Under the Banyan Tree

One of the things that Booker does best is pee on everything vertical. Even some things horizontal. He has peed on his friend Lexie, who was laying in the water-filled blue plastic doggie pool at the park. He peed on the agility tunnel right as Kaylee was running through it. He lifted his leg on the foot of someone sitting on a park bench. He made a bulls'eye on a coffee mug set next to the park gate.

Yesterday he peed in the dining room. A really big, rug-soaking pee. This is actually very unusual, but because it wasn't a "marking" leg lift, he must have really, really had to go. He must have drunk way too much water at the dog park that morning, and was bursting before the usual allotted walk time. An earlier pee-outing after the after-the-dog-park nap is in order.

There is a Banyan tree in the park next to our condo building. The Banyan is a fig with the ability to spread laterally from the original trunk by using aerial prop roots. Small roots grow out of the branches at regular intervals. The roots grow downward to the ground, attach themselves to the soil for nourishment and form a new trunk, or prop. Old trees can cover very large areas.

This one is about 1/2 a block wide in area. The park isn't fenced, so Booker cannot go off leash, but we all try to be very patient and move slowly from trunk to root to upright. Can you imagine? This tree is a pee-intense dog's dream. There is a new target in need of marking every step.

I took this ridiculous little movie of Booker demonstrating his talent today. Pretty funny. Obviously, didn't realize that the camera was set on video - like the toes? One of H-Mom's new goals is the honing of her videography skills.

Yesterday Booker's nose found something pretty gross, but very cool, by the base of one of the larger banyan trunks. Don't look too closely if you have a weak stomach. He sniffed at it gingerly, but didn't bark or touch it. I read somewhere that hounds don't like death - they are great hunters with a good scent and something alive at the end of the trail, but don't do well in Search and Rescue as cadaver dogs because they get depressed. All that remains of Booker's discovery is fur that looks like tangled Spanish moss and little ivory colored bones. Carcasses don't last long in the tropics, between bugs, lizards and the heat. It is too large to have been a squirrel, so we are guessing a raccoon.

Booker backed away carefully and went about the more important business of his walk.