Jump the Gate
January 19th, 2007General, Life
Ever since the family dog was just a wee pup we’ve used those “pet gates” to keep her from running amok in the domicile during our absences. She isn’t particularly destructive (in fact she’s pretty darn tame by most reasonable standards) but it’s become a bit more important as the years have passed and the sphincter control has become, shall we say, somewhat less rock solid.
More and more though I’m hearing news from the old family homestead that my folks are returning to find the dog settled comfortably into a spot on the carpet or a nook in the couch on the other side of said gates. Turn the key, open the door, and there she is wagging her tail, wearing her best “Aw shucks” sheepish look.
Let me tell you this is something of a feat. She’s by no means a big pooch. More like twenty-five pounds of fur-covered nerve endings. But the real kicker is she’s started pulling this stunt at the ripe old doggy age of fourteen. Yes, fourteen. (It seems the old saw is completely busted–an old dog can learn new tricks.)
There’s something in all this that reminds me that, given enough time and sheer determination, you’d be amazed at what can be accomplished. It may have taken fourteen years to figure out how to get to that couch but, dammit, she sure as hell made it.
David Sleight is a web designer living and working in New York City, and the Deputy Creative Director of BusinessWeek.com
Recent Posts
- InterludeTransients, of a kind.
- Soul TrainEverywhere you want to be.
- A Style of LookingEverything new is not.
- BusinessLinkedLess one degree of separation.
- Wounded LandsNear hits, near misses.
- Some Shall PassContent car-tellin' it.
Comments
dan February 11th, 2007 at 12:07 pm
That’s just awesome.
E-mail address will not be displayed. You can use <a href>, <blockquote>, <code>, <em> and <strong> tags in your comment. Line breaks are automatically converted.