Ask the Dog

When I introduced Pi to flyball, he learned the box turn in about 30 minutes. In spite of his young age and chubbiness,  flyball seemed to be inborn, and  he got it really quickly. Then he started to play his own game by playing “chicken” with the incoming dog.  He became the anchor dog while I broke him of this inclination. Eventually he became the ready, steady lead dog.

Last June, he injured a toe and in spite of everything I and his medical team had done, it did not heal properly. When he finally sat down and refused to run in the middle of a tournament, I knew that he must be in pain.  I carried him away to the crating area to check him over.

Our dogs like their routine and count on the leader to tell them when it’s time to gear up. Without him in front, well,…… let’s just say it was not the team’s best performance.  I reworked the teams for the second day of competition and we carried on without him. We did the best we could, and he was missed.

Pi is a quirky, and sometimes, flat out grumpy, dog who likes to complain at me when things are not exactly to his liking. Caring for him following a painful toe amputation was UN-fun. He was determined to be difficult every step of the way. Ten days later sutures were removed and he was off to rehab to rebuild the left rear leg which had suffered significant atrophy.  A month after surgery I signed him up for one day of a tournament aware that he may not be fit to complete the entire day. He ran a few races on day one as a fill in for another club and looked pretty good. On day two, he managed to the lead X-Fidos for about half of the races. He was happy and excited to be back in the ring.  He continues to improve, and we are hopeful that he will back in the ring full time for a few more years.

As he starts his 10^th racing season, it’s evident that we are not getting any younger. I am reminded that in the grand scheme of things, human lives are short and that dog lives are painfully minute. We have no clue how much time we have, so we pretend that we have forever because thinking about it too much would make us insane. As we pause to give thanks for those people and pets in our lives that make life worth it, take a moment to reflect on what is most valuable in that grand scheme. Is it the win or those who celebrate with you? Is it the score or the journey? Is it the game or the community it creates? In the fray of existence, it's easy to lose sight of the answers.   In those moments, I only need ask my dog. 

Happy Thanksgiving.  

lw

Pi and I thank his medical team and our friends and team mates who have supported his recovery.