I’m not sure what the clinical definition of obsessive might be. But surely this dog’s behavior in some instances can be described as this. Maybe it’s a characteristic of the species or maybe humanity has inbred this trait in our dogs through our own obsession with tricks and commands; the need to declare alpha dominance over our canine companions. But besides the flirting with obsession, there is, at the same time, something admirable about the behavior as well. A certain clarity of purpose – a singularity of intent.

Focus and single-mindedness, traits I sorely lack, have never been better exemplified than by Third Dog. Besides doing her best to get our attention at any time of the day, her primary focus is a blue and yellow plastic circle known as a Frisbee. Frisbee is a word not dared uttered in our quiet home without a readiness for immediate action. The word inspires the frantic search and ends with the longing eyes over a mouth full of plastic cylinder which can turn our beautiful dog -– a saucer clenched in her jaws – into a cartoon character. I don’t think there is anything our puppy would rather do than to plunge headlong across our rear lawn in pursuit of the cylinder, suspended in its own innate and frenzied circular flight. The Frisbee is an important center of her life; her unrelenting focus admirable. But unless my wife or I are ready to indulge her in her passion, the word can’t be uttered. We have to spell it…F….R…I…

Once indulged, nothing stands in the way. Gardens are gone in the blink of the eye as she dashes across everything in her hot pursuit. And then once gathered in her jaw, she bounds back to us across the landscape and delivers it for another launch. She is, after all, a Retriever. In these moments, exclusively so.

Our second Golden would retrieve nothing. She would chase an item; examine it; and then leave it lying where it fell. She had no interest in the pickup and delivery of anything, however fascinating they might be. Second dog could fit four of five balls in her jaws, but she had no interest in depositing them anywhere specific. For Third Dog, on the other hand, the pickup and delivery are integral to the satisfaction of the task: a kind of canine Federal Express. (more…)

The shrinking economy and the sound of crashing finances are heard everywhere; strangely reminiscent of other financial failures and the difficulties of past generations. We have our own struggles… a small business in a challenging economy… a daughter in college and a son just finished. As with almost all families these days, we watch every dollar and are careful of how we spend. But sometimes you just have to live. And recently, my wife taking off to the cape with some friends for a spring getaway, I put two bills on the counter for her because I knew she was watching every dollar. One was a hundred dollar bill and one was a fifty. This is a nice neat way to have $ 150.00. Two bills. Not a fortune by any means, but some spending money. Fun money.

Not so fast. Enter Sandy. (more…)

Maybe it’s because our lives are so much more quiet that this third golden retriever of ours, seems so much louder. She barks. I rarely remember our second dog barking except in the most extreme circumstances… the unexpected presence of cats, for instance. That could’ve been because we had teenagers around most of the time…with friends…those loudly joyful or strangely belligerent young people who pass through this phase of life as if they are riding a skateboard through a china shop… (more…)

Socks. There is nothing more she treasures more than socks. No, that’s not really true. She treasures the single sock; the pair seemingly redundant hold much less mystery to her. Our third dog, entering awkward adolescence, finds them in the staging area of laundry either done or ready to be cleaned. I’m not sure which she prefers. I’m inclined to think she likes them dirty. She seems to find no greater joy than a single sock dangling from her jaws. She treats it gently as if it might hold some precious life within like a female wolf might carry a newborn. (more…)