Low-down, cheatin’ dirty dog

I felt like I was cheating. 

I felt like I should be wearing a large scarlet letter A on my chest for “Adulterer.” At the same time, though, I could help but ask myself out loud, “was it really cheating?” Nah, I tried to convince myself as I reached over and gave her another rub. She couldn’t get enough of the pats and rubs of affection. Of course, the “she” was not another woman, but my neighbor’s beautiful, 65-pound German Shepherd. 

I wrote recently about watching our neighbor’s one-and-a-half-year-old son. As part of that job, my wife and I watched their two cats and dog. The cats didn’t know what to make of me and, to be honest, I didn’t know what to make of them. I’ve never been much of a cat guy.

Now when it came to the dog, I love dogs, but I’m used to small dogs. When we were first alone in the house with her, Alexa looked like she wanted to take a big bite out of me and spit me out for fun. You could see her muscles tense up and let go as she paced the floor. She was a dog used to getting her own way. On top of that, I haven’t played with a big dog in a really long time and that’s normally been when the owner has been around. In this situation, our neighbor was nowhere around and Alexa was not too fond of me being in her house. In her presence. In the same state. Okay, she wasn’t happy with me period.

She was extremely protective. After pacing a bit more Alexa broke down and jumped on the sofa next to my wife. I had to laugh. Of course, Alexa would go to my wife first, everyone loves my wife. Alexa eventually broke down and started smelling my wife’s hand. I gave my wife a warning look. I thought she was crazy to put her hand out, but it seemed to relax Alexa.

I thought better of it, but if my wife was brave enough, I figured I better be too. I couldn’t look like a wimpy husband to the love of my life. I gingerly put my hand out and thought about how I was screwed if she really did bite me, because God knows when the last time I got a tetanus booster shot. I was surprised when Alexa took the move as a sign of respect and moved closer to me. She still held her ground, but seemed to be loosening up a little. When I reached over to try to rub her, she seemed to let go of her inhibitions.

When I did it again, she inched even closer and closer. Oh, no, I missed the signal. I stopped for a second and she nuzzled my arm to keep rubbing. I tried stopping a second time and she let out a little whine. I couldn’t stop, I had to keep going and going and going. Somewhere in the process, I had made a friend. 

Of course, I was expected to keep up my end of the bargain. I told her no problem I would keep petting her on one condition: She would have to stop barking at me when I leave my house to go for a walk or pull up to my driveway. Of course, she shook her head yes, but I’m not counting on much. 

I made one dog happy for a night, now of course, I’ve turned my own dog, Nittany, our 13-year-old Lhasa Apsa – Bichon Frise, into an angry pup. It’s been two weeks but she must still smell Alexa on me because every once in awhile, she’ll give me a look of anger and hurt. If she could talk, I swear she would ask with her most pathetic eyes: “How could you?”

Oh, the joy of being a dog owner.

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