Cold-dog

One marker of the transition from spring to summer is the renewal of The Dog's interest in mouthing ice. In the winter, his furriness is completely disinterested in helping by licking the driveway clean. On a hot summer day, this is a problem he would be amiable to solving.

I recently decided to help The Dog battle the heat by putting a mixture of ice and water from a cooler into his bowl. He lopped to the bowl to sniff the new content, and then started to methodically lap it up. Not content with a cold drink, he picked up a large chunk of ice, which he then alternately carried around, and then settled to lick, leaving wet spots to mark his path.

I normally think about The Dog as a moron. He will never do anything of particular remunerative value. He is not trained, nor is likely to be trained to accomplish a useful tasks. He knows the cliche tricks, works the cliche hours, and spends great amounts of time semiconscious on the floor, awaiting the next big thing. Every now and then he pulls some little stunt which shows he is capable of solutions to problems that surprisingly intuitive, and sometimes even cute.

Go.

Dog.

Go.