{"id":310,"date":"2008-01-28T16:29:49","date_gmt":"2008-01-28T20:29:49","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.summerofjim.com\/2008\/01\/28\/nikki-takes-a-walk\/"},"modified":"2008-01-28T16:29:49","modified_gmt":"2008-01-28T20:29:49","slug":"nikki-takes-a-walk","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/summerofjim.com\/?p=310","title":{"rendered":"Nikki Takes a Walk"},"content":{"rendered":"

I could understand. Rather, I was brought up<\/em> to understand. It’s what happens when dogs were made a part of your life. You could even ask my Great Aunt Bella (if she were still here), she would tell you, \u201cIf there is reincarnation, I want to come back as a dog in the Winston household.\u201d <\/p>\n

When folks ask about my family I will answer that I had 4 siblings: two with 2 legs, and two with 4 legs. It’s all confusing, this might explain my Mother’s custom of cycling thru names when she addressed one of us… as the first choice I was usually\u00a0called Paul (my Brother)… oddly enough my Nephew Andy was called Jimmy.\u00a0 Knowing I wasn’t Paul, Mom would stammer and she would proceed to the other family names: Sidney (my Father), Lynn (my\u00a0Sister)\u00a0and then Baa Baa & Rocky (our Bedlington Terriers).\u00a0 Maybe she would eventually get to my name. This is what happens when you are the youngest.<\/p>\n

Something else that set our household apart… Paul\u00a0had it pegged:\u00a0we had the only home with a al carte <\/em>dinning. This was thanks to my Grandmother, Mommie Sophie, our Chef de Cuisine &\u00a0Dispenser of Nutrition (God forbid that you walk away from the table having not eaten). But it didn’t end with the adults and children of the home… it extended to our Bedlingtons. On a night when veal chops were part<\/em> of the offerings\u00a0for “us”, there would be a stock pot cooking on the stove with bones, meat ends, fatty parts, cut vegetables and potatoes for a tasty stew that she would be preparing for Baa Baa and Rocky (the hundts<\/em>, as she called them, who, it should be noted, never had a completely housebroken day in their lives).<\/p>\n

Say what you will about the distinctions between Paul, Lynn and me… but know this: we love dogs… we were brought up<\/em> that way. Paul, his love of Old English Sheepdogs, Lynn and her love of Soft-Coated Wheatens & then Petit Basset Griffon Vendeens… and for me, it is, and will always be, Keeshonden.<\/p>\n

I guess word gets around… although to this day I am not sure how my love of Keeshonden made its way to Vermont and to my Hamden Hall classmate Carole.\u00a0 But it did.\u00a0 And when her Sister Donna expressed an interest in the Keeshond breed, my name was provided as a source for possible breeder information.\u00a0 Information I was happy to supply.<\/p>\n

Owning a Keeshond?\u00a0 In my book it defines <\/em>you.\u00a0 You have to be good.\u00a0 You pass the test.\u00a0 You’ve demonstrated good judgment.\u00a0 You got to look for the defining <\/em>things in life… Pepe’s Pizza is something else that defines you (that’s a story for a different day).<\/p>\n

When Donna picked out a Keeshond pup and named it\u00a0“Heineken” I knew that we would be fast friends… that there would be a bond.\u00a0 Over the years we would catch up on the stories; but at least part of the time would be dedicated to our Keeshond experiences… Donna talking about Heineken and me sharing something about Barney or Cloris.<\/p>\n

There would be the day when Donna would have to put Heineken down.\u00a0 I understood <\/em>that, too.\u00a0 I have experienced taking that step… more than once.\u00a0 And we shared the sense of loss that perhaps can only be fully understood if you have been brought up loving dogs… dogs who can pee on the drapes and still get treated to homemade veal stew.<\/p>\n

There are two different ways to proceed after losing a dog.\u00a0 One way is to get another dog… same breed.\u00a0 Or, get another dog… a different breed.\u00a0 For some, getting another dog of the same breed detracts from the memory of what made that first dog so special in your life.\u00a0 That is the way it was for Donna… when she put Heineken to rest there was no way that she could possibly get another Keeshond.\u00a0 I could well understand.<\/p>\n

A couple of months later she picked up a German Short Haired Pointer and named her Sammie\u00a0and a few years later Nikki the Akita was added to household.\u00a0 I didn’t want to tell her that Akitas were not a favorite breed of mine.\u00a0 My Mother had one… Mitzie, short for Mitsubishi, and of all my Mother’s dogs it was the one I took to the least.\u00a0 But Donna was in her glory.<\/p>\n

Another thing that I understood.\u00a0 Two<\/em> dogs are a good number to have.\u00a0 <\/p>\n

Maybe it’s because dogs grow up so quickly… moving from puppyhood, to young dog within a\u00a0year or two, to full adulthood a short time thereafter… that when we see two dogs raised\u00a0pretty much together, they move from young siblings to a “couple” status in a short time.\u00a0 Their interactions take on the complexities of\u00a0“partners in life”… loving, affectionate and protective.\u00a0 So it was with Sammie and Nikki.<\/p>\n

Donna had written this past December that Sammie was close to her end and having lived the end play with five of my Kees I could understand the type of pain and sadness that Donna felt.\u00a0 But perhaps I gave too little thought to the sense of sadness that could grip a good buddy<\/em>… that could affect Nikki.<\/p>\n

And so it was that Donna recently wrote to me…<\/p>\n

“I have been putting in extra hours at work… tax time.\u00a0 I get home just drained.\u00a0 Still, I make it a point to take Nikki out for her walk around the block.\u00a0 It’s just a quarter mile.\u00a0 About 8 to 10 minutes depending on the quality of the neighborhood smells.\u00a0 It’s hard to say who enjoys, or needs<\/em>, the walk more, Nikki or me.”<\/p>\n

I know this.\u00a0 If my dogs caught a new smell, the walk time increased by at least 20%.<\/p>\n

“Nikki is probably bored out of her mind, now that\u00a0Sammie is gone.\u00a0 Alone home all day.\u00a0 No Sammie.\u00a0 When I come home she greets me like returning royalty.\u00a0 Happy, happy.\u00a0 She watches my every move — waiting for me to take out her leash, knowing that the leash <\/em>meant ‘walk time’.\u00a0 Last night I was sapped… all I could think of doing was changing into sweats and grabbing a bite to eat.\u00a0 Nikki changed from ‘walk mode’ to ‘snatching table scraps mode’.\u00a0 I took off her invisible fence collar and then gave her neck a real good scratch.”<\/p>\n

Yes… I loved giving my dogs a good scratch… neck, shoulders & sides, and concluded with a reviving belly “scritch”… I swear that Cloris would grin.<\/em><\/p>\n

“I couldn’t deny her a sliver of some sliced turkey… and then she headed for the doggy port for a spot\u00a0of fresh air… I suppose<\/em>, or not.\u00a0 <\/em>I got comfy on the couch and didn’t pay close attention.\u00a0\u00a0After a bit, I called her to me… but she didn’t come.\u00a0 I checked the clock… it was 9:30PM.\u00a0 Maybe she headed for the bedroom?\u00a0 I called\u00a0to her again, ‘Nikki!\u00a0Time to hit the head<\/em>!’\u00a0 I looked for her in all the favorite spots.\u00a0 No Nikki.\u00a0 I walked outside, flipped on the lights in the back… called her.\u00a0 No Nikki.\u00a0 Then I walked around to the front, and there\u00a0out of\u00a0the dark she\u00a0came up the driveway proud as can be.\u00a0 She probably got bored and took herself\u00a0for a walk since I didn’t want to.”<\/p>\n

I\u00a0got to thinking… Nikki was probably relieved just to get that damned collar off.\u00a0\u00a0Those collars have always struck me as Medieval… <\/em>something out of the Tower of London or the Inquisition.\u00a0 Our friends the Walsh’s had a Chocolate Labrador named Tootsie… she had one of those invincible fence collars,<\/em> too… but if she saw a rabbit on the other side of the\u00a0fence line<\/em>, that dog would\u00a0run right thru the voltage!\u00a0 No pain, no gain!<\/em>\u00a0<\/p>\n

“Nikki, looked at me with a sheepish wag of her curled back tail… lowered her head a bit and ‘smiled.’\u00a0 Or so it appeared.\u00a0 She seemed to be saying, ‘I miss my pal Sammie… and I just needed some time alone.'”<\/p>\n

That sounded reasonable.<\/p>\n

“I think she is still depressed (but not depressed enough to stop her old trick of dragging the bathroom rug into the hall).\u00a0 I gave Nikki a reassuring scratch to her shoulders and told her, ‘I miss her, too.'”<\/p>\n

I understood it all.\u00a0 It is sad to see couples separated by a death.\u00a0 The surviving partner seems to be existing<\/em>, more than living… <\/em>just playing out their time.\u00a0 Maybe Nikki went out looking for Sammie?\u00a0 Maybe she picked up a new smell?\u00a0 Maybe she just had to pee?\u00a0 Or she was just having some fun giving Donna some worry.\u00a0 That’s it… hit the bathroom rug, then scatter the Tupperware in the kitchen.\u00a0 Lonely one moment, happy the next.\u00a0 How different is that from us?<\/p>\n

Maybe we’ll all get lucky and return as dogs into loving homes.\u00a0 Ask Bella, the puppy Shetland Sheepdog that Zack and Beth have added to their <\/em>household.\u00a0 Shetland Sheepdog<\/em>?\u00a0 I would like to think a part of that pup is my Great Aunt<\/em> Bella<\/em> making her\u00a0statement from decades ago come true.\u00a0 After all… who wouldn’t want to be a dog in a Winston household?\u00a0 We understand.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

I could understand. Rather, I was brought up to understand. It’s what happens when dogs were made a part of your life. You could even ask my Great Aunt Bella (if she were still here), she would tell you, \u201cIf … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-310","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-family"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/summerofjim.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/310","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/summerofjim.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/summerofjim.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/summerofjim.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/summerofjim.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=310"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"http:\/\/summerofjim.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/310\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/summerofjim.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=310"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/summerofjim.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=310"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/summerofjim.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=310"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}