Dog-a-Vision

Assateague Island, Maryland - July 22

Ocean as far as I can see. Dunes to my right. Arlo and Darcy to my left. Camper behind me. It’s the second day of our fishing/camping trip on Assateague Island. I am remembering a past trip to Assateague. There were two dogs then too but the two dogs were Arlo and Shadow. It was August 2003. We had only had Arlo for one week. He was five months old. That was Shadow’s last camping trip. He died that November. Arlo is three now and he has a new playmate. As far as we know, this is Darcy’s first trip to Assateague, but we really don’t know what she did before she came to live with us last December. That’s when we got her from the Lost Cat and Dog Foundation. All we knew about her was that her owner had gone to jail. Sometimes she reacts to a certain car or truck or individual and I wonder if she is remembering her former life. What’s before me? An evening with no phones or computers. No radio. No TV. Just the southwest breeze, the roar of the surf and dog-a-vision.