Distant Socially

I came back from my walk. Everyone says we need to improve our lung capacity, so walking is imperative. You might be able to fight the virus better with a robust lung and immune system. So I try. But I wanted to talk to Meg, my neighbor for over two decades now. I guessed she would have returned by now from walking Lou Lou, her Labrador Retriever.

Meg answered right away. I could sense a wistful note in her voice. It was unmistakable even over the phone. This isn’t the plucky Meg I know, I thought.

“Hey what’s up Meg, why do you sound so low?”

“ You know I really get the need for social distancing  given the situation, no complaints really. Look, I couldn’t hug you when I saw you in the park yesterday , right? And both of  us understood it perfectly. It’s not us, but Lou Lou.”

“ What about Lou Lou?”

Meg hesitated for a split second, then blurted out.

“ Lou Lou is feeling it. She’s really upset today.”

“Aw, why is she feeling sorry?”

“ She’s having a meltdown. Can’t take this social distancing stuff anymore. Am at my wit’s end. She isn’t eating well at all. If she gets sick, I wouldn’t know what to do at this point. The vet who’s such a mighty help is down with the virus. Where am I supposed to take her?”

Pets are a huge responsibility, I know.  But I couldn’t understand how social distancing could impact Lou Lou so deeply that she’d lost  her appetite. This was worrisome. Neither could I help Meg in any way by looking out  for new vets to take Lou Lou to because most vets weren’t open the regular hours during this pandemic. I could bring pet food and leave it on Meg’s driveway. and that would be the most help I could manage. But I couldn't go any closer.

I’ve always felt anxious for Meg because she was in the group of immuno-compromised people. It was heightened  now ever since I was told that this virus absolutely loves such groups of people. She is now recovering from her third surgical intervention of a stubborn tumor that keeps returning to different parts of her brain every now and then. But Meg is built of sterner stuff than this malignant  tumor and fights hard. Every time she comes home from the hospital, she  grins in pride showing me a victory sign over her head. I always love her then like no one else. She fills me with courage all the time. In fact she’s my catalyst.

So it was odd  that she should be feeling the blues on Lou Lou's account.

“Why is Lou Lou having a meltdown?”

“ It’s troubling because she’s not sleeping either. Always restless and moping at the drop of a hat. Very morose.”

“ Could you guess the reason, Meg?”

“ Oh I  think she needs an antidepressant probably. Her vet would know, I’m sure.”

“ I mean why is she depressed?”

“ She really misses her boyfriend Hector. Hector’s owners aren’t bringing him to the park anymore ever since this crazy pandemic broke out and we were told to follow the CDC’s social distancing guidelines. Lou Lou’s not getting why we seem to go play fetch alone in the park when it’s totally empty. Previously, we would synchronize their game time together. You know how social Lou Lou is, friendly to a fault. ”

I knew then that canine distancing was the inevitable fallout of human social distancing. What an unforeseen consequence. Lou Lou would possibly get over it in course of time just as we would sometime in the future.Meanwhile Meg had a lot on her plate. Poor soul.

Absentmindedly I kept tickling Munchkin’s neck while she lazily yawned at me with perfect contentment as though she seemed to say the world was too unnecessary for me to be so worried about. I’ve often seen her reprove me at my most trying moments and have envied her superior indifference of all things mundane. Nothing, absolutely nothing ruffles her Persian fur. At times I’ve suffered her disdainful look as if she’s royalty and I am her attendant lady. I have felt mortified plenty of times whenever she’s deigned to convince me that she has a mind of her own and might be able to help me for a change if I considered the proposition.

We were watching TV and she was curled up like a ball of wool in my warm lap with eyes closed- her favorite  cuddle time.She was the very picture of snugness totally divorced from the world outside and kept purring from time to time. And it was then that she gave me an idea.

“ Meg I have an idea.”

“Okaay...?”

“ You know Lou Lou and Munchkin could have play dates if you are up to it. I think  sometimes she looks at Lou Lou condescendingly, like she always does with everyone, but she likes to play around in the backyard by herself and is pretty inventive. She could do with a playmate. They could both use the trampoline to entertain themselves. What do you say?”

“Oh this is brilliant. Love the idea. We could take turns. Once in my backyard and once in yours and the rest of the time they could watch Animal Planet. Lou Lou dotes on the elephants.”

“ Yeah two friends getting together to work around their boredom. We can’t be together. They can.”

I know Lou Lou well enough to expect that she would be a little hesitant initially with Munchkin’s superciliousness of all creatures, because Munchkin thinks of herself as the wisest feline  to grace the earth. This isn’t lost on Lou Lou, but she would accept her out of the generosity of her canine heart, I hope. Duress brings out the best in everyone and maybe my precious Munchkin might start feeling slightly less vain and more welcoming.

Time to observe a canine- feline bonding during a transition . I am looking forward to this new excitement in my otherwise confined living at this moment in history.