Dogs Gone Wild

As I sit and try to concentrate on my morning computer rituals, all I hear is the constant, insistent click of paws on the kitchen floor. I avoid looking down. It isn't pretty--in fact, it's kind of disturbing. They are insane today. Karma, who is scheduled to be spayed on March 16 (a month too late, it turns out) is now in heat. Little Major, fixed though he is, is a dog on a mission. He is the humpomatic that cannot be stopped and what's more, Karma doesn't want him stopped.

In an effort to protect what's left of her virtue, I put Major in the crate. He was, after all, the driving force I thought. It's Karma's crate where she resides when I go out. I closed Major in fully expecting whining objections from him. Instead, Karma began pawing wildly at the latch in an attempt to free him! They are two dogs of but one mind.

The coupling elicits screams of horror from the boy. I am getting used to it, but I will admit that it engendered a bit of horror in me at first, too. I see these dogs, especially Major, as so removed from their natural tendencies that when instinct takes over it's a bit of a shock. Who knew he had it in him? He's had the odd love affair over the years with stuffed toys and pillows, but nothing sustained like this. The song, "Who Let the Dogs Out," takes on vivid new meaning for me.

The only plus I see in all this is that by day's end they will be worn to a frazzle. They must be exhausting themselves because it exhausts me just thinking about it, hearing it, yelling at them for it and when it absolutely can't be helped--seeing it. How long does this heat last? Maybe I could move the vet appointment up to, say, tomorrow!