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Apr. 24, 2005 Nina and I went for a walk today. She led the way on the River Bluff walkway, barking at geese and running like a deer through the underbrush by the Eel River. The temperature this morning was in the low forties and the trail was nearly vacant. Only a few dog-walkers and one or two fishermen were out and about. Nothing could possibly go wrong on such a quiet morning. Right? Wrong. We got to the small bridge that crosses over Horn Creek and there they were, the ducks. Nina saw them and without a bark went running straight to the bank of the river. I yelled for her but it was too late. She had plunged into the cold water and my heart almost jumped out of its cockpit. Nina is a Doberman and a bald one at that. Bald Dobermans shouldn’t be jumping into near-freezing river water. I ran after her, the ducks quacked and clattered away and there up to her neck in muddy water was Nina. She swam to shore and shook herself, giving me a muddy bath I didn’t need. Now how would I explain this to my wife? We were a half-mile away from my truck with nothing to keep her warm. I took my hooded jacket off and covered the now shivering canine. I cursed a few times under my breath for not keeping her on a leash, but I couldn’t stay mad for long. Nina was quite obviously proud of herself for braving the weather and taking a leap of faith into the water after some creatures she believed didn’t belong. Clearly, Nina did not have an appreciation for Mallards. I put her on the leash and led her back to the truck. She did a fine job of smelling up my vehicle. I must now buy one of those little green evergreen trees that make your truck smell like a little green evergreen tree…but for some reason they don’t “really” smell like a little green evergreen tree. My wife waited at the door. I smiled sheepishly. “Sorry dear,” is all I could think of when she gave me that puzzled look. “Ducks,” came out of my mouth next. She handed me a towel. Nina and I headed for the bathtub.
Is there a moral to this story? I don’t
think so…maybe there is. If people were more
like dogs, maybe we wouldn’t be so neurotic
about everything in our lives. Maybe we should
take that leap of faith into the icy water of
life and to hell with the consequences, a little
mud never hurt anybody. Taking risks can be
invigorating, just ask Nina.
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