Sitting in the Park with my Dog
Today I took my dog Harvest to the park. It was a very warm day and it was very sunny. This was around 1PM. But after we walked around for a bit, Harvest wanted to lay down in the middle of the park. She looked comfortable so I decided to sit down next to her. At first I patted her and talked to her for a while. But after a few moments I found something interesting. There were birds chirping and singing around the outskirts of the park, in multiple directions. I listened to the birds, and then realized that Harvest had picked out the perfect spot to listen to this surround sound natural music. It was as if Harvest chose the prime seats in the movie theater to listen to the 7.1 sound effects. So I relaxed and listened to the birds and really enjoyed myself. One thing that I observed is that the birds seem to have a sort of etiquette to their singing. They don’t all just sing at once all the time. They seem to engage in harmonies then pause and let someone else sing. Then they chime in with another line. It was beautiful and I was glad Harvest was able to make me enjoy the music for a while.
I noticed Harvest was not only listening to the birds, but she was smelling the air a lot. So she was having an entertaining audio and scent engaging experience. It is funny watching her nose change directions and wiggle. It must work like some kind of deep space radio antenna, sucking up all the information.
Sitting in the park with my dog made me think about how ancient human beings must have felt about their canine companions. They must have appreciated the dog’s powerful senses for survival as hunter-gatherers. Having a dog must have been the difference between finding food to eat or else having to struggle for food. It is interesting now that dogs are mostly used for friendship and love.
It’s great having a dog who is always around that I can pet and give smooches. Sometimes if I’m bored I’ll just smooch the dog on the face, then get back to writing. I usually do that when I’m raiding the refrigerator for watermelon or pineapple slices.
That reminds me about what happened the other day. You see, I always say hi to Harvest when I see her in the morning. I see her as I’m walking down the stairs and I’ll say, “Hi Harvest!” and wave at her. But she can’t wave back so she just stares at me like I’m weird. But the day before yesterday something amazing happened. I was walking in from the front door, and Harvest was sitting on the landing of the stairs with her paws hanging off the edge. And I said, “Hi Harvest!” and then she looked at me. And then she flipped her right paw up, really quickly at me. It totally looked like she was waving at me. So I kept standing there, stunned. And I said, “Hi Harvest!” and this time I flipped my right hand up in a similar way that she did. To my surprise, Harvest flipped her dog paw up at me again! I was blown away.
Our dog is so smart. When my parents and I talk together in a calm way as a family Harvest senses the energy. She will often grab her rawhide chew and throw it in the air and then catch it. And she’ll run around and sometimes go upside-down. When she goes upside-down her lips pull back from her face, and her ears stick out. At this time, I call her, “Bat Dog.” I think Harvest has a great sense of humor.
-Tyler