Observations from a walk with Rufus

First off, let me apologize for taking so long to post something to this blog. I’m sure you’ve all been anxiously awaiting another post, and I’ve let you all down in a major way. Of course, I’m full of excuses. Give me just a second to come up with one or two.

Well, for one thing, I’ve  been spending most of my evening computer time putting more tunes on my ipod. As many of you know, that can be a pretty time consuming process, especially for me since many of my tunes come from vinyl, so I have to transfer them from vinyl to CD, then to Itunes, then onto my ipod. That’s a pretty good excuse, isn’t it?

Also, the weather has been really nice, and since it stays light for so much longer, I feel like I should spend more time outside, getting exercise. Since we live in a small town, I usually take a long bike ride that covers our burg from east to west, north to south. Other times, I take our dog, Rufus, for a long walk, which is what I chose tonight. While I was on my walk, I was trying to come up with an idea for something to write about when I got back.

I thought about what I was doing…just hanging out with Rufus. I occasionally talk to him, but he doesn’t answer. Most times he just looks at me with the same expression. So I decided to delve a little deeper…what at the major similarities AND the major differences between the Ruf-dog and me? Let’s just take a look, shall we?

-When I announced to Rufus that we were going for a walk, his tail started wagging hysterically, and he started jumping up and down. I felt pretty good about getting out and taking a walk on a nice evening but wasn’t quite that excited. Observation: difference.

-As we prepared for our walk, I put on my Nikes, a cap and sunglasses. The only thing that went on Rufus was his walking collar and leash…no shoes, no shades, no cap. Observation: difference.

-As we walked, I pretty much kept up the same pace. Rufus would speed up, then stop and sniff…then run like crazy, then stop and sniff. I did no stopping and no sniffing. Observation: difference.

-Every few feet, Rufus would stop and pee a little. I took a long pee before we left so I wouldn’t feel the urge during our walk. He didn’t care where he peed…bushes, trees, fire hydrants, long grass…I’m much more selective, although I haven’t always been that way. Anyone who has ever done high school road drinking can relate. Observation: difference. (wow, notice a trend here?)

-Whenever Rufus would see another dog, his ears would perk up and he would want to go meet them. I’m not sure, but since Rufus is a guy, I’m going to assume that most of these were female dogs. Twice during our walk, I saw an attractive woman out for a run. My ears didn’t exactly perk up, but I took notice, and wouldn’t have minded going over to meet them. Observation: similarity.

-When we got back to our neighborhood, I saw some friends so I went over to say hi. As soon as we got close enough, and they called Rufus by name, he immediately buried his nose in their crotch. I’ve never had the desire to do this. Observation: big difference.

-When we got in the house, Rufus went to his water dish and lapped up about a gallon of water. I went to the fridge and cracked up a 12 ounce Diet Coke and pretty much drained the whole thing. We both felt refreshed. Observation: similarity.

-I fired up my laptop and decided to blog about the differences and similarities between me and my dog. Rufus went into the family room, spread out under the ceiling fan, and closed his eyes. Observation: difference…although I think he has the right idea.