Knock, Knock, Who's There?

Knock, Knock, Who’s There?

As a dog person, having two of my own,

I watch them frequently as I have nowhere

to go. We are a pack of curious beasts who

have settled into our lifestyle routine—eat,

sleep, wonder and bark at the uncertain

noises coming at us from outside. My mind

tells me no one is scheduled to visit today.

The dogs know from past encounters that

footsteps on the wooden stairs outside our

place sometimes lead to the cursed doorbell

or agitating knocking. Someone, something

has arrived, the dogs figure, an intruder of our

sacred space and time. Shh...quiet, I tell them.

No one foreign or domestic, friend or foe is

expected today. Dogs couldn’t care less about

the odds, or even if they are right or wrong.

They will involuntarily do what dogs are

instinctively predisposed to do—take no

chances. So, they bark their warning just in

case. And, I’ll be damned, and to my surprise,

they are right a good percentage of the time.

This time it was those door-to-door Mormon

missionaries or could be Jehovah's Witnesses.

Either way, as the unified pack of animals that

we are, the dogs and I are not interested in buying

what they’re selling today, or any other day. The

dogs bark; and as leader of the pack it’s my job

to explain in English, no thanks, please go away.

Chris Hanch 1-15-19