I’m worried about my dog, Rover.
When I take him for a sightseeing excursion along the River Walk in the morning — definitely one of the most beautiful sightseeing walks in downtown Pagosa Springs; ducks splashing in the eddies, the last golden leaves drifting down from the cottonwood trees, distant peaks dusted with snow — Rover seems to think the only sights worth seeing are no more than two inches off the ground, right in front of his nose.
I’m beginning to wonder… if he might be nearsighted.
The only time he looks up is when we approach someone else walking their dog. And then, he proceeds to look really closely at the wrong end of the dog. What he’s looking for, I have no idea.
Maybe I need to make an appointment with the optometrist? For Rover, I mean. I’m not sure what kind of glasses would be appropriate for a dog, but I suspect he would look distinguished in black frames.
I read where US pet owners are expected to spend more than $75 billion on their pets during 2019. That’s a noticeable increase, according to the American Pet Products Association, from the $23 billion spent in 1998, twenty years ago.
We’ve realized that a dog isn’t merely a friendly animal that gets us out for a morning walk in exchange for some dry kibble. Over the past couple of decades, Americans have concluded that a dog is, in fact, a furry human being who happens to walk on four legs and who is quietly attentive to everything we tell them, without feeling the need to argue.
This realization has produced changes in America’s legal system as well. A San Francisco city ordinance passed a few years ago added the word “guardian” to the designation of pet owners, to make it clear that pets are more than mere property… and a 2001 Oregon measure protects bequests left to dogs.
Animal lovers all across the country are lobbying their city councils for more dog parks.
“This is part of a civil rights movement,” says Alan Beck, professor of animal ecology and director of the Center for the Human-Animal Bond at Purdue University. “It wasn’t until 30 years ago we began to give up public space for basketball courts and soccer fields. Now we’re beginning to realize that pets have similar needs.”
I don’t believe Mr. Beck is implying here that dogs have a need to play basketball or soccer. But maybe we haven’t fully realized canine abilities.
Come to think of it, Rover has always had an intense interest in tennis balls. Could that mean…?
Underrated writer Louis Cannon grew up in the vast American West, although his ex-wife, given the slightest opportunity, will deny that he ever grew up at all.