the pig and the squirrel

Wednesday, nov. 15, 2006   |   0 comments

I took the Pork Chop for a sad old-lady walk-jog around the lake today, and apart from trying to kill me by repeatedly lurching under my feet (and then glaring at me when I stepped on her toes), she was a very good dog. Until we got to the final stretch, a particularly tree-y section, and Piggy lost her mind. She reared up on her hindquarters and pogo-ed up and down, screaming her other-worldly scream as she boinged and boinged. There was a squirrel, you see. And “squirrel” is the magical key that unlocks this particular dog’s mind and sweeps her off to a planet of complete unhingedness. I tried calling her name, all her names. I tried to make eye contact, tried to pull her back to sanity with a tug on her leash. But it was just, “Piggy’s not here right now. If you’d like to leave a message….”

And…that’s it, the end of the story. The squirrel ran up, up and away, and slowly Piggy’s brain reattached itself to her body, and she fell back into step beside me. And now she’s lying in the crook of my knee, fast asleep, her little toes twitching and her jaws clacking. Get ‘em, Piggy!