brown dog in the cold

I am enjoying this weather! Yeah, it's a little cold, but it's dry and crisp, and so invigorating. The temperature sounds more dramatic in Celsius: yesterday when I went for my morning dog-walk it was 0, today is was -5. But US readers, that's only 32 and 23 in Fahrenheit. I won't say it's warm, but it's perfectly tolerable, even enjoyable.

And yesterday morning it was snowing. I hadn't looked at any weather reports, and was hoping for some serious accumulation. Everything was briefly white, and by afternoon the snow was gone. So much for that.

I'm convinced that part of the reason Americans have an impression of Canada as always cold - 365 days a year - is they're looking at temperatures in Celsius, but don't know it. On my flight home after visiting my mom last month, two women beside me were talking (constantly!) about the weather in Buffalo, where one lived, and in Toronto, where the other lived. It was obvious to me that the Torontonian was giving her temperatures in Celsius, and the Buffalonian was talking Fahrenheit, and the Buffalo woman was shocked at Toronto's unbearable weather. Duh.

The other reason Americans think Canada is a frozen arctic wasteland is that they always hear about "the cold front coming down from Canada". In the middle of a relentless heat wave, the weather reporters always promise "cold air coming down from Canada". During a cold snap, it's because of the front coming down from... you get the point.

* * * *

Several of you have kindly asked how Cody is doing, after the loss of her best friend. I am so happy to say: she is doing really well. It seems Cody's low-key personality has served her beautifully. Where a more high-strung, emotional dog (like B himself) would have been very upset by the huge difference in his life, the laid-back Cody seems to just go with whatever's there. Although Cody adored and doted on Buster, she never seemed depressed after his sudden disappearance from her life.

In many ways, Cody's life has improved. She runs around in the backyard more, says hello to other dogs on our walks, hops in the car and goes places where before she would have stayed home with B. She gets a lot more attention from us - not because we neglected her, but because she didn't want much. She was always so focused on Buster. If we were out for a day, when we came home, he'd greet us - and she'd greet him! Now Cody behaves as most dogs do when their people come home, wildly happy to see us.

Her status in our pack has certainly changed: she sleeps next to me, on the dog-bed next to my side of the bed - where Buster slept all his life with us. So Cody's world has expanded, and she's enjoying it. And that's helped us adjust, too.

To the question that everyone thinks but only a few people ask - are we going to get another dog? - I just shrug. We have no plans to. Toronto and Mississauga don't share New York's stray-dog problem - people don't find dogs on the street here like they do in New York - so chances are very slim that a dog will find us, the way Buster did, and Clyde before him. That means if we want another dog, we'll have to go to the shelter and choose one. And I just can't see us doing that any time soon. That's as far as my answer can go right now.

* * * *

I went out last night with a certain friend of wmtc, who I won't name, as perhaps she doesn't want her business broadcast on this blog every time we hang out. But once again I have to say: I love the GO trains, and I love living in Port Credit. Even in the cold wind, the walk to the GO station is very manageable, and the 20-minute ride to Union Station is a snap.