My Life with Charlie Brown

A Morning Routine

69 A Morning Routine i usually drive to our ice arena in the morning, where I have an English muffin and some grape jelly and a small cup of coffee. I love to read the morning paper at that time of day. As soon as I get out of the car, there are two dogs who realize that it is me. They live in a rented house on the corner, and as soon as I begin to walk toward them, they come running to the fence. One is a huge black Lab and the other is a very small dog—not quite a beagle—but very small and perky, and they immediately recognize me. I don’t know if it’s the car they recognize or if it’s me. Our veterinarian says that dogs observe the way you walk, so there is something about my appearance, even from a distance, that they recognize. They know I have a doggie biscuit for each of them. As I approach the fence, the huge Lab jumps high in the air, bounding with great delight at the prospect of this cookie. The other little dog sometimes barks, but most of the time comes close to the fence with his tail wagging furiously. I always talk to them. I always say, “Hi, dogs, how are you today? I got the cookies.” I walk up to the fence and the little dog moves down the fence a little bit so the big one won’t get too near him, and I lean down and I say, “Here is a cookie for the little dog.” And then the big dog looks up at me and I give him his doggie cookie. What is so pleasing is that as he puts the cookie in his mouth, he looks up at me, and our eyes meet. There is something about this that brings great joy to me. 70 My LIfe I then walk across the sidewalk to the arena where I have the English muffin and the cup of coffee. It is a highly recommended program that I would suggest to anyone. Either get your own dog or make friends with some neighborhood dog. You will find it extremely gratifying. Charles Schulz, unpublished undated typescript. ...