For Love of Dog

Describing a moment I have every night before bed with my dog.

For Love of Dog

I take her out to pee, the same time every night. “Maggie..Maggie??” I don’t hear her move. She always does this. “Maggie! Get up lazy bumb!” I hear her slowly and with difficulty get up from her bed. She knows this is the time of night that I take her out for a pee. 

As she ambles from her cushion, her head is bowed forward and her tail is wagging. She’s so freaking cute. “Oh, come here!” I give her kisses. I can’t resist acknowledging her cuteness. I kneel down to her eye level and bring her face into my hands. Her fur is a shiny black. She’s 5 years old but still receives sweet praise from kids - “hi puppy!”. 

I open the door and we head out into the dark of the night. Before us is the driveway. She knows the drill. She dallies along the side with her head outstretched towards the smells carried by the wind. “Maggie” I intone softly. She doesn’t respond. I whistle with a sternness. She slowly walks to the edge of the driveway, where asphalt meets curb. She halfway sits, anticipating the next action - walking across the street. I look at her and she looks at me. She completes the action. I walk first and she follows behind me. I let her walk in whatever direction she wants, left or right. Today she chooses the left. 

Peeing is never just peeing for a dog. As she squats down to pee, Maggies snout majestically canvasses the atmosphere around her. Smells. I’m not sure what she smells, but I’m sure it contains a variety as complex and multifarious as the colors, hues, angles and contours perceived by my eyes. When she finishes, she swiftly turns around and follows me back to the house. Not before making a detour to smell the cars on the driveway. “Maggie”, I call her. She’s so distracted; so involved in the world of her smell. I give her a few extra moments to enjoy herself. “Maggie!”. 

As we enter the house, her tail begins to wag with an awesome ferocity. I love this part of the night. “You’re so cute!” I say. With her tail wagging, she turns her head to look at me, eyes eager and earnest. I sense love. I bend down once more to give her a kiss on the head and a scratch behind her ears. She pushes herself into me. My way of expressing love is with words and her way of expressing love is with movement and touch. I hug her. I say once more “I love you Maggie”. 

I watch as she heads back to her cushion. Another day finished. Another night of sleep. I turn off the lights and say one more time “goodnight maggie”.