Lollygagger

It snowed again yesterday. A few inches. Especially on the drive home. Took me twice as long as usual to get to doggie daycare to pick up Loki and Thor. (Yes, I confess, they go to doggie daycare every once in a while. Fantastic place. Can't recommend it enough.)

The routine is that I gather Loki first and put her in the truck. She pulls a lot, especially when she's excited. She's 95 pounds of solid drafting dog, so it's much better to deal with her alone.

OK, so I get her loaded, then go back inside to gather Thor. The only time Thor pulls is when he's trying to keep up with Loki, otherwise he's great on a leash. But he's also a lollygagger. Likes to stand outside the car and watch the world go by. Give him enough time, and he'll eventually jump in. Most of the time, I have to pick up his front paws, put them on the back seat, then lift his 75-pound behind into the truck. He's perfectly capable of jumping, but doesn't want to be rushed.

So, I open the door, say hello to Loki for a moment so Thor can catch the sights, then turn around. And what do I see? Thor has *lain down* in the fresh snow on the sidewalk. Yeah, he's decided to get comfortable and settle in on the soft, cushy snow bed. Better to watch the world go by.

I sigh, then laugh. "Get up, dork."

What? he seems to say, not moving. It's been a long day at school and this snow is nice and cold and soft.

"I've been driving in this for the past hour. It sucks."

He doesn't move.

I walk around behind him, tug on the leash a few times. He ambles to his feet.

"Get in the car."

What? You want me to move?

Now the thing is, Thor is not my lazy dog. That's Loki. No, Thor is the one who's ready to go, day or night. There's a big, scary world out there, and he's eager to see every inch of it, from a safe distance. Today, evidently, that's from the security of a fresh pile of snow on a sidewalk in a busy strip mall.

I coax him to the back door, where he stands and stares at me. Fine. I put his front feet on the seat then lift his 75 pounds of seemingly dead weight into the truck. He lays down on the seat, and I carefully tuck his tail under him so it doesn't close in the car door.

Then it's another 45 minutes of sucky snow driving home, just so Thor can chill out in the snow in his own backyard. Lucky guy. Life is hard when you're a Bernese Mountain Dog.