(Photo by Maria Wulf)

Dog people are always telling me their dogs will be “jealous” when they go home after petting my dog or someone else’s dog.

I put this in the category of emotionalized dog-human bullshit. We will believe anything that makes us feel good about ourselves, even if it is false.

This is, to me, and knowing projection. Jealousy is a human emotion, not a dog emotion. Dogs love the smell of other dogs, it’s like a video for them, from the sniff they conjure up photos of the dog, they know its size, disposition, and playfulness.

When you bring the smell of another dog home, you are giving your dog a gift, just like bringing a person a new book or an important piece of food. I was dropping off some cubes –  a daily chore for me – and a big pot of Zinnias for the girls who were busy pruning pears for the winter.

I love my dogs and they love me, but we don’t play human games with each other. They are not furbabies, and they don’t think just like us. They have emotions, for sure, but they are their own emotions, not ours.

When I got home, they all had a sniff of Tina and then went outside to play. We have an understanding, I don’t put my human shit on them, I don’t want their dog stuff on me.

It’s hard enough dealing with crazy homes,, I’m not interested in crazy dogs. And nothing makes them crazy than humans putting words in their mouths and thoughts in their heads.

I admit to loving Tina a great deal. Maria says I always light up when I see her, and she returns the favor. Somehow, and in some way, we have become close, and Tina pays little attention to people who are not in the family.

I sat on in Moise’s kitchen – he’s away today and Tina, who was sleeping near the girls, hopped right over to me and leaned up into my arms, and stretched up to lick me on the chin.

She loves to stretch out in my arms while I scratch her belly and back and then rub the top of her head. I always check to see that she has enough dog food (she does).

I’ve always loved dogs and am never sure why. I see Tina as being generous, loving, brave, and resourceful – the thing I most admire about dogs. I thought of trying to buy Tina, but I stopped myself.

Tina has not been emotionalized. She would give up her life to wolves or coyotes in a second if she thought they were threatening her family. She is a wild creature with a huge heart.

But she will never be my dog, nor should she be.

She is where she belongs and I have the best dogs I could imagine having. I use to follow up on these impulses but some of my worst impulses are fading away, I think the bad impulses die out when you get older.

I don’t need Tina and she doesn’t need me, but we are in love.

I am always fascinated by what connects people and dogs, and I can tell you, Tina and I are talking to each other all of the time.

I admit it. I’m crazy about this dog.

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When I visited the Amish farm today, the girls told me that someone or something has been stealing some of the wooden baskets.

This will happen, I said when the road is a highway that many transients use. I told them I’ve already ordered three replacement baskets, I ordered them as soon as I saw the sign in the shed asking that the baskets be returned.

And no, I said,  you can’t argue about paying me, since you are not allowed to argue at all. That seemed to stump them for a while.

Such behavior punishes the Amish, they can’t quite comprehend why anyone would want to steal one of their baskets.

I could see they were relieved to hear I had ordered some.

I hope they are, but just in place, I’ll make sure they have enough.