The Solar-Powered Eskie

Our precious American Eskimo, Prinnie, has been with us now for about 9 months. Coming from a rescue shelter, none of us, including her, knew what to expect from this white little six-year old bundle of energy. Her first few days were spent trying to adjust to a new home, new smells, new humans, new siblings, new food and treats, and recovering from being spade between her stay at the shelter and her trip to her new home.

As soon as she was medically able, we enrolled her in "school" - in other words, dog training. She was a great student. She passed her final exam as the best in her class. We were proud, she was proud. We were all learning about each other, and the fit was perfect. We wondered, though, why this furry little joy was so alert, attentive and bouncing from one thing to another all day long, but would literally crash by 8:00pm. We chalked it up to her being so "lovey" that she just wanted to snuggle up with us at night and out of nothing more than boredom, would fall asleep on our lap. Or maybe it was because she played so hard all day.

Poor little thing - here we are, supposedly so superior as humans (and I SERIOUSLY doubt that to be even remotely true), and yet we couldn't see what was right in front of us. Today, it finally struck us as we watched her run and play with her brother. It was a gorgeous, sunny day. Not too terribly hot (low to mid 90's, which for us at this time of year is fantastic), with not a cloud in the sky. She was full of life. She was playing as if we had just replaced her battery pack with a fully charged set.

Our little eskie, we finally realized, is solar-powered. As soon as the sun comes up, her batteries begin charging. By 8:00am, they are ready to provide more than enough energy to operate her vocal cords, her paws, her whirling tail and foster her love for the adventures of the day to come. We wake up in the morning, and can barely utter a legible word for the first hour or two, yet Prinnie can get out of her bed with the biggest smile on her face, her ear-tops reaching for the sun, and the ability to show us so much love and devotion. Her energy remains high throughout the day.

As the sun begins to set, we notice a marked drop in her energy level....almost as if she were winding down. By dark, which is now earlier than 8:00pm, she is out. Seriously out! When we lift her, she is dead weight. If we put her on the couch next to us, she will stay in the very position we put her down in. Her eyes make the last flutter of attempts to stay open, as if a flashlight battery were flickering it's last glimmer of light. She loses the battle. The sun is down....her supply source for energy is gone for another day. As sure as we can count on the sun rising again tomorrow, we know our little solar-powered eskie will be right there to welcome us to a good morning, with all of the energy her little body can muster.