Maybe it happened because Aquinnah, our chocolate lab, didn’t catch the weather report before heading out first thing yesterday morning.
The thermometer read 3 degrees when Aquinnah (aka Quinn) and I braved the elements before dawn, but the wind chill pegged the “feels like” temperature at 7 below. Decked out in his jacket, Quinn sauntered up the hill for his customary two blocks, stopping to smell anything and everything along the way. After we crossed the street and headed back down toward the house, now with the wind in our faces, Quinn took his time completing his assigned tasks.
Nose to the ground, he then launched into another round of sniffing, sometimes coming to a complete stop for a more thorough nasal inspection of a fence post or a utility pole. You would have thought it was a balmy 40 degrees out.
Quinn generally is more level-headed than Martha, our goofy pit bull/lab mix. Except, that is, when it comes to the cold.
Martha began her walk to the corner slowly enough. But once she had completed her “business,” she raced back as fast as her little legs would carry her, even though she too was wearing a fleece jacket. No stopping. No sniffing. No detours. She was a dog on a mission, and that mission was to get back into the toasty house, ASAP.
Unlike the short-haired Martha, Quinn has a double coat of fur, so that probably helps to explain his nonchalance when it comes to frigid temperatures. Still, I’d like to think this is one example - perhaps the only one - of Martha winning out in the sensibility department.
The thermometer read 3 degrees when Aquinnah (aka Quinn) and I braved the elements before dawn, but the wind chill pegged the “feels like” temperature at 7 below. Decked out in his jacket, Quinn sauntered up the hill for his customary two blocks, stopping to smell anything and everything along the way. After we crossed the street and headed back down toward the house, now with the wind in our faces, Quinn took his time completing his assigned tasks.
Nose to the ground, he then launched into another round of sniffing, sometimes coming to a complete stop for a more thorough nasal inspection of a fence post or a utility pole. You would have thought it was a balmy 40 degrees out.
Quinn generally is more level-headed than Martha, our goofy pit bull/lab mix. Except, that is, when it comes to the cold.
Martha began her walk to the corner slowly enough. But once she had completed her “business,” she raced back as fast as her little legs would carry her, even though she too was wearing a fleece jacket. No stopping. No sniffing. No detours. She was a dog on a mission, and that mission was to get back into the toasty house, ASAP.
Unlike the short-haired Martha, Quinn has a double coat of fur, so that probably helps to explain his nonchalance when it comes to frigid temperatures. Still, I’d like to think this is one example - perhaps the only one - of Martha winning out in the sensibility department.
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| Martha, the heat-seeking pooch |
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