THOR - ONC 2024

16. Thor Off-Leash

"Bolted? Like escaped?" I asked Daryl on the phone.

"Yeah! A shrill scream snapped my eyes back to them. Caught the flash of Thor emerging from between the trees and bounding into the field. He's now doing circles in the middle of it – like a happy dance. Whoa! And there he goes, a fast trot northward toward the edge of the park. Such an elegant gait."

Marissa bounced on the couch, a smile filling her face while Daryl talked, and when he finished, she leaned toward the phone and asked, "And them? Are they chasing?"

"Rawlstead is. But the woman is sitting on the ground by the van, rocking back and forth and wailing. I suspect Thor bit her leash hand to free himself."

"Ooh! Clever dog." Watching Marissa wince, I added, "Is it safe for you to assist her?"

"Yes, nothing links me to anything here, and with two other dog walkers now approaching, it would be strange if I didn't."

"Oh, of course. Be safe, Daryl."

"I will. I'll text you the SIM number as I head over there."

"Great!"

When I ended the call, Marissa pursed her lips and nodded. "If they feel threatened, cornered, or scared, any dog might bite. Even Thor, the gentlest one I've ever known."

"As would any threatened creature. They must have severely mistreated him. The old adage: Don't bite the hand that feeds likely has an unwritten antithesis: Bite the hand that threatens."

"True." She bobbed her head. "And it was far more than a happy dance he did in the field. Dogs circle to pick up familiar scents, and with our frequent visits to the park, there would be many."

I nodded. "Looking for the way home. But with so many of them familiar, wouldn't it be confusing to pick the right ones?"

"Yes, it would be, but they also sense direction. Recent Czech research shows that dogs have magnetic orientation capabilities – like homing pigeons, whales and so on. Heading in different directions in a systematic fashion allows them to align with the poles. Northward up the rear lanes is our habitual way from there to the bike route."

"The Tenth Avenue Bikeway?"

"Yeah, we do it because of its calmness. " She chuckled. "He's sniffed nearly every tree, shrub, hedge and hydrant along it – marked many of them, as well. He knows how to safely cross streets, recognises crosswalks, how to push the buttons and wait for the sound signal."

"Ooh! Like a guide dog."

"For sure. He was the first I trained this way, and he could easily find his way home blindfolded."

"How far is it?"

"A thirty-five or forty-minute walk, a quarter-hour run. Our routine is to walk there, play a while, and run back."

"Only with Thor? Or do you also do this with the others?"

"They all take turns, each of them in pairs unless the dam is in heat or in early nursing. It's their only extended exercise, and on fine days, I do a pair in the morning and another in the afternoon."

I nodded as I ran my gaze down her front and back up. "No wonder your body is so trim and firm."

She smiled and trailed a hand across my chest and down to my abs, humming. "And how do you keep this so toned?"

"When I had the time, mountaineering and sailing. But these days, it's mostly the climbing walls and wind-surfing."

"Ooh! I workout on the walls at Cliffhanger Gym." She flexed her arms. "The overhangs are great for upper body strength."