BY NOEL O’ NEILL
H
e sits in my study on a feathered pillow and looks out. He watches the rain running down the window pane waiting for it to stop. When it does, he looks up at me, puts his paws on my lap and I recognize that familiar look of “Time for a walk”. So, I put on his harness and my coat, I place him on his bed in the front seat of my Ute and off we go to the park. I speak of course of my dog Shane, my little Shih Tzu Maltese. He’s five years old now and we have repeated this routine every winter’s day between showers. His colours are unusual for his breed. His back is coal black and his head and paws are snow white which give the appearance that he is wearing a black coat. I understand now why they call a dog a man’s best friend because an amount of trust has been established between us. He relies on me for food, shelter and companionship and I rely on him for unconditional love. You really have to own a dog to appreciate the feeling of being greeted at the door after a long absence. The wagging tail, the welcome home. When I speak to him (and I do often) I get the feeling he understands me. To be perfectly honest, when I have to go out somewhere I explain to him not only where I am going but what time I will be back and if that sounds crazy then I must confess that I apologise to him if I am late and the explanation goes something like, “I know I said half past ten and it’s now eleven o’clock but so and so had my ear and I couldn’t get away. You know how it is, well maybe you don’t but put yourself in my position for a minute…My monologues with this dog are endless. He even talks back to me. It’s a low fast little growl that I answer back in a low fast little growl and we come to some kind of an understanding that somehow never gets lost in translation. When it comes to meal time, it’s nothing but the best. No dog food for this little prince Boiled chunks of chicken breast with an added OXO chicken cube. Hand fed! When he’s had enough he turns his head and walks away. When it comes to stuffed toys, he has 80 | THE IRISH SCENE
more than the average child/ dog. There is a gorilla that is actually bigger than him that he playfully carries throughout the house. A longnecked duck that he nips at and plays with mostly after a good meal. There was a moose that was twice his size that he would leave out in the rain and sometimes drag it in soaking wet. Dog treats- Shane has more treats than a kid on Halloween. He has liver treats, chicken treats, rawhide chicken sticks etc, etc. At night at a certain time he tells me that it’s time to go to bed so I lift him up on my bed and he curls up and sleeps. I am awakened usually at dawn when he thinks I should get up. I am “pawed” awake. This wake- up ritual is followed by a face wash from his tongue. “Okay! Okay! I’m up! I just have to make a cup of coffee, get dressed and then we’ll take a drive to the park. Oh, wait a minute, it’s raining. Well don’t look at me like that I’m not the one who made it rain. Just sit there for a few minutes until it lets up. I’ll drink my coffee and by that time we should be okay…He sits in my study on a feathered pillow and looks out.
