Okay, here I am at 4:30 in the afternoon. I am sitting on the kitchen counter with my feet in a sink full of warm water because I am cold. I told a friend the other day that the only place that I have felt warm all this winter has been in the bathtub. Now I can’t stay in the bathtub all day. I’d end up looking like a pink prune. Real runes aren’t all that attractive in the first place and a pink one would be positively off-putting. So instead I am warming up this way.

My dog Robbie is in the middle of the kitchen floor looking at me like I am losing my mind, but he shouldn’t be so surprised, he knows I lost it a long time ago. He’s just in denial. He doesn’t want to face up to the possibility that the woman who pours out his dog food every day is on the edge if insanity. This is clearly too much stress for a Sheltie of mature years and very little hearing.

Robbie had a good day today. He got to see his favorite person on the planet (besides me). My long time friend S. came for a visit. We used to live in the same town, but I moved 300 miles away. She and I used to walk together all the time and Robbie always came along. So he has equated a visit from S. as an invitation to go “walkies” and do his other favorite thing. “Pee the world”. That was Robbie’s main motivation in life. “Go out there and mark your territory dude” was his motto.

S. and I used to go up to the high school and walk around the track. Robbie, (between marking maneuvers) would play tag with the Swallows that nested there. The game went as follows:

Robbie waits at the goal posts looking skyward. Swallows swoop in to lure him away from their nests (which he hasn’t a clue are anywhere near).
Robbie runs like the WIND after them to the other end of the football field, barking occasionally. He used to run so fast that the long fur of his ruff would be streaming out straight behind him. He was astonishingly fast in his youth. But of course the Swallows where even faster. He never gave up hope though, and would run until he was completely exhausted. It was quite a sight.

He is quite a dog. He moves a lot slower now and tires quickly but amazingly, he looks just as young as ever. Even the vet commented that he doesn’t look anywhere near his real age.

While I have been up here writing in my scribble book, he has fallen asleep. I guess he was not too worried after all about my strange behavior. That’s good, he has earned a rest without anxiety. I will try to act very predictable the rest of the day, because he’s a good dog, a very good dog.

---