MY BRAVE AND HAPPY DOGS have a few deep terrors, and they were all on display last night.
Lulu never showed any fear of anything until Independence Day. A neighbor down the street had been setting off fireworks for hours, and while the dogs were in the house, none had paid them any mind. But while Doc and Lulu were still out, a couple fireworks went off, and I found Lulu huddled on the doorstep, shaking.
Last night, thunder boomed and lightning sparked, and through the storm was miles away, (sadly - we've had no rain since June), it was enough to make Lulu plaster herself against me, where she stayed all night, hot and solid, but apparently safe enough, with me to guard her.
Terror No. 2 was Koko's, and I caused it, knowingly.
Though I am living in a cave these brutally hot days, with all the curtains drawn and only the most necessary lights on, I'd foolishly cooked a pan of quinoa, and the heat from that one culinary endeavor had pumped the temp in the living room into the 80s - and this, despite the fact that the A/C is working as well as it can.
So I apologized to my dear Carolina Dog, and then I turned on the ceiling fan and watched as Terror No. 2 took hold. Koko's ears flattened, her tail went between her legs and she ran, slinking, low to the ground, into the bedroom, where she stayed until long after I'd shut off the fan. Because of her, I almost never use it, but it sure cooled the house down.
Terror No. 3 came as we were going to bed. Koko, Woody, Lulu and I were in bed, but Doc was... where was he? I called. Nothing. No little clicking toenails, no lumpish flop on the other corner of the bed. I got up, to make sure I hadn't left him in the yard, and no, I hadn't. He was inside - standing near the place where the living room ends and you turn to go into my bedroom.
This is apparently a scary corner - Abby used to be regularly afraid of it, for no reason that anyone could ever see. And here was Doc, clearly terrified and unwilling to walk past whatever it was. Far as I could see, it was nothing. An unadorned corner. Haunted? A sudden memory of Puffy? (From time to time, she would sit in that corner and swat the dogs).
I saw nothing. A box on the floor seemed to be capturing his attention - but it had been there for days, so it seemed unlikely that this was the Scary Thing. Still, I moved it and called him and called him and finally, he scrabbled around the corner, nails slipping on the fake-wood floor, like a cartoon dog whose paws spin and spin before gaining purchase. I am glad to report that he made it safely into the bedroom.
I always wonder what they can see and hear and sense that we don't - and most days, I'd do pretty much anything to trade places for five minutes. But not last night!
Here's everybody, safe and sound. That's Koko in the back, with the big ears. Lulu Belle is lower left, and Dr. Cooper is snuggled in between the girls.
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