Multiphibian

Greek is tricky.

As I started thinking about the topic of today's post, I reflected on the adaptive nature of our dog Rosco. Mainly, how he has been able to thrive in three distinct environments. So naturally, I wanted to come up with a word that expressed his ability to change and adapt to his various living conditions. I thought of frogs (of course) and their duality. The word "amphibian" seemed like a reasonable place to work from, but, being an utter novice in understanding etymology, I assumed that all I had to do was change the "bi" (which I assumed represented 2 here) to "tri" (3) for the word, "amphitrian". But clearly, that doesn't look or sound right at all. And it very much isn't. "Upon further review", the word actually derives from the two roots "amphi" meaning "both" (a la "ambidextrous") and "bios" meaning "life" or "living environments". So I'm not exactly sure what my word would translate to, but it's not the word I'm looking for. Instead, I went with the easy to say "multiphibian". I know the etymology is still a mess, but it doesn't make sense without the "phib".

But anyhow, all of that is just a long way of saying that I'm incredibly impressed with how Rosco adapts to his surroundings.

As you know, we got Rosco in January of '13 when we were on the island. He was still very much a puppy, so we were able to raise him as "American" as possible (i.e. getting all his shots, letting him sleep inside, etc.). Still, we were living on an island, so he became accustomed to some things that would sound ridiculous in most other places. For instance, we had no fence or property divider, yet I felt reasonably okay with letting him outside without a leash. Sure, I'd bring one with me when I followed him out, but that was in case he started getting into mischief with the dogs downstairs. He never strayed too far, and if he did, it usually just resulted in an impromptu hosing (a pitiful site, to be sure).

So for the first year of his life, Rosco lived the island dog, rural life. Then it came time to move. Flying him to the states actually turned out to be a much easier experience than I expected. Even with an overnight stop in Puerto Rico, Rosco was a real trooper throughout. By the way, if you ever need to stay in Puerto Rico with a dog, check out the Verdanza Hotel in San Juan. They have a dedicated dog park within the hotel property, are fine with dogs walking through the lobby, and even have a couple treats ready for pets when you check in! Really impressive.

So we finally got to Colorado, and from there, Ohio. Rosco got his first taste of Suburban House Dog living. He learned what proper streets looked like. He learned how to co-habituate with another dog (both with Melissa's family dog Hershey, a miniature Dachshund, and my family's Aussie, a Beagle/Australian Shepherd). He got to experience the joys of air conditioning and the simultaneously limiting and freeing of electric fences. He also learned what it's like to not live on a small mountain, where walks can happen at a gradient of less than 10 degrees. He also learned what 10 degrees (Fahrenheit) feels like. Really, it's amazing he didn't have a tougher time transitioning to such a drastically different environment.

Then, of course, after he had about 6 months to get acclimated to suburban life, it came time to move back to Chicago, and back to an apartment. But now, when we want to go for walks, Rosco always needs to be on leash, and if he wants to run around, we have to drive him over to the local dog park (with his 'Ridgebark' I.D.). And soon, he'll get to experience the joy of floorboard heating (assuming it gets kicked on soon), and what that will do to our wood flooring.

Speaking of which, when I really think about Rosco's transitioning to new environments, the constant determining factor when it came to how quickly he got used to his new home was the flooring. You see, Rosco is a very tactile-oriented animal. If a surface seems even the slightest bit slick, and he isn't used to it, he will just avoid it at all costs. Our floor in the Caribbean was sort of a porous tile, which Rosco really had no choice but to get used to, but he also spent a lot of time out on the grass and dirt during the day. So then to go from that to carpet was a cinch (and the added bonus of couches he was allowed on). There was a bit of a shock to go from carpet to our current wood flooring, but once we got him a grooming appointment and nail clipping, things got a lot easier for him.  Though it's probably about time for another appointment, based on the amount of traction he's getting lately. One of these days I'll record his "food dance" so you can see his acrobatic pirouettes in action.

As a not-quite-2-year-old, Rosco has already traveled close to 5,000 miles between the Caribbean and across the U.S., but in that time he has learned how to adapt to be the right kind of dog in the right place.

(Also, as I go back through these and fix the typos, HOLY CRAP my typing is horrendous. And more of those dang participles. One of these days maybe I'll skip the proofreading so you can see just how bad it gets.)

Until next time, mind your r's and c's,

Eric