Carson's Corner | Dear Pat
Dear Pat,
It’s been a while since I’ve written to you for advice but something strange is going on over here and I need to know more about it.
Maybe it’s my fault. When I first arrived at this rescue I was, of course, detached and a wee bit remote. It’s good to be fawned over but you don’t ever want to let that go too far. Keep your distance. Show the world you need no one. That’s my motto. It’s me and just me, you know. That’s what all us Scotties say.
Yet I must confess - maybe I’m slipping because now there’s a lot of petting and while I pretend to mind I guess I don’t so much and I’m not really pretending much any more - that I think I’m not nearly as reserved as I used to be. The other day I just gave up and put my head in Dear Daughter 1's lap - she’s so very good at snuggling! And I can’t bear for the Master to be further than six feet from me at any time. It doesn’t matter where or when ... I must be there close to watch out for him. That’s not a mark against Scottie aloof-ness, is it? I think that’s just a Scottie doing his job. And I guess it’s not so much me and just me. It’s me and Master and Sweet Wife. We’re always together and that seems to me how it ought to be. Rescue work is very hard work (and dangerous - wait till you hear about the danger!) but I think this rescue is going best when we’re all together. So being indifferent is kind of out the window. Being together is very in. Very.
But of late something new has happened. Sometimes the Master will reach over when I’m all happy and napping down in my blankets on the couch and rub my belly (which is amazing). Then he smiles and gives me a good scrumple (you do know what a scrumple is, don’t you?) where he scratches and rumples that special spot behind my ears which feels so good. That’s when he does it. Not all the time. Just sometimes. He puts his face very close to the top of my head and then I can feel something touch the top of my head! It’s a light little touch and I hear this little smack sound and sometimes the fur up there is a little damp after. What do you think this is? What’s happening up there?
This is all so new to me. When you’re a rescue dog like me you don’t have a lot of worries about being too affectionate. Us rescues are street tough. Trust no one. Take it like a Scottie, we always say. You’re not dealing with some foo-foo poodle with bows in her hair! But here I am in this home and Sweet Wife just loves on me and the Master takes such good care of me. And now this? To be honest, I don’t really know what he is doing but when it happens the Master always says “You’re the best dog in the world, Carson” and this warm feeling shoots through me from my beard to the last fuzzy hairs on my tail. And he’s close to me and I can smell him and I feel warm all over and it’s just so ... nice. I have to admit I really like it. When he does it I get real still so I won’t miss it. Has anyone ever done that to you, Pat? What I need is a smart phone so I can selfie this but my thumbs don’t work great. So I figured I could just ask you. Is this some kind of special danger I should know about? Do you think I should be more Scottie unsociable?
It’s a mystery to me. There’s a lot about rescuing people I still don’t understand. This head thing has me a little flummoxed, but I do believe the rescue is going really well. Really well. These humans were in bad shape before I got here but things have really leveled out nicely. I’m on the job, Pat! At least I will be ... right after I get a nap.
