Atlas Vs. Goliath Snowman

As you know, we are trying to domesticate Atlas.

Before Atlas came a part of our family he'd gone from puppy mill, to shelter, to Rescue Group, to our home. For two years he'd never had a family who loved him and had never even been on a leash.

He seems to be adapting to life on the other end of the leash to some extent. I say this only because he no longer seems to be seeking to break free.

Atlas likes to take time to smell EVERYTHING. Grass, leaves, trash on the side of the road, it matter not, he wants to bury his nose deep into it all the while making pig snorts.

Christmas Day brought the anomaly of a blanket of snow. Snow was rare enough for Atlanta and Atlas was put off not just be the cold but he didn't like the wet either.

He eventually got past his initial reluctance and we began our walk. I was enjoying the holiday decorations that adorned the neighborhood homes but Atlas of course was obsessed with smell. He tried to bury his nose in a pile of snow and almost immediately withdrew his snout surprised by the chill.

I spied a small snowman on the lawn and it brought back childhood memories. We didn't have gloves so we would often put socks on our hands to help keep them warm. By the time we would come back in our feet and hands would be wet and so cold.

Just as we began to pass the snowman Atlas let out a low growl. He then rises up on his hind legs. This is the stance that Atlas takes when he's getting ready to go on the offense.

Immediately he's snapping and snarling at the snowman which is now a perceived threat.

He pulled and tugged and hopped from foot to foot as he challenged the frozen monolith almost saying, "Yeah come on. Bring it on Suck-ah!"

I had to give his leash several tugs before he could stand down. As he began to trot away, he looked back. I can't help but wonder if in his parting glance he was trying to communicate to his enemy, "You're just lucky my Mom is making me go because if she wasn't....."