June and July: The dogs at Time Out Farms got me warmed up, but it was the four dogs at Duckworth Farm that finalized my total change of heart. Especially the beautiful little lady dog Troubles.
I’ve never really had anything against dogs, I’ve just always prefered horses. I felt that they had so much more integrity, and seeing as that is something I have a need for myself too, I just felt more connected with horses. But living so close with dogs during my months at the farms has made me see the strength in these small, tail wagging creatures. Not that my regard for horses has weakened, they have just had to share that elevated position with the dogs now. Dogs are so honest and happy, and their love is so pure. They don’t care about all those petty things that are so important for humans. As long as you are nice to the dog, play with it and scratch it behind its ears, it will love you and be happy to see you.
And Troubles, she was the most considerate and sweet dog I’ve ever met. She loved playing catch, she carried sticks or this horse toy around and would drop it at my feet whenever she found me standing idly somewhere. And she never got tired of running after those sticks and balls. She also loved swimming, and often jumped into the pond when we were there. Even when I was weeding in the blueberry field, she would run up to me and drop a stick by my feet, or just sit down right next to me and lean into me so that I just had to start cuddle her. Oh, I miss her bubbling elation and happiness. When winter comes, god knows I may be in dire need of some of that energy when the sun never rises and the exams and papers are weighing me down.
Troubles’ brother Pax in the setting sun down by the pond. He was also an extremely charming dog. Unlike Troubles, he didn’t like water, and every time we went swimming in the pond, he would run around on the edges of the pond, yelping and barking for us to come back out of the water. A couple of times, when I had been under the surface too long in his opinion, he even jumped in and swam out to me. It was so endearing, Pax the life guard dog.
Oh, now there are few things I would want more than to have a dog. But I also know that the city is no place for a dog, not for the kind of dog and the kind of life I would want to give that dog. A dog wants to run free, and have a task, a job to do. Pax and Troubles were never as happy as when they were sent out to go get the runaway geese or gather the cows. So that dog of mine will have to wait, until I have a job for it to do. In the meantime, I’ll have to make do with other people’s dogs. Kirke’s Zorro, for example.
Katja Malmborg 