Day: August 17, 2013

Fields of corn, Route 68. Digitally enhanced with my Detail Extractor software, the photograph is as the camera saw the sky without any natural or programmed softening or enhancement.

There are many parts to Red. Every Saturday, he and I go into our small town independent bookstore, Battenkill Books, to spend an hour or so recommending books to people who come in the store or who call up. We have made a lot of friends, on the phone, in the store, developed some relationships that are very real. Addison is a dog lover and avid reader and she always comes up to Red and gives him a hug. Every week, we seem to make a special connection in that store, it is a magical place.

I took our four dogs out for a walk in the pasture this morning and when we got back, Maria said an interesting thing to me. She said, “I know you are uncomfortable sometimes being seen only as a dog person, but you are very good with them. You had these four dogs walking off leash, following you, you knew you could handle them and they all did what you said. You trained each one of them.”

It was an interesting comment, I thought about it. I am uneasy sometimes when people make assumptions that I only care about dogs, only write about dogs and that I am a trainer or amateur vet. I consider myself a writer, not just a dog writer and I don’t like being pigeon-holed the way many people do. For as long as I can remember, people have come up to me and say, “hey, you’re the dog guy, aren’t you?” And I smile and nod, but that isn’t the way I see myself and I wonder why people tuck others into narrow labels – left and right comes to mind also.

Still, it is true. Here I have four very disparate and boisterous dogs – a border collie from Ireland, a Rottweiler/Shepherd mix who was abandoned in the Adirondacks, and two big Labs who will eat anything anywhere. I can walk them all off-leash, I trust them around donkeys and sheep, they never go near the road, they eat peacefully and politely with one another, they all find their quiet corners of our small house and let us do our work, they get along easily and peacefully with one another.

When Pearl arrived last night, I never doubted for a second that we would make it work and be safe and comfortable for everyone.

Frieda can be protective, but the dogs make little noise, and all of them understand and respect the nature of our work, our need for some peace and quiet. Pearl slipped right back into my life, and my life with Maria.

My ideas about communication, trust and calming training have all paid off for me – this is why I wrote “Listening To Dogs”– my latest e-book. I take it for granted, but when I took these for dogs out into the pasture, sheep grazing 100 yards away, I did see it, I am good at this, this is my calling too, it is something to talk about more, to be more open about. It is not the whole picture for me, not the whole story, but it is a big one and a big part of my life.

Pearl has woven herself in and out of my life in very different and special ways. I don’t care to have four dogs, it is one too many for me, but it never feels like a strange dog has come when Pearl visits, it feels very natural, very familiar, to both of us. Pearl is a ttwo-time national show dog, a champion, born and raised by the well-known Lab Breeder Pam Leslie of Pawlet, Vt. When I saw here, she was living in a kennel there, coming to the end of her breeding life and when I saw those big round eyes, I wanted her. Pearl has the great calm and ease of the champion dogs, they are bred to go anywhere, be steady and look wonderful. When Pearl turns those eyes on you, it can melt your heart.

Pam Leslie sold her to me. Pearl’s legs were shot at the end of her breeding life, she needed extensive surgery to implant titanium rods on her hind legs. The surgery has been successful although Pearl has arthritis and walks stiffly. I gave her to Emma seven years ago, so Pearl is getting up there, especially for a Lab.

My daughter Emma has never been much connected to my rural experience or farm life, she lives in Brooklyn and I think she finds my life a bit incomprehensible, although she is too polite to say so. She is not interested in quiet, pastoral settings or donkeys. She does love dogs and cats. Emma fell for Pearl in a big way, and after a year or so of agonizing and gentle prodding, I agreed to let her take Pearl to Brooklyn and it was a happy match for both of them. Pearl was just as happy in Brooklyn as eh was in the country, she made a million friends, walked all over the city and cuddled with Emma in her tiny apartment. Two of them against the world.

They each attached powerfully to one another, and Pearl is one of those dogs that will make herself at home just about anywhere, as long as the meals are regular and she gets some attention. Emma has taken wonderful care of Pearl, exercising her several times a day, keeping her weight down, keeping her healthy.

I have to be honest, I can’t conceive of letting Lenore or Red go, even to Emma, but Pearl was not really the dog for me. I am always happy to give a dog a better life than I can offer if it is possible, even though some people find it heretic. I’m not sure why we didn’t connect as strongly as she and Emma did, perhaps she was too simple, too elemental, perhaps I was needy in a different way, I don’t really know. It was hard to let her go, but not impossible. People love to tell stories of dog’s pining away for their humans, but the genius of dogs is their adaptability, and Emma was barely out of the driveway when Pearl was gnawing happily on a rawhide treat.

I see she is coming near the end of her time, but it has been a rich dog experience for me, getting Pearl, giving her to my daughter and then, every summer for a few weeks, getting her back. The other dogs have accepted her – Frieda took a little persuading the first time she met Pearl, but is quite at ease with her now. Red ignores her, as he does other dogs, and Lenore loves to hang out with her.

Pearl is in the autumn of her life, she loves to sit in the yard and gaze out at nothing, one of her great qualities, she sits by my side when I work in the study, she is very much at ease here. I’ve ordered a big bag of the rawhide treats she loves. She has a great sense of gravitas, and when Emma really needed her, she was an endless source of affection and companionship. She was there when Emma needed her, in the best tradition of dogs, and still is.

The bond between the two of them is very strong, so is my bond with Pearl.

It was difficult for Emma to leave her here, she made sure I was aware of all of her needs and quirks. “You do give them water, don’t you?,” she asked, and I said yes, I do. I had to laugh. I know all of Pearl’s quirks,  she was my dog and in many ways, still is. I kidded with Emma about the meaning of attachment theory, I had a hand in all of this. She doesn’t buy it.

Pearl speaks to me of the timeless story of the dog, moving in and out of our lives, offering connection and companionship. She is a peaceful creature, like Lenore, she loves everyone and everything. In my mind, I grumbled about having four dogs, it is not simple, especially at this time but I very happy to be with Pearl. I suspect this is our last time together, and I am happy to take Pearl while Emma goes on vacation and to several weddings. She needs a rest, and Pearl is very content her. I like to look out the window and see her so peaceful here, there is something about the farm that seems to settle animals down, and how fitting that Pearl comes in and out of my life like the generous spirit that she is.