Notes On Charlie – October 15

Any animal as intelligent and athletic as Charlie needs plenty of exercise and stimulation to stay happy. It’s become apparent that if Charlie were allowed to roam free, he would return to the cabin – like the cat does – after running around the hills and trotting up to MC’s and trying to nab a goose. Yet, if he was seen wandering unattended, he would be dead within a day. Even though he lives with me, even though he hasn’t harmed anything. It’s just that ingrained here – coyotes are to be shot.

Because that is the unfortunate way things are, I take him on two hikes, at least an hour each, every day, morning and evening. It’s a commitment. There are times I stumble around the hills at 5am before work, or don my Stetson and rubber boots on a rainy night. But even when I REALLY don’t want to go out, I end up loving that time in the quiet, in the land, roaming with Charlie. I have him on a really long leash but when we are away from the geese and the road I let him go so he can run top speed, uninhibited. It’s an incredible sight – he shoots past me in a blur, then makes a 90-degree turn still at top speed, then doubles back, then races up to me with a smile, then out again, then back to me.

He flattens out in the grass, hiding, then shoots out with his tail wagging as I approach. He points, standing still as a statue with one foot raised and then dives into the tall grass to catch a bug.

In addition to our daily treks, Charlie has a long runner strung between the cabin and some distant trees where I can clip him when I’m working in the cabin and he can wander and sniff and try to dig up prairie dogs, and I take him up to MC’s every few days to play with MC’s dogs.

Recently, Charlie and I have started playing catch (or fetch…?) I sit in the grass and throw a a bone and Charlie races to it and runs back to me with the bone in his mouth. Over and over and over and over…..yes, like a dog. But maybe, it’s that dogs play fetch like coyotes…