For this week’s article and the next I want to talk about separation anxiety in dogs; something that lots of loyal pups can suffer from. But first a story (you know how I love stories).
A sad Labrador retriever is not my dog, but this does give you an idea of how he sometimes looks when I leave my house even for a couple of hours these days. It’s a byproduct of my staying home almost all of the time for the last 2 ½ months.
When the coronavirus hit and we were told to stay home, I did, and Mason has had me with him almost constantly ever since. We have sat in the house as I read, watched movies, did some writing, all of this with him living up to the Yorkie’s designation as a lapdog.
Lots of Long Walks
We have taken lots of long walks, which I dearly love because I love the outdoors and because it keeps me fit. Mason has always enjoyed it, but I think he adores the mom time more than the exercise these days. He is now four and still excited about life but not so interested in keeping moving as much as I am. For that reason, I am now developing my biceps and triceps by carrying a ten-pound weight, Mason when he’s tired. He decides to quit and I carry him for a quarter-mile or so and then put him back down.
Part of his reason for wanting to stop, though, is that he just loves to lie in the warm grass and enjoy the sunshine. I check the area he wants to plop down on or roll around in because clover can be full of bees and those ferocious fire ants can turn up anywhere.
A couple of weeks ago we stopped at Mason’s favorite pond for him to go in briefly and cool off. He just goes in far enough to lie down so the water covers his belly and legs. When he came out of the water he wanted to roll around in the clover, which I’m telling you was only an inch high with no visible animals in or on it, but after Mason rubbed both ears all over the clover, he stood up and I saw the middle section of a black snake in the parted and squashed down clover!
The snake was maybe a half inch thick, probably young, but I didn’t wait around to see its head or tail. It was lying perfectly still and didn’t move after Mason rolled on it. Immediately I was reminded of a phrase I’ve heard many times in my life: “Snake in the grass.” Hidden completely in very short clover! Mason was of course oblivious, but I got him out of there fast before the snake decided to get up and investigate or retaliate for being rolled on!
Stay tuned for part two!