There are times when life can seem pretty lonely, like no one else sees things quite like I do. There are times when even Mrs. Griz is a little less than sympathetic to my moods and opinions. In fact, there are some times when she would just as soon not be around me. But when those times come and I feel like no one in this world loves me and wants to be around me, there’s always my dog.
To be honest with you, my dog - a small young pup named Abby with all the characteristics and qualities of a host of breeds - can be a little overbearing at times as she watches out for me. I think I might make hera bit of a nervous wreck at home when I go from room to room after this or that because she seems, somehow, duty-bound to follow me and know exactly where I am and what I am doing at all times.
She knows my habits and rituals too, and perhaps better than I. She can tell when I get up in the morning, either by how I act or by what I wear, whether I’m going to work or to church or staying home. She sulks and looks at me with these sad eyes when she knows that where I’m going she can’t come.
And it’s hard to leave her behind. When she sees me getting ready to leave - perhaps it’s thedonning of the baseball cap or the putting on of my cowboy boots - she heads for the front door and waits for me there with these sad eyes and a look which says she really wants to go along and it would be good of me to take her.
And when I do take her, she jumps up into the back seat and stands there with her hind feet on the folded back seat and her front paws on the center console looking forward like the figurehead on the prow of a ship. I think that means she’s ready to roll.
Along the way, she begs for a lowered window so she can put her head out and feel the wind in her face and, of course, see and smell where we’re at and what’s going on along the way.
If she comes with me to work, she waits by the door in eager anticipation of a visitor while I set type and stare endlessly at the computer screen.And when someone does come in, she gets excited and is just sure they came to see her, meaning I have to sentence her to my old home-office chair behind my desk where she sits and begs for permission to come down until the visitor has left and a nap in a comfortable chair is in order.
Come the end of the day, whether I’m ready to leave or not, she somehow knows it’s time to go and pesters me to leave and find out whether Mrs. Griz is back home from work and if she’s cooking anything that smells good for a pup to eat - even if it is only the crumbs that fall from her master’s table.
At night, she’s usually quick to try to grab a spot on the foot of the bed just to make sure she doesn’t have to sleep on the floor or in her kennel. And she’s a bit possessive of me. She likes to lay on my feet or next to them and willsometimes nip at Mrs. Griz if her feet get too close to me.
The other night when I came to bed, I reached over just to hold Mrs. Griz’ hand. But as I took her hand, you guessed it, a front paw was there too. She wasn’t about to let Mrs. Griz come between her and her man.
Since you’ve already figured out, I’ll admit she is a little spoiled. She gets away with a lot more than any other dog I’ve ever had.
Though she gets her prescribed dog food, we sometimes let her have a few healthy table scraps - but don’t tell the veterinarian. She likes to help us save water by licking our plates clean of all crumbs before they go into the dishwasher. If we do give her a bone safe for her to have, we have to keep an eye on her because she will hide it somewhere in the house.
Just last week, we hadsome leftover steak from the barbecue grill that we hadn’t eaten and which I hated to waste. I decided it would be all right if my dog had just a few chunks of it, so I cut it up and put them in her dish. She ate a piece but I took the rest away when I noticed her carrying a couple pieces into the living room to find a safe hiding spot. I thought I had it all until I noticed her up on our bed pushing the covers up around the pillow with her nose.
It could be that she was hiding the chunk of steak there for herself but I just have a feeling that she put it there for me in case I got hungry during the night.
And so, you see, at least my dog loves me - I think.
Randy Moll is the managing editor of the Decatur Herald and the Gentry Courier-Journal. He may be reached by e-mail at rmoll @ nwaonline .com
Opinion, Pages 5 on 05/05/2010