Dog Days

Last week we had temperatures in the 100s, violent storms, and seemingly endless days without power. To my happy guy, it was one long party! There were coolers full of ice cubes to munch, and fast food to eat. The air held the interesting odors of BBQ (the contents of neighbors' rapidly thawing freezers) and exhaust from chainsaws and generators. There were men in hard hats to investigate and noisy trucks to bark at.

Dash kept cool by playing in his pool. He herded his floating toys and retrieved the sinking ones from the bottom. He picked out the leaves and sticks blown in by the storms. He even walked around and around the edge, making a little whirlpool in the center, stopping every so often and wobbling from dizziness.

In the midst of all the troubles, life is still good.


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See more happy wet dog photos here:

Ears

My brother Chris says that Dash's ears are battery level indicators. You can tell when he's fully-charged, or when he's running on low-battery, as he is below. Thankfully Corgis are self-charging!


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Cool Under Fire

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Dash survived his first Fourth of July.

I was concerned, as the annual city fireworks are in a park just five houses away. You can feel the booms in your chest, in your bones, coming up through your chair, echoing in the floor beneath your feet. It's awesome.

I was worried this might not sit well with the little Welshman. It was a good sign that the booming test shots in the daytime didn't interrupt his game of bocce ball (his version, involving herding the red, white and blue balls around the yard). The firecrackers set off by neighborhood kids weren't a concern either, except for one type that squealed long and loud before it exploded. These sent him fleeing toward the back door, barking, with ears pinned back.

Around dinnertime, Dash positioned himself on the sofa so he could see out the front windows and tell us about the people walking up the street toward the park. When night fell and the evening barrage began, he looked only mildly curious. No panting, no pacing, just relaxed posture and a curious expression. I had been ready to hop in the car and head for a quiet corner, but he was taking it in stride. I stepped outside to watch for a few minutes, and when I came in, he was waiting patiently by the front door, head cocked.

I went back in the bedroom, flipped on the tv, and invited Dash up on the bed to ride out the rest of the show. He fell asleep with his chin on my leg. In the midst of the thunderous finale, he lifted his head sleepily, looked at me, and let it fall back to the bed. No worries!