AN AFTERNOON WALK WITH NELLIE

We’ve had two dogs for four years. At ten (four years ago), Nellie was slowing down and considering retirement, and Mike needed a more youthful, exuberant hunting companion. It’s just that neither Mike nor I considered the possibility that we would have two dogs for many years. After all, the average lifespan of a Shorthair is ten years.

Nellie really doesn’t want to hunt any more, but when she saw Mike and Bess leaving, she had some feelings about it. She watched out the window and marched around the house. And when they left yesterday afternoon, she’d had enough of waiting. Or, perhaps she remembered that before Bess came, she and I used to walk when Mike was gone.

“Get your visor, Kathy,” she said. “We’re going out.”

I let Nellie take the lead. Sometimes if I suggest the path, she won’t follow. She let me know that she wanted our usual walk – down the lane. At the apple trees, she found one on the ground to munch. As we went along, she visited the various black hawthorn trees for the tasty berries that drop to the ground. 

 

We both huffed and puffed up Plank’s Pitch, and she offered wordless encouragement as I slowed. 

Once we were on the flat, she headed for one of her favorite places – Pete’s Pond. When next I met up with her, she was already enjoying a cooling soak. “Ahh-h-h-h . . .,” she seemed to say. She stayed in that spot for quite a while, finally stretching right out. I didn’t hurry her.

Leaving the pond, she dallied a bit in the field. I was going to wait for her but remembered that she likes some “me” time during the walks. She’s really quite independent, even in old age. So, I set off in the direction of the road, but before I reached it, she passed me. I was pleased with her choice of route for our return to the farmhouse – across June’s field.

And now it was as if she was saying, “You’re on your own. You know the way and so do I. See you there in a few.” I stuck to the path that Mike prepared for us, and Nellie began to explore the field, caught up in her own little world. I watched her for a while, but it was clear she didn’t need me. I headed on back to the yard, and as I expected, she arrived a few minutes later. KW