Dasa's Warble

The munchkins are happiest when all four of us go for a walk together. This is, in fact, such a sweet simple pleasure for them that we want to walk as often as possible just to see this happiness. However, Eric and I need to walk Ivan and Dasa separately when one of us is home alone, because there are a number of small fluffy dogs in our neighborhood who have an alarming habit of racing up to the munchkins. We have to be able to whisk a munchkin up in our arms almost before they notice the fluffy squeaky toy approaching, thus making our corner of the world safe for small fluffy dogs.
When we walk Ivan without Dasa, she has a dramatic way of letting us know she has been abandoned. Her doting humans can leave, no problem, she’ll just wag her tail and drift upstairs to nap on her king-sized bed. However, if Ivan leaves without her, she howls in distress. Her cry, full of pathos and tragedy, is very touching. It has an affecting warble: Wooo oooo oooo oooo.

The first time I heard this wail, I was at least a house or two away from home. Initially, I thought it was a distant siren, but then I just knew it was Dasa. Ivan and I raced up the drive and flung ourselves into the house. As soon as Dasa saw us, she stopped, looked at us, “Oh, there you are,” and calmly wandered off. I was out of breath and bewildered. That was it? That was all the reaction we got after such a display of torment and anguish? She howled as though she had suffered a great tragedy, and then just sniffed “Oh, you’re here,” and was immediately calm to the point of disinterest.

Ivan and Dasa get along really well. There is a great dynamic between them, for which we are very thankful. Ivan really likes having Dasa for company, and Dasa follows Ivan’s lead. Ivan is a very important part of home and comfort for Dasa. She takes a lot of cues from Ivan, and doesn’t like to walk past more than a couple of houses without him.

Dasa’s solo walks are short. Even with coaxing, she won’t venture very far without Ivan. During these short absences, Ivan is busy jumping on the couch and checking our progress through the window so he can race to meet us at the door, ready for his turn.

On a few rare occasions, one parent is ill or injured and stays behind with Dasa. To Dasa, this is still a tragedy. She cries pitifully even if a parent is with her when Ivan goes for a walk. Eric says she’s just making sure we can find our way home when we walk without her. Just follow the Woooo ooooo ooooo oooo and you won’t lose your way.