CATS!!!!! (not the musical!)

Oh how I’ve wanted to write about my least favorite subject for the longest time. I know, that seems like an oxymoron — wanting to write about something you hate — but I can feel my paws itching as they float over the keyboard just knowing I can write about those infuriating felines.

My day started with the feral beasts and ended with them, too and throughout the whole day, those pesky furballs kept popping up…and I mean POPPING up (one of the reasons I despise them so!).

We walked Ann to school this morning and on the way, walked past Boy’s house. Boy is a large, gray tabby who likes to sit on his stoop and wait for dogs (like me) to walk by. Now when Monty walks by, Boy and Monty rub against each other in this cross-species love fest. If Monty weren’t such a good friend, I’d have to cut off all relations, but since he is my best buddy, I just watch him love up Boy and get sick to my stomach.

But this morning, there was Boy sitting there just waiting for me and as we got closer, he sauntered down the stairs to rub against me…as IF I were Monty. Gretchen sees this as learning experiences and she works tirelessly to keep me focused on her and not on the cat. Today I did pretty well. I didn’t go into KILL mode though I did go into ALERT mode, which Gretchen says is okay as long as I don’t go all Cujo on her.

I didn’t. I behaved. It took every fiber of my being to behave, but I behaved.

So school, teaching, then home again and off Gretchen went to pick up Rosie and Tyson, putting all that cat training behind her…EXCEPT…

…they walked down to the park, they get onto the path, and who should run out of the bushes STRAIGHT AT THEM?

Now, I know I have a prey drive (I also have a play drive), but Rosie and Tyson have serious prey drives. Not only did one cat come running out of the bushes right at the dogs, but another cat was in hot pursuit right behind it. AND while the one in pursuit had the smarts to spot the dogs and hightail it back into the bushes, the lead cat did not. On top of which, the lead cat was that hairless cat that lives right next to the park. It took Rosie and Tyson a few seconds to put all the pieces together…

…is it a cat? Is it a dog? Is it an alien?

…is it really running right at us?

…is it like not going to stop and come right up to us?

…oh my DOG we need to kill it!

And then they went crazy. Tyson jumped up and down and barked like crazy, which set Rosie off into her spinning, barking, biting anything close by mode and here was Gretchen holding the leashes so the dogs didn’t kill the cat (oh please let them!) and separating the dogs so they didn’t go after each other.

And what did the cat do?

MOVED CLOSER! Yes!!! The cat saw all the craziness of the prey driven dogs and sauntered up to them like, “Hey big dogs, you want a piece of me?”

Luckily, a friend of ours came by and helped out by shooing the cat back to its house as quickly as possible, though the cat really wasn’t interested in that idea at all. The rest of the walk took time because Rosie and Tyson kept looking back over their shoulders to see if the cat was following them.

And it didn’t end there…as they were rounding the corner for home (a different corner since Gretchen didn’t want to run into the cat again), two little Chihuahuas were on a walk with their owner and scampered by up the street. Rosie and Tyson went on high alert again thinking the cat had multiplied and returned, but once they got a good whiff, they let down their guard and everyone could continue on their way.

Next was Zoe. I got to go on this walk (though darn it! I wish I’d been on the walk with Rosie and Tyson…we would’ve had a fantastic time with the hairless cat!) and even though we rarely see a cat, who should be perched on a neighbor’s porch, but a black and white monstrosity about the size of a raccoon. Zoe didn’t notice. I noticed, but so did Gretchen and therefore we had to be on our best behavior.

When she posed us on the steps for our photo, I was thinking about the cat when I spotted a small soccer ball, which grabbed all of my attention. Even Zoe was wondering what I was so focused on, though she wasn’t the least bit interested in playing with the ball.

I, on the other hand, carried it for about 4 blocks before dropping in the parking strip of some unknown house.

Next we drove to get Gemma and Saber. We played at the tennis courts, which helped me out a bit — substituting my prey drive for play drive…

…but then, when we went on our walk, another cat crossed our path. Now Saber, he gets alert with cats and squirrels, but Gemma is worse than me about the whole Cujo thing. But she didn’t see the cat (lucky for Gretchen) and while Saber perked up his ears, I was the one who had to be reminded that chasing cats is not what I’m supposed to do.

Darn it!

So now, after three cats in three outings I was totally looking for them when we went to Alice’s house to pick her up. Alice, I would like to remind you, lives with a cat (imagine!) so I didn’t think she’d be at all interested in helping me spot them (which she wasn’t) but as we went on our way through the park and neighborhoods, I kept my eyes open and nostrils flared in search of another cat.

Instead, I found that soccer ball I dropped earlier in the day on our walk with Zoe and decided to carry it for another few blocks and drop it off at Alice’s house as a house-warming gift (since they just moved in). Alice went into her house and spent the rest of the day there with her cat, while we headed back home for our last walk of the day with Oshi and Perrito.

In our neighborhood there are lots and lots of cats. So many that often I have to look both ways when leaving the yard. One of those cats is Orondo who lives across the street but never spends time at his own home. Instead, he loves Oshi and Perrito (and they love him too) so whenever her hears the dogs leaving their house, Orondo usually runs over.

Which is exactly what he did today…right into my path!

Oh my did I ever kick my prey drive into high gear. I mean, all day long I’d been super good not attacking any of the cats we spotted and always being attentive to Gretchen’s commands. But when Orondo ran at me, I let it all out. Man, did that ever feel good! Of course, it didn’t scare Orondo in the least. He just cowered down a bit and waited for his little pals (dressed in stylish outfits) to come visit.

By the time we finished our walk, I was both exhausted from all the cat hunting and thrilled that at any given moment, I might see another feline in my path. Luckily for Orondo, he’d gone home while we dropped off the boys and then I curled up on my bed for a nice long nap whereupon I dreamt about flying fur and musical meows.

Until tomorrow,

Rubin

Dreamings

At school the students are working on writing aboriginal myths or what are called Dreamings. I have learned a great deal over the last week or so about both aborigines and their mythology. Briefly, aborigines feel that the world around is imbued with spirits each of whom has a story to tell us. To hear the story, we must enter Dreamtime, a place where we can get in touch with our spirit selves.

As the students work on their stories, I have helped as best I could giving them ideas for possible plot twists and interesting characters they might want to include. Today, as we were walking, I thought perhaps I should write my own Dreaming, but since today was so busy, I haven’t had a moment to enter Dreamtime. Therefore, I just thought all about my story and how I might include my clients/friends in my story.

Here’s what I have so far…

First, Gretchen walked Rosie and Tyson after she dropped me off at home. I worked a bit on my Dreaming trying to decide what role Rosie and Tyson might play. They would most likely be siblings (as they are in real life) who protect something valuable in the world. I haven’t exactly what they should protect, but every time I see these two siblings, I sense their very strong guardian skills.

Okay, even though Rosie yawns occasionally, they are both on the lookout constantly for any dangers that might arise out of the bushes, from under a rock, or from behind a parked car. They are sentries in stature and attitude and I think they’d make perfect protectors of the something valuable (to be determined!).

It was warm today, unusually warm and while the rain clouds are threatening now, all of us got mighty hot today. So Rosie and Tyson were happy to go back inside their cool house while Gretchen lathered up in sunscreen and headed over to get me. We hopped in the car and headed over to Zoe, my new best friend. Now if Zoe were a character in my myth she’d have to be a friendly giant. You might not think she’s that big when you meet her, but to me she’s ginormous!

Anyway, she’d be the friendly giant who helped me on my quest or walkabout as they call it in Australia. I’d be afraid of her at first — given her size and all — but she’d lead me to the oracle where I’d give the information I’d need to continue my journey. See, we even got a photo of the friendly giant and me by the oracle in the park!

After Zoe, we piled back into the car and headed over to get Gemma and Saber. Now it’s kind of tricky to know what characters these two would be in a myth because frankly, they’re quite the characters in real life as you can see from our play time at the park.

And then, since we got really tired rather quickly and needed to rest in the shade…

…we had to get some water…well, they got water and I waited until they were done sharing the bowl…

I think Gemma would most likely the trickster, the one who solves my dilemma (whatever that might be) by repeated attempts and then finally figuring all out by making some big mistake. I mean, Gemma’s always got her nose in someone else’s business so it would just make sense that she’d get involved in my quest in some comical way.

And Saber? Well, he’d be the kind of silly character who always brings levity to situation unintentionally. Kind of like a mix between Eeoyre and Tigger from Winnie the Pooh.

We went for a walk after our brief but exhausting romp and by the time Saber and Gemma got home, they both had their tongues hanging out. I did too, but I still had work to do.

First was Alice who no doubt would be the nervous, but very important Princess that needed to be rescued from the clutches of something evil. Again, I haven’t figured out what that evil will be, but it’s definitely Alice who’d need rescuing!

While I was scheming about  my story on my walk with Alice, guess who we came across? Christy!!!! My favorite mail carrier of all time. Why is she my favorite? She ALWAYS carries treats. Even Alice knows that she does! Oh how I miss my Christy! I’ll put her in my story, too, though I’m not sure what character she’ll play yet. Maybe the wise woman who feeds me magic food to give me supernatural strength!

Alice went home with her tongue hanging out as well –  yes, it was that warm today — and I hopped back in the car with one more walk on the books — Oshi and Perrito.

Now, choosing characters for them is super easy — they’ll be like munchkins or elves who cheer me on as I endure the trials and tribulations of my quest. Oshi will be a kind of curmudgeon like elf …

…and Perrito will be a happy-go-lucky munchkin who sings at the drop of a hat and quietly worships me…

Whew…what a day, but I think I have a good idea about my myth. Now I just have to find the time to work on it! But not tonight. Tonight I need some rest and prepare myself for tomorrow’s predicted rain. It will be a welcome relief!

Until tomorrow,

Rubin

Pacing

We all walk at different speeds. Gretchen walks fast so I’ve learned to keep up. Tethered to her as I am for most of the day, if I don’t keep up I get a bit yanked and that’s never any fun. There are times she lets me meander and when it’s the weekend, I get to wander at my own leisure, but during work hours, we hoof it…or paw it, whichever the case may be.

But not all our clients have the same vigorous approach to walking. Nope, each client has his or her own unique pace, which can make for an interesting day.

And yes, the dog to the right is a new, short-term client. Her name is Zoe and I have yet to meet her, but apparently Zoe is so loving and kind, I’m going to go on a walk with her tomorrow.

But before I tell you more about Zoe and her walking pace, let’s start at the very beginning (a very good place to start…for those of you are familiar with a certain musical!).

It began with an alarm. 5:50 this morning the radio came on and I must admit, I covered my eyes with my paws. We’ve been on Spring Break and while we certainly woke early, we didn’t wake as early as we did this morning. I groaned. I knew what was coming. We were going back to school.

Not that that’s a bad thing. I actually was kind of excited about it, but when the alarm went off, I realized what my excitement cost me — it cost me the chance to sleep in! But up I got and the day began. Breakfast, a walk, and then what do you know, I was in the classroom greeting the students who really missed me.

We’re starting a new book in class and so I laid under the desk of one tired student (for I was tired, too) and listened to the story with interest. As a dog-writer, I’m always curious as to how other writers put a story together and this one I kind of like. It has spunk. Not sure if my stories have spunk, but maybe that’s a technique I should work on!

After the story, Gretchen took me home. I was happy about that because I needed a nap after getting up so early. She headed off to see Rosie and Tyson who, much like a well told story, had spunk! They’d had a canine weekend visitor, Kazi, and apparently the sleep over put the two siblings in a good mood. Hard to tell from the photos, but they walked briskly along the ridge and to the Bradner Gardens.

Normally, when Rosie and Tyson walk together it’s always a little brisk. Tyson is always on the look out and Rosie is always watching Tyson. When Gretchen walks Rosie by herself, the walk is never as brisk because Rosie LOVES to stop and smell and leave a little mark. But when Tyson is around, Rosie is more interested in whatever Tyson is interested in and that boy is mostly interested in getting a move on!

Of course, it’s always funny to see who walks fast or slow and when they move fast or slow. Rosie usually walks slowly at the start of a walk and then walks much more energetically when she’s heading home. Tyson walks a steady pace, unless he sees a cat, and then all bets are off. He stares and fixates and Gretchen does her best to distract him with a treat.

Now since I haven’t walked with Zoe, I have to rely on Gretchen’s observations. First you should know that Zoe had knee surgery. She normally goes with our friend, Maureen of Mo’s Dog Walking in her van to the dog park and there Zoe gets to run and romp at any old pace she pleases. But because of the healing knee, Zoe has to be on leash walks for awhile and that’s why we are walking her (thanks for the referral, Maureen!).

Zoe is apparently a happy dog. She was thrilled when Gretchen showed up today and waited patiently while Gretchen leashed her up. And off they went. At first Gretchen thought Zoe was going to be a rapid walker pulling her large though shapely Bernese Mountain dog body down the road. But Zoe was very respectful on the leash and while she trotted up ahead on occasion, she mostly sauntered right beside Gretchen and then stopped to sniff and smell the trail at her feet.

She sniffed and smelled a lot, but since Gretchen is just getting to know her, she thought she’d let Zoe set the pace. Eventually, Zoe got into the walk and while she wasn’t brisk, she certainly did a good job keeping up with Gretchen who wasn’t in full-throttle, but wasn’t moseying along either.

And Zoe LOVED having her picture taken. Gretchen laughed every time she tried to get a photo of Ms. Zoe, which made Zoe laugh and she’d toss back her head just slightly making almost every picture have a bit of a head tilt. Apparently, it was quite comical.

Zoe, it appears, was involved in some family painting, though for she had flecks of paint on her head, tail, and parts of her body. I think Zoe likes to be involved with whatever is happening, but I’ll find out more tomorrow when I meet her. I wonder how fast she’ll walk when I’m there?

After Zoe, Gretchen came to pick me up and we walked over to Gemma’s house. Now Gemma’s pace, as you might imagine, is frenetic. She only walks in a straight line if there’s a squirrel, the possibility of meeting another dog, or if we are a block from Saber’s house. All the rest of the time, she zig-zags and spins putting callouses on Gretchen’s hands and making me dizzy.

And she weaves…back and forth, back and forth trying to scope out every possibility before her. When we round the corner to Saber’s house, she stops weaving and pulls like a 20-mule team to get to Saber’s house. That’s exactly what she did today and Gretchen and I just looked at each other and rolled our eyes. True love. What are you gonna do?

Now the distance between Saber’s house and the tennis courts is maybe two blocks and yet when those two lovebirds see each other, it takes us about four blocks of weaving and zig-zagging to get there. They constantly bump into each other and Gemma, as only Gemma can do, grabs at Saber’s neck and then slams her back end up against him in an interesting invitation to play.

The game continues at the tennis courts.

It’s not that I get jealous, but I like to be involved in the playing as well and at times, those two can be so involved with each other they forget about me, so I do my best to make my presence known!

After some vigorous play time, the walk can commence with only a few bumps and nibbles along the way. Today Gretchen had Saber and Gemma walking side-by-side and let me tell you that was a workout for everyone!

We hopped in the car after that and headed over to Alice’s house. Alice was again happy to see me and since she’s getting to know her new neighborhood, we ventured off in a different direction than last week. I love getting to smell around a new neighborhood and today both Alice I had our noses to the ground. Of course, that’s nothing new for Alice. She LOVES to sniff and she pulls her body sideways on the end of the leash to make certain she can gather up all the scents before her.

We made our way down by the elementary school and then up a long, long, long set of stairs. Gretchen posed us there to try to illustrate the climb, but both Alice and I wanted to get back to the work of documenting the new neighborhood with our noses.

So up the stairs we climbed and then along the boulevard where Gretchen had walked with Zoe earlier in the day. How do I know that? I could smell them!

Once again we had our photo taken, but soon enough we were on our way sniffing out the path down past the pet store (it was closed for the day) and the coffee shop back home to Alice’s house.

The final walk of the day was with Oshi and Perrito. They were happy to see us and we noticed that they had on their old harnesses. Their new ones, if you remember, kept them from pulling, which I guess is a good thing except that Gretchen had to pull them instead. Since the point of our work is to exercise the clients, we were kind of happy to see the old harnesses on and Oshi and Perrito didn’t let us down — they raced out ahead as we made our way up the street and over to the park.

I overheard Gretchen on the phone the other day with Oshi and Perrito’s mother. Apparently they’re do for a grooming. Ya think?

Does it seem like Monday was a bit busier than usual? Yes, it was but I kind of liked the changes — it made for an interesting day and it was fun to see how every handled the paces!

Until tomorrow,

Rubin