LEAF IN LOVE
By Allen Anderson

Our black cocker spaniel Leaf had only been with us a short time when we started taking him to the dog park near our home. This is a large, rolling, fenced-in field on a chilly hillside. It is covered with woodchips that the city provides. It's dotted with old picnic benches where people sit, chat, and watch their dogs. Near the benches are aluminum bowls that people fill with water as they arrive in the park. Balls, toys, tug-a-ropes, and long sticks are scattered throughout the area and lay where dogs have dropped them after a game of retrieval or tag.

On previous visits, I had noticed that Leaf showed an interest in everything around him. With daylight lasting longer, I had been picking him up from home after leaving work and taking him for social time and exercise. He loved playing, especially with the big dogs. He needed a lot of running to even slightly dampen his exuberant, youthful energy.

Leaf had always seemed content to play with whatever dogs were there at the same time as he. But this day's visit to the dog park would be different from others. We had been in the park for about fifteen minutes. Leaf was playing with several large dogs - Labs, golden retrievers, and Australian sheepdogs among them. All were three times his size.

From the corner of my eye I noticed a dignified woman wearing a long, pale-pink overcoat. She walked her bulldog who wore a shocking-pink collar. Due to her fancy outfit and apparently superior attitude, I would not have thought of this woman as one who might be at a lowly dog park run by the city.

Both human and dog arrived at the gate when Pink Lady looked down at her dog and asked, "Ethel, do you want to play here or go for a nice, peaceful walk?" Ethel immediately pulled away from the gate, making sure her human knew she preferred the walk. So they began their slow stroll down the sidewalk on a pathway that was adjacent to the dog park fence.

Leaf seemed to study the interaction at the gate. Because he watched it with such focus, I assumed that he had anticipated the thrill of a new playmate in the dog park. When Ethel pulled away with her human meekly following, he had to do something to change Ethel's mind.

Running like a bullet to the fence, he kept pace with the retreating Ethel and her human. He wiggled, wagged, squealed, and barked, trying in doggie language to convince Ethel to come into the park. He spotted a nearby tennis ball, picked it up in his mouth, ran back to the fence, and dropped it in front of his paws. This must have been his way of trying to tempt her.

I could see that Leaf was determined to persuade Ethel that playing with him would be preferable to taking a boring walk with her person. Also, he had deduced that Ethel was calling the shots with her human in tow. Leaf knew it would be the dog's decision.

Leaf finally got Ethel's attention. She seemed to enjoy all the hoopla over her by this upstart boy dog. She glanced over and slowed her pace, which caused the woman to also slow down. Leaf gave his last squealing appeal, wiggled his whole backside, and then quietly sat. How could she resist a playmate who looked so appealing and vulnerable?

There was a moment of quiet as both Ethel and her human looked at this teenage boy dog being so good, sitting well, looking cute, obviously having a crush on Ethel. To seal the deal, Leaf spread full out on the ground as he furiously wagged his tail.

His strategy worked.

Ethel made a U-turn and ran back to the dog park gate so quickly that she pulled the red leash away from the woman's hand. Ethel decided she was going on a play date. Leaf ran to greet Ethel with his joyful enthusiasm as both human and bulldog entered the dog park.

Once inside, the woman unhooked Ethel from her leash. In appreciation Leaf immediately covered Ethel with multiple doggy kisses. Then he aggressively sniffed her with unrestrained joy, no doubt discovering many of her secrets. His expectations were fulfilled, as Ethel, at first, played hard to get, a game Leaf dearly loves.

Ethel's attempts at a bark were more of a bulldog grunt, but the two started running side by side. Their fur touched. Leaf's ears flopped in the wind. All was right in dog park world.

Ethel's human asked, "Is that your dog?"

"Yes, his name is Leaf. He's our little teenager."

"Ethel normally prefers walking. She is not that into other dogs."

Ethel and Leaf continued running together, circling back toward where we were standing. Many dog park people stand near the large oak tree near the entrance. This allows for plenty of room to throw Frisbees and tennis balls.

I watched Ethyl and Leaf run and play, Leaf picked up a stick in his mouth and took it back to Ethel. "Leaf loves it here," I said.

"He certainly captured Ethel's heart," Pink Lady responded. She looked confused as she placed her white-gloved hands in the pockets of her pink overcoat. Then she mumbled, still in disbelief, "But Ethel doesn't like other dogs."

Ethel and Leaf played nose-to-nose. Ethel's larger bulldog nose caused Leaf to lean off center. Ethel didn't seem to mind.

Suddenly, Ethel snapped at Leaf's nose. Leaf backed his snout away a couple of inches. Our cat's training at home was making him into a master in the art of dodging scratches and bites. Leaf looked at Ethel with even more adoration. He seemed to be pleased at the thought that she wanted to play rough.

He grabbed a nearby stick, trying to tempt her to get it from him. He laid it down at his feet, inches away from Ethel. Then he began working, teasing, wanting her to try for it so he could show her how strong and fast he is. She made a slight move toward the stick. In an instant Leaf grabbed it up.

Ethel turned her head toward her human as if to say, "Enough of him. Let's go."

Foiled, Leaf dropped the stick and backed away so Ethel would have a better chance to possess it. Already Ethyl was trotting toward the gate with her human meekly following.

Pink Lady hooked the leash to the dog's pink collar and began to open the gate. Sitting down and watching the events unfold, Leaf appeared to be thwarted. He did not want Ethel to leave so soon. He had worked too hard to get her into the park.

Leaf ran toward the gate. As he drew closer, he slowed to a quick trot. Ethel glanced over at him, still enjoying his attention. Pink Lady fiddled with the latch on the gate.

Thinking quickly, Leaf gently grabbed the pink leash with his mouth and pulled it out of the human's hand. He then walked, leash in mouth, with Ethel following him, back toward the center in the park.

At first, the woman appeared surprised, then amused. She watched Leaf taking her bulldog away. "Oh, no, no, we have to go," she called. "Ethel, come back. Ethel!"

Pink Lady walked to the two dogs and picked up Ethel's leash. Leaf, having made his final argument, let go without any resistance.

Leaf sat and watched both dog and human again start walking back to the gate. Pink Lady turned around and said, "Leaf, the next time we see you in the park, and Ethel wants to play, we'll be back."

If a bulldog can smile, Ethel appeared to be grinning at the promise of more fun to come. Leaf took it all in stride. He always surprises me with his ingenuity and determination.

BIO:
Leaf Anderson has a starring role in the new book by Allen and Linda Anderson, ANGEL DOGS WITH A MISSION: Divine Messengers in Service to All Life.

SOMETHING TO THINK ABOUT:

When have you observed animals in love? Did it remind you of human romance?