Outside with a dog

My heart belongs to these two creatures, sisters in crime (lots of crimes), playmates, mutual tormentors, buddies, ranch hounds, companions to each other and us humans, silly girls........

When things are not soggy around here, we three take a daily walk up the hill to enjoy the view and the fresh air.  It is rare to capture them both so still, they are both very accomplished runners and run circles around and ahead of me constantly.  So this scene of them catching a breath and quietly surveying the river and ranch next door is a moment in life that I wanted to commemorate with a quick scrapbook page.  Actually, its now in a frame on the wall because I just couldn't bear to close it up in an album!

And the sentiment says it all................

Have you heard of the book Inside of a Dog?  I just started it and its fantastic, for dog lovers or, really, for any animal lovers.  Its by an animal behavioral psychologist who decided to look at dogs not from our common anthropomorphic ways (that is, projecting human feelings onto the dogs) but from square one.  Meaning, what life is like from the dog's perspective, without adding our prejudices and beliefs based on how we humans see the world.  It is fascinating and is already making me look at these girls in a completely new light.  Because often their behavior confounds us, and we just kind of ignore it.  Like, why to they sometimes trade doghouses?  And why is Sunny sometimes just oblivious to us?  But other times, seems like a needy toddler (yes, I'm anthropomorphizing!)  They are complex creatures and I'm looking forward to getting much more insight into their souls.

The titles of the book and this post come from this quote:

......of which we have engraved on a slate plaque on our living room mantle.  Serendipity, perhaps?