Dear Redford, Part 6

In some ways, you’re the same little puppy you always were, and in others, you’ve changed so much.

The sameness:

• You still love hoomin beings like whoa.
• You frequently execute your signature move.
• You remain hungry all the time, and you don’t hesitate to let me know.
• You bark that big houndy bark.
• I often have to shoo you off the picnic table.
• That drinking problem has not resolved itself.
• You still love CrossFit (though maybe a little less now that Coach Phil has moved on). The other day, I tied you to the 70-lb. kettlebell, a.k.a. the Yellow Submarine, a.k.a. Kristen’s Bitch, and you started dragging it around like, fun! sled-pulls!

(Alas, as of yesterday, you’re not allowed to go to the gym anymore. New policy: no dogs allowed. I haz a sad.)

• I don’t think I’ve ever mentioned this before, but you have the same snacking protocol you’ve always had. That is, you have one little requirement. When we were at Cuttyhunk this summer, Margo gave you and Violet each a beef-basted bone. Violet went to town on hers, while you jogged repeatedly to one end of the porch and back. Margo finally said, “Redford! Eat your bone!” and I had to explain that you need something soft to lie on in order to eat snacks. She scoffed… but draped a beach towel on the planks, and you plopped down on it and started gnawing away.

As for the changes, there are two main ones. First, you weigh 82 pounds now, little man, and second, well, you’ve gotten a bit squirrelly. You get aggressive on the leash when we walk by other dogs, and even a visit to the dog park a few weeks ago ended badly, with you scaring the shit out of a shepherdy-mutt-dog. She was nervous, hovering, getting up in your business, but you most definitely over-reacted. It made me sad because I remember the days when you never met a dog you didn’t want to make out with. During all this time spent trying to let Violet recuperate from her surgeries, we haven’t been as social, and I think you’ve forgotten how to be with other dogs. And that makes me feel guilty and angry and frustrated.

But the other thing that has stayed the same is I love you like always. Madly and forever.

Love,

Amy

Photos by Kate “The Ginger Menace” and ATD.