Haiku by Dog: Moosey
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It’s one of Halley’s favorite games: I Have It and You Can’t Take It But Try To Take It Because That’s the Fun Part. Or something like that. Butt up in the air, tail wagging, mouth lightly holding the toy, she is just begging me to take her moose. At the slightest twitch of my finger she bounces and grabs Moosey a little tighter. I grab it, tug a bit, and she tugs back. Sometimes there’s a good-natured growl thrown in to add some spice. If I do manage to get the toy away from her, I toss it across the room, and she charges after it, bringing it back for another round.
We play this game several times a day. Sometimes it’s with Moosey. Sometimes with Monkey. Every once in a while we rotate in Bear or Bunny.
Most often, the game lasts no more than five or ten minutes. Halley will chase Moosey or Monkey two, maybe three times. Then she’s done. It’s over. Halley walks away, with a slow and cheerful wag. It doesn’t matter if I try to re-engage. The end. Until next time.
My previous terriers, Rosie and Tucker, were incessant chasers of things. The game would only truly end when it was time for bed, or someone’s tongue was hanging down to their knees. But Halley’s moments of joyous rompage with her toys is fleeting. This is why, when she asks to play, I drop everything to do so.
Recently, I have been trying to grab joy that way. Something sparks a good feeling. Say, a beautiful sunset, a sweet moment with my grandson, a squirrel comically scratching their white belly fur. I grasp that moment, give it a little tug of mindfulness: “I’m paying attention. I am noticing and feeling.”
It usually doesn’t last long. The moment is over. The not-so-good feelings of our current reality make themselves apparent. The sunset was fleeting, my grandson is now playing with his trains, and the squirrel scurried up a tree when Halley barked at them.
That’s ok, I think. I just need to stop and notice when those things happen, finding joy, beauty, peace and warmth, whenever and wherever they appear. They may be fleeting, but they will come. And I will grab them and tug them and hold onto them as long as I can.
What do you hold on to?
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I somehow think that if one of the cats got (or wanted) Moosey, things wouldn’t be so fun for Halley anymore. It’s the little things like playing this game with Halley that get us through. I don’t think most people realize how much playing with your dog or cat strengthens your bond and makes your life better.