A Dog's Life in Quarantine

How's Cleo handling this whole quarantine scene? Much like the rest of us.

She gets so happy when someone walks by or comes in the front door.

But  most of the time, she sits just inside the threshold and watches. (It's been gorgeous weather here, so we've had the door open much of the time--makes me feel not so closed in.)

She loves the spot of sunshine just inside the doorframe, and she will stay there for hours. Even when Amazon or UPS approach the house with a package, she remains there, still and quiet and unaffected by their presence. With the same delivery people coming all the time, they've learned to trust her and greet her before returning to their trucks.

She's also mystified by the arrival of our nine new feathered ladies. She knows she can't go in Brad's raised beds, so she watches from the other side, sometimes placing her feet on the bricks to get a better view of the chickens. She will run from gate to gate, peering at them and wondering what they're doing in her yard.

She waits expectantly for her people to emerge from the enclosure, never attempting to come through the gate, and never barking at the birds. It's strange, almost like she understands her world is separate from theirs and she has to keep her distance (such a quarantine metaphor there, but I'll let it pass).

She is the best dog ever. Even when I leave the gate slightly ajar while I'm feeding or collecting eggs or shutting the coop for the night, she stays on her side of the fence, patiently waiting for me to come back out to her.

Lucky for both of us, we can still get in our ritual lap around the block every morning. No kids to greet her or ask to pet her or call her name from behind the school fence. No cars with dogs behind the glass. 

Can she tell the world is different now?