Through the Eyes, Into the Brain, Over the Head, an Effort in Vain

You may recall that our adopted dog Scarlett (the red Australian Shepherd we rehomed from a former student who works in law enforcement and didn't want to keep her crated 12 hours a day) simply ADORES Hick. He is the one who has always fed her. Made sure she had a house. Let her off her cable when he thought she knew she belonged here. And the one who drove around to get her every time she ran off over the first few months. Also, the one who got her cable tangled around his Gator tire, and almost strangled her to death. Scarlett does not hold that near-fatal incident against him.

Scarlett tolerates me. Runs to greet me. Happily accepts a daily treat. But her heart lies with Hick. I tell him that all the time, and he just says, "Huh." Not in a questioning way, but just like, oh. Scarlett paces the porch when he's inside, hoping he will appear. Which Hick does, sometimes, to go pee off the porch. At which time Scarlett is ready to greet the object of her ADORATION, prancing and jumping, receiving nary a pat, but sometimes gets lucky with a, "Hello, Scarlett."

"You really could give Scarlett a little more attention. She ADORES you!"

I tell Hick that at least once a day. And he either says, "Huh," or something like:

"I'm going out to mow the yard. She'll come with me."

Indeed. Scarlett chooses a shady spot to lie where she can watch Hick on his mower. Not even me coming down the driveway, with Jack and neighbor dog Copper Jack barking their fool heads off to greet me, a treat imminent, can tear Scarlett away from her Hick-watch.

I was reminded of this attachment as I looked for a Father's Day card in 10Box. They have a decent selection, but there were no Father's Day cards. I figured they were on a special cardboard display up front by the service desk. At a spot where I'd have to push my cart as if SHOPLIFTING my groceries, or first check out, get a card, then go back through a line to pay.

It's not that I don't love Hick enough to put out that effort... but WHY, when there were some perfectly good cards for 99 cents right in front of me, that could work just as well as a $5 Hallmark card up front. Granted, I'd have to get one that was blank inside, and write my own message, but I'm a reasonably-educated woman, a former VALEDICTORIAN, you know, capable of conveying my sentiments in a greeting card.

The perfect card caught my eye. A sweet doggie, tilting its head in the way they do when they are trying to figure something out.

Inside, I wrote: 

Happy Father's Day

Even though you are sometimes hard to understand, I still ADORE you!

Well. Hick read the card. It seemed to take him a long time. Then he thanked me for it.

"Do you get it?"

"Yeah."

"Really? Explain it."

Silence. "Well." Hick read it out loud. "It means you adore me."

"You're not getting it. See the dog on the front? How they turn their head when trying to understand? It's like when you 'explain' something to me. You don't make sense. But I still love you. I love you as much as SCARLETT loves you!"

"Okay."

To be fair, Hick is very similar in the way he treats me AND Scarlett. He provides just enough attention to keep us alive.