You Said We Were Going to a Party

 Nov 4

On one of our walks a while back, Joey and I went down a small dead-end road that I had never been down before.  Near the end of the road, a group of peacocks crossed the road in front of us and congregated in the front yard of a house.  Yesterday, we found ourselves going down that road again and the peacocks were still there in the same yard.  Joey’s hunting dog heritage was prominent, as he watched them intently, but never broke stride on our walk.  A small tug on the leash easily got him turned back to the front, but only for a couple seconds.  He liked watching them.  As we walked, I started wondering if a flock of peacocks had a distinct name, like a gaggle of geese, covey of quail, or bevy of swan.   At home, I went on-line to do a little research.  I found a group of peafowl, (peacocks are male, peahens are female) is called a “Party”.  It can also be called a muster, pride, or an ostentation. 

I always ask Joey if he wants to go for a walk and ask him where he wants to go.  This morning we went back to see the party of peafowl.  Yep, there they were, in the same yard as always.  Across the street, a man was working in his driveway.  I stopped and asked him if the peacocks were pets, or a wild flock that just seemed to have adopted that yard.  He told me that several years ago, the old Ukranian “Dr. Doolittle” that lived there, fed a couple that somehow wandered into the area.  Nobody knew where they came from, but they never left. 

The guy I was talking to said he had seen us walk down his road before and asked me if Joey was a guide dog puppy.  Joey was not in his coat, so the question took me by surprise.  He said he thought so by the way Joey walked that specific distance ahead of me on a slack leash.  Then, when we were talking, he could see that Joey was still a puppy, and not old enough to have been career changed.  He also noticed how well behaved Joey was and that I put him in a sit when the guy asked to pet him.  I asked him if he had raised a guide dog puppy before.  He told me his daughter and son-in-law had raised a bunch up north. 

Joey, your cover has been blown.  People that know guide dog puppies can recognize you quickly.  But don’t worry about it, it’s a good thing.