Sitting with a Chesapeake Lab

Sitting.

It’s something I do a lot lately.

I added a twist to this over the summer and fall by taking on the job of dog sitting and then great-niece sitting.

The dog.

When the Chesapeake Lab mix was brought from my sister and brother-in-law’s farm to my place, I gave Chester a tour of the house and yard. Where I sleep. Where I work. Where I sit. And where business is done.

Chester sort gave a look of “Hey. That’s my job.”

The sit was for several days. I eventually got over the feeling of guilt when I left to take pictures of an event. Chester somehow makes a high squeaky noise that goes straight to my conscience.

The same thing happened when it was time for bed. I encouraged him to just hang out in the garage with a nice blanket, then he quickly sneaked into the house.

The dog loves mornings. It means the leash and then some quick hot laps around the neighboring park, of course carrying two bags to pick up after Chester.

The necessary business was all confined to my yard. It was almost like he was showing off. It led me to research the best pooper scooper.

I soon found this scooper does not scoop but sort of moves things around and gets all tangled in the grass. You don’t scoop. You scrape. And the scrapings don’t fall easily off the scooper.

Still, he thought I was king of the world when it was time for food. A nice tray of water and dry dog food disappeared in one minute.

Then it was tennis ball time. I found ways to bounce the ball off a garage wall. The same bounce was done off a door in the hallway.

Then there was a double bounce over the sofa downstairs and onto a bean bag chair. He thought he was Underdog.

It must have been quite a workout. The next morning, he’d walk by a tennis ball, look at it, then look at me, seeming to say, “Are you kidding me?”

Sure enough, by night the ball would be placed at my feet with an anxious look.

Other than that, it was peaceful to sit out front or in back and watch the world go by. He is a lesson in relaxation, except when it comes to squirrels and rabbits. They’d get a “Woof” and then a “Woof Woof.”

If it was a triple woof, it was on.

I did feel lonesome as Chester happily jumped into a friend’s truck. They have a dog door. Can’t beat that.

It was back to sitting with my nephew’s oldest daughter just days later. His family and I enjoyed the hole-in-the-wall establishments in the woods south of Columbia.

I stayed over until Monday to watch Maya since she was on vacation that week. That was pretty simple. She watched TV, then watched me watching her watch TV. I learned all there is to know about how to train a dragon.

I’m pretty sure a dog is easier.

As for a dog, I was asked if the dog-sitting experience makes me want to have a dog. Sure it does. And I’ll keep it on the farm.