Clyde Strolls the Beach

My daughter's dog Clyde and I have been together on North Topsail Beach in North Carolina for almost a week. He has missed my daughter sorely, and he has been reluctant to go out to do more than the biz. He's porked out a bit without the usual exercise, and I was figuring it was time to cut him back at chow time so that he's have the familiar boyish figure by the time my daughter gets here Wednesday.

Then he surprised me. Today, he walked beyond the usual patch of grass to a larger one. Later, he walked with me to Seaview Pier and back again, his big ol' ears flapping in the breeze. He was happy and comfortable and enjoying the beach he has enjoyed on his last three vacations. (He has had four North Carolina vacations in the past year. Try not to feel too sorry for him.)

From Jun 25, 2011

The thing about Clyde is that he is truly my daughter's dog. When we went to the ASPCA shelter to adopt a very different dog last year, I spotted this guy in a kennel full of bouncing, yapping Jack Russell terriers being pummelled in their frenzy over apparently nothing. Della likes to remind me that even though I told her she would pick her dog, I had said, "Dell, there's your dog," and that was it. (I tell her once in a blue moon, I get something right, so work with me.) Being Della's dog, he is suspicious and upset when she leaves him and when he has to make his own way. It doesn't take a long time for him to warm up because it never happens. This time around, though, he has loosened up.

From Jun 25, 2011

Clearly, he wants his girl back, but he is making the most of his time with the hired help. And it warms my heart.

From Jun 25, 2011

The big lesson from little Clyde: relationships take time, and friendship takes heart. You have to show up--over and over again. And expect nothing. Because it has to be a gift.