Nantucket

Doing Christmas Doggy-Style

Christmas came early on Nantucket this year. 

At least for me.  It actually came about ten (10) days early and it came in the form of a 3-5 year old Corgi-Sheltie mix named, at least at the time of his arrival, "Clyde".

Clyde was picked up from Good Dog Rescue which is an affiliation of volunteers that rescue sick, "misunderstood" or abandoned dogs and after acclimating them in a "foster" home, put them out for adoption.   (See the site here.)

The adoption process is fairly rigorous and involves interviews, approval from your local vet, a not-insignificant adoption fee, etc.   It's quite an operation and obviously a good cause.

Clyde arrived on Nantucket and lived with me at the office until he was sprung on my 4 and 6 year old on Christmas morning.  Although a little subdued from his trip when he arrived, Cylde's batteries were quickly recharged when he met our office dog, Bosun (9 year old yellow lab).  Bosun took the newcomer pretty well considering that she's quite a princess and not used to sharing attention with another dog.

Needless to say Christmas morning started early (around 6:15 AM) when Clyde arived at the house and began poking around.   The kids, who had been asking for a dog for months, loved him immediately and spent lots of time warming him up with belly rubs (according to the note from Santa, Clyde's  long trip from the North Pole left him very cold and tired).  Each child got their own dog bed so that Clyde could spend nights in each of their rooms.  They also got their own leashes for walks.  Oh,  and Clyde isn't Clyde anymore.  The children re-named him "Rocky".  He didn't seem all that responsive to "Clyde" anyway.

So Clyde . . . errr . . . Rocky. . . has been out and about with me on Nantucket a little bit.   So far his little legs have managed to keep up.  He starts to fade a little after mile two on our walks however but given his size and lack of conditioning, he's got big shoes to fill to keep up with me.  He seems a little blown away by all the fresh air and the smells of the moors and ocean.   He appears baffled by seagulls and other birds that we have in such large numbers here.  Clearly Nantucket is a far cry from being found somewhere by the side of a highway in Connecticut. 

Rocky has also met the "Gate Keepers".   The Gate Keepers are a family of three (3) dogs that "guard" the entrance to the subdivision where  I work.  They are quite friendly but pass judgment on all who enter the neighborhood.  "Judgment" by the way usually consists of  the two (2) labs  (one black, one chocolate) lying in the middle of the road, barely raising an eyebrow - let alone their heads - when someone enters the neighborhood ( a nine (9) lot cul-de-sac).  Occasionally they will make their rounds by wandering leisurely (and I mean leisurely - I've never seen either dog move at more than a snail's pace) around the neighborhood - stopping at each property to sniff around and see what's new.  Typically they leave a steaming  "reminder" as a calling card for their visit, but this appears to be only on my property for some reason.  The third Gate Keeper, a small black terrier, usually sprints out of the bushes terryfyingly before coming to a screeching halt nearby, giving a small "yip" and then leisurely walking back onto its owner's property.

Rocky sleeps on his back with his little legs in the air.  He's pretty quiet and attempts to climb into your lap at every opportunity.  He appears housebroken (so far) and doesn't seem to have much interest in chewing the furniture, clothes, shoes or hands and feet.  He stays pretty close and doesn't like to wander all that far away.  His obedience doesn't appear great although he seems to understand "sit" and "lie down".  "Come" appears to be a problem and will probably take a little work with some treats.  We've made a good start as he seems to have learned what "cookie" means and comes running when you say that.

Locals on Nantucket tend to be dog people.  Many dogs on Nantucket are as well known as some of the people.  Some dogs are locally famous, not for being aggressive, but for their antics in riding around in their owner's trucks or for sitting in front of their owner's shops downtown.  In order to keep dogs safe, Nantucket actually passed a local by-law a few years ago requiring dogs riding around in the back of trucks to be secured with a leash.  I tend to see more people walking their dogs this time of year.  Maybe it's because it's so quiet around here and people have more time to spend with them.