Spring run

     His fur was blowing with the soft spring breeze as he looked out the open window, tail wagging, his keen sense of smell and hearing telling him it was just about that time when he would once again run free in the grass meadows behind the barn and down the hill. I sat at the kitchen table watching him watching me waiting for my boots to go on and my hat to be placed on my head. A sure sign it was time to leave. I only had to stand up and he made the leap off the couch to the door scattering rugs and barking his need to be on the other side of the door. It was a beautiful spring day with bright sunlight everywhere coming to rest on the new births of grass and wildflowers all soaking up the brilliant rays of life.

     I managed to get the door open but not all the way as he only needed a small space to dart through and take off in a run he had been dreaming of throughout the cold frozen winter. He ran faster and faster never slowing until he reached the back of the barn where he waited for me to catch up looking up at me with questioning eyes. Words weren’t needed, I just pointed to the meadow and he was off like a fur rocket darting left then right always moving until something would catch his attention like a bird or squirrel and then he became stealth slowly moving towards his target but never meaning harm.

     I walked a distance behind him as keeping up was impossible. Finding a fallen tree to sit on I listened to his faint barking knowing he was in dog heaven running and just being him. After a breather, I set off in his direction and called him to me. It took him a couple minutes but within a short time, he was at my side panting like a marathon runner. I gave him some water and started picking twigs and other things off his coat as he looked up at me with thankful looks and an occasional lick of my cheek. I pointed towards the barn and he took off running again only this time he stopped every so often to smell a wildflower or turn over a small rock filling his lungs with the freshness of the season. Back in the house, he fell asleep and I poured another cup of coffee watching my friend as he dreamed of his day in the meadow.

M.O.