Beware…There Are Monsters About!

At least from Murph’s point of view. Anything that looks out of the ordinary or is otherwise strange and unfamiliar to him is a monster. (A word he knows courtesy of his Aunt Karen. That’s what she says when something catches Tucker’s eye on a walk and startles him.) The Making of a Monster Of course there aren’t really monsters about. There are just things that sometimes appear scary to Murphy. An overturned trash can that wasn’t there on a previous walk. A tangled hose left askew on a lawn. A piece of trash, like some of the black landscape … Continue reading

Watching the Buzzards and the Bunnies

The other day a horrible thing happened: one of the neighborhood bunnies got hit by a car and died. I didn’t see it happen. It must have happened after my walk with Murph, because I would’ve noticed the bunny body in the road on our way home. As it was, I spotted it from the kitchen window as I was washing dishes. I wasn’t sure it was a bunny at first, though. It could have been a piece of clothing someone lost. But when the first buzzard showed up, I knew it was fresh kill. The Buzzard Brigade At first … Continue reading

Things To Bring When You Walk Your Dog

Whether you’re planning a long trek or a stroll through the neighborhood, there are a few things you should plan on bringing when you walk your dog. The number one most important thing to bring? Poop bags. Some dogs won’t squat on a walk; some dogs will squat many many times. My Miko was the latter sort of dog. Every walk was a three-poop minimum. Just when I thought he couldn’t possibly poop any more, he would pause and leave me a present. To this day, more than two years after he passed away in his sleep, I will still … Continue reading