I expected wild-eyed Eko pouncing
But he was completely listless at the park yesterday morning
“Well, I guess he’s tired from our long week,” I thought. Penny didn’t run at the park either, but I assumed it was because there were no other dogs around. So later in the day I loaded up the pups and headed to the dog beach.
I expected to see Penny tear across the shore, happy to be back in her favorite place
That’s when it happened. Or didn’t happen. I unhooked Penny’s leash, ready to see the familiar rust-colored blur take off. Instead, Penny did the most unthinkable thing of her year and a half on this planet. Penny stood still.
Penny joined Eko and I on the bench for a quiet reprieve
The three of us sat on the bench, exhausted. It was the first time in the past week we had a moment to collect ourselves. I smiled at the realization that it is in fact possible to tire Penny out. All you need to do over the course of six days is drive 30+ hours and relentlessly intersperse backyard sprints, off-leash trail runs and leashed jogs with non-stop dog-wrestling. No sweat.
After a few minutes on the bench, we all wearily walked back to the car. It seemed as if the non-stop action of the past week simultaneously caught up with us. Back home, the pups retreated to recharge on the chairs.
“Yes, Will, I can get tired. Now can I please have a treat and a nap?”
Eko was so tired he fell asleep with his eyes open
As for me, I sat down on the couch to enjoy the short lived phenomenon of a completely exhausted Penny. “I can do anything right now!” I thought.
So what did I do? I decided to close my eyes, “just for a minute,” and woke up an hour later to Penny furiously wagging her tail in my face.
I guess there’s two important lessons here. One, it is in fact possible to tire Penny out. Two, it is impossible to tire Penny out without exhausting yourself too!
