Some Enchanted Afternoon

Yesterday was my last official day of being on break, so I was thrilled when Mr. Taleteller told me he'd be able to be home early for the afternoon.  It was a beautiful Autumn day, the orange leaves falling from the bright blue sky with temperatures at very comfortable levels.  We decided to take the girls to the dog park since Morgan has had a bit of pent up energy and we could take all the girls because it was unlikely to be really busy at that time.

On the way there, Mr. Taleteller needed to run into a store and do a little business, so I waited in the van with the girls.  One of the reasons that we decided to take all of the girls is that lately Lilac seems to leave us a rather smelly gift to take care of if we leave her.  It doesn't matter if we leave her home alone, home with just Blueberry or with all of the dogs.  So, we figured she might as well just poop in the dog park where we can clean it up outdoors and not deal with it when we got home.  I should also explain here that Morgan rides in a crate in the van.  The Greyhounds use the back seat and Morgan is in the crate.  It makes life much easier for everyone involved. 

So, as we sat in the van waiting, I was reading something when suddenly I smelled a waft of the aroma of disaster.  I turned around and saw the scene unfolding.  Blueberry had decided to take of the entire back seat, in typical Blueberry fashion, and Lilac had tried to find another path to the seat.  Bunny was laying behind my seat, out of the way, but close enough to poke her little nose up if something interesting to eat should appear.  Lilac hadn't accounted for the fact that it got narrower towards the back part where the seat actually was, though.  So, she was stuck. 

Most Greyhounds have a pretty good reverse and can back up easily.  However, Lilac's back end is a bit weak, so backing up doesn't really happen too well anymore.  More accurately, when Lilac backs up, crap happens.  Literally.  The worst part is that I saw it coming, like a slow motion scene in a movie that I could do nothing about.  I'm pretty sure I even shouted "Lilac!  Noooooo!"  I undid my seatbelt and leapt for the back seat, trying to avert disaster.  Morgan sat in the crate, staring at it all like a deer in headlights.  Of course I was too late and now Lilac stood precariously close to stepping in the disaster that was making my eyes water.  I grabbed a bag and tried to pick it up out from beneath her feet.  Somehow fortune smiled upon me and I did manage to get it out before she moved and stepped in it. 

Then I realized there was another problem besides getting Lilac out of the predicament she'd gotten herself into.  Mr. Taleteller has a particular black leather leash that matches Morgan's collar which he is particularly proud of.  Wouldn't you just know that Lilac could manage to make a direct hit on the handle?  I began to wonder just how long my husband could manage to be in there.  I wrenched the crate around and somehow convinced Lilac that she could, indeed, turn around and get out from behind the crate. 

Having finally solved that problem, I looked around and was rewarded to find that there was not a single trash can in sight.  I sighed and left the bag in the door well and figured that when Mr. Taleteller came out, we could find a nearby gas station and get rid of the offending bag.  Surely nothing else would go wrong.

Well, then it turns out that a man with a leaf blower decided that the parking lot needed to be cleared.  For those of you who know the joys of living with a German Shepherd, you can guess how thrilled Morgan was.  To say that she was unhappy with the leaf blower making a complete circuit around our van would be like saying the Mona Lisa is a nice picture.  The Greyhounds all watched her and I suspect Bunny checked for signs of rabies as Morgan did her best to protect our van from the leaf blower from a crate inside the van. 

Finally, Mr. Taleteller finished his business and came out to the van.  I could see the mirth in his eyes as I related the tale until I got to the part about the leash.  It took me a few tries to get that part out.  Fortunately, by then his eyes were watering too much from the odor coming off of Lilac's gift for him to get too upset.  We stopped and left her deposit in a trash can and then headed off for the dog park.

Once we got to the dog park, it was a bit more crowded than we'd expected, but it was a happy, mellow group of dogs, so we went in with all the girls anyway.  I thought I might just keep Lilac on a leash beside me, but she seemed eager to go explore, so I let her go off in a quiet part of the park while Bunny and Morgan were busy running and playing with the other dogs there.  I followed Lilac and Blueberry along as they enjoyed sniffing and looking around the perimeter.  Blueberry spotted a squirrel and gave it a run for it's money to the tree.  Morgan found a big dog who liked to play like she likes to play, when she wasn't busy acting as Bunny's bodyguard and doing head checks.  Bunny had fun playing chase with Morgan and some Labradors.

We had the Furminator along with us and at one point when Lilac stopped, I worked on brushing out some of the dead fur on her back.  She doesn't like to stand still for too long, though, so I didn't brush her for too long.  We walked on a bit further and then I called her again.  She knew I wanted her to come over, but in true old lady style, she walked on ahead of me, picking up her pace a bit.  I hurried to catch up with her, and darned if she didn't take off and start running.  Mr. Taleteller had a good laugh about it.  She may be old, but she still knows what she wants and doesn't want, and for a little bit, she can still even outrun us. 

So, while there are a lot of disadvantages to having a dog getting older, I'd just like to say, there are also moments that are priceless gifts. 

We're also participating in this Saturday's Pet Blog Hop, hosting by Life With Dogs, Two Little Cavaliers and Confessions of the Plume.  If you'd like to participate, please follow the rules and follow your three hosts, add your blog to the Linky and copy and paste the html code into your html editor.  Thanks again to our hosts for putting on the hop!