simply Heidi

Humourist Josh Billings hit the mark when he said, “A dog is the only thing on earth that loves you more than he loves himself.”

Although Heidi does have her own Facebook page, I realized I haven’t been sharing many photos or stories about her here lately. Not a lot has changed in Heidi’s routine during the pandemic, partly because we are both retired and are home all the time anyway. The difference has been that we haven’t been out and about in the car so much and definitely haven’t been leaving her behind when we are invited out for dinner because, of course, there is no socializing happening.

Something I haven’t been doing, is taking many photographs of her. I miss getting photos of her in action because the phone never captures those and my camera which is great for the action shots is far too heavy to take on daily walks. That’s the reason you’re only getting photos of her being very calm.

Because Heidi is so well behaved {honestly, she is}, I don’t have any stories about her I can recall in which she was being naughty. She’s smart, playful, and does have a healthy dose of a rascal in her. She knows how to tease us and to entice us to play with her. And when she’s had enough, she simply flops down as if to say, “Okay, I’ve had enough. You two go sit down now.” She does have some favourite things: she loves exploring trails off leash (which happens every morning); her favourite games are ball, frisbee, tug, and finding things; her favourite foods are eggs and unbleached tripe (though she loves everything she is served since she is on a species-appropriate diet); and her favourite dog-friends are those her size and just as playful, though she won’t tolerate any grumbling.

Since I didn’t have a decent story about Heidi for you, I thought I’d share a series of very short stories about some really remarkable dogs. You may have heard about 2 or 3 of them, but each one is incredibly unique.

During this pandemic, all around the world, the lucky dogs — the ones with a loving home — are surely soaking up having their humans home 24/7. For those who are normally always working, it’s a great time to get better acquainted with your four-legged family member. I’d love to know what you’ve learned about your dog(s) during the pandemic.

“Such short little lives our pets have to spend with us, and they spend most of it waiting for us to come home each day.” — John Grogan, author of Marley & Me.