The dog became Aldo’s shadow, that day and every day after. It didn’t seem to belong to anyone else. Perhaps it was left or forgotten by a family on vacation at the lake, perhaps it had been born an orphan here in the woods. The dog was soon known by the name Kahn, as Aldo needed some way to address it and he felt that name fit the dog’s demeanor. The dog soon began to accept the name and respond when spoken to. It did not take long before Aldo let the dog stay inside the lake house. They both gratefully welcomed the company.
The morning Aldo returned to work on the workshop when approaching the building site, Kahn began to growl and bear his teeth in warning. The dog bolted ahead and jumped into the pit, barking and maniacally lunging at the boulder. Aldo hurried over to calm the dog and let him know it was okay. Aldo patted the boulder in show, saying “See? Harmless”, but Kahn didn’t believe him. Kahn even tried grabbing Aldo by the pant leg and pulling him away from the boulder, trying to protect him. Aldo did all he could to shrug it off and ignore the unnecessary aggressive behavior toward a rock, calling Kahn a crazy dog, but the same scene repeated daily the moment they reached the workshop until Kahn would wear himself out. Aldo even attempted to lay food at the base of the boulder and around it to give the boulder a positive association, but the dog wouldn’t approach the food, although, the food was always gone by the end of the day. Kahn must’ve eaten it when Aldo wasn’t watching.
A Page a Day 