Jaz and Water #2 Many, many years ago, a young Scottie came briefly into my life after I learned a local kennel was about to put him down. The diagnosed tumor behind his eye never did grow, and besides not seeing out of that eye, the Scottie was healthy in every other way. I named him Jaz and his antics around water were a source of great delight. Jaz was immediately attracted to any splash or spray of water, and would quickly bound up to a sprinkler to bite the spray no matter how soaked he became. Quite often, Jaz would end up with the whole sprinkler head in his mouth, even if it was agitating from side to side. And, in Jazs mind, the domination of one sprinkler didnt mean that any of the others were safe, even if the next one was just a bound or two away. In those days, there was a brand new neighborhood being built less than two miles away from our house. We used to walk Meggie, an earlier Scottie and Jaz, on leashes until we came upon the streets and sidewalks empty of any structures. With the Scotties off leash, wed slow our walk according to the dictates of our four legged companions. Meggie was funny because she followed a strict course right along the edge of the sidewalk as if nothing existed beyond that divide. Jaz, on the other hand, saw something that drew him like steel to a magnet, and off he sped in a straight line without any deviation. That year wed experienced an unseasonably duration of rain day after day, which was why the houses hadnt been started after the layout of streets. In the field beyond the sidewalks stood a parked road grader that had been used to level and smooth out the area in preparation for construction. The machine almost seemed too big for the project, but in its wake was the wide and long trench the big tires had made in the soft dirt. The heavy rains from earlier in the morning, and no doubt all from the days before, had guaranteed that the long lanes the heavy grader had left were full of water. And to Jaz, that simply meant a very convenient canal of fun. Jaz jumped in and started swimming around like he couldnt believe his luck. His obvious joy overcame my first thoughts when I saw how liberal the mixture of mud to water was, and considered what a mess he would be when we left. Meggie was always rather fastidious, but she was drawn in by the sight of Jaz having so much fun. Looking back, I watched as Meggie took three quick steps in readiness to join Jaz and could immediately tell the exact moment when my dainty Scottie suddenly realized that she was walking into yucky gooey mud. Meggie stopped with one foot still in the air, and then with as much grace as she could muster, slowly turned and walked to solid clean ground to shake as much of the loathsome glop away. Finding a discarded drinking cup, I skimmed water from another rut that wasnt quite so muddy to rinse both Scotties as best as I could before continuing on with the walk. From the hunch in her shoulders and how stiff-legged Meggie made her way down the sidewalk toward our home, I could she was in a very bad mood. But fortunately, Meggie was always happy to get cleaned off and loved to be dried with the hair dryer while combed out. And, obviously, Jaz was thrilled to have played in his personal swimming area and then to have a special bath...what could be finer? Many months later, I was happy to find a great home for Jaz that included a little boy to pay attention to my rescued Scottie. I still think fondly of Jaz, and am convinced that he could have surprised some of the bigger and more traditional water dogs with his aquatic skills.
Posted on: Tue, 02 Sep 2014 04:53:24 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015