At the Movies

On Monday, our family went to see the new movie, Earth. We humans enjoyed watching the incredible cinematography and learning about the amazingly intricate behaviors of animals all over the world.

Taxi's enjoyment of the movie, however, was at a much more primal level: he liked the chase scenes. Every time a wolf went after a caribou, a cheetah ran down an impala, or a shark grabbed a seal, he was riveted. He would sit facing the screen, nose between the two seats in front of us, mesmerized...and I don't think he was rooting for the cute baby caribou either! Well, I guess I can understand that. He's a dog, after all!

The rest of the time Taxi was pretty bored. He would stand in front of me, looking around at the other moviegoers, probably wondering why we were there in the first place. He did lie down once or twice, but not for long. I was proud of him for not whining, though! In fact, he was better behaved than some of the little kids there, who started roaming the aisles two thirds of the way through. That provided a little extra entertainment for him.

Things did get a bit dicey right at the opening scene, which featured two polar bear cubs emerging from a snow cave. They were making that squeaky little baby-animal-sound that absolutely no dog can resist! Taxi snuffled and strained excitedly toward the screen, but I managed to keep him from charging over the seats in front of us. He's probably now under the impression that polar bears smell like popcorn!

"Hey, can I still get the child's ticket if I'm over 11 in dog years?"

In other news, I just learned something obvious this week: never use a leash to restrain a dog with separation issues. I know, I know. What was I thinking? I was weeding in the backyard, and the kids were busy doing something with bugs. Taxi's nose was just a little too much into both activities. So I tied him to the fencepost (which was, I might add, within 5 feet of me and in plain view!), supplied with plenty of chew toys. Not good enough for Taxi. Clearly, he thought, a terrible mistake had been made....he'd been excluded from the pack! He didn't whine, bark or pace -- just lunged to the end of the leash, snapped it easily, and ended up all over me in a big happy pile. Couldn't figure out why I wasn't equally pleased! Soon I was making a chagrined call to the training center for a new leash. Sigh...well, live and learn. Taxi, you big sweet goofball, you're going straight to the crate next time!

Puppy swap back is just a week from tomorrow, and to celebrate, we'll be having a "splash day" at the K9 Country Club in Bulverde. It'll be lots of fun for the dogs, playing and swimming together, and the people get a bbq. Something to look forward to...and we can't wait to see Dakota again! But I'll say this: Taxi has earned his special place in our hearts. A slobbery, cuddly, silly place, but it's there. He's going to be a great working guide one day soon, and I know he'll enjoy the job description...especially the part about being with his person 24/7!