Probably not such an interesting story unless you are one of Luna’s admirers or simply obsessed with dogs…all dogs.

Luna is granddaughter Patricia most beautiful husky/Australian Shepherd/Border Collie (probably) who is living with me for a week. She’s about eight months old and the prettiest and smartest of all my grandchildren and I do love her. That said I had forgotten how much work goes into being a good dog parent. Back in the day we were, I’m ashamed—or not—to say, much less solicitous. When I was a kid we had farm dogs…not the kind that live in the barn and eat old food or things gone bad…ours were the ones that slept on the couch and ate pretty directly from the table. But they did roam about the fields freely, never had shots, ate the same treats we did (Hershey bars on shopping days) and they usually lived to ripe old ages. And even though my dogs back in the not-so-far-away day had a yard, slept on the couch, and had dog food and lots of table tidbits, they were rarely walked and frequently didn’t get shots (since I was usually on the poor side of that great middle class we often hear about).

Now Luna, on the other hand, has a myriad of shots, pills, regularly scheduled appointments with the vet; pricey dog food, dog treats, dog toys, a giant cage thing, harnesses, leashes, brushes, blankets and special bowls. It’s not all good however. I’m not allowed to give her treats except tomatoes and bananas. Really! Whatever happened to the pork chop bone or licking the chocolate frosting off the plate? Her mom will find out…so I may as well admit it…I did share a peach Activia with her tonight.

Our day went something like this. Luna and I took a short street walk at 5:15am; we drove family to airport for their Hawaiian holiday a little later; we went to work and adjusted the office for max Luna comfort and she made many of our artists very happy by letting them scratch her belly; we went for two relatively short walks in the 96° oh-so-sunny high desert day; we went to the dog park for about an hour and one-half and played.

Luna is very funny at dog parks, initially shy and hanging back; then a few forays toward and around the other mostly older dogs; then back and forths where Luna runs away, circles around, cuts back through the middle of the action; finally she’s front and center in the races, even getting rolled over in one big happy melee which scared me a bit. She is now dirty and exhausted…me too.

There, family on the beach…that’s my report. Tomorrow Luna and I are hanging out at the air-conditioned brew pub up the street and having burgers for dinner with blueberry pie and ice cream afterward.