Come on, Paterson, NJ!

15 September: SHE'S HOME!

LOST DOG, PATERSON NJ

Lily was lost at a gas station in Paterson New Jersey on Sunday, August 10, 2008. If you see her, please contact me immediately. We're hoping some kind person in or around Paterson will help save her. She's a friendly dog.

My email is Joan.Taber@gmail.com

I'm Not Proust

Joan says that if I don’t start taking walks soon, I’m not going to have anything to write about. “You have to get out in the world, or your brain will atrophy.” Well, I guess she never heard of Marcel Proust! Or how about Emily Dickinson? Some of the most brilliant people stay indoors. You don’t know that because you don’t see them. Oh, so now I’m not a people? A dog? I’m a dog?

I'm just kidding around. I know very well that I'm a dog. When the little kid down the block found out I was still afraid to go out because of the firecrackers, he said, shrugging his shoulders, "But, the firecrackers are gone. I don't get it!" Well, I don't get it either. I'm just a lot happier in the yard. Saki and Shane still walk around outside the gate. Not me.

Best wishes, Juno

Posticipation

Wow. Saki's sitting still for the photo. It's a miracle.

So much to think about.

Well, I still refuse to walk. Today, I managed to turn the corner with Joan, Shane, and Saki. I heard a noise. What could it have been? Something in the distance, like a rumbling, like danger. We had to turn around. I sat in the yard and everyone walked without me.

They came back in one piece. Now, that’s quite a feat considering the bad things that happen outside the yard. And the worst of the worst are the terrible things you imagine will happen. Anticipation—it’s life best and life’s worst. I prefer postipation (yes, I know it’s not a word, but it’s mine).

Best wishes, Juno

Mozart, Watermelon, & Broken Rap

The neighbors behind us play loud rap music that puts everyone in a bad mood. When their radio broke this evening, the man started cursing just like the rap people, only he didn’t have any sort of beat. He just cursed about mothers and god and the injustice of broken radios. Who knows what happened to the radio. He was so mad at everything in the world because his rap music died.

As all this was going on, Joan was sitting in the yard with us taking turns brushing me and Shane. There’s enough fur to knit a sweater! Saki was playing in the pool and eating watermelon. So, to make the sounds of the cursing rap-loser neighbor drown under something pleasant, she played all the arias from Le nozze di Figaro. It wasn't very loud, but maybe we'll invest in a boom box louder than the neighbors' boom boxes.

One time, a friend came to visit us and we were all in the backyard lying around and listening to Pavarotti. The friend stood there for a minute and then said: “You’re in the wrong neighborhood.” Alas. La vita è la vita.

Best wishes, Juno

Saki Breeze

Sitting outside on summer night. No, I won’t walk. I won’t run. Once the sun comes in the window making me all hot and miserable, I won’t even get off my bed—well, except for breakfast. Joan says I can't have it in bed.

But, once that sun goes down, all is well in life. I beg to go outside and sulk when I have to come in for the night. Go ahead and say I’m a cat at heart. I know I’m all dog. I have that confidence in myself. Unless an occasional car speeds by and Joan says “Idiot” under her breath, it’s quiet at night around here.

And, there's just enough wind on my face to make me nice and cool and so happy. "Ah," I think. "Nature is magical." But, then, I open my eyes and realize the breeze that just caressed my fur and washed a wave of calm right through my soul was, in fact, nothing more than Saki running by.

Let him run. I’m just going to sit here and let him fan me.

Best wishes, Juno

Not Feeling Well of Late

Shane just had a bath. The fur was flying, and there's more to go.

Shane isn’t well—pancreatitis—so it’s been running here and there, whipping out the credit card, stuffing pills into his food. Saki tries to make him feel better. I just sniff at him. Anyway, he’s okay for the moment. The vet says he’s got to get his weight down.

Whole Foods sells canned dog food called 360, which has only five percent crude fat. Now, what’s crude fat? Unsophisticated? Uncooked? Well, we’re stocked up on the stuff and expect a general reduction in dog weight within the near future. Except Saki. He’s skinny. He runs all day. He even runs in his sleep. Thin and fat are attitude. If you think like a thin dog, you’ll act like a thin dog. If you think like a fat dog, you’ll sleep a lot and watch other dogs run.

That’s what Shane and I do. We watch. When Shane was younger, he used to twirl on his leash during walks. So, if Joan and I walked one mile, he would walk about three miles just from making all those circles. Now, he just plods along. Me? I sit in the yard and watch him plod.

Best wishes, Juno

Old Age & Summer

Saki. Okay, he's cute. But why doesn he have to play all the time?

This morning, he threw his toy on Joan's keyboard.

He's got his nose in everything. Why can't he be like—well, like me?

Old age, summer, sleep. I admit I’m getting impatient with puppies and noise. But, I still like to eat. No more walks. I sometimes allow myself to be coaxed out of the gate, but then I just sit there and no one can move me, not for love, not even for food. That’s what happens when you’re old in the summer and like to sleep.

When the cool weather is back, maybe, just maybe, a jaunt in the park will be in my future. Well, maybe jaunt is too extreme a word. How about hesitant stroll? Reluctant ramble? Unwilling promenade? No promises, mind you.

The people who ate all the ice cream moved away. Now the ice-cream truck goes by and the man doesn’t make as much money. But, there’s also not so much garbage in the street. Well, there's not so much on our street, but I bet it's somewhere.

Shane had a bath yesterday. Joan says I'm next. Alas.

Best wishes, Juno

Ish Visit

Look at Saki and Ish. Why can't they be more like me? Calm. Peaceful. Nature loving.

Ish was stuck behind the fence in his yard just crying his eyes out. The whole neighborhood could hear his lamentations. So Joan invited him over for a romp around the yard with Saki.

“Too hot!” I protested, getting tired just thinking about all that running around.

Shane had to go inside because, you know, he needs peace in his life, not a couple of crazed puppies tearing around the yard. For some reason, he just doesn't like Ish. I don't know why, because all Ish wants to do is play. He's a nice dog--okay a little untrained and very hyper. But, isn't nice what life is all about?

Me, I sat in the shade and studied the grass. It’s summer. What more could I do?

Best wishes, Juno

Best Friendship

Saki has a gift. He knows how to be his own best friend. So what if I don’t want to go outside in the heat; so what if Shane yawns instead of plays; so what if Joan cuts the grass; so what if Ish and Buddy can’t play in our yard. Saki will find backyard Nirvana with a kiddie pool and a hose. Now, if that isn’t a gift, what is?

Best wishes, Juno

Rescue to the Rescue

So, the dog—the latest abandoned dog, pictured above and below—is an Airedale. If someone drops a purebred dog in your yard, Google a list of rescue organizations, and you'll find someone with a big soul and heart to match who will take the dog. We'll say goodbye to the dog this afternoon, and it's a huge relief to know she'll be cared for and probably adopted by someone who'll love her for the rest of her life.

Some people are kind. Some people are cruel. It's life.

Best wishes, Juno

PS: I guess being a purebred has its perks.

Another Abandoned Dog

There I was, writing a blog full of all sorts of intellectual meanderings and musings when all of a sudden there was a loud bang on my door. I mean, really loud. And it’s the Fourth of July, so all the neighbors are shooting of fireworks. Anyway, Joan walked outside and found this dog tied inside the gate. Abandoned in a strange place with fireworks going off. Well, she’s had a bath now, probably for the first time in her life. Now, what do we do?

Any ideas? Juno

While He Wasn't Sleeping After All

I guess it's time to buy a new mattress topper. Oh, yes; and I guess we should keep the door closed when we think Saki's asleep. Maybe he never sleeps. Maybe he just does everything very very quietly.

He doesn't even look guilty. Now, that's something good to learn because it makes the humans melt. So young. So much to learn.

Best of luck, Juno

"So Gehts im Leben"

The pool. It’s just not that much of a thrill anymore, at least for me. And while Saki loves it, Shane shies away from it. In fact, he ran right into the house when Joan filled it up. “No, it’s not a bath,” she called after him. But, did he listen? (Rhetorical question.) In short, neither of us pool anymore. And, as Opa would say, "So gehts im Leben."

At my age, you get more relaxed about life. You stay near the air-conditioning unit; you don’t run across waxed floors; you don’t go on walks on hot days, noisy days, or even rainy days. You do pretty much what you want. And isn’t that the way it should be? (Another rhetorical question.)

Best wishes, Juno

Triplets

In the first picture, well, that’s how things were—just me and Shane watching the people, the cars, the grass. In the second picture, well, that’s how things are—me, Shane, and Saki.

Only Saki doesn’t sit still for long periods of time. He sits, he runs, he chases bugs, he follows the lawn mower, he copies us if we bark, he copies us if we go to the back yard, the front yard; he copies us if we sit in the sun, if we sit in the shade, if we stand. He’s like a regular annoying little brother. Yup. He’s one of us. I guess you could say we're triplets, at least, in spirit.

Best wishes, Juno

Close to Home

Saki follows Shane—drives Shane crazy (but I think he likes the big-brother role)

I’m still sticking close to home. Getting to old or too intolerant of the big noises out there in the streets and even in the park. Summer is loud over there.

Almost every day, Saki runs in circles chasing the hose. Around and around. He would do it all day if he could. Shane is so much better with Saki than he used to be. He even tries to play with him, but we can’t expect too much from him. He never even played when he was a puppy; we can’t expect him to get up and start zipping around the yard the way Saki does.

Saki has also been going to dog school to learn how to do things Shane and I don’t care to do, like lie down, get up, and leave it. Actually, we have no reason to learn those things because all that comes naturally to us.

Best wishes, Juno

Not Taking It Anymore (Walks)

I’ve returned to my old ways, my refusal ways, my recalcitrant ways. Ever since the people started shooting off firecrackers on Memorial Day, I’ve found it a terrible prospect to walk anywhere. Joan coaxes me, “But, Juno,” she says, “You’ll get fat again.” I don’t care. “But, Juno. You’ll miss smelling all the new smells.” No big deal. “But Juno, that’s the sound of someone hitting a baseball; it’s not a firecracker.” Nothing can convince me to move. So I sit in the yard where life is predictably slow. If loud noises occur—which they do—I just go inside.

Now, Joan walks around the neighborhood with Shane and Saki, and the people say, “Hey, where’s the big black and white one?” And Joan just shakes her head sadly, “Oh, she’s too scared to leave the yard.”

Me? I’m fine in the yard. Let the others tangle with the elements. Elements aren’t for everyone, you know.

Best wishes, Juno

Menschenmassen

Before the firecrackers and civilization: Tranquility

Oh, we’ve learned our lesson: Never go to the park on a holiday, especially a spring or summer holiday. Oh, the noise, the firecrackers, the screams, the menschenmassen dashing here and there and back again. I was frightened. Joan was rattled. Shane was confused. Saki didn’t care. There weren’t many humans in the woods where we usually walk, but I could hear the loud noises, and I froze in my tracks. So we took a trail to the street to bypass the noisy people, but the cars sped by like giant motorized predators in some horror story—my horror story.

Finally, I forced Joan to turn back, to escape civilization, to take refuge in the house—windows shut, doors locked, a nice veggie burger in the barby.

Well, the next day, while everyone was sleeping “it” off, we took another walk. This time there was peace in our little part of the world. It’s just the best when the people are sleeping it off.

Best wishes, Juno

The Fly and the Secret

When I was younger, I didn’t mind chasing a fly every now and then. But, these days, flies are annoying. So, I was very upset this afternoon when a fly came into the sunroom and started buzzing around as though it had the right to be there. Joan opened the door to let it escape, but I escaped instead. As fast as my legs would carry me, I ran to the corner of the yard—a little triangular haven under the vines where it smells like mint—and hid. No flies there. It’s my secret spot.

It was a lovely time. But, then Shane and Saki came along and I had to sit around with them and pretend I didn't have a secret.

Best wishes, Juno

Careful What You Wish For

So, it’s true—be careful what you wish for, because it might come true. A few weeks ago, I wished we’d stay home and skip the long walks for a while. So, what happens? Joan gets sick, and we get stuck at home for a whole week. No more wishing, okay?

Well, today, we went back to the park and took the short trail. It was still pretty muddy from all the rain, but it was peaceful enough and not too exhausting. We’re trying to get a few pounds off Shane, so we’ll have to keep Joan healthy, at least until Shane drops five or maybe ten pounds. Okay, five.

Shane’s trying very hard to be tolerant of Saki. I commend the effort. He’s a good dog. Sometimes I let him know that.

Best wishes, Juno