No Longer Dogless

barry1I’m neglecting this blog again, mainly due to laziness. I’m also being distracted by Facebook, which is claiming much of my cyber-time. Maybe sometime I’ll comment here about the pros/cons of the Facebook format vs. a blog. But I’m too lazy to do that now. I just want to belatedly report on an update to the menagerie. I am no longer dogless, as announced on Facebook about a month ago.

On Feb 20, Barry came to live with me. I guess he could be called a grapevine dog, as word travelled to me through circuitous routes that there was a dog in search of a home. His history is uncertain. He appeared at someone’s house, apparently abandoned, in the midst of January’s ice storm.

He’s not exactly what I expected from the original description of “black Lab”, later amended to “maybe not full Lab”. I’m not a breed snob, as many of my dogs have been mutts, so I didn’t really care about the purity of his pedigree. But I’ll confess to being a little of a size snob, and I was hoping for something approximately Lab size.

Barry is roughly 45 pounds, and skinny. I think he’s a mixture of Lab and some kind of disgusting little rat dog, so I suppose that makes him a Lab rat. He has the hyperactive little dog syndrome. After years of lumbering, laid-back, large dogs, Barry’s frenetic skittering takes a little getting used to. It’s fun to watch him dashing and leaping around the yard, but an off switch would be nice.

I suppose we’ll soon get used to each other. I was just reflecting on the history of canine residents who have lived with me here. First was Cajun, who moved back from Ohio with me in 1987. Then came Katie and Alex, in 1990. Frodo arrived in 1991, followed by Chowder in 1996 and Norm in 1997. So in 10 years, I acquired and adjusted to 6 dogs. But that was followed by a long period of stability. In the 12 years since Norm’s arrival, there have been no others. I had to adjust to the losses, as the numbers dropped from three to two to one to zero. But for 12 years, I didn’t have the uncertainty and unpredictable of a new unknown dog, so the new experience is requiring some adjustment. I don’t suppose Barry will magically grow another 20 pounds, but I do believe that in time, he will grow on me despite his lack of stature in comparison to the dogs that previously owned me. And you may read more about him here in the future.

1 comment

  1. Is your facebook site public? I just found your blog and am loving reading about your hunting exploits! Now that the season is pretty much over I will sadly languish until the fall.

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