A Dog Day Run

penny_anxietyIt starts like this:
She’s back in there. Where the shoes are.
The sunscreen.
That hat.
That hat that’s for running.
Oh that hat. And the shoes.

And so I wait.
I whine very small to remind her I’m here.
I yawn.
And stretch.
And groan.
Why doesn’t the door open?

Finally, she’s in the shoes, the watch, the shirt.
Reaching for
OMYGODTHELEASH
THELEASH
I leap and leap at her and THELEASH
This helps I think. Helps her be faster.

Outside, we look at each other and know,
It’s a glorious day.
The smells.
The pavement. The puddles.
Whoop, stop. I must.
Time to poop.

Now, run, run, pull, pull. Move fast.
Past cars. Bikes. All the people, the people not running.
A squirrel
ASQUIRREL
Erkk. … Today we pass, squirrel, but I’ll stretch out my nose
To smell your squirreliness.

We walk and we stop and I look up
Where she holds the bottle, the water.
Sometimes it goes
Into my nose.
But it tastes cool. Better than the puddle
That reminds me of a cat. And tires.

I will pee here.

I pull, and I sniff.
I sniff, and I sniff more and more things
And I pull and sniff
Smelling all the many things
Until, again we run. I can’t sniff that fast.
But I try.

Today we turn a new direction. A new way. A new DARK way.
I stay close. No sniffing. No pulling.
But a LUMP, A BIG LUMP in the road. THERE.
Give it space. Lots of space.
Trash bag she says. Uh huh.
Trash bag is something scary.

I must pee here.

There are always new things.
A cat. A leaf.
And A THING, OHNOATHING
In the ROAD, A THING
Horse trailer she says. Uh huh.
Horse trailer is something scary.

Not too scary to stop and pee, though.

penny_dogI pull ahead. Enough with the sniffing, with the scary things.
Enough cats and leaves.
Enough squirrels.
I pull and pull.
Toward home, a bowl, a bed
A good, long stretch and a nap.

***

My dog would appreciate your vote. One click on the banner below will do it.

Thank you!

Woof.

top_mommy_blogs_signature_banner

 

 

You may also like

2 comments

  1. Same thought as Cara. Are you sure our dogs weren\’t switched at birth? Ours probably poops more than yours though. We\’re pretty sure she poops more than anyone else\’s dog actually.