In Praise of Peanut

As most of you know, I haven't been thrilled at the way Peanut has been received (or not) in our neighborhood. And in truth, she's not a piece of cake in the house with a lot of people so I've often resented her. But I've had a really hard time not resenting the neighborhood in relation to her, because while she can be grumpy in the house, she is pretty fabulous on the outside.

And those of you who know Pea know how much she loves balls. So it was heart-warming to have a family over today who, when we went to the playground on our estate, threw the ball to her over and over and over again. It brought back the warm memories of leaving Pea standing outside the gate at Precita playground in SF and letting the ball roll under the fence so a child could throw it to her. Seriously, that is when I felt really proud to have her as my dog and it always drove home the joy it was to have her playful energy in our lives.

I have waited a year and a half to finally feel that feeling here. Sure, the macho gang guys at Stepney Green will acknowledge and occasionally throw the ball to her but they are more interested in the challenge it seems to be for people to be around a dog than they are into her for pure enjoyment. I was so delighted and relieved to see Sigourney, 3, and Quintin, 6 playing with her today. It might sound over the top to some of you or even most but it has been hard, day in and day out, and all day to see her rejected by most of the people around me--really, really hard. (It's actually also been hard to feel like God's beautiful creation has been going to waste because she's not given the time of day.)

And the funny thing (or not so funny thing) was that she was more at ease and calm in the house with our guests after that interaction than I have seen her in a long time.