My Friend Sally

Here she is: my friend Sally from the dog park. If ever there was a dog that was not me, here's that dog. Sally is pictured actually taking a nap at the dog park. (Love the amazing mosaic of pawprints surrounding Sally) If you were to see a picture of me taking a nap at the dog park you could assume I was dead, or at least unconscious. But Sally, my friend Sally, is such a laid back character that it's hard for That Person to believe. Now this does not mean that Sally has no 'person'altiy. Not at all. She's a real queen and a dog you can set your stars by. I know I will never achieve Sally's equinimity, and perhaps that's not what I was bred for. But Sally, oh how she glides like an enormous and gallant ship. Me? I can hop like a bunny rabbit all over the park and over the other dogs. Recently I befriended a couple of dogs that needed a befriendment or two. The owners of these dogs thanked That Person, and were grateful that their dogs had a good experience at the park. This was after these dogs were maybe a bit roughed up by some alpha dogs earlier. I'm always looking to get roughed up a bit, and to doing a bit of roughing up myself. But my code of Extreme Playfulness does not include making another dog less happy than when they walked in. Okay, sometimes I make a mistake.

That Person was grateful to hear any words of praise for me. Perhaps She was starting to think I was a bad hat. That's when all that other stuff (described earlier in the blog) began to get to her. Dogs, praise be, aren't gotten to. People, yes.

I don't like to give That Person too much credit for fear it might go to Her head. But the training about the sitting and staying and how we enter the park has been somewhat helpful to me. Dogs know structure. The right kind can set us on the correct course of action. But let me tell you, it's tough. In my next post I will explain more about that.
Sail on, Sally, sail on