A Dog’s Life: Emmy Weathers The Storm

It’s been a month since a powerful storm rolled through Washington and knocked out power to thousands of people, including Emmy Elfin’s people. She is now ready to tell her story.

by Emmy Elfin

Up front I’ll tell you: I never like storms. They frighten me and make me sick. On Friday, June 29th, we lost power and we would have four dark nights ahead. I wasn’t happy, but I think I did better than humans, maybe  because I’m less evolved.
 
It had been too long between grooming appointments and I wasn’t looking my best when the storm hit. Though my owners worried about my excess hair, experts say it acts as insulation for both hot and cold weather.
 
What was troubling, however, was the need to keep my tongue out so that I could pant. That is not very attractive. Dogs don’t sweat, humans don’t pant. Imagine if that were reversed. Funny, no?
 
How did i manage in the heat and the dark? Since I don’t have a cell phone, I had nothing to lose in that respect. Same with the computer. I don’t watch much television. It puts me to sleep and of course, I don’t read. I guess I was less deprived than my family members, who were very grumpy. I could also find my way around the house without a flashlight.
 
One of the annoyances during the powerless time was that my meals went downhill rapidly. There was not much cooking going on and my usual leftover treats soon disappeared. I’m not used to plain dog food twice a day and soon lost my appetite with a boring diet.
 
One afternoon I went to Bethesda to hang out with my cousin Sparky, whose house was air-conditioned. That helped some, but I don’t do sleep-overs so I didn’t stay there or with my other cousin, Moo, who lives in Virginia. I don’t like being a guest, coming in second to spaniels who are smaller than I am. I preferred my own house, hot and airless as it was. Once we got the garage door open (as my person noted in a previous report), I went for several cool rides in the car and checked out the neighborhood.
 
It was just before 2 a.m. on the day the lights came on. I was trying to sleep in the garden when I heard voices at the corner of Albemarle Street. Then I heard a boom which frightened me, so I went indoors until 2:45 a.m. when the wonderful whooshing sound of the air conditioning kicked in and we were back to normal living!