty-night!”

Nighty-night to all of you! And have a great weekend!

Rubin

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