Dog Walking

I’ve had dogs on the brain lately. Walking two different set of neighbors’ dogs while the owners are away tends to bring out the worry in me. All alone on rainy nights, poor little dears. That’s why we don’t have a dog of our own. Cats take enough energy and are able to get along for a day without us. Dogs are another story. I don't believe a person should commit to a dog unless she knows she can provide the time and care it well deserves. Leaving a dog alone for almost any length of time is inexcuseable. They’re like little children and need comparable care, company and time.

Growing up in a small town in Idaho, we always had a dog. Leash laws didn’t exist back when and so Sparky, our black cocker spaniel chased down the road after us kids wherever we rode our bikes, which was all over town: back and forth to the swimming pool (about 12 blocks from home), across town to friends' houses or along dirt country roads. Those days seem carefree, looking back now. Of course nothing was perfect, except when looking back. Then I was busily trying to hold my own in a family of seven other siblings. Being the oldest, my sister and I got to do a lot of diaper changing, wiping noses, and helping mom with housework, dirty dishes and general babysitting.

I started babysitting for income when I was in the fourth grade. It began with evening sitting for the neighbor right next door. Our houses were so close that, if I got tired waiting for the parents to come home late into the night, all I had to do was head out the door and complain through mom and dad’s open bedroom window for reassurance. “Oh, they should be home any time now. Why don’t you just go back and try taking a nap on the couch”, my dad would usually suggest. I never could sleep on the job, even at that young age. However, I did learn to pass some of my time raiding their refrigerator for ice cream, which I never confessed to anyone, and thankfully no one ever asked.

My sister and I felt rich then at 25 cents an hour. We each kept our accumulated savings in the hallway closet in a separate pair of tin bandaide boxes. Once in awhile we would splurge and take ourselves out for lunch at the almost only café in town. We felt like queens ordering hamburgers and cokes. It took so little to satisfy us.

With the warmer weather the past couple days, I've been walking more. Walked Maggie and Jake (the dogs) three times dogs yesterday, which had me huffing and puffing. Am starting to walk again to the post office and little downtown area, instead of driving. Most everyone here gets in their cars and DRIVES two or three blocks to the market or post office. It’s hard to believe. When we first moved here five years ago, I was one of the few people that walked anywhere. I received comments right and left. In one of the Bill Bryson books I read recently. . “I’m a Stranger Here Myself”, he comments on American's addiction to driving. Even in small towns where it’s easy and you don’t take your life in your hands. Okay, I'm two days into walking again. We'll see how long this lasts.