Richmond Times-Dispatch Op/Ed, November 11, 2012, John Railey
“Geneva ‘Eva’ Railey is the curious sort.” – RTD
I was trying to write about a serious subject, the presidential election, as I worked on this column Tuesday night, watching CNN and the national poker game play out on the red-state, blue-state map. I was hanging on each breathless new report from Wolf Blitzer as he’d turn to John King and his endless updates of the map. President Obama was waltzing ever closer to what would be his win over Mitt Romney.But my Shetland sheep dog, Geneva “Eva” Railey (named both for a great-grandmother named Geneva and Eva Peron of Argentina), kept interrupting, dropping her favorite ball beside me and giving me a nose nudge to throw it for her.
Of course I did, every time.
But not being a perfect parent (my wife is a lot better), I kept my eyes on the screen as I played with Eva. After all, I’d talked to her on our daily walks about the election, I couldn’t believe she wasn’t showing more interest. Sometimes she’d get tired of my yelling at the TV screen, take her toy and trot off to her favorite room in the house, the one where she can stretch out on her pillow and stare out a front window, barking at passersby. But then she’d come back and start licking my hand, nudging me to play. I started thinking that pets are the serious subject I should be writing about. Continue reading at the Richmond Times-Dispatch.
Note: It is Veteran’s Day, and given this post is not focused on veterans, you can read my unique tie with my dog and the service from my very first blog post, here.
RVA muttropolis 