b'final mattersQuarantine DogDown and out with mans best friendBY SARA COURTNEYS o you got a dog. Not justhome.Andbackshebounded,down anydog.Aquarantinethe hill and onto her spot on the couch.dog.AdogtoshelterSo when the time comes that your in place with. A dog todogs personality makes the leap from socially distance with. Aquirky to irritating, get a kind trainer dog to talk to in real life.and take the long view. You got your After all, you cant hug adogwhentheworldboardedupits Zoom call. doors and your friends became faces on In the beginning, it went smoothly.a screen. You cant social distance from You and your dog were a team. He gave you a reason to go outside. He nudgedpolite leash manners, a strong recall.your dog. And after all, isnt that the you with a wet nose when it was breaktime from your newly christened (already(Agoodrecallcansaveyourdogspoint? crammed) dining room office. He is the only reason you have somewhere to belife, our trainer told us solemnly.)Sara Courtney lives in Maplewood with every day, at the dogs version of an office cooler: the red fire hydrant.And so it was that day not too longherexasperatedhusband,threesmall He dutifully ate your kids socks because there was no homework. You andago when, perhaps from too much cab- bored children, and gorgeously stubborn your dog became a pandemic-fighting, homeschool-teaching, loneliness-bust- in fever, she slipped out the side doordog, Mattie. ing duo. You are Jerry Maguire, and your dog completes you. of our house and into the great wide Then come the quirks: He follows you everywhere. He whines when you go.open. She bounded up the street, she He greets some dogs with a wag and others with a BARK. Sorry! you yell atskippeddownthestreet.ThisGreat your neighbor with the yippy chihuahua. Hes just social distancing! Dane/greyhoundmixgallopedwith The day comesand it will comewhen you go from sheltering in placean unbridled joy and mischievousness with your dog, to being stuck in the house with him. while I called her. I chased her. I yelled First, some background: my dog bounced in and out of shelters (high-killat her. I pretended to spot a squirrel shelters from the South, they told me when I picked her up). She greeted meand walked the other way, beckoning with a BARK. TAKE ME HOME. BARK. So I did. She is so pretty driversher to join. holler Beautiful dog!Thenmydogdashedupthehill She is also terrible. She steals food. She declares WWIII when the poor mail- to the corner, looked left, then right, woman comes by. She only likes one dog on this entire planet, and that dog livesthen back at me. I could see her decid-in Boston, so most of her walks are spent embarrassing me with a loud BARKing,andinthatmoment,Ithought whenever we encounter a neighborhood dog. She has her own corner spot on theof her old recall. Mattie! I hollered. couch, which happens also to be my husbands. When he sits there, she stands inNOW! And at the sound of the word front of him and BARK BARK BARK until he moves in exasperation.now, she tilted her head, considering. I hired a trainerexpensive, but effective. My dog learned calm greeting,Yes, she would come home. She wantedMattie is a Great Dane/greyhound mix.50/ matters magazine / holiday 2020'