Nobody Likes A Wet Dog

I took Brie to Metcaff Bottoms yesterday, with the idea of sitting by the river somewhere close to the picnic area, but there were too many people out having picnics. On a Saturday afternoon. That made no sense. Anyway, I drove back along the road until I found a quieter spot. The beach wasn't as big as the ones I had in mind, but we were alone, at least for a while. Brie loved the water I'm sure. I read for a while, and she splashed around a bit. I tossed her some Alpo treats from time to time. Not sure if she ever had those... I bought them for the occasion. After a while, a few other folks showed up, and then I had to leash her, not because they were bothered by her, but because Brie would definitely want to play, and I didn't want Brie getting too wet. Brie cried a bit, and soon after I decided it was time to take her home. On the way back, I stopped at another spot to take a picture of her by the river.



When we got back, I started playing fetch with her to make up for the decidedly blah trip to the river. I used the tennis ball, which is her favorite fetch toy according to Marci, and threw it with a plastic ball tosser. A few minutes later, just as I was ready to go back into the house, Cliff gives me a call, saying he wants to go to Quaker Steak and Lube for dinner. I didn't know where it was, so we spend quite some time talking as Cliff gives me directions, which I can't understand because I have no idea where any of the roads on the East end of town are.

I'm still tossing the ball absentmindedly to Brie as we talk. Toss and toss and toss and toss. Finally, at some point, I toss the ball, but Brie doesn't run after it. I look at her and say "Brie?", but she turns around and heads to the front door. I'm totally confused. Brie never gets sick of fetch before me. I walk to her and then she turns around to look at me, and when I see her face, I burst out laughing. You know the expression "dog-tired"? I know what it looks like now. She had this look on her face like "Dude... *pant*... Can't... *pant*... fetch... *pant*... anymore".

Brie may have been a little uncomfortable around me the first couple of days, but she had really warmed up to me by that evening. She actually sat and listened as I played guitar. Maybe she just needed time to get used to me, or maybe I'd won her respect and admiration as the only human being to ever out-throw her fetching capacity, or maybe she thought she'd get more Alpo treats. In any case, I enjoyed our little weekend together. I'll know if she did when I meet her in the hereafter, I guess. All dogs go to heaven, you know.