My dog like to deposit her poop in a variety of spots in the yard. She never goes out and just stops in one place. I don’t know why. But answering nature’s call means making many circuits of the yard, sniffing carefully and then make partial deposits in a lot of places. However, this is the year of snowpocalypse in Anchorage. She goes into the yard and once she gets beyond the protective ceiling of the second floor deck, she is in snow up to her shoulders. Still, the instinct for multiple deposits is strong. Since she can’t go far, she nows makes circles in the small protected area under the deck. It’s as though she has some inner sense of how far she has to go and before she can make each deposit. And she’s going to go that far even if she’s getting nowhere but merely repeating her steps over and over and over…. As I stand watching her do this at 2 AM, I have to control the urge to open the door and scream, “For god’s sake, you’ve circled that area ten times. Now just poop and get the hell in here.”
But she’s old, on a lot of medication and needs my patience and understanding… even if it is 2 AM.