Noooo, Mama!

Now that spring is here, Terry [the greyhound] is in seventh heaven. She races and tears around the backyard, tossing her toys in the air until she’s exhausted, then curls up on her deck bed to snooze in the sun. Happy, happy dog.

Except for one small detail.

After a winter of enforced togetherness nearly 24/7, Terry has separation anxiety issues. Sort of.

This morning I spent a couple of hours out in yard puttering around. She was happy as can be, mostly ignoring me, but playing with her toys and sniffing all the new smells. Just a nice quiet morning out in the yard.

When it came time to come in the house for a cuppa, she didn’t notice until I was halfway through the door. And then she came charging up on the deck as if the hounds of hell were on her heels.

“You want to come in, Ter?” I held the door open.

She backed up a step and indicated that no, she didn’t want to come in.

So, I closed the door and walked across the kitchen.

Bark, bark, bark, bark, bark. I turned and saw her hysterically jumping up and down, barking.

I walked back to the door and opened it. “Want to come in?”

NO. She did not want to come in. Wouldn’t come in. Refused to come in.

So I closed the door and went back toward the coffee pot with the same results. Hysterical dog.

It finally occurred to me that she didn’t want the door closed. When the door is closed, mama is another world away. But with the door open, Terry can hear mama and the radio and all of the other comforting sounds of home.

So I pulled on a sweatshirt, turned off the thermostat and left the door open. Terry is now snoozing serenely on her deck bed in the sun.