Like all dog owners, I have my rituals - taking Aquinnah and Martha for their walks, feeding them, diverting Martha from the woodstove when I’m trying to get a fire going, doling out chew toys - but my favorite is a post-breakfast routine that we perform virtually every morning.
It’s quite simple, really, which is part of the appeal.
Between my customary bowl of cereal and my obligatory mug of tea, I grab a fruit-filled breakfast bar. Aquinnah and Martha positively love these bars. Whether the flavor du jour is apple or strawberry or blueberry or fig, it makes no difference to them.
As soon as I pull the Trader Joe's bar from its box - sometimes, even before - the pups dutifully plop down at my feet, knowing they will each get a morsel once I have finished eating.
To see them sitting there expectantly, gazing up in total concentration, is one of the highlights of my day.
I know they are motivated, then, by food, not affection. Still, green-eyed Aquinnah, a large chocolate lab, and brown-eyed Martha, a smallish pit bull/lab mix, are more endearing at that moment than I can possibly put into words.
There are, I know, plenty of people in this world who have no love for dogs. Perhaps they were bitten as children. Perhaps they are compulsive neatniks who cannot stomach the thought of a pooch on the sofa. Perhaps they are crusty coots who don't really like much of anything.
At the risk of sounding condescending, I do feel badly for them, because they don't know what is missing from their lives. I would not give up my morning routine with my two saucer-eyed fur balls for anything in the world.
No comments:
Post a Comment