Scritches Come To Those Who Wait

Barley, a dog, sploots in front of an office doorway, blocked by a dog gate, waiting for some friend to bring her a kind word.

As much as Barley dislikes the carpet in my office, she’ll put up with it near my office door when she can reasonably anticipate that nearby friends might materialize to say hi and reach over the gate to scritch her behind the ears. Here, she’s been faked out by an ongoing conversation in the hall, just outside of her sight lines, and what moments ago was an expectant sit has now devolved, with a dramatic sigh, into a disappointed sploot. But she nevertheless remains vigilant. Surely, those people talking in the hall will pass the door any moment now…