# 244 - The Boy Wants to Go!

Smart dogs can be amazing AND a pain. As we are preparing to leave for a weekend on our acreage over Easter, Deputy Dave hitches up the trailer, loads it to the max, and he starts the truck to cool it down. Finally, the dogs are allowed to run outside and jump in the backseat. They've been waiting for this moment all morning long.

As usual, I'm lagging behind. One last trip to the bathroom I must make, after all, once we get to our land I will not have the luxury of a fully working restroom...it will be a bucket lined with plastic, a bit of chemicals and a toilet lid set on the top for comfort. Yes, that last trip to the bathroom is important. Then, I must make sure I have my mug of tea. Check and double check for things that I will probably end up forgetting anyway, but each step is important as I'm trying to walk out the door to get in the truck.

Have I ever mentioned that Deputy Dave has grown to be an infinitely patient man?

Meanwhile, The Boy...or actually, the dog Howdy...he not only can open doors in the house and pry open his kennel and nearly serve dinner, he knows how to work the button on the truck door to roll down the window. When traveling, we must keep the window locks engaged because he stares at the truck door, presses his paw against the window control as his eyes sharpen with focus and he delights at rolling down the window. Once we lock the windows, he continues to try, in vain, to roll down the window. After he realizes that he can't do it anymore, he literally lets out a huge huff of anguish and becomes complacent with his situation, the big smile lessens, but he calms down a few notches for the near two-hour trip to our land.

However, as we are leaving the house and walking together outside to get in the truck, we noticed that Howdy had already rolled down his window and had a big smile across his jaw.

I could almost hear him bark, "Come on Woman! We're all waiting on you and eager to get on the road!"

The funny part about our road trips to our acreage is that the big dogs become so excited that the energy they exude is palpable. Once Deputy Dave begins to load up the trailer, they KNOW exactly where we are going and they become filled with exhilaration, running around, whining and jumping in the air at nothing. It's quite entertaining.

I love the look that Liyla gets on her face while traveling to our acreage. In the photo below, we are half way to the land, stopping to get gas. She is watching Deputy Dave like a hawk. Of course, I had just taken the window locks off so that I could roll down my window to talk with Deputy Dave as he filled the truck with gas and Howdy promptly rolled down his window as well. I had to quickly lean over to Deputy Dave's side again and roll up the windows, then engage the locks again. Forget it. Howdy is too quick on the draw for my comfort. On the other hand, Liyla is content to look out the window and to watch her beloved Master as he fills the tanks with expensive gas. At least she makes the eye-popping price tag more tolerable with her sweetness.

For the dog who can open doors and roll down windows as if he has a controlled finger on the button, so precise, not a mistake, but on purpose...I have to wonder what else he'll figure out once we get moved to our acreage.

Maybe we can show him how to operate the lawn tractor. On second thought, nope. That's my meditation time with nature, even if I go as slow as Christmas, it's a job I can handle for bits at a time. I'll have to keep the tractor keys out of his view, just in case.