The Dog Star: The Pack

December 23, 2010

(The Dog Star is a symbol of power, will, and steadfastness of purpose, and exemplifies the One who has succeeded in bridging the lower and higher consciousness. – Astrological Definition)

We have with us our daughter, her husband, our twin granddaughters, our son, his girlfriend, our two dogs and our son’s bulldog. Full house, even for us.

The dogs immediately formed a pack. Koufax and Humphrey, the bulldog, fight and play, and Buddy Beagle remains wary and crafty, but they all do things together. They’ll hit my den, sleep on the two dog beds together, but if Koufax leaves the other two will follow. This business of a pack—of “having people,” if you will—is pretty cool.

Last evening, Maria and I heard a crack and felt the house shake a bit. We were the only ones home, and the dogs seemed somewhat uneasy. When we went downstairs, we found one of the huge windows (about 12 by 6 feet) that separate the pool table room from the indoor pool had shattered. (Root cause: Unbeknownst to use, the exhaust fan had failed and the build up of heat from the pool on one side and relative coolness on the other strained the window to shattering point.)

At 8 am this morning I called a glazier, who had a man here by 9, who returned at 10:30 with two others and replaced the glass by 11. My son had cleaned up the mess on both sides, and we put the robot in the pool to clean the bottom. I called the electrician at 8:10 and he had a man here by 9, who stood on a 14-foot ladder IN the pool to access the fan, and order a replacement. Meanwhile, the cleaning crew showed up for the holidays, and Cox Cable came to create a “host” recorder with more memory space that can broadcast elsewhere in the house. All of this was completed by 1 pm, when we took our two dogs for their Christmas bath. (It takes two of us to bring them in and bring them out, Koufax is a tad embarrassing.)

It’s good to have “people.” You get “people” by building strong relationships, providing referrals, paying your bills on time, and treating everyone respectfully. I’d like to think the dogs are my “people,” but I’m beginning to realize I’m actually one of theirs.