Published: April 15, 2009 09:39 am      

Angie, dog go on field trip to basement

Last night, my dog went on a field trip. She entered the dark, mysterious shadows of my basement. Cordy rarely goes down there because she isn’t a big fan of steps. Two major knee surgeries will do that to a dog. So, good old mom is her chauffeur.

She has only been carried to the basement a couple of times and it usually is during inclement weather. I am terrified of storms and so is she. So, we make a perfect pair. However, I don’t have to be tranquilized like she does.

This time going to the basement was a calm experience for both of us. When I go down to the basement to get some meat or veggies out of my chest freezer, Cordy’s head will peak around the corner trying to see where I go. I think she is afraid I will disappear down there and never come back.

So, last night before I went running on my treadmill and to satisfy my addiction to “Dancing with the Stars,” I carried her down there. I could feel her little heart beating faster and faster with each step. I was very careful not to drop my precious cargo.

Once we got down there safely and I could move my arms again, she was off to the races. Her little nose was everywhere. You would have thought Cordy was looking for the Holy Grail from one of the Indiana Jones movies. She would look darn cute in a fedora.

Cordy was very intrigued by my treadmill, which my dad just fixed. I broke the floor last winter from all the pounding I did while running. Kind of makes you wonder what I’m doing to my knees.

Anyway, as my treadmill gradually inched up to 6.2 miles per hour, Cordy was mesmerized by what was going on. I thought she would be scared of it, but it was like she was in a trance or something. While I was running and watching “Dancing with the Stars,” Cordy laid down in front of me and stared at my feet for 40 minutes.

I don’t think anyone has ever looked at me that long. I am certainly not an expert when it comes to the canine psyche, but I don’t think she could understand why I wasn’t getting anywhere. She looked so puzzled.

If someone ever wanted to hypnotize a dog, I think having him/her watch their owner run on a treadmill would do the trick. I have never seen her in such a trance. She perked right up when I got off. I wish I could have said the same thing.

I have to say getting Cordy down to the basement was easier than bringing her down. To make things worse, she didn’t want to leave. I finally had to resort to bribery. A little sneaky I know, but it works. All in all, I think we both had fun. Cordy was kind of in a hypnotic state and I sweated to “Dancing with the Stars.” “Sweating to Dancing with the Stars” sounds like a Richard Simmons exercise video in the making don’t you think?

Well, before Cordy and I make too many more field trips to the basement, I would like to put in an elevator. Unfortunately, that isn’t very likely.



Angie Bicker is the lifestyles editor with the Clinton Herald. She has been with the Herald since 2001.