Just When You Think You're Safe & Life Is Good...
Something inevitably comes along and shakes things up
One pleasant Saturday morning I was relaxing in the shade after yoga in the park—when my life took an unexpected turn…of the permanent variety.
There I was, just sitting innocently on my yoga mat in the grass, minding my own business and chatting with a couple friends. Feeling fine and limber, at peace in the tranquil aftermath of the class—despite the hubbub of the busy farmer’s market all around.
When across the grassy sward came this gaunt bouncy figure, wearing a vest and not much else. Trundling closer, following a circuitous invisible path preordained by trickster maze designers in some abandoned cosmic realm.
He stopped occasionally to stare at the dappled shadows cast by trees overhead. Prodding at the sunlit grass with a toe warily, like it might leap away frogwise. On his nose an unmissable white streak. Looking around and sniffing the air as if it held some long-hidden truth he must find and soon.
I tried my best not to engage, not to make eye contact. Just let him pass on his merry way through the park’s bustling farmer’s market.
But he headed straight for me—or maybe the pretty women I was sitting with. Ribs and wiry muscles straining under his vest, against the visible and unseen bounds of the world. Approaching within a few steps of our picnic blanket.
“Hello,” I said against my better judgment. “Whatcha doin here, buddy?”
Instead of continuing on, the lady holding his leash came closer and introduced the dog to me and my friends. He wagged his tail and looked up at her, tongue lolling.
“He’s up for adoption,” she said tugging at her t-shirt which proclaimed Pitties & Kitties.
“I can see that.” I groaned inwardly, having periodically flirted with the idea of finally looking into getting a new dog. Especially when I accidentally calculated that if I get one now and he lives a good long life…I’ll be fifty by the end of it.
Truth is I’ve always fancied a brindle pit mix—and this one seems to be the perfect blend of pittie and…rabbit?…baby yoda?…maybe dingo?
Well of course I thought about it long and hard…whether I was ready for a dog, whether this was that dog, whether I really wanted the responsibility…
Then I slept on it, and next day wound up filling out an application. Answering standard questions about experience & training, and other typical things like: Have you thought about what you’d do if someone bullied you about your dog’s breed?
I haven’t thought about it, I wrote. But I’d probably call it out as doggy racism. And try not to make them cry.
“After the home visit, we start with a two-week trial adoption,” said the lady from Pitties & Kitties. “So you can see if it’s a good fit, no obligations.”
“Sounds good,” I said.
Suttree joins a righteous lineage of family dogs named for literary characters: Dylan (Thomas), Strider (Aragorn), Ender (’s Game)…
I didn’t get to name my previous 2 dogs; both came with names that stuck somehow. So this good boy I’ve dubbed Suttree (, Cornelius)—from my tied-for-favorite book. About another lost and wandering soul with a sweet and loving heart, who chases shadows to abstraction and slinks away helplessly from the haunting echoes of his past.
This Suttree also spent 7 months behind bars—too shy & skittish in the shelter to attract a new adoption family. Thankfully they finally found him a foster, who learned that the shadow-chasing is a form of doggy OCD—something that comes on with anxiety and confinement, and dissipates pretty easily in a safe and loving home with lots of toys, treats, and training.
The fosters followed the specialist’s suggestions and acclimated their jailbird to life as a dog, and took him out into the world wearing a little “Adopt Me” vest.
Where he scooted closer to my yoga mat in the grass in the park on that fateful Saturday morning, pouncing on shadows and inching his way into my heart (and kitchen).
And so here I am. A dog dad once again…
Anyway, just thought you should know. Funny how quickly life can change when you’re just out there enjoying it.