Wednesday, February 08, 2006

Dog Walk

It is 5:30 am and the dog wants to go out. She’s housebroken, but whining will turn into growling and growling into barking. My wife scrubs for surgery in two hours, so this one is on me.

Socks in the nightstand drawer, jeans on the chair, and any number of shoe options scattered on the floor. In the dark, everything matches. She waits patiently while I pee - is she wondering why I don’t just do that when we get outside? Leash, collar, coat, poop baggie, and we are out the door.

It’s cold, but it’s February and fortunately not windy. No moon but plenty of light from various neighbors worried about security and unconcerned with disrupting amateur stargazers. Three cars pass by as we walk, but no one else is out. Just the two of us, and I am glad there are no crystal raindrops.

We take the short loop today. Her basic needs have been met, and she’ll get plenty of exercise playing with her dog friend while the kids wait for the bus. My face is starting to freeze, so I am less patient with her investigations as we turn for home. She still stops whenever her nose tells her to, and it’s obvious which houses have dogs.

When we get home, the clock says 6:10. No sense going back to bed. The doc is in the shower, and the kids will be up sometime in the next hour. Coffee. Newspaper. SportsCenter or Morning Edition?

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