This is Torrey woofing yesterday. She’s poignantly trying to learn the subtleties of her job as the Town Greeter.
The poignancy comes from Torrey’s being the replacement of Digby, a legend and a landmark who went to Dog Heaven about two and a half years ago. Here he is:
In many small towns, there’s a dog that virtually every resident knows or recognizes. Ours was Digby, who had moves that Torrey is still learning. The Town Greeter usually lies on the Larkin family’s open porch about 50 feet from Bay Road, the main northbound road out of “downtown” Brooklin.
As was Digby, Torrey often is the first or last living personality for miles that drivers will see as they wind around turns into or out of the heart of Brooklin. Now, residents look to see if Torrey is “out” as we drive by, but also think of Digby as we do.
The cold or snow usually has been no problem for these dogs; they’re both mixtures of Bernese Mountain and Great Pyrenees dogs that seem to prefer the cold. Torrey is a somewhat uncommon red version of this popular mixture. (Brooklin, Maine)