By: Jennifer Richardson Holt
If you are anything like me, lately you have found people, well, less than thrilling. Don’t be offended. I am sure some of you reading this or your friends and/or family are the absolute epitome of lovely souls but as of late, humans in general have not been behaving in a way conducive to make them my favorite species. Maybe you’ve seen things lately that made you wonder if perhaps staying locked up in your home with nothing but immediately family and pets isn’t such a bad idea. And quite frankly that’s not a great reflection on humanity if a large portion of our population is making us want to avoid said large portion of the population. So, in response to the somewhat disheartening nature of mankind these days, I have decided to take this blog as an opportunity to examine some uplifting tales of other species. I just want to present you with a few refreshing tales of a four-legged nature that might brighten your world just a bit, or at the very least make you give the next furry creature you see a warmer smile and a more loving scratch. And I kid you not, as I typed that a paw just tapped my arm requesting the aforementioned scratches. I will take that as subject matter approval.
I will begin my journey of creatures great and small with a dog that my family came to have. I say we came to have him because one day he just appeared and made himself right at home. When a big goofy pit bull appears at your home and bounds to you with joyous kisses every time you open the door you don’t resist you just, as the Beatles say, let it be. We gave him the name Doofus. And before you judge us as bullies, let me explain. Anytime anyone came outside he would run, full speed, to greet them. This is all very endearing but, bless his thick skull, he would run to you and, more often than not, plow full speed into the side of the house. We are not talking about some unexpected object that jumped into his path but a house. He would run as fast as his flailing legs could go into a wall. And so, he was called Doofus.
However, he wasn’t all paws and clumsiness. He had a penchant for chasing most anything that would move. We saw him trail like a mad man, er dog, behind windblown leaves. If he caught sight of a squirrel, he took off like a slobbering whirlwind. But he also liked chasing tires, moving ones, which did not serve him well. He once went after the wheels of my mother’s car as she was going down the drive. Much to his chagrin, he caught one. He had a noticeable limp for weeks and his fondness for attacking vehicles was somewhat dampened. My mom felt terrible and we all lavished him with pity and extra fervor in our kindness. It was after this and entirely by accident that we discovered that our lovable oaf was a secret genius.
One breezy day we caught sight of movement outside the window. Not just swaying branches or dancing leaves. This movement was much bigger and far more bungling. To our wondering eyes, there was Doofus, racing about after a cluster of leaves as it was tossed about the yard! His stride was unhindered, and his speed was as nimble as it ever was! We of course were relieved that he seemed to have finally overcome his injuries and regained his original spry ways. Things took a turn though when we opened the door and walked outside. This dog stopped in his tracks. Upon him seeing us he immediately dropped his head in the most forlorn of ways and began to walk slowly and pathetically. His limp had even returned. In some sort of interesting reverse miracle Doofus was again a poor patient in need of sympathy and pats.
We had just witnessed a performance that was worthy of whatever the canine equivalent is of the Academy Award. This wasn’t the end of this fellow’s impressive acting career either. Whenever he knew he had an audience our furry thespian would slip immediately into a pitiful wounded creature that needed extra food and ear rubs because of his dire situation. This went on for quite some time until the seductive pursuit of a moving vehicle proved to be more than we felt safe for him living on a major highway, so my dad gave him to a coworker. I’ll never forget the clumsy soul who was a spark of brilliance with the oxymoronic name.
For another charming recollection of the animal kind, I can relate to you the story of Ruby. We were on vacation in the Smoky Mountains when I was rather young. We went on a guided one-hour horseback ride through the glorious summer scenery of hickory and maple forests dotted with blooming rhododendron. My horse was Ruby, a rather unremarkable chestnut who followed the line of her comrades in a somewhat disinterested way. She had probably traveled her trail countless times and she did her job efficiently with no fuss. But the day that I rode Ruby she decided she needed a to liven up her daily grind and give herself a bit of amusement.
At the midpoint of the ride there was a water trough that all the horses would drink from as the caravan moseyed past. When it was Ruby’s turn to drink, she decided this day had been a snooze fest and she was ready for some fun. Whilst I was on her back I watched as she dipped her whole muzzle into the water trough and proceeded to blow bubbles. She was not drinking. She was not having some sort of breathing struggles in the water. She was bored. She found a cure for her boredom. So, there I sat in an awkward combination of embarrassment and laughter while my horse was holding up the water line by making the trough appear to be a hot tub.
I could go on and on with various antics of animals of a myriad of species. I could tell you of a dog named Penny who would plaster her cheek to your lips insisting you give her sugars instead of speaking. I could mention the deer that used to come to play with my cat that would get mad at me when she would leave them to come inside. I won’t force you to read for ages about this menagerie of experiences. I just wanted to hopefully gift you with a few moments of pleasure that didn’t involve the ulterior motives that humanity seems to be so gravitated toward these days. I simply wished to restore a little light heartedness to a world that could maybe use more in the realm of carefree frolics and wagging tails.
Prose and Possibilities 