Perpetual Ruminations

Wednesday

What a couple of knuckleheads! I'm speaking of our two dogs, but I suppose the description fits quite a few, and in different ways. In fact, I bet any one of you could name off at least two knuckleheads without taking any time to think about it. I also believe if I asked what you think knucklehead means, it would be a very diverse meaning between answers.

The knuckleheads I refer to our dogs, but the term was picked up from our pastor, describing individuals who just don't stop to think before action. By his definition, I myself have been a knucklehead more than once and would feel safe in assuming that the term could apply to most anyone, at one time or another. It fits our dogs quite well, since they really don't have the capability to reason things out at all.

Oh, they are smart enough, and sometimes too smart for their own good. But even with high intelligence, they just do not have the mental ability to reason out much at all. Our female Golden Retriever who passed away last December was one fo the few exceptions I have ever witnessed. She could be a knucklehead, but then again, she could surprise me with some of the things she came up with.

She was always a fast learning. I would literally show her what I wanted her to do while voicing the command and she would then know a new trick. She may not do it quite right, but again, I would assist her, and after one or two tries, she had it down. Most of the time, just once.

She also had an imagination far beyond what I would have believed, had I not seen and interacted with her. As a one-year-old puppy, she could entertain herself for hours with a toy. One memory that always stands out is when we first moved into a house over in Hayti. She was outside with me, and we had been playing some catch with her tennis ball. But, I had work I needed to do on the roof, and sooner than she wanted, I had to stop and climb up on the roof.

I let her stay outside, even though we had no fence and she was not tied in any way. She was good about staying in her yard, most of the time, and I was in a good position to keep and eye on her, no matter what direction she went. I did some work, and looked up to see what she was up too, and seen her running across the back yard. Just about the time I thought she was after something and was going to yell for her to stop, she pounced.

We had a small hole in the back, where a young tree had been removed and the fill dirt had settled. She pounced right into the hole. As I watched, she came up with her ball, tossed it up over her head, and then spun around and caught it. Next, she shook it real good, then dropped it back into the hole.

She then turned and walked up to the house. I quietly moved so I could continue to watch her. She slowly walked to the front of the house, then dropped down into a crouch. Looking right and left, she began to prowl alongside the house, still in a crouch. Every time she came to any sort of cover, she would use it. Stopping behind a bush or the gas meter, or whatever cover there was, she would drop even lower and peek around the cover. Once she was satisfied that she was unnoticed by whatever she thought was around the house, she would creep to the next piece of cover.

Eventually, she was all the way around the house and hiding behind her last bit of cover. She looked around one side of the clump of trees, then around the other. Digging her back feet into the soil just a bit for traction, she made her move. As fast as she could bolt from behind the cover, she attacked with all her might. It took about three or four leaps and she was upon her prey -- the tennis ball in the hole. Once she had captured it, she again tossed it up, caught it, and then carefully put it back.

By now, I could not hold back and broke out into laughter. She took a minute to locate me up on the roof, then went straight around the side of the house to the ladder. By the time I had moved to that side, she was halfway up the ladder, tail wagging, coming to see me. I had to hustle down the ladder and jump free the last five feet to get around her. I landed well but still dropped down to my knees when I landed.

Hurrying to get back up and get her before she slipped and fell, I turned to the ladder and seen she was not on it. Looking up, I see her bright eyes peeking over the side of the roof at me. Even as I see her up on the roof, she begins to "talk." I don't know just how to explain how Klarissa talked, but it was a combination of sounds. It was as if she was imitating what she heard when two people would talk.

I climbed up and as I reached the top of the one-story roof, she moved back and made room for me to come up with her. I did just that, and then took a seat beside her on the roof. Side by side we sat, looking out at the town, and the sunset beyond. As dusk set in, I asked her how, "How in the hell am I going to get us both down from here. She was up and moving before I could react.

Just as quick as she had climbed up, she went down, then turned and let out a bar as if to say, "Like this."

I followed and was soon on the ground. I had brought down my tools and put them and the ladder away while she walked beside me. Once everything was put away, I went to the back door and opened it for her to enter, planning on following right behind. But, she stopped, turned around and bolted out across the yard. I called, but she didn't even look back until she had come to the hole and picked up her ball. Then, she turned and pranced back to me, in through the still open door, and up onto the couch, tucking her toy in beside her.

She is greatly missed, but we still have our entertainment with Hyko, our male Golden Retriever. We also have a Dinger, who is still developing her own personality. Actually, she is a Labradinger, cross between a Lab and Springer. She was up to be euthanased as an unwanted guest at the pound, and had lived there since she was a puppy, about two years. They had posts on Facebook, and for whatever reason she had caught our attention.

At the time, we did not know that the pound was set to have her put down the following day. We just knew it was very lonely for all of us after Klarissa passed away, and Rhonda convinced me to go look at this dog. We thought, because of her small size, she was a puppy, but found out when we arrived, she was about two years old. They brought her out, and she was quite unruly and wild.

But, when I took her, she responded very well, and just wanted to stay with me. Because they were not set up to take a bank card, I had to run to the bank to get the money to pay for her, and she put up quite a fight when I tried to leave. Rhonda stayed and filled out the paperwork, and once I returned and paid the fees to have her transferred over to us, learned that this would have been her last day.

That was just over a year ago, and she has continued to change and mature into a very wonderful companion. She also is very smart, learns fast, and can be as much of a knucklehead as Hyko. Many times, she will do something exactly the same way Klarissa would have done it, and I find myself wondering if somehow my old friend has merged with my new four legged friend.