With parents on holiday, Frankie goes to summer camp
Riding a bicycle while pulling a 60-pound dog behind in a little trailer is not entirely unheard of. I’ve seen it done, and I’m pretty sure I wouldn’t want to do it — especially for 300 some miles. So it was necessary to find a fitting and fun alternative for Frankie, our beloved go-everywhere, do-everything mutt, while Kristin and I pedaled off on our summer vacation.
Our daughter Charlotte stepped up to offer a spot in her home where Frankie could find joy amid the daily doings of a thriving young family.
“We’ll take care of Frankie,” she’d offered. “He’ll be so busy around here he won’t even notice you’re gone — not that he’s bright enough to know anyhow.”
The owners of two hyper-intelligent Belgian Malinois dogs, Charlotte and her husband enjoy playfully casting Frankie in the role of a dippy, doofy coonhound. The trope is not entirely unfounded. Put up next to his hyper-achieving “cousins,” he comes off like a kazoo player in a symphony orchestra. Still, despite the teasing, we know the kids love him as much as we do. The ribbing is mostly to mess with my wife Kristin, who regards Frankie as the single greatest dog to have ever walked the planet.
To assuage Kristin’s separation anxiety, Charlotte took it upon herself to issue a series of dispatches on Frankie’s activities throughout the course of every day. Modeled after the emails we get from our grandsons’ daycare, each message featured a snapshot of Frank with a brief caption. The first was a photo of Frankie happily gobbling crumbs off the floor of Charlotte’s car with the boys strapped into their car seats on either side. The caption read: “Update: Took a car ride. Tiny humans provided snacks.”
What followed over the course of the week was one hilarious entry after another.
“Breakfast: Dry food, ate all.”
“Playtime: Gave rides to tiny humans.”
“Outside time: Peed on awesome green slide!”
“Learning time: Mastered catching food as it drops from baby’s high chair.”
“Exercise: Two mile ruck march with overly serious dog cousins.”
“Nap time: Sleeping directly under teacher’s chair to keep from missing anything fun.”
Through the course of the week, it became apparent Charlotte was having as much fun with the arrangement as Frankie. And while Kristin and I would love to imagine he spent at least a portion of his day pining over his missing parents, it was obvious his days were filled with fun and entertainment.
Our grandson Max, at just over a year of age, was a particular source of distraction for the dog as he has mastered the command “sit,” which quite comically results in the dog’s instant and complete obedience, at which time Max smothers him with hugs. Frankie is fine with all that and also was pleased to sleep on the foot of the bed with Max’s older brother James.
The week was as much a “summer camp” experience for the dog as it was a vacation for Kristin and me. Still, there’s no joy quite like that of a dog being reunited with his family, and at the end of it all, Frankie greeted us with big, swooping zooms all around the yard. Vacation is great, even for a dog, but there’s no place like home!
Kristin and John Lorson would love to hear from you. Write Drawing Laughter, P.O. Box 170, Fredericksburg, OH 44627, or email John at jlorson@alonovus.com.