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AnimaliaJuly 01, 2006 I'm relieved to report that Rhodry was himself today. Yesterday I was afraid he had two paws in the grave, or at least in the canine nursing home. Draggy, lethargic, uninterested in food -- at the barn, when I stuffed dog biscuits into my little shoulder pouch, he didn't even come into the tackroom to see if he could panhandle one before we hit the trail. His allergies have been bugging him most of the spring; yesterday his congestion was sounding like a death rattle and his ordinarily handsome face was slightly marred by a ribbon of snot from one nostril. Poor puppy. When your dog is 11 1/2, it's hard to avoid thinking the worst at any sign of possible decline. Today he snarfed his lunch, jumped into the truck, and panhandled to beat the band. He even swiped a carrot that was meant for Dolci. (To make up for it, I gave Dolci one of Allie's oatmeal cookies.) Allie and I had a good ride, then -- it being a warm, crystal-clear, and all-around perfect afternoon -- I gave her her first bath of the season. Allie can be turned loose to graze, though if she gets bored with the grass she'll wander toward the wildflowers on the hill or maybe amble on down the driveway in search of better grazin's. This afternoon I left her in the barn's sunny back yard to eat and dry off while I went about my business. Rhodry woo-wooed to let me know that Allie was leaving her assigned place, about 10 seconds before I heard clip-clop-clop on the barn floor. I went out front and looked up the driveway, down the driveway: no Allie. Huh? Then I spied my spanking-clean horsie getting down for a serious roll in the dust of Monky's paddock. Monky was out in the front pasture; his stall door was open, and Allie walked through it. Roll, roll, roll. Yecchh. I escorted Allie back to the wash stall. The wash stall isn't a stall at all; it's outside. This is Martha's Vineyard, after all: outdoor showers are quite the thing, even the horses have one. The hose and nozzle set on "shower" got the worst of the mud off. This time I closed the barn's back doors so Allie would stay in her yard until she dried off. It's fine with me if she rolls; I just don't want to watch her.
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