Nose Kisses

As Lila floated about in the creek after our walk around the park, we could hear the barks of a dog off in the distance. Suddenly, a beautiful yellow lab came running through the woods and came close to the shoreline to look at Lila. Lila swam to the shore to greet him. The yellow lab bent down and they sniffed at each other’s noses. The yellow lab backed up some and dove in right on top of many branches and dried grass. As he sank through the mess, his face showed a look of surprise as his paws paddled a little frantically. Mike and I wondered if the yellow lab thought that mess was dry land. Mike had just removed a large stick that had been blocking the flow of water and formed a dam. Other obstacles were being held up behind it all. It looked as if some kids had been experimenting with bricks on top of Styrofoam to see how far away it would float.

The yellow lab paddled about some and came close to Lila to greet her with another nose kiss. When the yellow lab heard his people calling him, he tried to climb up where the embankment was steep, but he didn’t succeed. He paddled to the other side and ran up the hill with small branches and dried grass clinging to his fur. He was gone as fast as he came. He didn’t limp or look to be hurt at all from his jump in the creek. Little did the yellow lab know that he helped knock the dam apart by jumping on the mess. We watched as the rest of the debris broke free and traveled down the creek. Mike bent to grab the Styrofoam and bricks. He broke up the Styrofoam into little pieces and stuffed it in the garbage can. All the debris floated away and the creek was clean again. The water washed over Lila and carried away any grass that clung to her fur.

It’s funny how dogs will go out of their way to greet each other with a nose kiss. I wonder if those two will ever meet again!

If you can look at a dog and not feel vicarious excitement and affection, you must be a cat. ~Author Unknown