It was just another Wednesday, albeit an unseasonably warm one in northern New Jersey, as I walked my dog through the neighborhood.
The autumn leaves were a Crayola box of gold, crimson, and green, and I snapped a photo when I reached my destination: a half-mile, gravel-lined walking trail near a local park.
I tried not to think of my mounting to do list and the fact that I was sweating profusely in mid-October as I walked briskly beneath the canopy. After thirty minutes, I reached my highest level of Zen (that is to say, an almost manageable degree of panic) and headed home.
Stepping back onto paved roads, I heard a strange shuffle to my right.
I looked up, and…
There is a dog on a roof, said my Zen mind.
There is a DOG on a ROOF, said my anxiety.
There is a BLOG POST in your POCKET, said my inner chipmunk.
Now that I’ve had time to consider this sight more deeply, I’ve come up with a few possible explanations:
- He’s a watch dog for a new K-9 super breed who can fly, bend steel with their minds, and resist the smell of crotches.
- He’s trying to catch a glimpse of Canada, so he knows what to expect after the next presidential inauguration.
- Anything is better than hearing his owner complain about work. I mean seriously, how hard is it to neglect pets for a living?
- He is a she, and she’s waiting for the right stud for whom to let down her tail of gold.
What do YOU think?
P.S. – You still have one more day to enter THE GREATEST GIVEAWAY CONTEST EVER (ends MIDNIGHT EST, FRIDAY, OCTOBER 21st)!
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Go Jules Go 
I think this post just made me spew coffee. “manageable level of panic” That’s my zen too! If I had to guess, I’d go with option number 1…
I know “fart” gets a lot of attention, but I think “crotch” is my “fart’ in terms of words that make me giggle like an 8-year-old boy.
Hahaha! Wish I could’ve gone on that walk.
Loving number 2 or it could be our lazy-a** neighbor finally deciding she can’t even open the back door to let out the dog. Now I think she just stumbled to the bedroom window and said, “Here. The window’s open. You figure it out.”
Elyse (below) said that German Shepherd’s can CLIMB WALLS. Uncle Jesse’s tendency to eat lying down suddenly pales by comparison.
your guardian–panic is also my zen-like state
That dog seems pretty Zen. Maybe he’s onto something.
The good news is that you managed some level of zen, even if it was only a slight reduction in panic. No wonder given that gorgeous view (love the Crayola box description.)
As to the dog on the roof, I can’t even. Better watch Uncle Jesse in case this is the latest doggie “thing.”
Uncle Jesse didn’t see him, but the other dog suuuuure saw him. He maintained eye contact the whole time and didn’t bark, so I’m pretty sure he’s a sniper dog.
please tell me you knocked on the door and asked for their roofer’s business card.
It’s kind of the greatest advertisement ever, isn’t it? If I steal from FWH (below), I think their commercials would be along the lines of:
(dog barking): “Roof roof”
(roof repairman): “What’s that, Rover?”
(dog barking): “Roof roof!”
(roof repairman): “That’s right, you DO need a new roof!”
I bet you tried to talk him down and his response was, “Roof, Roof”
I LOVE THIS SO MUCH [that I stole it for my reply to Jenn above].
That is the shingle most bizarre thing I’ve ever seen… (OK, I’ll quit now)
Oh, you slate me!
Oh my dog did you help super pup down??
I think I would have disrupted his Zen.
I’m betting there is another option. He looks part German shepherd. They are great climbers. The shepherd mutt I had as a teen could actually climb fences and walls. He once was caught by the dog catcher and put into an outdoor pen. He broke out and then broke INTO the pen a few down as there was a lady in heat in that one.
Get. Out. I never, for one moment, considered that he CLIMBED up there. (I assumed there was an upstairs window where the owners let him jump out. And was wondering how that ever came to pass. Like, one day did they just call him over and say, “Here, you wanted to go out, so go out!”?)
You never know!
It’s probably much easier to mark his territory from up above.
Now that you mention it, I’m starting to think Uncle Jesse and I got off easy.
Seems like there is some Seuss-ian potential here.
I was going to make a “roof roof!” joke, but someone beat me to it. So now I have nothing. NOTHING.