Rover

Ever since I was three and my family bought a Siamese kitten we named Tote, I was always drawn to animals. Tote and I would chase each other back and forth in the hall and when we got tired would go nap together. At night, we would sleep together and by morning Tote had my pillow and my head was on the bed.

Owners would tell me their cat doesn't like anyone and within a few minutes the same cat would be sitting next to me purring. Dog owners would be surprised when their dog didn't bark at me, instead coming up to rub my legs and to receive caresses on their sides. When the time came to pick a confirmation name I chose St. Francis of Assisi, he was the patron saint of animals.

My neighborhood has several dogs, everyone a character unto themselves.

First is Liberty, she is the oldest canine in the area. A sheltie mix she functions at her own pace which is somewhere between not fast to extremely slow. A walk around the neighborhood is measured on the calendar and not on the clock.

From the oldest to the youngest, Ellie, a chocolate lab who is all energy, paws, floppy ears and legs. It will still be another 12-18 months before she will grow into her body. She loves belly rubs and ear scratches with no control over her tale and rear end when excited.

There are two white Bichon mixes with different owners and different personalities, Callie and Arrow. Callie is brave and scared, barking up a storm when she detects an intruder into her domain and later scooting back behind the legs of her owners if the intruder approaches. Arrow is definitely laid back.

My girlfriend in the neighborhood pack is Hope. Hope is a golden-doodle with all the markings and temperament of the hybrid breed. Hope is a bundle of energy with complete devotion to her pack leader. She follows her owner everywhere and is not found outside unless he is in the yard. When she was four months old, she and I had a few moments where we bonded. Reaching over the short fence, she would expose her belly to rubs and having her snout nuzzled.

Finally, we come to Rover, a well-behaved 3-year old poodle/golden retriever mix, showing more golden than poodle. His owners spent the time and effort to train Rover to be part of the family pack. Anytime Rover is out in his yard or walking he is a happy, well-behaved dog.

One night the owner and Rover were out walking. I happen to come home as he approached my area or the sidewalk. I said "Hi Rover", and he came over to greet me. His owner said he was surprised River didn't bark because he always barks when he meets people.

Last week, around 10:00 pm, I was out retrieving items from the back end of my SUV when Rover and his owner appeared for Rover's last walk of the day.

Rover knows me, so he started coming over to say "Hi". He was looking for his "treats" from me, rubbing his ears and patting his belly. It had rained earlier in the evening so the toads and frogs were out, and they distracted Rover before he got over to me. Rover sniffed the scent of the amphibians until his owner nudged Rover towards home.

A few minutes later I looked up, Rover with leash trailing behind, and his owner a block away, was running in my direction. I was thinking about how to grab the leash while the owner caught up when he came straight to me!

He barked softly twice, rubbed against my legs, letting me pat his sides, barked once and ran back towards his owner.

He realized he forgot to say "Hi" to me and came back to do so. The pack comes first to Rover.