A good chase

One of our dog park friends, a beautiful golden retriever, is obsessed with lizards. He chases them with the full intent and focus of a game dog. He stops at every trashcan and waits for Rick to shake the liner to send the lizards - who are sitting inside waiting for flies - running for the palm trees. Mercer goes crazy, darting for one 3-inch blur and then another. He'll take on an iguana, too.

David dodged this 5-footer on the golf course last weekend. Perhaps they should hire dogs to chase the iguanas (which dig and make a general mess) like they have dogs to rid golf courses of geese in Illinois.

Booker doesn't care about lizards at all. This a good thing, because when we go on our long walks through Rio Vista, there is a lizard every few feet on the sidewalk, sunning itself until interrupted by our approach. They dart for the shrubs and we don't even break stride.

Squirrels don't merit Booker's attention. The squirrel population in Florida is less numerous and markedly scrawnier than that of Chicago. The other morning, two of them stopped in front of us and chattered aggressively at Booker. He didn't even give them the satisfaction of a coonhound bark. He doesn't care about cats either, and there are quite a few, lounging in the sun on brick walkways.

The other night Booker did get agitated over something in a tree along the Riverwalk. His nose went into the air and he froze. Then he started to zigzag under the tree, testing the air. He looked happy, like he was remembering something.