Pony Tales
by Sandra Murphy
P
O
N
THE GRANDAUGHTER CHRONICLES: PART XIII
Y
giraffe would be proud of. With saddle bouncing at
Low and behold we don't have a new horse in
T
precarious angles, the granddaughter insisting that it
our family, BUT we may as well have.
"Stop right now," it bounds around the yard oblivi-
A Since a pony or horse is out of the economic ques-
ous to anything anyone can say.
L
tion right now, I compromised with my granddaugh-
At some point the saddle slides to the ground and
ter and we now have a big, yellow Labrador mix dog!
E
lays there while my granddaughter joins in the chase
It's really not quite a 'dog' yet as she is only 9-10
of whatever playful creature the dog is pursuing.
S months old, but she is WAY too big to be considered
Doesn't matter if they catch it, or for that matter
a puppy. Either way, she is filling many a role in the
even get close. It only matters that this dog and this
life of this seven year old.
child are having a wonderful time bounding from
It is amazing just how flexible these dogs are, she
one end of the yard to the other and then back and
can bend and flex in ways I wish I still could. Getting
then back again. Where the energy comes from is
under the coffee table is extremely easy for her, es-
certainly beyond this aging lady, but the laughter and
pecially when my granddaughter is there first. Laying
joy in the air is not.
down and crawling forward on her belly, she care-
When the creature in question has been safely
fully squeezes into a small area where the child has
chased from the yard, the dog flops down on the
gone before. This 'fort' they have deemed their own,
grass and stretches out making room for the child
is a wonderful place for dog and child to curl up and
to lay across it and rub its head and ears. After a
nap, or lay flat on their tummies and watch cartoons.
respectable amount of rolling around the yard and
Something about the privacy of it keeps them en-
laughing that wonderful contagious children's laugh,
tertained.
they both just lay there looking up at
During those long minutes they
the clouds and sky. I will never know
are camping under there, I wait
what they see, it is not always shared
with fear but I never say a word. I
with me, but I do know these time
know that very shortly something
will be etched in her memory long
will come to their attention in the
after this dog has gone.
backyard and they both will burst
I settle into the yard furniture and
from under there and go galloping
watch them as they drift in and out
off out the back door. The prob-
of sleep together, this wonderful yel-
lem is the wonderful dog has no
low lady that has graced the life of a
sense of its size and chooses to try
child. And I remember my own days
to just stand up and go! Time and
of childhood when my dog, a scruffy
time again I am grabbing for the
mixed breed we found wandering on
coffee table to keep it from being
the farm one day, became the cen-
dragged off across the room on
ter of my universe, my best friend.
the back of this dog. Just about
Those days can never be robbed
the time I get everything stabi-
from me and are certainly some of
lized, the dog stops and waggles its way up to me
the most wonderful memories of youth.
and slathers that dripping tongue across my hand as
It is times like that I remember just how important
if to say "SORRY!" And all is forgiven as it turns and
our childhood pets are. I remember with love the
bounces out the door in hot pursuit.
love that scraggly dog gave me.....and I watch with
My granddaughters favorite plan with this dog is to
awe as she finds that same acceptance in the big yel-
practice the saddling process she has learned in her
low dog she has so quickly come to love so much.
riding lessons. The dog is just big enough to easily
I watch them as they sleep out there on the grass
carry this small saddle and at times it will. Standing
under a big wide tree, and I doze off to 'home' and
there patiently awhile, it allows the process to get just
my own memories.
about half way done before a bird or some other
A great day in the lives of this family, me and my
creature will capture its attention on the other side
granddaughter.....and this dog.
of the yard...off she goes at a gallop any gazelle or
12
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