The City Dog and the Farm Dog

Also published as "The New Iowan," The Chronicle, 8-27-2009


I moved from California with one dog and acquired a second dog shortly after making my home in Iowa. Like each state, there are things I love about both dogs. Mikeee is a stout, 14 pound Chihuahua-dachshund mix who traveled with us across the country. Maybe his missing eye and fractured hip reflect the dangers of city life. Daisy is a lean, 26 pound terrier who my husband and I adopted from the Denison city pound. She was the only dog available for adoption and coincidentally bears the name of the dog that lived on our property before we purchased it.

Mikeee, like California, is governed by rules. In a metropolitan area it is important to have laws that protect the masses, such as requiring helmets for motorcyclists and banning the use of cell phones without a hands-free device while driving. Mikeee is a loyal companion who follows the rules. He stays near the house, comes when he is called, and would never run away. Daisy and Iowa are free-spirits. With the vastness of unoccupied space in our new state, it is no surprise that Daisy pays little attention to property lines. In Iowa, I have seen many teenagers riding around in the back of pickup trucks (illegal in California) - and this black and white terrier does what she wants as well. Whether it is running a lap in the neighbor’s soy fields, hunting rabbits, or scavenging in the trashcan, this dog prizes her liberties.

My apartment-sized dog is as predictable as the gorgeous southern California weather. He follows routines and although he enjoys frolicking around the acreage, he is just as happy sleeping in a sunny spot. There isn’t a cloud or a storm in the life of this little lap dog. The terrier seems to have been bred from two farm dogs. Like the weather in Iowa, it is hard to say what she will do next. When I arrive home from work each day, Mikeee greets me with a warm hello while Daisy may sprint by, acknowledging me like a black and white lightning bolt moving with the wind to her next destination.

Like the immaculately landscaped Getty Museum Gardens of Los Angeles or Sherman Library and Gardens of Corona del Mar, Mikeee has been well trained and I enjoy watching him perform his repertoire of tricks. Daisy is the beauty of an Iowa prairie – majestic, fascinating, but not cultivated by man. She likes her human companions but seems to live beside us rather than with us.

Can the love of my past experiences and the excitement of my future adventures form a harmonious present? Judging from the two dogs nestled together asleep in one bed, the answer is yes.


Copyright Rachel Burns 2009