The Tribe

Dogs are pack animals.  Sage and Murphy go beyond pack, they are a tribe.  All of Murphy's friends from her running days, her vet Dr. Nancy, the Mongolia Dog Group, Pele's mom, Les and Ann, Dr. Bill, Scott and Ann, the list goes on, we are Murphy's tribe.  She has gone from being the cute kid to tribal elder.  Now Sage is the one we watch wondering if she will ever grow up (answer: no).  

I think there is a distinction between pack and tribe.  You hang out with your pack.  There is a leader (like in high school, the popular girl or in watching the teenage snowboarding boys, it's the kid who can do the best flip without wiping out).  The rest of the pack just follows.  You live with your tribe. A tribe is much more democratic, consensual.  Decisions are made sitting around the fire, after listening to lots of discussion, everyone nodding.  A tribe is family.

Frequently I find myself standing with the dogs, talking about what we are doing, waiting for them to nod.  Sage, who wants to think of herself as the "leader" in reality acts like a member, waiting for the slow walkers, furrowing her brow when she thinks something is wrong with Murphy, or she senses my tension.  We work together, like a tribe.  Each one of us knows our roles, or in the human resource parlance, our strengths and weaknesses.  

Then there are all the members of the tribe, each of us who know and care about Murphy and Sage.  We are the Yellow Lab Tribe.

Sage wants our totem to be a side of beef.  Murphy wants it to be sourdough toast.  I was hoping for something a bit more poetic.  But since we're a tribe, I get a sense I am outvoted.   I can not think of a better tribe...now, how do I convince Murphy and Sage that we should find  our winter hunting grounds in Sedona?

Murphy's day.