By Melissa Bowersock
Monsoons in the Southwest are a mixed blessing for sure. We generally need the rain, yet some areas can get frog-stranglers that dump ridiculous amounts of rain in a very short time, causing flash floods and lots of damage.
Then of course there is the thunder and lightning, and lightning is the cause of many of the wildfires still burning in our dry forests. Our summer rains are definitely a two-edged sword.
Most dogs do not like thunderstorms. They don’t like the bright flashes of lightning, and they don’t like the booming noise.
We had one Airedale, Cassie, that was not frightened of storms. Matter of fact, she objected to anything in her airspace over the back yard, and that included big birds, helicopters, and lightning. She would run out and bark at the lightning, but she never cowered from it.
Not so Lily. Unfortunately, Lily is more normal in that regard and gets very nervous when storms come through. I’m not sure what alerts her, if it’s the darkening clouds, a change in the barometric pressure or what, but she starts getting nervous well before the storm ever arrives. Once the thunder starts, she’s done. She’ll stick as close to us as possible and cower in the nearest corner.
Probably like many of you, we’ve tried various methods to calm her. We have a microfiber cover-up with Velcro closures, and we put that on her, and it seems to help. At least as soon as I get it out, she sits very calmly while I get it on her and adjust the fit.
I also give her Rescue Remedy. We have a tri-level house, and the TV/family room is in the basement, so at least there she sees less of the lightning flashes than she would on the upper floors that have more windows. While we sit and watch TV, she lies down at my feet, and I will toss a blanket over her to make a little cave. She seems to be comfortable enough there.
As long as she’s with us, she’s marginally okay. One problem that has come up is the mail. We don’t get mail delivered to our house; we have to go to a mailbox cluster at the end of the block.
Sometimes we walk, but in the hot summertime, we’ll just drive the car up and back. (I know—call us lazy.) Before the monsoons started, we’d give Lily a dog biscuit and tell her we’d be right back, and she was content to wait for us, knowing we wouldn’t be gone long. Once the storms started, though, she was NOT happy with us leaving her alone. When that became very obvious, we gave in and took her with us to the mailbox.
She LOVES going for rides, and apparently even a 5-minute one counts, so of course now that has become a daily thing. I’m not sure if we’ll be able to quit doing that after the monsoons; I have a feeling the answer will be NO.
Of course in the Southwest, we love getting rain, since we typically get so little. Our monsoon this year was a healthy one; we got at least a little bit of rain many days in a row.
Since the storms always build up in the afternoon and it rains through the early evening, morning hikes are perfect: cool and cloudy. The only drawback is damp soil.
Lily is called a Wheaten Terrier because she is, well, wheat-colored. At least most of the time. But after a good rain and a good hike through our red sandstone wilds, Lily turns two-toned; clean above, filthy below. Sigh.
The good news is that we have very little clay in our soil, so once it dries, it flakes off pretty easily and doesn’t mat in her coat. In a couple of hours, she will be as clean as she was before, at least for a while.
Personally, I love the monsoons. I love the clouds, the lightning, the rain, the way the plants jump up for joy. But after two months of humidity and damp, I’m ready for the dry again.
It’s amazing to me how in just 24 hours, the air can change so completely, feel so totally different. I love when the monsoons come, but I also love it when they move out.
I’m pretty sure Lily agrees.
