Friday, December 5, 2008

The Secret Life Of Otis

I probably don't pray enough in my life. I'm not a church going guy, but I do believe in the power of prayer. I'm not sure who answers them, but I think somebody is listening. How else could you explain Otis' remarkable comeback? I guess you could also explain it as the power of steroids and mysterious Chinese herbs, but I suspect it's a combination of all of it. 

So, when Otis got so sick, I was disappointed in myself that I never went through with my plan to rig my video camera onto him so that I could see where the hell he goes and what the hell he does when I let him roam free. All I know is that he disappears into the neighborhood and reappears sometime later. I've had a sneaky suspicion that he hits the usual dumping grounds of the neighborhood cats, and I know he loves sneaking into the construction site down the street on the corner where all the workers set their lunches down in pinchable positions. The construction has been going on for the entire summer and now into winter. It's a haven for Otis, and it's a miracle that a backhoe or a rusty nail hasn't already claimed him. 

Anyway, Otis has somehow gone from deathbed to marching to the beat of his own drum in a matter of 48 hours. I woulda bet a healthy sum of money that Otis wasn't going to wake up on Tuesday morning based on his condition on Monday night. He wasn't eating, drinking or able to walk. I couldn't even touch him because he was in too much pain. And now, as you'll see in the video, he's back to being Otis - the most famous and lovable dog in the hood, with nary a sign that cancer is on it's own march.

I don't want to give too much away in the video, but I will say that the 11 or so minutes pretty much sums up who he is. As I suspected, he looks into a couple hot spots in the neighbor's yards, but he also finds people to approach, some are strangers, and some are longtime fans. The first group he encounters are four Comcast workers who were just standing around outside their vans, which is why, I suspect, we are all waiting for them from anytime between 8 and noon. Then there are some old girlfriends who spot him and their dog barks at him. Otis, of course, pays no mind. Then he heads for the construction site where you see they're obviously familiar with him, and he is obviously familiar with their surroundings. Then I think he finally finds some kitty roca. Then he discovers something under plastic but I'm not sure what, and I'm not sure he knows either.

Then, as always, he makes his way home. 

And now, when the prayers and herbs stop working, I can always take this walk with him.

4 comments:

Ethan Seltzer said...

Wow o Wow o Wow o Wow! Jeff, thanks for the walk. So nice to see Otis up and around, but mostly so wonderful to see the dog's eye view of the walk. Very, uh, painterly? Anyhow, a real revelation, as they say. See you on the block...

Ethan

apienovi12 said...

Sweet! I was really hoping Oti was going to come and clean our kitchen floor for us.

angie maurer said...

I have to stop reading your blog at work, people are going to think I'm unstable and always on the verge of a breakdown. This was beautiful and awesome.

OFFICE Tony said...

Otis RULES!!
LOVE the cat poo munching!
you've gotta start working on an Otis helmet-cam!!!