Tuesday, March 21, 2006

Angel dogs

I'm on call at the hospital right now. And while you may think this involves saving people's lives, it very rarely does. For a student like me, it mostly involves waiting around wondering where everyone else is. So, I post.

This morning I helped sew up a man who was in a car accident last evening. It snowed here in Iowa and the roads were terrible. Apparently, he missed a fork in the road and went nose first into a ditch, rolling the car and losing consciousness. Luckily for him, his trusty golden retriever pulled him from the car, he awoke and was able to walk a half mile to help.

I like to think Malcom would do the same for me (if he had a little more flesh on his bones!). He's a very loyal dog--one I've grown to love a lot more than I thought was possible when the boss and I got hitched. And I'm not just saying that because he's the head of human resources and must approve any in-house promotions.

Here's a poem I really enjoyed and got from this blog.

Why Dogs Stopped Flying
by Kenneth W. Brewer

Before humans,
dogs flew everywhere.
Their wings of silky fur
wrapped hollow bones.
Their tails wagged
like rudders through wind,
their stomachs bare
to the sullen earth.

Out of sorrow for the first humans--
stumbling, crawling,
helpless and cold--
dogs folded their
great wings into paws
soft enough to walk
beside us forever.

They still weep for us,
pity our small noses,
our unfortunate eyes,
our dull teeth.
They lick our faces clean,
keep us warm at night.
Sometimes they remember flying
and bite our ugly hands.

6 comments:

Boss said...

Your angel dog is at this moment sleeping comfortably on a pair of your pants. His legs are twitching a little bit. I think he's dreaming about flying.

Malcom said...

"I like to think Malcom would do the same for me"

I would, Coach. I would.

Anonymous said...

We humans do not give dogs the credit they deserve or realize how smart they really are. My little dog, Happy, is truly an "Angel Dog". Recently I was told I have sleep apnea after an in-hospital sleep study. For the last three years Happy has been waking me and insisting that I get up and out of bed several times per night. I was getting a bit cranky with her, thinking she just wanted to play. Actually, what she was doing was getting me to take another breath, because she was afraid that I wasn't going to. The sleep specialist tells me this is a very common happening. Love those soft, furry, little angels. Love to you all, Aunt Betty

Boss said...

Wow! That Happy sounds like a keeper! What an amazing dog!

Trick said...

Okay, so everyone, including my children, knows how much I hate dogs. Aunah was asking me the other day, "Mommy, you like dogs, but only a little bit, right?" How could I express to this little lover of every animal how much I really do not care for almost any animal, especially dogs? Well, I have told her repeatedly (since she has asked repeatedly) that when Daddy is ready to take care of a dog, he will get one, but I will not get one because I don't want one. Of course she asked her Dad to get one. Her Dad looked for an excuse to not add one more thing to do in his schedule. He said her favorite stuffed animal, a poodle named Ella, would be sad or jealous. She replied, "I'll talk to her." Once she got home, she was overheard explaining to the stuffed animal how there would be a new dog in our lives. She said Ella would be okay with that.
PS if anyone remembers how much Aunah loved "Squirrel" you may be interested to know Ella may be a pretty good replacement.

Boss said...

Sarah! I love the image of Aunah sitting down to have a frank talk with Ella. That's priceless! With a character like that, sooner or later you folks are going to end up with an Angel Dog in your house too. (Don't worry, they don't like you as much after they grown out of puppyhood.)