Thursday, April 30, 2009

Nothin' like a good howl!

Passing fire engines make Marissa toss her head back and belt out a thin, high pitched wail of a howl. We played on this by starting to howl together; it took her a bit to catch on, but some months ago Scot and I would howl, and when we hit the right contrasting pitches, she'd join in. (This was, of course, after torturing her one night in bed as I downloaded siren sounds on the iPhone and tried them out on her.) Now she's used to the game, and she joins right in.

Winston has never been one to debase himself so, however. Until tonight, anyway. Sitting on the couch with Winston on my lap and Marissa taking the cushion between us, Scot started up, I joined and Marissa was going to town, tossing her head back with us. Then, Winston starts chattering, then talking, and then... a real, honest to goodness head-thrown-back-and-doggie-lips-pulled-into-an-O howl! He looked like he might have surprised himself, even.

Our neighbors think we're nuts, I'm sure.

It was quite an evening; when I came home late from work, my mate greeted me with a fresh frozen margarita w/ salt. I took a moment to unwind in the back yard, sun streaming down on the freshly manicured lawn, the blossoms of the cherry tree floating through the air, and happy dogs bounding about. I was gripped by one of those "it doesn't get better than this" feelings.

Counting my blesings.

4 comments:

  1. Thanks for sharing this! There are several howlers living near our neighborhood. I can always tell when there are emergency vehicles in the area - the dogs can be heard first. My sister had a nice long therapeutic laugh the first time she heard it.
    Me? I've been known to howl over both good and bad household happenings. The two resident dogs just look concerned.

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  2. Love the entry!
    The thought of a frozen margarita.......you and Scot at our kitchen counter, some laughter .......that makes me howl!
    Missing you!
    Pat & Jon

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  3. Gracie has been known to belt out a low mournful howl when an emergency vehicle passes nearby. It's such an odd sound coming from such a happy go lucky dog.

    Thanks for the well wishes on her recovery!

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  4. Cool story! Now, if those pups can belch out a moo like an Indiana cow, I'm there! We'll have the whole neighborhood thinking a dairy farm moved in!

    Jon

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