The Victory Parade Of A Lovewart

For a Hovawart, Tilde is ridiculously happy for people. When we meet new people, you would expect at least some reservation while her Hovawart mind is balancing the "friend or foe" scale. Alright, I admit, she does bark a little at people she sees on the road, but as soon as they enter our driveway her tail starts to wag. I am not sure if she actually thinks the barking helps to invite people inside.

Tilde has no reservations. Smile at her, and she'll fly into your arms, or wiggle back and forth between your legs. At first I discarded it as puppy behavior, but with three years under her age belt she shows no signs of turning down for her love button.

A short while ago, our Lovewart had what very well might have been the best day in her life.

We left for the beach and noticed an unusual number of runners on the road as soon as we set off. Apparently a running event was going on. They were everywhere, also during our beach walk, and one group of runners after the other passed us.

When we approached the end of our beach walk - a small opening in the dunes we usually climb on the way home - I noticed quite a lot of people were gathered in front of it and they had erected a huge flag. It seemed to be the finish line for the run. I shortly hesitated and thought if we should find another way up from the beach in order not to disturb the event, but a little annoyed devil on my shoulder told me the passageway through the dunes was for us to use just as good as any other day.

As soon as we reached the finish line, one of the runners was approaching from behind, and the group of people at the finish line started to cheer and clap for him. Tilde couldn't ignore the sudden eruption of excitement in front of her, and she started to prance like a pony while wagging her tail. I was continuously looking over my shoulder, worried the arriving runner would trip over her.

A man noticed Tilde, pointing at her while telling his friends, "Look! That dog thinks we are clapping for it," and he laughed. More people started to notice Tilde on her victory parade and directed their attention towards her instead of the runner who was still behind us. They were smiling at her, reaching out their arms, saying "Awwww...". Some stepped out of the group and started to pet and hug an ever wiggling Tilde.

Tilde was in heaven, surfing the waves of an ocean of human enthusiasm. She danced her way through the group, greeting people left and right.

When we passed the last person of the group, Tilde stopped and looked disappointed at me. She was right. How could I have just gone home? We stayed for a while, and every time the group started cheering, Tilde cheered with them, pulling the leash, craving to return into the middle of all the attention, return to her rush. I couldn't stop smiling. I knew she was outgoing, but I never expected her to be able to absorb that much attention and all at once. She still surprises me in the most positive ways.

By the way. Nobody in the group asked what breed she was, a question we still get a lot, but maybe that was good. If I had told she was a Hovawart, nobody would have believed me.