John and Tetsu and I take a walk every morning around 6:00 AM at the cemetery across the street. I should really apply for a job there because I walk there at least twice a day, sometimes three times! I like the cemetery because, it is close, there are no cars, very few people, and though we walk down rows of graves, it is in a natural setting. If someone has visited a grave in the past few minutes, often there will be a lovely aroma of incense too.
On Saturdays, our morning walks may start a little later but we are still there before anyone else, and Tetsu and John and I enjoy playing Hide and Seek! The game goes like this... We walk into the main part of the cemetery and let go of the John's leash. Tetsu and I walk on as John sniffs at plants and marks what he wants to mark that day. While he is occupied, Tetsu will make a zig down one row while I make a zag down a different row and we are out of John's view. He will then look up and cock his ear listening for footsteps and then he'll come trotting along looking down rows until he chooses one or another. By that time Tetsu and I will make more zig-zags, listening for the jangling of John's tags, and like in a maze, we all wander down rows and turn corners etc. John can usually find Tetsu just because Tetsu's hearing isn't that great, and when he finds one of us he gets rewarded with a treat (John, that is) and then he'll head off on his own looking for me (usually). If he absolutely has no idea where to go, John will just sit down in the middle of a row and wait... He is rather clever that way, so we don't worry about him getting lost. There is only one way in and out of the cemetery so we keep an eye on the far away entrance if he's out of ear and eye shot for very long. John is very cute when he comes running to whoever it is that he has found!
This is John last week... He is getting shaggy and as he won't let us brush him, grass and burrs get stuck in his coat. And it is also getting hot and humid around here so I asked the vet to have him trimmed.
"Please shave it all off! He is hot and besides, there is fur everywhere because he is shedding!"
"Everything? Even the charm point light whisps around his ears? Even his chest of blond?"
"Yes, everything!"
"Shall I leave a plumed tail? Fluffy ears?"
"No. All of it can come off!"
John came home that afternoon looking like this!
John just looks smaller, cuter, more lovable. I find myself reaching down to pat his head or his back much more than when he was fat and furry. And John lets me! Like Samson, when his tresses are cut, he loses some of his power (or reacts to the skinship I offer) and seems more docile.
Of course, when dinner is served he is back to growling snapping and practically sitting on his kibble to keep it all to himself. John is such a character! 
My friend and I walk in our town's cemeteries all the time. It's
ReplyDeletesafer and quieter than the streets, and it's interesting to see the different headstones. As time passes, there are more people we used to know but it's also a chance to remember the old days.
Officially dogs aren't allowed in our cemeteries but people do walk them there. It doesn't bother me but I might feel differently if they were not well behaved.
John surely looks different shaved for summer!
He looks adorable with his new haircut!
ReplyDeleteHelen from Ohio
Love the game you play with him. Do you know if the hair the vets remove is somehow put to good use. Just occured to me after reading your post. Irene in Northern Ireland
ReplyDeleteGoodness, the haircut has made a different dog!
ReplyDeleteJohn is adorable with that cut!! He looks so cute and deceptively cuddly. Haha. I love the game you play with him.
ReplyDeleteJohn is so adorable with his haircut, although the before picture is beautiful too. He does look like a different dog.
ReplyDeleteJohn has come a LONG way since you got him....... big smile.
ReplyDelete