I confess, I have never had a cat in my life. The only cat I ever wanted was in Greece. He was all white, with one sea green eye and one bright blue eye, very unique, magical. But dogs… my whole family’s life was dogs, indoor ones, outdoor ones. I can remember the name of every one, from the very first dog of my own. I was 11 when I got a black-and-white terrier. I named her “Duchess” because I considered her minor royalty. On the ride home from our cousins who raised her, I remember holding this puppy out of the window...?? for a better view? To feel fast, fresh air? Glad I didn’t drop her! Her name is one of the security questions I use, as I will never forget her name.
Recently, I visited a friend (and her dog) who regaled me with this story. Lizzie is a 50-pound, eight-year-old German shorthaired pointer with long mannequin legs and a long, undocked tail. One rainy day, when Sharon opened the patio door to let Lizzie out, suddenly Lizzie spotted a large FAT cat ‘squatting’ on their deck. Immediately, Lizzie sprinted towards the INTRUDER, loudly ‘scare’-barking to frighten the cat away. But that just encouraged the cat to run and jump up on the garden fence. Like greased lightning, Lizzie raced over, barking, defending her terrain. In the confusion, the cat jumped down, but landed smack-dab-centered on Lizzie’s back and immediately sank in 18 claws. The scenario resembled a clown rider on a horse. Lizzie was howling in pain and fear, circling and trying to shake the cat off. Finally free, Lizzie ran up onto their deck, but it was so slick from rain that Lizzie was all legs, tangled up, tripping over herself and sliding all the way across the deck towards the door. All of this time, whining, pitifully whimpering from wounds. Sharon let her in, comforted her, dressed her wounds, episode over. Sharon laughed, “I swear if I had a video of ‘busy Lizzie’ it would have won first prize on America’s Funniest Home Videos!
But here is the postscript…when Sharon entered the kitchen [brand-newly-painted-all-white cupboards, walls] she found a ‘murder scene’ with fresh blood everywhere! From the tail wagging, blood had splattered on the walls, floor, cabinets, dishwasher, island, everywhere! Then Sharon rebandaged the tail from stem to stern with an elastic self-stick bandage. Then 45 minutes of scrubbing the blood from all surfaces, WHEW…what a mess, what a job. Tired, Sharon retired to her bedroom, and then her eye caught the long hallway leading to her bathroom…ohhhh. Noooo….not again! Lizzie had managed to bite off the bandage, probably reopen the wounds, and it was ‘scene two’ in the murder movie. After that, a ‘collar of shame’ to prevent ‘scene three!’ And another arduous clean-up.
One afternoon, as I prepared to bicycle, I saw my neighbor cross his front yard with the dog leash in hand; as I watched the big white husky take off, it hit the road running at top speed. She looked like a white blur running up the hill, 30 miles an hour! A wild joyride, darting in the street in the path of cars with total abandon. “Catch me if you can …ha ha ha.” She was a fugitive, making a quick getaway. The owner-dad walked up the hill calling, as Luna cut left, circled back, ran behind the nearby apartment building, into the kudzu forest, while owner-dad and owner-son were looking for her. A stranger appeared and started to help look for her. He was in tip-top physical shape, a chiseled face, wearing shorts and a T-shirt (in December), volunteering to look, as he had seen the collarless dog streak by.
After a few minutes of helping, he headed back to the park. I asked him, “Do you live in the area?” “No, I was in the park with my son, when I saw the situation and tried to help”, as he returned to the park. I inquired after him… “Are you a Marine?” thinking that a Marine would just pop up and help. “Army” was his one-word response. Thumbs up.
As I watched this entire scene in our neighborhood, fearing an accident, I imagined a dialogue in the dog’s mind, what was going through HER head?? So…….
“Freedom…F>>R>>E>>E>>D>>O>>M…I’m going full tilt…a breakaway...no one can catch me! I have been dying to do this for YEARS, this is MY moment, watch me dart in front of oncoming cars, ha-ha! I didn’t know I could run this fast! Wanted to do this forever! I’ll show them! none of that walking-on-a-leash… ha-ha…see how fast I can run! Look at ALL the people looking at me, I’m a star! I’m a LUNA-tic! Ha-HA… Gosh, this feels great! Speedy Gonzales has nothing on me! I’m a high-tailing husky hightailing the hell outta here!... oops… here they come; I’ll split, run around, I’ll SHOW THEM, I’ll never go back! I’ll have great adventures without them, my owners. That ‘walking-on-a-leash’ stifles me, I need utter freedom, I’m taking it NOW. I’ll run away, you can’t stop me, geez this feels good, the wind whizzing by my eyes and ears...…P.S.… I went home when I FELT like it!”
Carol Veliotis is a local columnist for The Covington News. She can be reached at carol.veliotis@gmail.com.
