TheBanyanTree: High Speed Chases

[Monique Colver]

	A trip to the dog park is never without drama of some sort, even if
it's as mundane as Ash throwing himself headlong into a mud puddle and then
laying there, inert for just long enough to be amusing, before he jumps out
and runs off somewhere else. While he was doing this at the dog park, laying
inert in a big puddle, a woman walked by and said, "He must be a boy," the
assumption being, I assume, that boys are much more likely to lay in mud
puddles like big giant hogs, their sensitivities not as refined as those of
the female persuasion. 
	At least it was a sunny day, which is a nice change, and at least it
wasn't raining (which is not necessarily indicated by the fact that it was
sunny, so it's helpful to point that out), and though much of the park was
still soggy, it was drying out nicely. The dog park includes a slough, so
dogs can jump out into the water and splash around, perfecting their dog
paddles and chasing mysterious balls that keep showing up in the water. Some
dogs love to go in the water, and others, like Honey, regard such activity
disdainfully. Ash loves the water, but he's just learning to swim, so his
approach is to lean into the water as much as he can and hope that it's
enough to bring the ball closer. For this reason, the ball is tossed in
close so he can anticipate being able to reach it. It's never quite close
enough though, and eventually he launches himself into the water.
	At one watery U-shaped sand trap the ball was tossed into the water,
and Ash faced a dilemma. The rocks on one side were very close to the ball,
but if he raced around to the other side, the ball was close also. In either
case, the ball was not close enough to retrieve without total immersion, but
he raced frantically back and forth from side to side in hopes, perhaps,
that his energy would somehow move the ball closer to the one side or the
other. It didn't work, however, and eventually he launched himself into the
water. Onlookers roared in approval. He grabbed the ball and hastily paddled
for shore, basking in the glow of his audience. 
	Then he did it again. And again. His swimming is improving, and
there's not as much flailing about as there used to be. 
	Honey has been known to wade out into the water, but not to catch a
silly ball, for she's far above that. She doesn't care for swimming, her
enthusiasm limited to wading, but on this day she had no use for even that. 
	We circled the entire expansive huge dog park. As I rebuild my
strength I find I still tire easily, and by the time we'd done a complete
circle I was ready to sit down. I was ready to sit down halfway through, and
did. Fortunately there are benches placed strategically throughout the park,
for those of us who like to sit down while our dogs play. At the end, Ash
did a few of his tricks where he jumps up in the air to catch the ball. We
can tell when he's tired when he starts missing them, when his pace slows
just a bit from supersonic speed to just sonic speed, and then we head for
the car. I headed for the car first. I sat down, opened the doors to get
some air inside, and waited. Andrew and Ash showed up, and when I expressed
some confusion about the missing Honey, Andrew told me she had decided she
wasn't coming, and he would have to go back for her. 
	Honey is a wonderful dog. She really is. She's also stubborn and has
a mind of her own. (This is convenient, as I don't know how we'd share a
mind, but also frustrating now and then when she decides to use it.) "I
shall get her," I proclaimed, "You wait here!" And I grabbed the leash and
off I went. 
	I really should think before I act, but it's a bad habit I've gotten
into.
	Back into the dog park I went, and sure enough, there she was, back
up the path, sitting and facing the entrance, quite a distance away, very
calm and collected and sure of herself. I approached slowly, the leash in my
hand. When I got within hailing distance I tried hailing. "Honey . . . come
here Honey. Want to go for a drive?"
	Honey's reached that stage in her life where mention of a walk will
often get nothing but a bored look, while mention of a drive will make her
ears stand up straight, even the one that's normally tipped over, and every
worthwhile adventure includes a car, but she just kept looking at me.  I
approached slowly, the way one approaches the deadly lion in its lair, if
one is stupid enough to do such a thing. Cautiously, so she'd know I was
there just to talk. 
	She is, of course, much smarter than I am, which is why I slave away
to provide for her while she lives a life of luxury. While I was still
approaching she stood, turned, and calmly walked away down the path, back
towards the water features. There was no point in running after her, as her
speed would only increase if mine did, and so I followed at her leisurely
pace, attempting to coerce her into stopping with plaintive pleas.
	"C'mon Honey, stop! Stay right there!" Occasionally she'd glance
back at me to ensure I was following, and occasionally she'd stop to sniff
another dog, but if I began to get close enough to grab her she'd move
quickly away, just enough so I'd be left with nothing but air. It was her
tail I tried to grab. She had no collar on, and the tail waves above her
back like a giant handle waiting to be grabbed, so it seemed my best option.

	I gather we were quite amusing, as other park visitors would see us
approaching, me begging Honey, she proceeding at her leisurely pace, and
occasionally I would get close enough to make a grab for her tail, she
always slipping away at the last minute, then continuing her slow amble. 
	I thought I was doomed to repeat the entire hour long walk through
the park. At least it was at a pace I could easily tolerate, and I suppose
it was good exercise for me, but I really wanted to go home. 
	Honey just wanted to keep walking. 
	Amused onlookers watched us pass by. Honey was happy. Honey was
smiling. When she's like this my usual course of action is to get the car,
start the car, and drive the car to where Honey is, and when she sees it she
demands to be let in. Problem solved. However, I could not bring the car
into the dog park. 
	Ahead of us, on the path, stood a man and his dog. This man had
passed by Honey earlier, when she'd been sitting calmly on the path waiting
for me, and he sensed this was a dog with a great deal of resolve. He
watched us approach, me with my leash, Honey with her sense of entitlement,
and when Honey was close to him he bent over to talk to her. She doesn't
much care for people, as a whole, but she tolerates them, she lets them pet
her and tell her she's pretty, and she let the nice man distract her enough
so I could sneak up and throw the chain over her head. 
	I thanked the nice man for the help, and Honey and I resumed our
stately measured pace back the way we'd come, slowly but inexorably heading
back from whence we'd come, back to the car where Andrew and Ash waited
patiently. Honey had no objections, now that she'd been caught, and was my
willing captive. I could swear she had a smirk on her face.