Perfect, almost
April 21st 2011 22:53
Did I tell you about the day I ran into a particularly tough and aggressive blade of grass?
I try not to think of Scratchy as impaired. That he’s epileptic, accident-prone and dumber than your average football boot are indisputable, but that’s okay because he’s utterly lovable. In a goofy kind of way.
Of course he’s lovable. He’s my dog.
These thoughts went through my head this morning as I watched Scratchy run. It’s not something we get to see very often – we don’t have any completely enclosed dog parks near us, and Scratchy can not be trusted off the lead in any unenclosed space. Let Scratchy off the lead and he won’t stop running until he reaches Jupiter, and then only to pause by a fire hydrant.
However, my wife, in that way she has of creating practical opportunities from life, had an idea. Driving past a nearby Australian football oval (think grass; think twice the area of an association football pitch or a gridiron field), she noticed that this one was fenced the whole way around.
And so it was that, not so long after dawn on this bright, brisk autumn morning, we loaded Scratchy and Daisy into the car and drove to the football oval. There was no-one there. We strolled through the gate, closed it securely, and let the dogs off the lead.
Daisy gets a run most mornings. She can be trusted to run with the other dogs in our neighbourhood dog park because she will come when called. Off the lead this morning, Daisy trotted away to explore the new environment.
Then I removed Scratchy’s lead. At first he look a little dazed. Then, slowly, he leaned on me.
It took a while, and a few calls from Little Boss sprinting into the vast, green distance, for the message to filter through to Scratchy that he was in an open space and unfettered.
Then he bolted. First he sprinted around the perimeter of the oval, perhaps looking for an escape path to Jupiter, and then he played chasey with Daisy – for her the first time in a long time she has run with a dog that can run faster than her. During all this, the look on Scratchy’s face was a joy to see. His eyes shone, his tongue lolled, his every fibre laughed and sang.
It was while watching this unfold that the irony of the situation occurred to me: it’s only when I see this gentle goofball doing what he does best – running like 3,000 years of genetic streamlining decree that he can do – that I think of him as impaired.
My wife and I had shining eyes too as we watched Scratchy rocket over the turf. It was on another such morning, in another place, that he went down screaming, somehow having managed to turn a fun run into a compound fracture, plus a snapped ligament, of a hind leg.
But not today. Today was wonderful. Today I pushed aside thoughts of epilepsy and accidents and watched Scratchy run.
That’s my dog.
| 22 |
| Vote |
Add To: 
subscribe to this blog
Comment by INDIOSDAD
Jerry , Marlene , Naboo , Snoopy , Happy and the cats
Comment by Chris Champion
Vyoos
Zoomies
Bloggercises
The Blog of Lists
Newly Old
Money Whither
Comment by TanyaMary
Lynx
Comment by Chris Champion
Vyoos
Zoomies
Bloggercises
The Blog of Lists
Newly Old
Money Whither
Comment by INDIOSDAD
First time I saw a picture of Scratch I did a double take he looks like he could be a brother to our SUZIE CREAMCHEESE that we lost this past year.
Suzie broke her leg on the track the leg was never fixed only taped then used as a brood bitch for two years. Greyhound racing is a crule buisness here in the States.
Comment by Chris Champion
Vyoos
Zoomies
Bloggercises
The Blog of Lists
Newly Old
Money Whither
Also, he would make a lousy brood bitch
Comment by INDIOSDAD
Greyhounds are such amazing animals