Now that The Summer of Scott is officially underway, I have been spending an inordinate amount of time with my dog Delta. We wake up together in the morning*, watch CNBC together over breakfast and then spend the rest of the morning and early afternoon awaiting our daily walk, which is, as previously mentioned, my only standing appointment during The Summer of Scott.
* or, rather, he wakes up and then decides its time for me to wake up, usually by sneezing in my face (he has bad allergies). Trust me, there are very few less terrifying ways to wake up than by having a dog sneeze in your ear!
Given Delta is the first dog I have ever had**, I am learning a lot about pet ownership. Like, for example, dogs love water. I mean, I always knew that dogs liked water, but I didn't know that they loved water. Delta LOVES water. When I walk him, he darts towards any puddle, usually dragging me along with him. Sometimes, when it rains, he just sticks his tongue out and drags it on the ground as we walk in an attempt to get as much water as he can.
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** my parents never let me do ANYTHING as a kid! They didn't even let me have a bike until I was 13!
He is seriously water crazy. At home, we would routinely find him in the bathroom, either in the shower, licking up the water leftover there, or attempting to lift the toilet seat with his nose to order to reach that goldmine of H2O. Closing the bathroom door momentarily solved that problem, until he figured out how to open the door! Luckily for us, his water problem is nothing like his obsession with food.
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Delta*** is a Labrador Retriever, so of course he is food crazy, but Delta is FOOD CRAZY. He nearly kills himself everyday, running as fast as he can, slipping and sliding across the tile floor in our building's lobby in an effort to reach the doggie treats that the front desk employees have. He has wiped out in a major way more than once! And then there is the danger of walking past Carpool or Front Page here in Ballston as Delta can spot a discarded buffalo wing much quicker than I. I actually had to stick my hand down Delta's throat once as a wing got lodged down there. Despite my valiant life-saving effort, Delta's mom still nearly killed me for letting him eat a wing. Now when we walk past Carpool, I remind Delta that he isn't allowed to eat any wings. Poor guy...
*** he also goes by the name Delto. He started to get a complex after a number of Spanish speakers started to think he was a she, based on his name.
Delta is a great dog and we have a lot of fun together. Hopefully he is looking forward to spending so much time with me this Summer as I am with him!
Follow Scott Gold on Twitter @scottegold
