b'final mattersI Double Dog Dare Ya You and your canines can beat the winter bluesBY DONNY LEVITT -H-W-A-C-K!or discussing Don Martins MAD Magazine car- lenged. Doggie puzzles are nice, but the great outdoors is nicer. Do you know I usually reserve spelling out that word when making a comicwhat youre getting yourself into? asked the rescue agency during our adoption book referenceinterview. We did. And we were as ready as we could be.toons. I can share with you that the dogs and I have started out 2024 on a high In this case, Im referring to the sound of the remarkably pow- note. This will be my second year taking part in the St. Jude Childrens Research erful tail of our recently rescued Australian Shepherd. That rhyth- Hospital January Dog Walk Challenge. Ive committed to walking the dogs 40 mic thwack is her wake-up call. It keeps time on the pillow overmiles this month while fundraising for a very good cause. When I signed up last my face better than any metronome. Sometimes, shell thwack me good on myyear, I was shocked at how generous folks were with their donations. I expect the forehead, which is quite the unwelcoming alarm.same response this year from my fellow humans.Other times, shell thwack it so hard against theThis is the sensible point to naturally transition bedroom door that our hallway sounds like we liveinto details about walking our energetic pooches. in an echoing castle.Problemis,saidenergeticpoochesarecurrently After plunking a generous handful of ice cubesstaring at the back of my head as I write this. Its a into my iced coffee, I send her out back to do hernot-so-subtle demand that I take them for a walk morning biz. We are blessed with a fenced-in yard,immediately. So pardon this brief pause, although so I suppose those early morning thwacks arentthere is something truly meta-caninical about this that bad. moment that I thought appropriate to share.Named by our daughter after the Jedi appren- NowthatAkashiandAhsokaarechomping tice of Anakin Skywalker (thats his name before histreats under my desk (loudly, might I add), I am Darth Vader days), Ahsokas wild red merle patternthinkingabouthowchallengingitmightbeto blends in perfectly with the chaos of our family.walk a little over a mile per day with these dogs. She also has a bit of mystery to her. Abandoned byAkashi takes great pride in marking every vertical her previous family at only four months old, Ah- object that he passes. Ahsoka enjoys laying down soka was rescued by New Jerseys Friends for Lifeon the job, getting coaxed by a treat, and zigzag-Animal Rescue, which drove her up from Texas toging up the trees in case a squirrel is nearby. Hon-a deserted office park in Morristown. On that rainyestly, it can be surprisingly arduous at times. They Saturday morning, a van pulled up carrying aboutcan be real slowpokes.a dozen rescues. The driver gently handed me ourIn addition to setting a manageable goal and nervous and shivering new family member.making sure I get outside in the January muck, its Needless to say, very little has been the samea benefit to the dogs to give them a steady ritual since. And I mean that in the best possible way. during times when physical activity can be easily I dont want to make it sound as if our livesderailed. Although theres no scientific proof that have been Shangri-La during the last four months.dogs are susceptible to Seasonal Affective Disorder, Weve worked hard to get her housebroken. Wevethere is evidence that canines have shifting levels of successfully tamed her counter-surfing tendencies,melatonin during the winter.but theres more training to be done. Our kids areThe Levit kids with their dogs: Jack (9) walks Akashi (5)Ill leave the canine pineal gland scientific de-old enough to take some responsibility. Its beenwhile Alexina (7) walks Ahsoka (8 months).bate to the professionals. My priority is to keep the stunning to watch how quickly theyve found afamily healthy during the winter months. Our kids bond with Ahsoka without ignoring Akashi, our five-year old rescue from Puer- may not like the concept of less screens, more inclement weather, but were to Rico whos been part of the fabric of our family since 2019. going to sell it to them as their responsibility to the dogs. Because lets be honest: Now that the humdrum of winter is upon us, its time to double-dog-downWe know our pups are the ones that really run the household. And hopefully, on our commitment to the health of our rescues. The chilly temps and inclem- that powerful thwack of Ahsokas tail may be more gentle tomorrow morning ent weather are not acceptable excuses for keeping our pooches inside. Austra- because the pups are exhausted and need some extra winks. lian Shepherds, like other herding breeds, are known to be super intelligent,Donny Levit is a writer, Maplewood resident, and dog enthusiast. At times, he lost high-energy dogs who need a generous amount of exercise to keep them chal- focus writing this essay because he was staring at his dogs.38/ matters magazine / winter 2024'