October 4, 2010

Chasing (De)Tails

Monday came fast and furious today. I was surprised. It seems like just a moment ago it was Sunday, but then everything sped by and now it’s Monday. Wow. It’s not that I’ve been too busy to notice, though Gretchen has. She’s trying to keep up on all the details of owning a business and holding down another job as well as finishing up her studies for her small animal massage license. When she was working this morning I had to laugh because it kind of looked like she was chasing her tail.

“Funny, Rubin,” she said, “Seeing as I don’t have a tail.”

“Ah yes,” I astutely observed, “You’re chasing your de-tail!”

She had to laugh at that. I did, too. It’s always fun to laugh at your own jokes.

My day was fairly calm, though amazingly interesting. Behind all the details of running a business and Gretchen’s hectic life, we walked only four dogs today. First up were Oshi and Perrito. They were happy to see us. Yes, even Oshi who is much more excited about the prospect of sleeping in the sun than venturing out into the natural world. Of course, today the weather was chilly but sunny so perhaps he felt that sun in the great outdoors was worth the risk.

Perrito, on the other hand, could care less about the weather. He’s a wild and woolly guy who’s willing to brave any weather. He lives to go outside and I admire him for it.

Next up was Saber who, like Perrito, is ready for just about anything life hands him. Today’s adventure was going to Alice’s house to pick her up for a walk. This may not seem like a big challenge to those who don’t know Alice, but Alice is a bit skittish about the world so one never knows how she’ll react when we come to get her. We went for an extra long walk (since we were light on dogs today) and ended up at Gretchen’s favorite photographic tree. Saber and I assumed our positions…

…but Alice just cowered below us worried out of her skin about that “clumsy, goofy Saber” above her. I did my best to reassure her.

“He won’t fall on you,” I said, “And if he does, he’ll slide off slowly. Trust me, I’ve seen him do it a couple of times already.”

I don’t think she felt reassured.

I thought that was that, but then Gretchen loaded me into the car with my collapsible dog crate. “Agility class?” I asked excitedly.

“Sorry buddy, I wish that were so, but you’re coming to work with me at the pool today,” she informed me.

Say what? It’s not that I haven’t been at the pool. It’s one of the perks, you know, that I get to swim whenever the schedule allows, but to just go to work and not swim, well that’s a whole new idea. I’m not a big fan of my crate, but Gretchen says I have to get used to it or mellow out while hanging out at the pool office. You see, I don’t like to be left alone in strange places and I guess she figures the crate isn’t strange at all so I’ll quietly wait for her to finish work without making much fuss.

She has high hopes for me.

I did okay, but it was much more fun to walk around the office or the backyard. I just wish Paige (the boss’s dog) had been there. I know we could have hung out on the couch together. That would have mellowed me out. But eventually my other mom, Ann, came and picked me up. The crate stayed at the office (I think I’m going back again to the pool on Tuesday) and Gretchen told me later that when Paige did arrive, she walked right into the crate, curled up on my bed, and fell fast asleep. How cute is that? Too bad there aren’t any photos of it! Maybe next time.

There are photos of this, though…

That’s Monty and his Mom helping fold all the pool towels Gretchen uses when she’s at work. Monty says he looks like a handsome pool boy. I think so too.

Whoosh, there went Monday. While I’m not one to chase my tail, it kind of felt like it a bit today. Oh well, life could be worse — like boring and slow!

Until tomorrow!

Rubin

Leave a Reply