Instructions on Life from a rescue named Maisie
I wander into the bedroom and find Maisie, as per usual, curled up in a small, compact ball, her chin on the heap that is my standard t-shirt and cargo shorts, carelessly thrown there after our morning walk. Her sumptuous tail is wrapped around her, its tip grazing her nose. When she sees me, her …
A few weeks ago, when I was having a particularly rough morning all on my own (without any help from Maisie) we encountered another dog on our morning walk. We were on a section of the trail that stretches long and straight, with a decent site line, and I could see the dog from pretty …
It was her eyes that first pulled me in, Maisie’s big, searching, liquid gold, Egyptian princess, smoky, kohl-lined eyes. She looked up at me, looked straight into my broken heart and held on tight, didn’t let go. She still hasn’t. She has a fantastic, cascading tail; she has disheveled, raggedy ears that look like an …
Maisie has two modes of leash walking. One mode is her daytime walk, her nose pointed straight ahead, tail pointed back and slightly down, ears relaxed and dancing in time with her steps. She is very clearly on a mission to get somewhere —anywhere — and she walks with intense determination, as if she is …
Continue reading "In Which Maisie Schools Me on Non-Judgment (Travels With Maisie, Part Two)"
Maisie and I are at the intersection of Champa and 17th Avenue in downtown Denver and we are both a little shell-shocked by the traffic and the noise and the people and the commotion. Maisie is a well-traveled dog — Colorado is the 19th state she has visited — and I am no rube, having …
The timer on the kitchen stove has just gone off, with its loud, repetitive beep, and in perfect Pavlovian fashion Maisie begins her dance. She is barking and jumping in circles, and I swear, sometimes all four paws are off the ground at once. Her whole being is spilling over with excitement and it is …
There is a heaviness in the air as my husband and I get out of the truck and make our way up the front walk, but the minute we open the door, Maisie is there, tail wagging, up on her hind legs, her tiny front feet pawing the air and then landing on my legs. Even …
The date came and went, with barely a blip on the radar. My husband took her around the park and I managed to get myself out for a two block walk, but other than that, Maisie’s year anniversary with us was dramatically uneventful. That was not how I had planned things to be. At the …
Continue reading "Here’s to a Year With Little Miss Sunshine"
Maisie is spinning around in circles, making guttural grunting noises and attacking her tail, hopping as she bites it. It really is a sight to behold, a tiny feat of coordination and insanity-inspired athleticism. I am watching her while I am warming my hands on a mug of freshly brewed Masala Chai tea, holding the …
It’s 14 degrees with a wind chill of half that and there is at least a foot of untracked, new snow in the meadow. In spite of this fact, I have my mitten off and a piece of chicken gizzard in my bare hand, and I am down on one knee, waiting to reward Maisie, …
Continue reading "Maisie the Omnivore’s Nonexistent Dilemma"
Barks at Strangers 