When my dog Wing acts on his authentic nature, he almost always draws extra attention-- and it is not always applause. It may be that this is not so different from what we humans experience when we are so bold as to act in accordance with our nature.... you decide...
Yesterday Wing and I were walking at a park. He was leashed due to concerns about his sprained shoulder and to hinder his natural tendency to "run off" his injuries. Wing is a 10 year old reddish golden retriever who loves any outdoor excursion, no matter the constraint.
As we headed around the small hill, a man at the top jumped out of his van and started yelling. "Squeegie! Come here dammit... Squeegie!" An old brown and black short-haired dog headed down the hill toward us. Wing stood at the end of his rope wagging his tail, and Squeegie approached, despite his master's angry fits up the hill. I paid special attention, lest Squeegie was a mutt of lethal character, but the dog's meeting was uneventful. They sniffed butts and walked away.
Not two minutes later, Wing got his leash tangled in bull briars, as he tried to emerge with a dead rabbit in his mouth. I unleashed him, and he finally emerged victorious with a beheaded rabbit carcass in his mouth... he is a retriever! I kept him off the leash, as carrying a "kill" always slowed down his walk to a proud saunter. The rabbit dangled from its high-held position.
Wing's "catch" did not go unnoticed by Squeegie's master who gruffly yelled down the hill, "Hon! I'll get that rabbit away from your dog!" "No thanks!" I replied cheerfully. He countered incredulously, "but... but he'll carry that thing around!"
"He usually does."
"Thank you anyway!" I called up the hill, but the man was shaking his head and turning back to his van. He yelled at Squeegie a few more times before they all got into the vehicle and drove away. I wondered if they had had a good time.
By the time we rounded the northern shore, Wing was doing his usual and looking for a place to bury the rabbit. He's grown quite good at digging holes, positioning the "deceased", and covering over the hole with all kinds of materials. A proper burial, it seemed, meticulous.
A middle-aged woman coming toward me said, "eeewww!" and grimaced. Did I see what my dog had? she inquired. "He's all animal," I replied with a smile. She tilted her head, then smiled abruptly and stopped to talk to me. Then she took "Jigs" off his leash. Wing kept looking for a burial site. I had to keep going.
Within 100 yards of our car, I asked Wing to please find a place for the bunny, as I did not want it in the car. Wing lowered his head, lightly sniffing along the periphery of the bushes.
In a few moment we found a tuft of grass, protected by a tree and sheltered by some brambles. Wing dropped the headless carcass, paused, then circled round it and headed back with me toward the car. He got into the back seat at my request, and rode home with his head out the window...
Just another doggie day for a natural character.
What does your nature dictate today?
Authenticity Draws Attention Wings Story - To learn more about this author, visit Elizabeth Mullen's Website.
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