Dog Days of Summer

“I’ve seen a look in dogs’ eyes, a quickly vanishing look of amazed contempt, and I am convinced that basically dogs think humans are nuts.” – John Steinbeck

Photo credit John Lord Vicente, UnSplash

Morning was my favorite time of day and I spent it on the deck listening to the sounds of the world waking up. The forest blocked the first inklings of light from view, but I enjoyed watching the sky brighten while sipping coffee on the deck. I learned not to leave a full cup of coffee unattended or I would return to an empty one sitting in a pool of coffee drippings. Gypsy liked coffee.

The swallows nesting in my bird houses were gone, signaling summer’s end. They were voracious mosquito eaters and welcome any time. I watched the robins gorging on the service berries at the edge of my yard. The berries had fermented by late summer and the red breasted birds would stagger around the grass after filling up on them. I had never seen drunk robins before.  Not being much of a bird watcher I didn’t recognize many of them other than swallows, robins and crows. It might be fun to hang a couple of feeders and see what flew in. I decided to pick up some bird seed and a few things at the grocery store.

Shopping in Hungry Horse was limited so I alternated trips between Columbia Falls, Whitefish or Kalispell. Whitefish was 12 miles away, Kalispell about 18 miles or 20 minutes, and Columbia Falls was a ten-minute drive, unless I had to follow a motor home or someone pulling a fifth wheel along the river. Tourists naturally moved slowly so they could admire the scenery. They were locally known as “road buffalo”.

The few strip malls dotted along Hwy. 2 included the DQ Grill & Chill, a burger joint with a drive through. This became one of my favorite stops. The hamburgers were thick and juicy, not precooked and kept hot under lights. Gypsy and the pups enjoyed the kid-sized burgers and ten cent “doggy” ice cream cones. Gypsy had special radar for any drive-thru window, including the one at the bank. She could be in a dead sleep, but wake up in time to stare longingly at the person at the window. We never left without a dog treat.

It was Thursday and since I would be leaving the dogs at home for beading group that night, I had the three girls “kennel up” in the car and drove to Columbia Falls to the grocery store. Gypsy always rode shotgun. After groceries we headed to the Grill & Chill. Once I had the bag of burgers in hand, I took the pups to the little park by the river, just outside of town. It was usually deserted and had a couple picnic tables. Before getting out of the car, I put the gum I was chewing in my always clean ashtray. No one was allowed to smoke in my car. I grabbed the leashes, food, and herded the dogs over to a table. I had given up on throwing a ball. Gypsy had a grudge against catching one and made sure she passed her feelings on to the other dogs, as if to say “Don’t go get it. She will just throw it away again.”

The air was fresh and clean and the sound of the water tumbling over rocks renewed me. Summer was on the wane, the air crisp with a chill. We ate. The dogs poked around while I admired the variety of colors in the rocks. I found a heart-shaped stone and dropped it in my pocket. 

Once home, I gathered up beading stuff for the group later that evening. The three dogs were sitting in a circle in the living room, which was odd. Gypsy was making a big show of chewing something, while Raven and Veronica watched, intensely focused. I tried to see what was in her mouth, but it was too small. Then Gypsy spit it out and used her nose to push the chew towards Raven. It was a piece of gum that Gypsy must have swiped from the car ashtray. Raven chewed vigorously for a bit, then spit out the gum. Like Gypsy, she rolled it to Veronica for her turn. This continued for a few minutes, each taking a turn, until they grew bored and walked away. I imagined their conversation over the gum. (I am a big fan of The Far Side, Gary Larsen’s animal cartoons.)

“I didn’t get anything out of it. What do you think Veronica?”

“I can’t figure out why she does it. It tastes yukky. Are you sure she doesn’t swallow it?”

“It was worth a try, but I don’t see the attraction. People are strange.”

Fortunately, that was before gum contained Xylitol, which is lethal to dogs.

The neighborhood was changing. The old couple behind my house had passed away and the house was empty. The family across the alley had packed up and moved. I would miss Casey. A few days after they left, Squirrel showed up and stayed. I took him to the vet for shots and a checkup. After a blood test, the doc gave me the news that it was positive for feline leukemia. There was no cure. He guessed that Squirrel was about three years old. The feisty little cat hung around for a few weeks. One day he left and never returned.