Dog on a cold composite roof

Do you all remember Sonny? He is my household's trusty golden retriever.

Here he his while still a pup.

Here he is as he moves into middle age. (Oh wait, he's still a young adult, it's me who is middle aged.)

And here he is in his usual spot. Perched atop the roof.

I can totally understand why he loves the roof. He is able to sit in the shade of the chimney and watch everything that goes on in the neighborhood. Our neighborhood is full of kids running around and all manner of people walking all manner of dogs. It's quite busy. Especially during the summer when there are more folks around, making their way to the nearby beach and bay. It seems there is always someone he can find to bark at from his spot at the top of the world.

I think this is okay during the day. Granted, it does take some people by surprise. They aren't thinking a canine greeting will be coming from above. But they look up, see he is completely benign, and go on their way.

Nighttime though? At night he scares the shit out of people as they make their way down the sidewalk. It' disorienting to have a dog bark at you from above. Where is he? Is he going to pounce? Wft?!

Well, he's not jumped yet.

He does get awfully close sometimes though.

He's near the edge in this photo, but not completely bent over the side like he often is, eagerly waiting for some fool to throw his dropped ball up over the roof.

Oh wait, I found a better one:

Still not hanging over, but closer and completely obsessed with the ball

The best thing about having a roof dog is that he's an excellent point of reference. Everyone in the 'hood, if they don't know us personally, refers to our house, as, "the house with the dog on the roof." As in, "Oh, yes, you live in the house with the dog on the roof." I myself have told people the street I live on, between which two cross streets, to no real recognition, but as soon as I say our dog is often on the roof, I see an immediate look of comprehension. A neighbor down the street told me that she too orients people around Sonny. She has, on more than one occasion, told people she lives 5 houses past the house with the dog on the roof. Sonny is if nothing else, an excellent landmark.


I think we should perhaps have this installed for the times when he is busy doing something else.


But there is a down side to having a roof dog. Some people freak out. They throw on the breaks, park haphazardly, and frantically knock on our door to let us know that our dog is on the roof! This hasn't happened just once or twice, it happens repeatedly. All those crazy dog people out there feel compelled to let us know that somehow our handsome hound has made it up to the roof. "Shit! Is he going to jump? Is he depressed? What kind of dog people are you anyway?" is what they seem to imply.

What kind, you ask? Well the very best kind, the kind that allow their dog to rule the world roof.