Only possible result

I took a walk today around Bayview in the lovely sunshine, the first we’ve had after about a week of snowing. Ampersand came with me and was merry in his snow romping and frozen deer poop eating. After about half an hour of walking he suddenly did some weird move where he flopped down with one foot sticking out, which he promptly started to lick and knaw at. I checked it out and realized he was getting snowballs built up in the middle of the pads on his paw, which were then held there by all his cute tufty paw hair. So I took my glove off and picked the snow out (i wipe kids’ noses every, this is nothing). He was appropriately grateful, and later on when I had to do the same thing on another paw he didn’t lick my hand in a confused manner like the first time.

While wandering around looking at the scenery and taking pictures of random shrubs and boats in the snow, the thought popped into my head that I’d read in some Jack London-type book about sled dogs that by rubbing lard or butter on the dogs’ feet it would keep the snow from building up. I thought about trying that on Ampersand, but as soon as I pictured it I realized he wouldn’t be running about obediently like the sled dogs, but instead lying on his back in the snow, licking his feet like he would a butter popsicle.

And then I remembered that maybe it was horses’ feet they put butter on, and that dogs get little booties. Ampersand goes berserk when anything but his collar is placed on his body anywhere (we once tried to put a Santa hat on him long enough to take pictures. It didn’t work well, and he ate the hat) so the bootie scenario would go even less successfully. He’d be hopping all over the place, shaking his feet while simultaneously trying to bite the booties off.

I have to say, this makes me feel like a parent. One who is aware that this is the level of parenting challenge she can take on at this point in her life.