Chapter 1: Paleo Pup

Transcription

1 Chapter 1: Paleo Pup Inviting Sir Darwin to be my road bud for 1600 miles was not something I thought of out of the blue. I already knew he had globe-trotting abilities when he was only three months old. To pay my bills and help others discover our prehistoric past, I operate Fossil Expeditions guide service into SW Florida's back-country rivers and creeks. Early one Fall morning, I heard a persistent scratch at my office door. When I opened it, my little friend-to-be bypassed all formalities and got straight to the point. You hiring? Darwin asked. Maybe, I replied. What can you do? Nothing, he said. Good, then I won't have to train you. Great, replied Darwin. Take me to the bones! The rest is prehistory.

2 Every dog breed has something special that sets them apart from other breeds, and individual dogs within a breed may have minor or major differences in personalities. It's true for me as a human too, although my differences seemed minor, not major when compared to my fellow uprights. Other than being taller than most, I don't stand out in a crowd. I am average looking and of average intelligence. If I have anything special going for me besides my smart, beautiful and talented artist wife Marisa, it is that I am persistent while being easygoing. Those traits helped me pedal a bicycle 6,000 miles around the U.S., Canada and Mexico with a buddy years earlier. My peaceful disposition offsets my gritty side.

3 Darwin's breed is known for being smart, stubborn and loyal as well as gritty. I hadn't known him long enough to see which traits would emerge strongest, but something told me he may have more going for him as a dog than I sometimes have as a human. It's not that I am more complex, but that I think I am. This means Darwin would not only have to figure me out, but figure out how to shape me into a sensing, more simple creature one who appreciates the little things as much as the big picture. One who doesn't over-complicate life. If you're reading this, I suspect you're a human, so I don't need to tell you about my kind. But perhaps you're not familiar with Australian cattle dogs, which are also known as blue heelers. They are not the same as Australian shepherds. The gritty side of their heritage comes from the Australian native dingo, which are free-roaming and wild. Their ancestors go back thousands of years when they were related more closely to Asian gray wolves. They can also be mixed with smooth haired Scotch merle collies, dalmatians, bull terriers and Australian kelpies. Somewhere in this mix emerges a dog that is tough when needed, but sweet and protective with great herding instincts. From the beginning, Darwin's sweetness appeared to be his dominant trait, which is what I had hoped for more than anything else. As a man, part of me wanted a dog that would be macho and ready to kick butt at the drop of a bone. There was a little of that in me, but it had only surfaced in my youth when my frontal lobe was undeveloped. A far bigger part of me wanted Darwin to to be sweet because these were the qualities that seemed to make the world turn more smoothly in my own life. When I was kind to others and more caring, those same attributes came back to me in larger doses. I am not a push-over, but it strikes me that getting along in the world without fighting advances the human race far more than resolving our differences through constant battles. How Darwin would measure up and what I would glean from this relationship, was anybody's guess at the moment.

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5 Young Darwin has just been accepted at the University of Old Bones with a Woofpoint average of 3.9. Now he faces his first yaptitude test to see how well he interacts naturally with other life forms. Our backyard becomes the paleo lab where he will soon learn the skillful art of digging a perfect fossil hole. My older and more experienced cattle dog Taz (short for Tazmanian Angel) and Miss Fossil agree to act as instructors. On his first day in class, Darwin was anything but a goof-off, although sometimes he was distracted when our cat Inspector Clueso would run by, which prompted frequent time-outs. Feline Diplomacy 101

6 Diplomacy breaks down

7 Followed by a Time Out!

8 Meeting Professor Fossil, who will teach Darwin how to chase his tail and lie on the front porch snoring.

9 Darwin must learn from Professor Taz to ask nicely for a stick if someone else is chewing on it first... Wait patiently for an answer...

10 Accept the gift graciously... Enjoy it while you can...

11 Knowing the gift is only temporary...

12 But see how far you can push it anyway...

13 Then have the good sense to move on...

14 And of course, reflect on the lesson...

15 Next Professor Taz demonstrates the proper way for a dog to stand in a kayak.

16 That looks easy enough, reasons Darwin.

17 And then there's the proper paleo paw positioning to extract just enough dirt to find the bone!

18 Professor Fossil over-sees one last chewing test...

19 Congratulations Darwin...You passed!!

20 A quick hug from the Dean...

21 And my little man is now a graduate of the Academy of Old Bones!