One of the great controversies in the canine world is why do dogs love to stick their heads out the window of a moving car.  Perhaps it is the views that expand their world outside of their crates and home world. Maybe it is the wind blowing up their coiffure that serves as a kind of air massage or they may just be tired of hearing their owners exclaim, “sit, stay” and” don’t stick your head out, it’ll be crushed by a truck!”

No, I think the real reason dogs stick their heads out the window is that they are smelling the future. A dog’s sense of smell is their strongest and as odors move down with the winds, our dogs want to know what is coming up for them. Perhaps it’s a romp at the park and they can anticipate their fellow dog park friends smells. Maybe it is a trip to Petco with all those varieties of foods and treats. The anticipation alone must get their heart rates up and their tags wagging.

We all have a lot of questions about the future. While it seems the Delta Variant has peaked, we are still wondering about the future further variants (hopefully it won’t get any further than Omega, the last letter in the Greek alphabet). Even more so, it seems like our lives have not returned to a regular kind of normal. We went to Costco last weekend, and they are back to restricting paper towels and toilet paper again.

Even so, we must go ahead and plan our futures and live our lives the way we want to. A few weeks ago, Sheila and I went to America’s Largest RV show in Hershey PA. When we first met, Sheila had a cab over camper, and we travelled all over the country with it. Now, we are back to thinking about hitting the road again to see America’s beauty in the landscape and the faces of our fellow neighbors.  Cody doesn’t know about the trips yet, but I bet he’ll want to stick his face out the window, for sure.

What are you smelling in your future?

© Richard Citrin 2021