March 23, 2007 - 12:05 PM

Her Name Is Wallaby

It's slowed down a bit at work the past two weeks as we just had a second screening, and things are on hold while more rewrites are undertaken. But I've been far too busy preparing for baseball fantasy drafts (3, maybe 4 this year) and playing Civilization IV and Warcraft to update here. I know, I know- you, my faithful readers, are forlorn. Where does the time go?

I've also been spending much time with Liz, you'll be happy to know. Things are going quite well with us as we approach our 8 month-a-versary. There was a moment of hold-your-breath-ness earlier this week as Liz pondered the opportunity to go to Boston for 3 months followed by a 6 month stay in Ghana effective the middle of April. While it seemed to be a fabulous chance for her to go to Africa on someone else's dime, both to have fun (she happily remembers her time in Ghana and Uganda during a study-abroad stint as an undergrad) and to further her graduate studies (she is a poli-sci PhD candidate in African politics), she ultimately made the decision to stay in L.A. Which is good for me, because I would've missed the dickens out of her. And her doggie, Wallaby.

I haven't written about Wallaby, have I? I LOVE this dog. Wallaby is a girl, by the way. A beautiful, golden, sleek girl. She looks kinda like Santa's Little Helper from the Simpsons with a large, strong chest and a teeny-tiny waist. Her fur is very short and coarse, so you can see her muscles rippling underneath the skin. The only bit that betrays her otherwise lean and powerful body are the wrinkles and folds around her neck that make Liz believe that she has some Shar-Pei in her alongside the more evident hound characteristics.

When I first started dating Liz, I was a bit wary of Wallaby, because she was always trying to jump up and lick my face. I didn't mind the affection, but it was when she would try to slip me the tongue that I had to remove myself from her embraces. Now, I don't mind, and I actually enjoy it when she licks my ears (apparently, a sign of affection).

She's really taken a liking to me and has helped to fill a void left by the absence of Newt. When Liz and I are sitting on the couch surfing the internet, or watching a movie, or doing work, Wallaby will come and sit with us. If we have a blanket covering us to keep us warm, Wallaby will nose at it until she can get underneath it, and then will lie down on our laps.

There will be moments where she wants to be active, and when she gets going, she REALLY gets going. You can recognize her antsiness by this cute little dance she does. It's part "cat batting a toy" and part "horse pawing at the ground" mixed in with some cantering and salsa dancing. She'll paw and slap the ground while hopping about and shaking her head until I get up and dance with her. It really is like dancing as we move back and forth like partners, jumping from foot to foot all namby pamby like. I'll bop her on the head and let her jump on me, and then we'll chase each other around a little.

Sometimes, she'll go to her toy basket and bring out one of her squeaker animals so that she can play tug of war with me or Liz. All you have to do is grab onto one end, and then she'll do the rest of the work, whipping her head back and forth as she tries to wrest it from your grip. It's fun once in a while to jerk the toy around yourself and watch as she holds on for dear life.

The best time to watch Wallaby at play, though, is when she's running outside. When we take her on a pee or poo walk around Liz's neighborhood, we have her on a retractable leash. Still being a fairly young pup (a year and a half-ish), she tends to lead us by the entire length of the leash (although she is trained enough to come when we call, to pause at intersections, and to sit when we tell her to). When Liz and I want to tire her out so that she won't go nuts on us back in the apartment, all we have to do is to stomp our feet a few times as if we are sprinting in place. Wallaby takes this as a cue to run like a demon is chasing her. She's smart enough to recognize when we are doing our foot stomping while standing still versus when we are actually making faster footfalls while running forward. If she senses that we are running, then she will run in front of us. If she sees that we are merely stomping in place, she will run in circles around us.

And she will run and run and run. And run. She can keep this up for a minute with me and Liz turning like the hub of a wheel as she dashes large arcs around us. When she stops, we just shuffle our feet a little bit, and off she goes again. There's nothing being chased, no forward movement being made- she's just running in circles. And it makes her happy.

I wish I had that life. Hmmm...now that I think about it, I kinda do. ;)

Now Listening To : Emma Burgess- Swim
Random Thought : By the way, Wallaby does kinda look like a wallaby.

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