Princess of Distraction

Honestly, there are days when I think Savannah is lost in her own little puppy world and I'm just a ghost-person holding the end of her leash.

This morning was definitely not a 'big-girl' walk.... more like a puppy in a china shop. Heaven only knows what animals are out on the road and in the fields during the midnight hours, but I truly believe that Savannah smells them all and when her nose hits that ground in pursuit there's no telling how long it's going to be till she comes up for air.

I think I walked her up and down our road for nearly an hour this morning before she even crouched down to pee. How in the world this puppy can hold it in for so long is just beyond me, but her nose touched that ground as soon as we got out near our driveway this morning and she didn't lift it up till we were all the way up the hill and around the bend in the road.... and then I guess she remembered why we were out there in the first place.

There are two neighbors further up the hill who have pick-up trucks and they leave for work every weekday morning around the same time I'm out there with Savannah. Those pick-up trucks aren't parked on concrete driveways, so whatever smells are picked up by their tires as they ride along their own property becomes fair game for Savannah.... and she again will put her nose to the ground and follow the trail of dirt and grass from those trucks as if she were on a frantic search for survivors of the Titanic.

And there I am at the end of that leash, telling her to 'Hurry up, Savannah, hurry up!'.... but she doesn't hear me at all because she's too focused on the scrapings from those truck tires. And this morning was a windy one, which made it worse because all the smells from the fields were just drifting in the air above us and when Savannah did lift her head up I could see her nose twitching and smelling the air like some giant bunny in search of sweet clover.

I thought it would be better to walk her on our own property today so at lunch-time I went out into our backyard behind the barn thinking there would be less distractions. Not a chance. Savannah's nose hit that grass and at times she plowed right into the high tufts of clover and bluebonnets and emerged with a fringe of green pouring out of her mouth like Easter grass. Stopping to smell the flowers? Not hardly.... I think she was searching for bits of cat-poop that our outside cats have hidden like land-mines all over the yard.

By the time I got back into the house after this morning's walk, I figured that I should have just walked all the way up to the main highway and back... that's how much time it took for Savannah to finally find herself a place to pee and poop. And I stood there telling her just that: "Finally, Savannah, Finally!!!"  And she looks at me... as if she's asking "Oh.... are you still here?"