ndrosen | Entries tagged with dogs

Coming home Tuesday evening, I met a couple walking a dog. The man of the pair told me that the dog’s name was Thorfinn, and I commented that that was a Scandinavian name, and that there had been a notable Jarl of Orkney named Thorfinn. The man, who introduced himself as Tom, was impressed, and said that he had seen me walking around, and would be happy to give me anything I needed. I asked for more time to examine patent applications.

This led to some more conversation, in which he mentioned that he had considered applying for a job at the Patent Office, but had heard that it was demanding. I confirmed that it was. Anyway, I have acquired a couple of new acquaintances.

I mentioned seeing a pair of (male) Mormon missionaries; a few days ago, I met a couple of young ladies, Sister This and Sister That by their name tags. I was headed to the supermarket when I encountered them, and asked whether I was interested in attending their church, and when I said no, whether I knew anyone else who was seeking spiritual nutriment. Again, no. They were polite, and so was I.

Wednesday evening, as I left work, I saw a woman with a pair of basset hounds on leashes, and tried to make friends. The woman said that the dogs were actually part beagle, if I understood her over the barking, although the hounds seemed big and thickset enough to be all basset. She also said that they were anxious, so I didn’t try to get too close; they were both wagging their tails and loudly barking in deep basso voices.

Earlier today, I met a man walking a basset hound named Sydney, who sniffed at me and let herself be petted. I spoke of having had a beagle, and the man said Sydney had had a litter of puppies sired by a beagle. We parted amicably.

I was taking my evening walk Wednesday, and jogging at the time, when I saw some critter make a dash from the bushes. I stopped, and saw a black (or at least pretty dark) cat some distance off, glaring at me with yellow eyes. I didn’t want to trouble him further, so I turned around to get my fresh air and exercise somewhere else.

On Thursday morning, I was taking a brief walk when I met a woman walking three dogs, a basset hound, a Cavalier King Charles spaniel, and a mutt. I established relations with the basset, who let me pat his head.

Monday was sunny and cool in the morning, followed by upper sixties temperatures, which followed a three day weekend of rain and cold.

On a walk today, I met a woman with a border collie. After being initially skittish, the border collie sat down right next to me, leaned into my legs, and let me pet him, while I talked about dogs with the lady. She said that he would be happy to chill like that all day, but after a minute or two, she told him to get going, and pulled on his leash.

Current Music: O’Carolan collection earlier

On Friday, I met someone walking a friendly dog who nuzzled me and let me pet her. Her human said that she wasn’t any particular breed, just a mutt.

Shortly after leaving Whole Foods earlier today, I spotted a white basset hound with a woman. The lady said that the dog was blind, so I could just pet her instead of getting close and talking to her. I did pet her, and told her that she was lucky to have a seeing eye human. I also said that I had a beagle growing up, and that I used to take him to where someone in the neighborhood had a fenced-in yard with a pair of bassets. A man, likely the woman’s husband, emerged from a shop; the blind basset sniffed him, attempted to jump up in enthusiasm (she wasn’t built for jumping), and then the couple and their hound went on their way.

I was out in the cold this evening, getting some exercise. It may not have been bitterly cold by the standards of State College, Pennsylvania, or Amherst, Massachusetts, but it was unusually cold compared to the typical weather in Arlington, Virginia. Coming home, I met a man walking a husky. I peeled off my left glove, and let the husky sniff my hand, which he did; he wasn’t eager to let me get into heavy petting, but my hand made contact with the fur on his head. He seemed built for weather like this, and the man confirmed that he liked it.

When I was headed to Whole Food earlier today, I met a man walking his dog, possibly a boxer, or part boxer. The dog was quite friendly, although not really willing to hold still to be petted. Nonetheless, we became acquainted.

This is being posted partly for a certain friend of mine who has expressed concern about whether I am still meeting dogs.

Going to the supermarket Sunday, I met a woman walking a large dog, who licked my hand and let me pet her a bit. I asked whether the dog was a Saint Bernard, and the woman confirmed that she was, and also that she was just a puppy of eleven months, and would grow larger.

It’s a good thing that my new canine acquaintance has such an amiable disposition.

Today I ran into the neighbor who lives directly across the corridor from me, and he was walking a dog, whose name, he told me, is Burberry. I commented that I hadn’t seen the dog before, but I had heard him yap. My neighbor is trying to train Burberry not to be so yappy, and I hope in due course to have a canine friend; he’s part corgi, by the way.

The Washington Post had a front-page article Thursday about the beagles who are employed to sniff incoming travelers and their luggage for food which should not be imported, in particular for pork products which might be infected with African swine fever. These dogs are not focused on sniffing out narcotics — that’s another specialty — but food, and beagles are trained for the job, because they are, as the article describes them “very food-oriented.” They sniff for food, and if they find contraband, they are rewarded with tidbits to eat (not the illegal imports they find).

I wonder whether my old friend Rex would have been good at this if he had been adopted by the Customs Service instead of an ordinary family. Not all beagles who begin training qualify, and he might have been too lazy or distractable. On the other hand, he certainly did plenty of sniffing, and given professional training, he might have done well. I am confident, at least, that no one would have been able to smuggle any rabbits past him.

Speaking of dogs, I saw a man at an outdoor table last weekend with two dogs, one of them a hound puppy which he was holding, and one a larger black dog sitting on the ground. The adorable eight week old puppy (a blue heeler, the man said) nuzzled my hand, and let me pet him. I was willing to make friends with the black dog, too, but her human warned me that she could be skittish.

When I came home Thursday evening, and entered the lobby of the apartment building, I met two acquaintances of mine, a bearded man and his treeing walker coonhound (I hope I have that right). The dog, whom I have described as a giant economy size beagle, nuzzled my hand and tried to jump up on me, but her master restrained her. She certainly had a friendly personality, and I was glad to see her.

This happened when I got home about forty minutes ago. In the lobby of the apartment building, I met a neighbor whom I had seen at least once before, and his beagle; they were on their way out. The last time, the beagle refused to pay any attention to me, although he was interested in other humans. This time, he nuzzled my hand and let me pet him. I commented on this, and the human said that he knew me now.

By the way, the human is a tall, bearded black man, and the beagle is a large, solidly built tricolor beagle.

As I was walking the last half block home this evening, I met a couple walking their dog, who was very friendly. She jumped up on me and licked my hand, although she wouldn’t hold still to be petted much. I asked whether she was part schnauzer, and was told that she was a rescue who might be part anything.

One of these days, I’ll find the time for a lengthy, serious post.

Earlier today, I met a pair of women enjoying their coffees outdoors, with a pair of dogs on leashes. One of the dogs was a sheltie, and the other was a tricolor beagle. The beagle wasn't that interested in me; he seemed to think that if his humans had some kind of food or drink, there must be some food around for him, so he put his paws on the knee of one of his humans. The sheltie showed more interest in me, so I got to pat and scritch her, which she really seemed to appreciate. Then the beagle paid at least some attention to this guy who was petting his packmate. I mentioned my beagle companion of many years ago, chatted with the women, and in due course went off to do my grocery shopping.