As Lani got into her new obsession of frisbee every day and the daily schedule I had worked out for us, she began to come into her unique personality. Her shyness was a great gauge for me as to "good person/bad person." I began to pay extra attention to people she "selected." For example: There was a period, where every morning when we walked to the park, we would meet up with a local Hawaiian young man watching the surf down by the Kihei Canoe Club "launch" area. He would say "Aloha!" and Lani would immediately wiggle her little butt in complete "I LOVE YOU MAN!" abandon. "Bradley" seemed to be a nice kid but did have some sort of slight handicap either with his speech or mental "connectivity." He struggled at times to say his words and would suddenly stare off as if he had lost his complete "train of thought." One morning, he asked "Thomas---do you have any yard work I can do? I've been sleeping on the beach and haven't eaten in a few days and need some money for food" Now---it just so happened that I had been converting my overgrown wild but dry yard into my version of tropical paradise---and could use an extra hand. I told him I would pay him $10 an hour--cash--and he could come whenever he wanted. He followed us home. Bradley would come buy every morning---I would have some breakfast for him (which he would share with Lani in the yard) and he would work all day. He was able to use the toilet or shower when he was through and he not only transformed my yard but became a good "local" companion. The other thing was---you could feel his "Aloha" (giving/loving spirit) He told me that he had been born in Hana and did not get along with his Father. He was mistreated because of his handicap---which Bradley simply said was "Sometimes---I can't think straight" I told him, "Don't worry---everybody is like that." Lani----loved him!
She also had been showing me just how intelligent she was---and what she was capable of. With all my dogs, I taught them to walk along next to me or "heel." Some times this worked, and others it didn't. Jake--my big male Collie---was always prancing on ahead ---making sure that we were safe and the "coast was clear." Luke---my older "rescue" Collie stayed right by my leg---almost to the point of rubbing against me. He had been abandoned in the forest in Lake Tahoe in the winter and was found wandering in the snow. The local Humane Society there had called me and "tricked" me by telling me they had picked up Jake and I needed to come get him. Jake was standing by my side while I was talking with them, so that was simply not true, but they got me to come down and look at this poor lost fellow---and he ended up with Jake and I. Whether our of love or simply to not let me out of his sight, Luke walked right next to me. Becky---Jake's female companion after Luke died---as a smaller female Collie that always walked just behind me ---watching Jake and I on our walks. I many times had to stop to wait for her and urge her on. Lani----walked right along with me from the very start and would actually look up at me every once and a while as if to say "I am LOVIN' this!!"
No "training" had been involved with this---she simply wanted to stay by my side. She would also come into my work shop in the house and "check in" on and off during the day. She would stop at the door---look at me---then come in and walk around and "nudge" my elbow for a pet or some attention---and then go back out to whatever she was doing. At first, I would go out into the living room and watch what she was up to in the yard. I always left the door open so she could go out any time she needed to and found that she NEVER strayed from the property. She seemed content to "patrol" her yard and stay by me. That was IT! I learned to just let her be---trusting that she would stay close to home. She was learning about life. One day she came into the shop and did her "thing"---walked around and then bumped my elbow. I said "Hey Lani---what you up to?" She was licking and licking her nose more than usual, so I looked down at her---to see that the end of her nose was about twice it;s normal size! Lani----had obviously discovered the Hawaiian "Yellow Jacket" hornet and got her nose stung. I got a cool towel and put it on her nose and tried my best not to laugh as she looked down her snout at her big bulbous nose.
Again, I was learning that she was a smart little character. One day in the yard---throwing her frisbee for her while I was cleaning up, I threw it right through the palm fronds of the property line hedge and she ran right through them out to the street to chase her frisbee and ---stopped. I got through the palms and found her standing on the edge of the curb looking at her frisbee across the street. Though I had never taught her, she knew that the street was a "no go" zone. The amazing thing was, after I stood there and praised her for NOT going, she refused to run across the street to go pick it up. "If you're gonna throw it over there then you better go get it" she seemed to be saying. SOMEBODY learned a lesson that day!
I was helping a friend with horses "up country" Maui and Lani came along. She was THRILLED to be at the stables and pranced along the line of horses---touching noses with each one. This was something else she did. There was an orange tabby cat down our street that would come out to greet us on our walk. This cat would walk up and touch noses with Lani every day. No hissing or running and chasing. A simple--"good morning" nose touch, and we were on our way. So I found that Lani was, instinctively, a bit of a "ranch girl." There were goats down in a field near the horse stables and we would walk down there for her to "patrol" the fence line and whimper at the goats. They would come over to stare at her and she seemed to be begging me "PLEASE let me go round them up!"
Her learning continued. Once while helping a friend check on a vacation home for her friend, we walked around the property and went to the back to unload hay off of a 6ft high dock area. Lani climbed up the stairs and stood up on the dock watching me down below load the hay into a truck. When I was finished, I said, "Come on Lani" and turned---assuming she would go back down the steps. I looked back just as she jumped off of the 6ft high platform down to the cement floor below! "This is gonna HURT!" I thought. It was just too high----but she landed perfectly and trotted along over to me with a look of "what's the problem?" That same day, she learned another lesson. She had seen the ocean and played in the waves but never seen a pool. This property had a large "infinity" type pool that ended in a walkway along the far edge--looking out over the Maui vista below. We walked around the edge picking leaves out of the very still water and I noticed Lani ---looking----and looking---at the still water----and her reflection? I wasn't sure, but just as I was going to say "Lani???" she put her paw out as if to check the surface----and did a head first plunge into the pool! She went straight down and I could see her wide blue eyes coming up as she came rocketing to the surface. I grabbed her by the back of her neck and yanked her out. She shook and shivered and looked at me like "WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT!!!" I don't think she appreciated my laughter but, again, it was a good learning experience for her---AND me!
She and I had gotten into a very comfortable life together. Her enthusiasm for everything and obvious love of me and all that we did together was a great pleasure to find myself caught up in. She had really started to "muscle up" from her morning "power frisbee" sessions. I simply could not throw it far enough for her and she would do all kinds of acrobatics to catch it---sometimes leaping as tall as me--6ft--to catch and retrieve the frisbee.
We went to help a friend with the birth of a baby horse to a blind mare (why they bred this horse is beyond me but that will have to be another tale) I volunteered to stand throughout the night and watch to make sure that when they baby was born the momma would not freak out or step on it or?? Lani was right there by my side and kept a very comfortable distance from the mare but also seemed very reverent and concerned with the whole situation. In the morning, after the little foal was born and all was well, as we were leaving and being thanked for our time, suddenly the group of people gathered there noticed Lani. One lady said as I started to walk away "Oh my God! I didn't notice last night with all this activity but that is the most BEAUTIFUL dog I have ever seen!"
I had begun to realize, too. I had a very special AND beautiful companion and our lives together were a daily pleasure.
No comments:
Post a Comment