Ice Cream Summer

The boys and I went over to the boathouse on Friday afternoon. We got a new ice cream freezer and the boys were anxious to sample a Super Cone, a monstrous ice cream cone covered with chocolate and nuts. Ice cream cones bought, we seated ourselves on the bench in front of the boathouse and the kids started eating through the chocolate shell to the ice cream below. Nuts fell like rain to the pavement and Chuy anxiously devoured every little speck that rained down.

A lady came by reining in a high energy Husky. The dog was a light brown, with a white stripe down his face and looked pleasing with one green eye and one blue eye. Chuy stopped eating the nuts and zeroed his attention in on the dog. It looked enough like a wolf to be mesmerizing and Chuy is a magnet for wolf-type dogs. It's like they're going to open up the world for him. Every time he's ever seen a dog that looks like a second generation to a wolf, he goes Ga-Ga over it.

Anyway, I introduced Chuy to the lady and she said the dog's name was Cody and funny enough, both dogs were fifteen months old. Only thing was, Cody outweighed Chuy by sixty pounds, but that didn't bother the young dogs. They immediately went romping at each other: laying their upper bodies and paws out flat and thrusting their heads toward each other, daring the other one to move first, then flinging their bodies upward at the same time. Quickly they'd resume their flattened stance and wait for the other to move first. Amazing to me how dogs presume to know the rituals of play, but they sure do. And this dog was just as adept as Chuy at this new game.

The lady and I watched our dogs (both on leashes, but both playing avidly) with each other for a few minutes. There was never a hint that the bigger Cody would nip at little Chuy, in the two puppies' eyes, they were equals. The boys continued to eat their ice creams, the nuts and chocolate gone now and just the cones and ice cream left. A few nut pieces remained on the ground now that Chuy had met a new friend to romp with.

Charlie finished his cone and licked his sticky fingers. I told him to go inside to wash his face before we continued on our beach walk. Sage handed me his still mostly full of ice cream cone. "I'm done," he stated, and followed his brother inside to clean up.

"Chuy! You want some ice cream?" I asked.

Chuy forgot his new playmate and his game and materialized at my side. Ice cream cones are one of his favorite foods in the whole world. With Bill's and my help, he had discovered Dari Queen on the end of our walks in Superior and was a most obedient licker of ice cream.

"There's too much for you to eat it all," I told him, proceeding to hold the cone out to Chuy. "Would Cody be able to eat a bite or two?" I asked the lady.

"I'm sure he would," she agreed. "He loves ice cream."

Chuy was already taking two or three swipes of the ice cream with his tongue. He's one of those who savor ice cream, taking it lick after satisfying lick. Vicariously, I enjoy the ice cream as I watch it slowly disappear into Chuy's mouth. Man, he can make it look good!

But since Chuy had a new friend to share, after a couple of long licks from Chuy, I took the cone and held it out to Cody. He was right at my side in a moment as well. (Nothing like a good ice cream for getting your dog to obey!) His mouth opened, but instead of a tongue coming out to take a lick, the whole end of the ice cream cone disappeared into the Husky's mouth. "What!" I yelped.

Chuy stood patiently for his next turn, his tongue lolling out of his mouth, ready for his lick.

The ice cream and its cone disappeared down the Husky's throat.

"Oh dear, Chuy, I think your friend finished the cone." Chuy looked over and drew his tongue back into his mouth. I detected some spittle at the side of his mouth. Poor doggie had expected more!

"Oh! I'm so sorry!" the lady apologized. "Cody does love ice cream. Shall I buy you another?"

"Certainly, not," I assured her. "Sage had what he wanted and I didn't want Chuy to have that much." Chuy looked at me as though he would have answered much differently.

The lady turned to her husband. "Go inside and buy us some ice cream. Cody could probably eat some more."

The boys came out and we diverted the ice cream eating Chuy into a Running-After-Boys-On-The-Beach-Dog. Later, the ladies in the boathouse told me they'd sold out of half their ice cream on Friday afternoon. Whether it was the little boys enjoying their cones that drew the customers or the puppies slurping up ice cream cones, that was the big draw for that afternoon.