A movie, an Apple and Five Dogs

After a long week at work I wanted nothing more than to relax and watch a movie. Our four dogs plus our visitor first needed a walk and dinner, so with that done I grabbed an apple and turned on the  DVD player.

A week of rain left the dogs wound up since our walks were a hair briefer than usual and it took them a while to settle down. Each dog spread out in the room and demonstrated the personality traits we know them for; Raleigh sat calmly apart from the crowd, Baxter cuddled in close so he could feel protected while he dozed, Duncan nervously watched the door waiting for my partner, Gregory, to return. Flynn ran around the room harassing each of us while Jake, who we are watching for a friend, anxiously paced and stared at me craving attention.

For the first few scenes, I left the apple untouched.  The dogs barely even knew it was there. As I sliced into the apple with a knife, each dog's attention turned toward me. Even Baxter woke up. I let them wait while I enjoyed the first few slices and then slowly cut small slices for each dog. Baxter was first; being blind I want him to know that he doesn't have to worry about getting his share and since he's robbed of one sense, I like to provide him a wide array of smells and tastes.  Raleigh had turned into a drooling fountain, so she was provided the next piece in hopes that she'd suck up some of the drool that was threatening to drip on the blanket covering my lap. Giving Duncan and Jake their pieces reassured them and left them hoping for more.  Flynn, who desperately needs to learn patience and to not grab food from the others was last and he did very well.

After a few more slices for myself, I lost interest in eating the apple and focused more on each dog's reaction. They were insanely eager for something so simple but retained enough composure to deserve one piece after the other.  I found myself trying to get every last morsel off the core and when the apple was done a calmness fell over the room.  Baxter curled even closer to my side, Duncan and Jake finally settled down while Raleigh and Flynn politely battled for the space between my legs.

It was just an apple and it took less than ten minutes, but watching their reactions turned out to be far more interesting and rewarding than the two hour movie. Most of us eat popcorn while watching a movie, but you might just want to try sharing an apple next time.

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