As if the nastiness weren't enough, the bigger problem came in trying to discard things, as Rosey, like any dog, reverts to wild beast when it comes to a bone or raw meat.
You know the sound...That guttural, wolfy, Cujo impersonation...that growl that says "Even though your my person and I am your dog, in this moment I am a wild beast and I WILL bite without even meaning to if you so much as LEAN in my direction!" The "Don't even think it," kinda growl.
So I leave Rosey to her paw-lickin' smorgasbord and do my best not to make any false moves despite the fact that she is smack dab in the path of my feeding routine.
By late afternoon she's back to her old self. Having hidden the carcass, she's ready to play, but now's not the time. I have to leave, and as much as I didn't want her out, she was not going in as she is now feeling her oats for all the extra Vitamin "Deer" in her veins. (Not to mention this IS one of the most stubborn breeds of dogs on a good day. Life with Rosey is one big karmic lesson in patience, forgiveness and unconditional love as the day will attest.)
I come home hours later, "dog tired" but oh so relieved to see my Rosey Posey leap from her perch atop the deck. Bolting to see me, she comes racing to the Jeep, wagging feverishly...more so that usual it seems...Plus she's got a strange look in her eyes and I'm thinking "Dear Lord please...not another carcass!"
I walk around the Jeep to pull Minks from her co-pilot perch as is our habit, and although Rosey knows the routine, she is frantic to mark Minks' territory...She circles once...circles twice...and then races to get between me and the steps, nearly knocking me over before heading back out to recheck Minks. Setting offloads aside, I watch Rosey as she goes back to the Jeep, back to Minks, back up toward me and back again, retracing every single step each of us have taken...stopping to pee about every 3 feet. Circling the two of us twice, then once more for good measure, I swear the dog is thinking, "I may've attracted some enemies; tonight we might need extra. This will only take a minute."
Sitting down on the steps I call her to me; and she walks straight over and places her big ol head on one shoulder and left paw on the other, and just sits there. And then it hits me...She's protecting us, yes, but the expression I'm sensing is RELIEF. This dog thought I wasn't coming back. We missed our morning rituals; we missed our "us" time, and before I left we had not reconnected. With no time to play and frustration for her non-cooperation, my departure confused her. I came home to a worried Rosey, sitting in the dark, wondering if she'd let her family down, but what I was witnessing now was sheer relief. The look in this dog's eyes was undeniable.
She had cleared the porch entirely; licked her fur clean. It was Rosey the good dog back on duty, having put Rosey the wild dog back in her inner world. As I opened the front door she raced past me, sniffed out Boo, then went directly to her corner and with one circle she went plop! Within 2 minutes she was snoring so loudly I couldn't help but laugh....Guess the combination prowl of the night, growl of the morning and worrying all evening had taken its toll...But with her family back and her marking complete, all is right in Rosey's world.
From hunter to protector...to big dog to hug.
She is back in her number one role of loving...and I am back to mine.
They say we love dogs because they love us unconditionally, but today, it was realizing that I love HER unconditionally that stole my heart. For as distasteful as deer bones are to witness, Rosey is, after all, a Pyr, and this is part of what Pyrs do...Mine was a human reaction to a nasty carcass, not a judgment on Rosey being a good or bad. Rosey was just being Rosey.
With growls back to snores...Rosey is back being "my girl"
There is no doubt an animal to tame in all of us...
But the spiritual side of Rosey is like all our spiritual sides...
It just wants to love and be loved...
And while I've long known Rosey's love for me is unconditional, tonight her snores tell me she knows mine for her is too...(good, bad, wolfy or indifferent)...She's a package deal of moods, traits and habits, as we all are...Some are more pleasing than others, but you don't throw the dog out with the deer bones and you don't abandon those you love when times aren't pretty.
I didn't abandon you girl. I just had some meetings to get to. (Sorry if I didn't make that clear.)
Oh the lessons I'm learning...
Second only to the love...
You and me, Rosey...We are family.
(Still and so, your breath kinda stinks!)
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