It's Raining, it's Pouring

Ah...spring rain. As a gardener, I love the idea of nature nurturing my petunias, portulacas and peonies. However, as someone who lives with dogs, rainy days come with their own set of challenges, not the least of which is less opportunities for exercise, which translates into more opportunities for misbehaving.

As for the dogs themselves, each of them--past and present--has a different view of the wet stuff. Their viewpoints range from the joy of Gene Kelley's singing and splashing in the movie Singing in the Rain to the Wicked Witch of the West's famous "I'm melting" scene in The Wizard of Oz.

Tucker is probably closer to the witchy side of the scale, with Jasper a close second, if not a tie. The Tuckster will tolerate a soft spring rain, the kind that's more like a mist. Particularly if there's a Ball involved; when you play Ball, the rain disappears. True Tucker Fact. But when there is significant water coming down from the sky, he walks out onto the deck, stops, hunches over, and looks back at me as if to say, "Really? You couldn't turn if off for couple of minutes so a dog could do what a dog has to do?"
 

A slightly soggy Tucker slinks behind a chair.

Tucker will get to the task at hand (paw) rather quickly, though, and if it's raining really hard, he'll come sit next to me, somehow believing that I will offer protection--even if I don't have an umbrella. Which I rarely do, since I don't really have enough hands for three dogs and one umbrella; the math simply doesn't work.

Jasper doesn't like rain either, but he is particularly unhappy if his paws get wet. A wet Jasper is a sad Jasper--and wet feet are the worst. For him, morning dew is a don't; he'll try to stay on the deck or the patio, or prance through my garden bed rather than let the moist grass tickle his toes. He will manage to grit his way through to do his business, but will quickly head back for dry land as soon as possible. Jasper: 60-plus pounds of doggy princess.
 

It rained last night and everything is wet. Jasper ponders his next move.

Jasper surveys the wet grass from the relative safety of the mulched bed.

"The wet grass is touching my paws!

Lilah, on the other hand, doesn't mind the water at all. She'll run through wet grass, splash through streams, and galumph through puddles. It's so amusing since Lilah seems at first to be so prissy and delicate, but she's really got more spunk than the two boys put together.

Neither ran nor sleet nor snow nor mud will stop Lilah from her appointed playing. She doesn't mind getting down and dirty--and wet.

Many spring rain and warm days are ahead of us; with lots of opportunities for splashing and playing--or avoiding it if you're a big brave dog like Jasper.