Dear Diary,
Q; Have my dogs been accused of being uncivilized in the past?
A: you bet.
Q: Has it been a moniker that’s deserved?
A: To be fair, it depends. They tend, as a breed (spanish water dogs) to be distrustful of men…so there’s not alot of tail wagging greeting of strange men going on–which, who are we kidding, is fine by me. Although less fine when it’s my friend’s husband, or my husband’s friends.
It’s also true that the dogs can be initially obstreperous with women they don’t know either…but once they know you, there’s lots of happy yipping, jumping to kiss, tail wagging, etc.–basically the handshake of the yellow lab.
Little did I realize that what these dogs are, in what can only be described as a complete marketing oversight, is pandemic dogs.
I’ll set the scene. We are out walking. A jogger/walker/gaggle of teens is fast approaching from behind- which I might not hear because I have one ear of my headphones in. If said J/W/GT comes anywhere near me, where near is defined as within the perimeter of their leash plus my outstretched arm–about 7 feet– my dogs will lunge wildly at said J/W/GT and bark like there’s no tomorrow.
In the pre pandemic world I thought about this behavior as…bothersome. I’d have to apologize profusely, keep their leashes shortened in my tight fists, etc.
Now, however, during social distancing, they turn out to be a pandemic must have. Let’s face it, my dogs are basically sitting at home making N-95 masks for people in our neighborhood by keeping me 7 feet from others, and others 7 feet from me. True heroines.
To appropriately commemorate what I now recognize as their valiant actions, tonight they will be generously rewarded with bones and treats for their brave pandemic efforts!
Until tomorrow