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December 23, 2010

It's a Canine Christmas


Barkley the black lab watched me quietly as I sipped tea and picked up a book, Celtic Women Christmas playing softly, as I read out loud a poem by Boris Levinson. He picks his head up as if he can almost understand the words.

"I, a child Try to reach the stars Sirius is so near I run to the nearest hill My reach is always too short Wait til I am a grown man Now, I am old and bent with years No more running to the hill and mountain top Yet a warm, steady, life giving glow Reaches me from Sirius the unattainable I collect White iridescent and evanescent star beams For my trip home to Sirius the dog star."
People would probably think me daft, sitting and talking to my dog, making some cookies for the guys at work while the neighborhood sleeps, or just sitting some evening quietly watching the fire, I can talk softly about the things that will matter to me the rest of my life. And he only reacts to the heft of my words or the urgency of tone as I talk -about missing people I love, and the nature of death and war and the way I've had to look deep into my own capacities to become the person I am. And if perhaps, as words flow, so does a single tear, he will stop whatever he's doing and quietly lick the tear off my cheek, until the thoughts that brought it have gone up the chimney with woodsmoke.

Yes, as many people might say, he's just a dog. He'll never win any awards as a rocket scientist. He still sits patiently by the spot next to the counter where once a roast chicken fell on the floor, as if there's a secret poultry shrine there and if he waits long enough, another will reappear on its alter. He'll chase the same ball for an hour, convinced he's on some major breakthrough in retrieval tactics. And he's consumed an entire pizza, a sock, a plastic sandwich bag, a jalapeno pepper and a dead worm, all with the same gusto.

But our pets are family to many of us, and are much more than animals. They teach us about unbridled living in the moment and following your heart. They teach us to appreciate the simple things. . . fresh coffee cake warm from the oven, the glint of sun off a pond that matches the brilliance of the Christmas lights, one last walk around the neighborhood as the stars finally fade. As Barkley goes into full point on a plastic reindeer in someones yard, I think how he has also pointed me to the things that matter in life. Loyalty, devotion and love without strings attached.

Just an animal? So much more I think, as he pulls me through the the woods as the Christmas season is upon us. Ignoring the cold, we look into the heavens for a last glimpse of the Dog Star; we run joyfully up the nearest hill, as Sirius is so near.


Posted by Brigid at December 23, 2010 09:32 PM
Comments

One of the things I regularly give thanks for is our canine friends. They are both our companions and protectors, and we are sometimes the same to them.

Posted by: Tregonsee at December 24, 2010 05:37 AM

Dogs are our hearts laid bare.

Posted by: Secesh at December 24, 2010 09:27 PM

Merry Christmas Barkley. You're a good boy.

Posted by: Six at December 25, 2010 01:55 PM