A blog post by Josiah, the thankful Yorkie
A hurricane just went through our region. It caused a lot of damage and hurt people. That makes me sad, and I wish I could help. Miss Janet said the best way I can help is to share what it felt like from my Yorkie perspective, so other Yorkie parents will understand what their dogs go through in a massive storm.
As a 16-month-old Yorkie, I’ve been through a lot of thunderstorms. They just make me feel weird. I try to stay comfortable and calm. But this hurricane was different. I knew it that morning.
I felt pressure in my ears and sinuses. I felt very exposed, in a way I don’t usually feel indoors. I felt like I needed someplace safe to anchor. And I needed to stay low to the ground.
I moved around the living room, creeping low. Couldn’t get comfortable. Finally, I settled in a dog bed I rarely use. It’s in an alcove, which is why I don’t usually sit there. I like to be in the center of things. But this day, I just wanted to snuggle in that alcove bed with walls close around me and stay really quiet.
In the evening, when Miss Janet settled on the couch, I moved over to be closer to her. I sat on the floor, sandwiched between her legs and the couch. I felt secure there, but my ears still felt so weird. I knew a storm was coming, but this was a really big one. I’d never felt anything that shifted the atmosphere so much.
When we went outside for my pre-bedtime walk, I could feel the wind and rain starting up. It was more intense than usual. I had to brace myself, and Miss Janet tried to keep me away from the trees as branches were falling.
When we got back inside, Miss Janet listened to someone speaking on that little box she carries. She said he is the governor of Florida, which is a place way to the south of us. He was telling people to be sure to take care of their pets and keep them safe in the storm. I’m glad he felt like we pets are important.
After that, we went to bed. I now have the incredible grownup Yorkie privilege of sleeping in the human bed. I snuggled right between the pillows and slept all night.
Early in the morning, the power flickered back on and woke us up. I don’t know how long it was off. I was too exhausted to notice. I’m glad it happened while Miss Janet was asleep and didn’t know about it. Usually when the power goes off, she goes nuts.
When it got light outside, Miss Janet opened the door so I could go out. I’ve never felt such fast and steady wind. It blew my hair back. The ground was covered with leaves and branches from high in the trees.
I didn’t just feel the wind. I also smelled it. I can’t describe to you how many smells the wind carried. From places far away, soil and water and animals I’ve never seen and can barely imagine. Millions of stories in those wind molecules. They were all coming at me, faster than I could read or understand.
Miss Janet said I was smelling her hometown, way south of us on the ocean, which is the biggest water puddle ever, stretching as far as anyone can see. She said whenever a hurricane comes through, she smells the place she grew up. Even though it was a strange smell-sensation, it helped me learn more about Miss Janet and where she came from.
As I walked around, not only did I smell animals who lived far away. I could also smell how the nearby animals had hurried to find shelter before the storm came through. They knew where to hide, just like I did.
When we came back inside, I spent a long time sniffing the carpet. We had tracked a lot of those smells back inside on our feet. It was easier to read the smells that way, so I spent a long time doing that. I learned about a lot of animals in a lot of different places.
The night after the storm, I went into “wild animal mode” (Miss Janet’s words). I ran constant barking zoomies and couldn’t cooperate, even though I wanted to. What happened? The storm stirred up too much adrenaline, sensory input, and exhaustion. All of that build-up had to go somewhere. I got it out of my system, and then crashed at bedtime.
I am very thankful to be safe after the storm. I hope the people who got hit hard will find the help they need. I want them to be okay. We Yorkies want everyone to be okay. Even the people who didn’t get hit hard still had a stressful evening, not knowing what the storm would do. I want them to be okay too.
Licks and cuddles,
Josiah
