Thirsty Dog in the Park
While walking through
the park one late summer morning I came upon a young man
and his dog. It was a large fluffy rust colored dog resembling a
retriever. The dog stood on his
hind legs with his front paws plopped on top of a concrete water
fountain. With his right
hand the young man patiently pushed the fountain button allowing the
cool water to gently
cascade into his cupped left hand. The dog eagerly lapped the water
from his owner’s cupped
hand. It surprised me that the dog had such a powerful thirst so early
in the morning with the
temperature at a comfortable
sixty degrees. More than anything though, I admired the kind
devotion this young man displayed for his lovable pooch.
French Bulldog Aboard the N.Y. Ferry
I witnessed a somewhat
related situation a few days earlier while riding the N.Y. Ferry
from Astoria to Wall Street. My
wife, son, and I sat on the port side of the boat’s enclosed main
deck across from another young man, this one with a cute little French
bulldog which he held
on a leash. We could not help affectionately laughing at this solidly
built little canine with his
round bowling ball head, bat like ears, black marble eyes, pushed in
pug nose, and shapely
jowls. The tuckered-out dog sat prone in the aisle panting profusely with
his tongue dangling
out of his of his mouth to one side.
The heat or exertion
had clearly gotten to him although it was not a severely hot or
humid day. We were actually in the middle of a comfortable spell of
early September weather.
Perhaps he had just finished a long walk or run in the sun getting to
the ferry.
I have heard that
bulldogs and other breed s with similar features do not handle hot
humid weather very well. Those cute comical traits may delight us, but
they also create
breathing difficulties which become particularly pronounced when
temperatures and humidity
After a while we
noticed that the dog had transferred out of the aisle and was now
under his master’s seat
gleefully lapping up the water provided him in one of those collapsible
bowls that dog owners carry these days. After finishing his drink, the
little French bulldog was
no longer panting. We felt better knowing he was doing okay.
Steven T.
Oct. 2019
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