“Heaven goes by favor. If it went by merit, you would stay out and your dog would go in.”

The sun appeared for a few minutes then went into hiding behind the clouds. The day is overcast but still light, none of the darkness of the last few days. A damp chill is in the air and a breeze is blowing. It’s an okay day.

Gracie’s panting was so heavy that she shook the bed and woke me at 1:30. She was gulping so I knew her stomach was upset. It happens every now and then. We went downstairs, and I let her out to hunt for grass to eat to settle her stomach. She came back inside about 20 minutes later, and we went back to bed. In not too much time, the bed began to shake again so downstairs we went and out she went. She came in and we went to bed but she kept moving around as she was unable to get comfortable and then came the panting. By this time it was 2:30, and I had yet to fall back to sleep. I went upstairs and brought down a sheet and pillow and went to try to fall asleep on the couch. Gracie joined me. Neither of us slept. She started panting again. This time she was out so long I went out on the deck to make sure she was okay. It was around 3:30. When she came back in, I fed her some fronds from the spider plant. She ate everyone and then went back outside. When she came in this last time, she went into her crate and stood looking at me. That is the universal sign for a treat so I gave her one which she ate then another. Gracie was just fine. It was 4 o’clock when we both went back to bed.

My dog Duke, when he was pretty old, got into a horrible dog fight with the huge dog down the street. Duke got the worst of it. He had really bad wounds on his neck where the dog had grabbed him. This never happened when Duke was in his younger days, when he was the scourge of the dogs in the neighborhood but age had slowed him down. My mother wanted him brought to the vets; my father said he’d be fine.

In those days, my dad worked on the Cape all week and came home only on weekends. We were moving there but not until after school was finished for the year. When my dad left the Monday after the dog fight, my mother brought Duke to the vet  who took care of the bite wound with a few stitches and a shot or two. By the time my dad got home at the end of the week, the wounds were well on their way to healing. My dad checked out Duke when he got home and said to my mother, ” I told you nature would take care of it.” None of us ever mentioned the trip to the vet’s.

“No day is so bad it can’t be fixed with a nap.”

Okay, today is like yesterday which is like the day before. It is cloudy and cool. Gracie woke me up at eight which to me was the middle of the night as I didn’t go to bed until after two. She was barking loud enough to wake the neighbors so I went downstairs where she was standing by the front door. I opened it, but nothing was there. I let her out back into the yard, and there was a dog outside the fence who started barking at Gracie who then tried to jump the six foot fence to get at the interloper. Gracie was as fierce as I’d ever heard her, and she managed to get her front paws on the top of the fence but, luckily, never made it over. When she came on the deck to get a better look, I grabbed her and brought her inside. The dog took off through the yard behind mine. I kept Gracie in the house, drank my morning coffee and read the papers. When I finished, I started my morning chores. I went upstairs and changed the cat litter then was going to change the bed before my shower, but I decided the bed looked inviting, and I was tired so I went back to sleep for another two hours.  I just woke up.

I like naps. Even when I was in college, I took naps so age is not a factor. My father was a napper so I am from a line of nappers. My favorites are winter naps in the cold darkness of the late afternoon while I’m snuggled under the down comforter with the animals beside me keeping me even warmer. Rainy day naps are a close second, and I love to fall asleep to the rhythmic sounds of drops falling on the  overhang below the roof right outside my window. My friend Jay calls it his nippy nap. I always liked that. His wife is not a napper, but she understands naps. My sisters, who are also not nappers, don’t understand the lure of the nap. My mother never did either, but my father did.

I have no agenda for the day other than finish those chores and do a laundry then I’m going to read for the rest of the afternoon. I think it sounds like a wonderful day!

“The gift which I am sending you is called a dog, and is in fact the most precious and valuable possession of mankind”

The day is brighter than the last few and the sun is just biding its time behind a cloud. It’s expected a bit later. It’s a long sleeve day which I found out when I investigated Gracie’s intruder bark. She was standing on the rail by the deck stairs, and the hair on her back was raised from her neck to her tail, never a good sign. I looked but saw nothing. It must have been the rabbit which just stands and stares at the dog. While Gracie was standing on the rail, I noticed the border along the side of the rail is in pieces held together by only a single wire; the bamboo has seen its last. I got her inside before she leapt that rail. This time she’d have hurt herself as the rail borders the holly bush. I put wire across the spot for the meantime as I do have a woven screen I bought yesterday. While I was attaching the wire, I noticed a spot near the driveway where she’s started digging under the fence. I put a board across it. Gracie is an escape artist, and when she’s on the run, she’s quick and won’t come to me. Neighbors come out, and she goes right to them. My yard is huge but obviously Gracie prefers the wider world.

When I was a kid, there were no leash laws. Dogs roamed. I never saw one hit by a car as the dogs were wary on the streets and car smart, and I think the cars were slower on local roads back then. Duke, our boxer, was quite the traveler. He’d follow us to school or follow the neighbors to their school. My father would yell for him, Duke would turn around to acknowledge he’d heard my father, then he’d keep going. My father got so angry he’d jump in the car to get the dog. My mother had a different  strategy. She’d hold out a piece of bologna and call Duke. He’d come and eat the bologna leaving a small piece in my mother’s hand then he’d run on his way. Duke and his son Sam were notorious for prowling the neighborhoods. Sam was my aunt’s dog, the aunt who gave us Duke, and he lived three or four blocks away. The two would meet up and travel together. They looked fierce but Sam was the gentlest of dogs. Duke was stubborn and protective. They scared people.

We moved to the cape and their days of roaming together were over. I swear the entire town let out a sigh of relief.

From the dog’s point of view, his master is an elongated and abnormally cunning dog.

Today is warm despite the breeze and sunny with blue skies. I haven’t been able to say that in a long while. Gracie and her dog pal, Cody, are playing in the backyard. Cody lives down the street, and when he is let him out, he runs right here to play. When they’re done and banging on the dog door, I’ll open my front door, and Cody will run right home. Gracie will be panting with her tongue hanging.

I have a list for today and tomorrow to get ready for Tuesday when I’ll be taking the 7:10 bus to Boston. I have to report at 9:30 for surgery at 11:30. Coffee will then be on hiatus until I get home. My pet sitter will move in on Tuesday.

When I was a kid, our dog Duke used to stay at my grandparents’ house if we went away. They were not animal people, especially not Duke people. If they let him out, he’d head back to our house, several blocks away. He just knew where to go. My grandfather would drive up and fetch Duke, and after doing that a few times, he’d end up tying Duke outside. One time Duke was uptown and happened to find my grandmother. Those were the days when dogs roamed all over the place, no leash laws anywhere. Duke followed her from store to store though she tried several times to shoo him away. I guess she didn’t know how stubborn Boxers can be. Duke followed her into Woolworth’s where he lifted his leg on the comic books. The manager demanded payment for the ruined comics. My grandmother told him the truth, “He is not my dog.”

Duke is the reason I always have Boxers. He was a great dog. He always made us feel safe, and he’d growl at anyone walking around outside the house. Once he nearly went through the screen screen door at someone on the sidewalk by my house. Another time he did jump out of the car window while we were stopped at a red light. My father pulled over, jammed on the brakes and took to the chase. Luckily someone saw what has happening and grabbed the fleeing Duke.

Gracie is a brindle just as Duke was and, like Duke, has a tendency to take flight if given the chance. Luckily, Gracie heads down to my friends’ house, and they capture her. She is far less stubborn than Duke was, and other than taking off, she lets me be the alpha dog in the house.