Fringe Benefits

From the frequency with which Michael's name appears, it might be surmised that I am very glad that he has come here to live.  There is a benefit to having a dog, any dog, in your life.  Cats are cats and I can't imagine life without their pompous, goofy nature.  I had a cat as a kid, Kris Kringle (must have just seen Miracle On 34th Street, 1947), but developed an allergy and didn't get another, Smokey, until the Kids were little.  I've rarely been without a cat or two since then.

Dogs are different.  I've had at least one dog since Muffin, who came to live with us in the '60s, and as many as four at one time later.  Michael is different still.  He has been trained for a specific purpose and, as has been noted, he takes his job seriously.  I didn't expect the fringe benefits, though.  I had become pretty sedentary.  With Michael and his penchant for going walkabout, we now log at least a half-mile a day with him on the leash, more if we go into town.  Not only am I getting more exercise, I find I'm standing up straighter now.  I had developed the tendency to hunch my shoulders, very unattractive, but our daily walks have made me more aware of my posture and it is improving.  (Song for today, Straighten Up and Fly Right, 1943, Nat King Cole.)

Taking Michael with me has me talking to strangers as I never would have, clerks (I guess they are "associates" now) and the public at large.  People just gush over him and I get the fallout.

Bessie Anne and I had become like an old married couple.  We knew each other so well and didn't need to talk about it.  Michael is so quiet.  He never asks for anything.  I need to watch him to catch the clues that he needs to go outside.  He's made me more aware.  I talk to him all the time; one, to get him used to his name and, two, because he watches me as if he's asking questions with those bright eyes and I need to come up with the answers.  (He still doesn't get a joke.)  I even talk to the cats more, as if they gave a hoot.

Yes, I'm glad I made the right decision when Michael needed a one-on-one home.