Wednesday, February 9, 2022

The Land of Enchantment... and dogs.

Departing Prescott, AZ on January 26th, we drove 400 miles east to Albuquerque, NM. There we rendezvoused with Linda, a birdwatcher who Dorian has come to know over the last six years. A long-time and stereotypically-proud Burqueña - the preferred nickname for Albuquerque residents - Linda currently resides in Corrales with her three dogs. Turning into the driveway of her single-story adobe home, we were greeted by four familiar faces!

While our Albuquerque sojourn wasn't an official pet sit since Linda was home, we couldn't stop ourselves from fawning over her pack. Shepherd-mix Bonnie is the eldest of the group; even though she's as deaf as a post, she loved barking at full volume while running circles around the backyard, presumably in pursuit of imaginary sheep. Zoe, the middle fur-child, is a typical Golden Retriever; she's sweet, social, and energetic. She's been with Linda since she was a puppy, so she's been treated like a queen forever. Cooper, on the other hand, suffered an abusive environment before Linda adopted him, and the impact of that abuse perdures despite Linda's love and affection. He is uncomfortable around strangers (and particularly men), and he hung cautiously back while Bonnie and Zoe licked our faces and begged for tummy rubs. It took a few days, but he slowly deferred to his sisters' judgement and approached us. He snuggled with Sonia on the sofa, and he invited Dorian to tug on his favorite toy. It was so cool to watch him warm up to us! Who the heck could be mean to such an adorable animal!?!??!
Cooper bringing his favorite toy to Dorian to play... didn't think Dorian would actually do this! 😆

Linda is regularly charged with looking after her son's three dogs, so her pack swells to six under such circumstances. You might think it would be total chaos with so many animals running around, but it feels just right since all the dogs are so well-behaved. You gotta love the power of treats, right?


This was our second stay at Linda's house, our first during a two-week road trip through Arizona and New Mexico in December of 2020. Roody accompanied us on that trip, and he was in seventh heaven when surrounded by six playmates and given free run of Linda's fenced yard. He endeared himself to Linda and Kylie (another family member) and they lovingly nicknamed him the "beaglet" because of his small stature. You might think tiny Roody would get overlooked at treat time, but our greedy little guy always managed to push through the larger dogs and be the first in line! How greedy was Roody? Well, at one point he disappeared for ten minutes. Frantically searching, we found him in the garage, his head submerged in a dog food bin which he'd pried the lid off of!  Linda installed a small clasp on the lid after that first raid, and it thwarted his subsequent attempts to access the buffet. Seeing the anti-Roody device on our return trip gave us a good chuckle, but it also left a pang in our hearts because it reminded us that our little beaglet is no longer with us. 

During this trip to Albuquerque we stuck pretty close to home because the company was so wonderful. Linda is a gifted host who thrives off the energy of a packed house, an unusual trait for someone in her seventies. Then again, disregarding age barriers is kinda Linda's thing. She's still practicing law by day, and she pours her creativity into cooking in the evening hours, having self taught herself every style of cooking out there. While watching the Olympics with her, she regaled us with stories of her athletic career, one which included equestrian, swimming, and freestyle skiing! It wasn't until she took a wicked fall doing flips in a terrain park that she stopped skiing... in her 60s!!! With company like this, why would we leave the house?

Many thanks to Linda and her pack for making our time in New Mexico so much fun! If we didn't have so many pet sitting engagements in our future, we might have stayed forever. We'll post recaps of those as they unfold, so please check back for more updates in a week or so!





No comments:

Post a Comment