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Travvy Turns Four MonthsJune 28, 2008 Late last night Travvy completed his fourth month. What a difference this month made! His overcoat was just starting to come in at the beginning of June. At first he looked as if he's been sprinkled with pepper, or maybe soot. The soot 'n' pepper spread down his barrel and hind legs, all the while deepening and darkening. Now he's a dark gray puppy, and the dark is seeping up the back of his neck toward his ears. The gray isn't uniform either: in some places, like over his shoulders and down toward his elbows, it thickens into dark bands. He's also looking less like a puppy and more like a young dog. Moving more like a young dog too. No more toddling. He's quite assured going down the stairs now, and you should see him race down the hill from the Lobdells' house to the barn! Of course this afternoon he streaked through the scrub with perfect coordination, then when he got to the bottom he did a 360-degree shoulder roll that was almost certainly unplanned because he seemed quite surprised. He still scampers sometimes, and he usually sprints with haunches out, but he's developing some power in that hind end. I love watching him come when I call him. It's always "on the double," and his expression says "I'm coming as fast as I can -- isn't this fun?" I think about his siblings, five brothers and three sisters, undergoing the same physical transformation at the same time. Wish I could see some of them regularly! Rhodry's siblings grew differently, according to which side of the family they took after, border collie, Samoyed, or malamute. Lakota, who's still around and doing well, I hear, was always the one who looked most like him. We had a stretch of hot, humid days in early June, and we're having a not-quite-so-hot stretch of them now. Travvy isn't thrilled, but he knows how to take care of himself: he finds the coolest surface -- at home it's the floor at the foot of the stairs; at the barn it's the grass under the horse trailer -- and sprawls on it full length. The length is getting longer. He drinks plenty of water. He takes it easy through the middle of the day and comes back to life around four or five -- earlier if someone wants to play. Ginny's grandsons have been visiting. James, the youngest, has been Travvy's #1 playmate. He also taught Travvy to shake hands. Trav is now sorting out the difference between "Give me your paw" and "Lie down." He watches me very intently to see what I want.
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