Making Snow Doggies: Why I Was Late Today

I was fifteen minutes late to work today, and here's why. I went out the back door to get to my car. I had allowed Goober to come for the ride today since it's in the 30's and she's perfectly comfortable anytime the temperature is above 20, due to her heavy double coat. Also, she would rather come wait in the car for a few hours than wait at home for a few hours. I think she can somehow sense that she is much closer to me in the car.

So while I was putting my bags in the car, Goober ran over to the snow in the backyard. There is now about 6 inches of fairly fluffy snow, the first time we have had so much fluffy snow all winter. The Valentine's Day storm, the only other significant storm this season, was about the same as far as accumulation, but was heavy, packed snow covered in ice.

Why is the fluffiness so important? Because Goober absolutely loves the fluffy snow. This nearly-11-year-old elderly dog, who barely gets up the energy to fetch her toys more than once or twice, will tear around in the snow for a minute before shoving her snout deep into it, then flipping onto her back and wriggling her whole body side-to-side, much in the manner of a little kid making snow angels. I call it making snow doggies.

Well, she was at it this morning, playing in the first good snowfall of the season. She'd get up from one successful snow doggie, run a few feet, snout around a bit, then roll over to make another. I just couldn't bring myself to stop her fun, and it was such fun to watch her play as well. So I let her continue playing until she had worn herself out.

And so I was late to work.