Greetings ,

Freddy B, our dog kid, gets what we laughingly call "the zoomies."

Some might call it a "fit".  Whatever it is, he spontaneously surges with energy, like a dog gone berserk.  Mad with dog joy. 

His running jag happens spontaneously, coming out of nowhere. His crazy dog fit is unphotographable, as he's moving waaaaay too fast.  

Norman Rockwell got close to capturing a "zoomy":
Running dog in "No Swimming"

I'll attempt to paint Freddy B's Zoomies with words:

At full speed, Freddy B will dash back-and-forth in a straight line or in wide circles. Ears back and tail flying, low to the ground, he'll run flat out, going faster and faster, oh, at least 64 miles an hour. He'll embellish his frenzied dash with complex twists, turns, spins, and stops. The more abrupt the stops to change direction, full 180s, and zoom back, the more he seems to enjoy it.   

A typical "Zoomie" runs something like this:

He'll run down the hallway, careen around a tub of teddy bears in front of the doggie door placed intentionally there to slow him down and bam!, fly right through the doggy door to the backyard, around the water fountain, leap and bite a leaf off the eucalyptus tree, bam! right through the doggy door, around the tub of teddy bears, into the family room, around the island in the kitchen, then around the dining room table, to the living room's corner window, jumps up to the top of the stuffed chair in the corner, bite the drapery, take a flying leap off the chair, circle the coffee table, and start all over again. 

Sometimes, it lasts for seconds, sometimes for a full minute or longer. He is undefatigable and exhausting to watch, mainly because I'm laughing so hard as he zooms. 

In the meantime, O, his sedentary dog-sister who's on thyroid pills to rev up her metabolism, just watches him, staying out of his way, bemused.  

Believe me, Freddy B is a dog who is not attention-starved, and I know he's not doing it for attention, as he seems completely oblivious to me, except to ricochet off my body if I'm in his path.

The entire time he's zooming, Freddy B actually smiles with a wild, crazy mischievous glint in his eyes

I think he's celebrating life.

>> Humans projecting themselves on their dog

"Life is a Gift."

Sincerely,
Author Unknown

P.S.  If you would like to share a portion of yourself  with words, in response to this journal entry, you may do it here.  

"The only gift is a portion of thyself..." Ralph Waldo Emerson

 

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