The Defiant Ones

Dixxe wondered about letting a miniature poodle wander off leash. Well in hindsight, I wouldn't of course. But there's always a trade-off between quantity and quality of life with pets, and the best we can do is hit some reasonable balance and hope it works out.

At age 15.5 years, he is slowing down and sleeps most of the time of course. If an older pet spends 10 minutes a day doing something other than sleeping -- exciting stuff like eating, pooping, and peeing -- that adds up to 61 hours of "life" per year. But out in the field he prances and explores like the little poodle that I remember. Maybe seeing him get old is harder on me than him.

So it seemed worthwhile to tolerate higher risk in order to enjoy some life while he still could. It was after all private property inside the city limits, and my larger dog, Coffee Girl, swept the field free of critters before the little poodle went across it. We only saw coyotes three times in 1800 walks in that field, over a two year period.

But the Wiley One fooled me. The little poodle typically leads the way back home since he tires first. The damned coyote was waiting on this return trip, when I least expected him.

Once I posted about Harley riders: how much I used to dislike them for their noise and ridiculous affectations. But then I started to appreciate that a 60-year-old who falls in love with a new sport is taking advantage of the opportunities that he still has, while there's still time, and that is worth the risk. That's pretty much what was happening in the field.