The Dog Walker Diaries: Episode 1
In addition to our two cats, Frank and Stosh, we have a dog, Alex. He's a Beagle/German Shepherd mix (a mutt in common lingo). Since we don't have a yard where he can spend extended hours outside, we take him for a number of walks every day: in the morning, the afternoon, after work and before I go to bed. As my wife and I are usually not around in the afternoon, that shift is covered by a dog-walking service. The walker arrives between noon and 2:00, takes Alex for about a 20-minute walk, then comes back inside and writes down the day's activities, i.e., whether he pooped and/or peed, had any run-ins with other dogs, etc.
Steve was our first dog walker. He moved on to hopefully greener pastures, so now we've got this guy Ben. The reason for all of this boring exposition, you ask? Well, while Steve would usually just write things along the lines of, "It was great to see Alex today, he did all of his business," Ben's pretty amusing, and he apparently appreciates the inherent oddness of his chosen profession. So, here's the first installment of what is sure to be a riveting, long-running series of Ben's ruminations. Enjoy.
"Alex and I enjoyed a great walk today in this beautiful sunshine...I really felt a connection. #1 only." -- Ben
Steve was our first dog walker. He moved on to hopefully greener pastures, so now we've got this guy Ben. The reason for all of this boring exposition, you ask? Well, while Steve would usually just write things along the lines of, "It was great to see Alex today, he did all of his business," Ben's pretty amusing, and he apparently appreciates the inherent oddness of his chosen profession. So, here's the first installment of what is sure to be a riveting, long-running series of Ben's ruminations. Enjoy.
"Alex and I enjoyed a great walk today in this beautiful sunshine...I really felt a connection. #1 only." -- Ben
posted by MH at
10:01 AM
2 Comments:
Excellent!! As a dog walker who happens to be a writer I tend to leave the same sorts of notes. I want to let the owner know I pay attention to that particular dog, but I also want to get all the information in. So my notes very often include the words poop and/or pee, along with some well-written recognition of the dog.
By
Unknown, at 7:23 PM
As so often happens, my 67-year-old friend Hannan misses the point. The dog does go "a few hours" without being walked. However, if he's walked at about 6:30 a.m. and we don't get home until after 5, that would test his bladder to the point where going in the house is an option. And believe me, he's done that before. So the mid-afternoon walk does him, and us, a world of good.
By
MH, at 12:53 PM
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