11th of April. Homecoming day
5:15 pm
I cleaned up the kitchen, changed the pee pads, and the food was almost all gone. They had walked away with one bowl completely empty, and some chicken and roast beef in the other. Burger night is always an aggressive affair.
I heard Bubba out on the deck, with the telltale clickity movement of feet of a guy trying to position himself for the perfect poop. I looked out and saw him, sniffing around in his pre-poop stance. I grabbed the leashes, went over to open the door and called to him (knowing he couldn’t hear). He shifted towards the door mid-search and saw me, started to get into his bunnysquat position to poop, then noticed the leashes and came running. I could hardly believe it – he aborted his mission to go out for a walk.
We hustled out of the neighborhood over to the patch up to PCH. Both guys pooped almost right away on the path (the dirt area). When we got to the top we headed into to town for a short stretch. We met a nice lady with a puppy named Olive who was super excited to meet new friends. She was too aggressive for even Buddy’s taste, and he held back. I knew Bubba wouldn’t like it so I kept him away from her.
After the short visit with Olive, we walked onto Green Lantern, down Santa Clara behind the groomers, and over to the Blue Lantern Inn. Bubba wouldn’t walk onto the brick pavers that make up the surface of the viewing area. Whatever he was afraid of last year, it’s gone most places, but it still effects him near the great viewing areas overlooking the harbor. So we didn’t linger and headed back.
It was a fairly fast-paced walk, and as long as it was in distance, it only took about 45 minutes. Both guys pooped.
5 pm
Burger time! We have Shwack!
2:50 pm
This must be the sleepiest day ever. The guys haven’t paced or played all afternoon. Both guys ate some food after the walk, Bubba first, then Buddy. Then they slept. Buddy slept on the floor, just off the rug by the frong door. Bubba went outside to sleep on the deck bed around 1. Buddy moved into the piano bed. Bubba came in around 2 and stepped up into the piano bed, forcing Buddy out, who then hopped up on the recliner and they both drifted into deep sleep.
At about 2:40, both guys started dreaming. It was Bubba first, who didn’t move, but started moaning and letter out little whimpers at whatever was haunting him in his sleep. Buddy was silent, but his legs got active. First his from paws, just at the wrists, like he was scratching at something, then after a while all four legs – running or fighting. Every so often, Buddy’s eyes would pop open, then immediately shut – not waking up, an active part of the dream. At 2:50, I needed to go next door. I had put it off for a while, so not to disturb either guy. Buddy woke up when I moved, but Bubba didn’t hear it and stayed in dreamland.
9:15 am
I was late because I had to wait for caffeine and pain killers to soak in. I really need someone to remind me, daily, that I am not 20 years old. Day one of “I feel better” is not the metric for whether or not I can play gatekeeper and chase. I need time to heal, or I will start with days like this.
Both guys were at the door when I showed up. They were excited and playful. It only took a cup of coffee and one Excedrin tablet for me to get stupid again, and we played games for just about 5 minutes. There was work to do – play would have to wait. A sense of responsilibity saved me from tomorrow’s body aches, not intelligence.
Bubba had pooped in the kitchen, and out on the deck. I put out the day food to soak, and we got dressed to go out. My mother had been telling me about her trip to Bhutan, and I had to cut her short to get to the guys – I was running late – but I thought she would probably want to walk with us, and she could continue telling me about her trip. She wanted to go, and that worked out for everyone.
The guys will walk longer if we have company. Having someone to tell me about far-away places kept my mind off wanting to get home and sit. And my mother always likes a reason to walk. It was gorgeous out this morning, after last night’s rain, and it worked out for all 4 of us.
We walked across at the park; the guys took their time smelling and seasoning everything. We walked for an hour and 20 minutes. Buddy pooped – Bubba did not need to.