Eli
Dogs think in the moment. So Eli is always thinking of me. He cocks his head like a pistol. Half cock, full cock.
He's thinking, “What? or What now? or Where? or Who?” Each head position means something.
We know each other from a million years of sitting around fires. We've developed compatible genetics; a combination pheromone / head cock thing.
Rosetta and I were making love. I glanced left and Eli was beside the bed giving me a new head cock. It asked, “is this a fight I should be in?” I laughed and had to stop. Rosetta was pissed. She has difficulty getting psyched up to make to love me since she doesn't really like me.
Being in his moment, Eli inadvertently ruined Rosetta's moment. Maybe she can make love to the lawn service guys, her usual fallback selection. I think she likes them.
Sometimes I see Eli thinking, “Might dinner be served early today?” He knows better. Dinner's never early. God help me though if it's late. I get the frantic Boing! Boing! This is how I describe him jumping around me.
His feet are like cat paws, slender and dainty. He can jump extraordinarily high. He may get his cat genes from eating them. Eli does not like cats and is faster than most. Fresh out of the pound I had to buy Eli a shock collar. Otherwise he would have eaten a hundred cats in his first week out of the slammer.
Slender and dainty Eli is all muscle. He appears a cross between a Whippet and an Australian Blue Heeler. He looks at his world out of scary blue eyes. He loves to run.
I got a special gizmo to tie him to my bicycle so he can run beside me. Was I fast enough on foot to stay with Eli I'd have a pile of Olympic Gold Medals. Fast as he is, he stays close. Much as he's in the moment I think he remembers the Pound. He had a close one.
Once when we were out running I got twisted around in the back streets. We ran past the Pound. The Pound leaks noises of pain and despair. Eli gave me a head cock I hadn't seen before. The, “Whew!” cock.
Eli is probably in more moments than I think he is. He's just trying to figure out why I don't catch on faster. Eli and I were made for each other. Rosetta can do whoever she wants whenever.
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Author's Note
Eli is a real dog. I don't own a dog. I also make it a point not to cohabitate with anyone named Rosetta.
Other stories by Larry Strattner
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Really? No Eli? No Rosetta? Too bad, I so enjoyed this.
Loved it all - intriguing/fun - but this last para especially, Larry.
Eli is a great character(love those blue heelers me being an Ozzie) Have faved.
"Eli is probably in more moments than I think he is. He's just trying to figure out why I don't catch on faster. Eli and I were made for each other. Rosetta can do whoever she wants whenever.
Funny stuff. Like the line, "He may get his cat genes from eating them."
Ah man, Larry...you had me laughing. You captured what all men assume their dogs are thinking. The head/cock routine is perfect and hilarious. Sounds like Rosetta needs to be bent over the woodpile.
Gotta love that Eli! (Except for the cat-eating habit.) Fave.
This is superb, Larry. I love your use of language: "The Pound leaks noises of pain and despair." The short description of Eli is so precise, and the short sentence structure emphasizes the tone of neutral acceptance. Nice work.
Thank you all for your kind words. Eli thanks you as well.
Love this. You've captured that communication between man and animal, the assumed "I know what they're thinking" easiness. Great word choices. The last graph is charming. Actually, all of it is charming.
Yes, agree with all the above, Larry. Good story, well written, fun to read.
Hi Larry, reading through your work, enjoying and laughing a lot. And 'The pound leaks noises of pain and despair' is heartbreakingly real. Good stuff.
This had shades of Brad Watson's Last Days of the Dogmen, which is an all-time fave of mine. I loved this piece of yours, as much as I love my own dog, well, almost as much, you understand. See, this had to be written by a dog-lover. Written with a great understanding and appreciation for the superior animal that is dog and with great knowledge of the connection to be had with said dog, if one is so lucky. -- Q
OK. Author's note: You don't own a dog? No way...
Eli and Calvin are my daughters dogs out in Humboldt CA. Both are rescues. Both very expressive. My sister owns Milo, a rescue, who is a major character in a book I'm completing. He's a pisser too. I have never owned a dog. I am however a dog lover - and I know they know.
Very funny. And the ending is great. And I don't even like dogs (they keep surprising me on my morning runs just when I'm on the point of zoning out, and there they come barking minutes or more out of my life-expectancy).
Wonderful. I love.
Great story about animal love and how smart dogs can be.
Sweet man and his dog story. Loved:
The Pound leaks noises of pain and despair. Eli gave me a head cock I hadn't seen before. The, “Whew!” cock.