Of dogs and duty

February 4, 2025

Had I known that getting two dogs was going to prove so diverting that I would fail to write anything at all for ten months I might have had second thoughts.

It didn’t happen all at once, as situations with dogs usually don’t. It takes time and several slow missteps to reach peak nonsense. After our sweet Edie died, I only lasted three months before I was on the prowl for another dog. This time a husky-shepherd mix rescue fell into our purview, partly checking off my husband’s lifelong wish for a German Shepherd, and in alignment with my desire for a dog that is cute.

Rufus was a handful, as anyone who is not ignorant and deluded about this breed would know. We did not. He had been returned to the rescue once already and we felt we had to keep him so we did, and set about taking him to training and going on hours of walks every day. This was, of course, not sufficient. We were now the owners of an unemployed mostly-husky badly in need of a job, with no sled teams in sight. Snapping shoelaces or straps with one clean scissorlike chomp was his specialty. In books, he favored Agatha Christies, so we turned that bookcase around and covered up the rest with furniture. He loved to find and carry around little clay animals in his mouth so all my cute little tchotchkes were removed. Surfaces were cleared. The floor could have nothing on it that was not surrounded by a fence. After several months with this fellow it looked like maybe we were moving.

Calendar pages fly across the screen like in an old movie, and one year after we brought Rufus home we decided he Just Needs A Friend, which is how things went out of the frying pan and into the fire. We chose, from the same rescue, an adorable one year old brindle something, a knee-high, very nose-oriented type of dog, chinchilla-soft and unable ever to get quite close enough to you. She is Dr. Millie Buttons, so named for her propensity to inspect nearly every orifice of whomever she encounters with a medical intensity, and with additional specialties in phrenology and podiatry.

As bad in all the ways Rufus was already a challenge, she introduced several even more terrible habits. Now we would come home to find plums from the dining room table fruit bowl knocked all about the floor like pool balls, each one with a little tooth hole. Or a chewed up, and empty, bottle of vitamin D gummies. Purging the 61 whole ones she ate, and the followup treatment, set us back two thousand dollars. To the chewing and destroying regimen Rufus was already on, Dr. Millie Buttons added area rugs (now removed), curtains, blankets, the dog bed (also gone), every spindle and leg of every piece of wood furniture, and anything with fringe. Also, she’s leash reactive with other dogs and God help me when she sees a squirrel on a walk. She’s been with us for six head spinning months and I just signed her up for training.

I’ve lost the thread with these two in the house. It’s like having two four-legged toddlers who race around as if they were shot out of a cannon and eat everything they see. Their chief entertainment with each other is a game I call bitey face, which is loud and, for the sensitive, mildly alarming. When they’re not playing bitey face, running up and down the length of our narrow rowhouse (and we’ve moved all the furniture aside so they have a clear track), or barking at that one bunny in the neighbor’s back yard, they are competing boisterously to be petted. A constant steady beat throughout the day like a metronome is the task of letting one or both out, then back in, then back out, then back in, then back out, all day. And needless to say–our back yard, formerly a small pleasant garden, is now trashed. Ah, pets.

I have been looking at them in a confused stupor for 18 months now, and I’ve simply forgotten anything I was trying to accomplish in life. They have got me outside walking vigorously for miles a day, and there is always a warm dog for my lap or to sidle up next to for a hug. They’re wonderful, despite everything. And they may be the perfect pets at present. Maintaining health and well being is always important. But it is imperative now. Dark times are suddenly rushing upon us.

It is time for me to pay attention. To find that lost thread and follow it. To look into, and speak back to the darkness. Regardless of the dogs, distractions, and diversions in your life, I hope you do the same. Love those diversions, and get to work.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

I think cookies are generally on point, especially now. Here is a perfect cookie from Jenn Segal’s wonderful website Once Upon A Chef. Bake a batch and share them with someone who voted differently than you.

Secret Ingredient Chocolate Chip Cookies
(Jenn’s recipes are very particular, easy to follow, and never fail. She says to grind the oats finely, and I confess I never do this because I’m lazy, and they’re perfect anyway.)

• ¾ cup old-fashioned rolled oats, ground in a food processor or blender until very fine
• 1 cup all-purpose flour, spooned into measuring cup and leveled-off 
• ½ teaspoon baking powder
• ½ teaspoon baking soda
• ½ teaspoon salt
• 1 stick (½ cup) unsalted butter, softened but still cool
• ½ cup light brown sugar, packed
• ½ cup granulated sugar
• 1 large egg
• ¾ teaspoon vanilla
• ⅔ cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
• ½ cup loosely packed sweetened flaked coconut
• ¾ cup pecans, chopped

1. Adjust racks to upper- and lower- middle positions and preheat the oven to 350° F. Line two cookie sheets with parchment paper and set aside.
2. In a medium bowl, whisk together the ground oats, flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. 
3. In the bowl of an electric mixer, beat the butter and sugars at medium speed until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Scrape down the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula. Add the egg and vanilla; continue beating until combined. Scrape down sides of bowl. Add the dry ingredients and beat at low speed until just combined. Add the chocolate chips, coconut and nuts and mix until evenly combined.
4. Working with 1½ tablespoons of cookie dough at a time, form balls and place on parchment-lined cookie sheets, leaving at least 2 inches between them. (Keep remaining batter cool in refrigerator while first batch cooks.) Bake, reversing position of cookie sheets halfway through baking, until edges of cookies begin to crisp but centers are still soft, 12 to 14 minutes. Cool cookies on baking sheets for 1 minute, then transfer to racks to cool completely. Repeat with remaining batter.

Need some ideas about what else to do besides bake cookies?
If you, like me, are alarmed by the onslaught of illegal action currently being undertaken by an unelected, non-confirmed member of Trump’s team who cannot himself get top level security clearance? You can start by calling your elected representatives.

FIND YOUR SENATORS HERE
FIND YOUR REPRESENTATIVE HERE
Call these people every day and leave a message with their staffer–really it’s very quick and easy and I can tell you this because I’ve done it many times, though ordinarily a shy sweaty palm person–relaying your opinion of Elon Musk’s illegal takeovers of USAID and the Treasury, and the break in to the HR data of all federal employees and student data at the Department of Education. You should care about these illegal and unconstitutional actions no matter what party you are in. More on all of this to follow.