Dog Named Leaf by Allen Anderson

Author:Allen Anderson [ANDERSON AND LINDA ANDERSON, ALLEN]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9780762789771
Publisher: Lyons Press

When we arrived at the dog park, Leaf entered with his usual gusto. My king of the park, head held high, walking tall, surveying all his dog and human subjects.

I pulled his rubber bouncy ball out of my pocket and threw it. Lately he had been even more interested than usual in running after the ball. People at the park commented that Leaf had more retriever instincts in him than some of the retriever breeds that came there. It was fun for all of us to watch him run with enthusiasm on his short legs, his large ears flopping, as he pursued the ball. Sometimes I’d make it bounce several times. He seemed especially pleased when he caught it midbounce, before the ball rolled flat along the ground.

I noticed an older gentleman in a short-sleeved shirt who was throwing a yellow tennis ball for his small, white, fluffy dog. Sometimes the dog would chase and retrieve it but more often, he’d ignore the ball. This meant the man had to get off his bench, hobble over to the ball, pick it up, and throw again. The man looked tired. He finally sat down to rest. The tennis ball lay on the ground a distance away and neither he nor his dog seemed interested in getting it.

Leaf observed the interaction between the man and his dog. As soon as he dropped his ball at my feet, he tore after the yellow tennis ball. He grabbed it in his mouth and slowly walked over to the man on the bench. Casually he dropped the ball at the man’s feet. Then he patiently waited for the man’s gnarled fingers to gently pat his head. The man looked up at me and said, “Your dog is nice.”

Leaf purposefully glanced over his shoulder and straight into my eyes as if to say, “See?”

Assured I had gotten the message that he could be nice when he wanted to, Leaf trotted with his head high toward me. In that moment I felt like anything was possible—even lecturing to a dog and actually having him listen. Was our little dog discovering the blessings of being an angel pup?

Just as I thought we were finishing up our time at the dog park that day, he took another opportunity to let me witness his true character.

Normally, Leaf runs to the gate when it’s time to leave. He carries his ball in his mouth and looks like he’s ready to go home and enjoy his nap. That day, though, he stood about twenty feet from the gate near the only other dog left at the park. A woman sat on a bench watching the dog. Up to that point Leaf had ignored the dog and woman.

He looked at me and at the lone dog and then back at me again. I held the gate open. Why didn’t he run over to it? I felt a nudge, my inner voice, telling me to ignore the heat and my longing for an air-conditioned car.

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