Fresh Scent Barley

Barley, a dog, sits still somewhat moist from a bath.

Between her short fur, her lack of an undercoat, and regularly being caught in light rainfall, I’ve never lived with a dog who needs fewer baths than Barley. Still, from time to time, she gets a good cleaning, and every time I find myself weirded out by the sight of her without a collar. “Oh, good heavens,” I think in a period accent, “I didn’t realize you were changing!” And yet here she is, Donald Ducking it every day and I don’t give it a second thought. Remarkable how little it takes for the human brain to code an animal as “clothed.”