This analogy might sound a little odd, but I like to take my dog walking clients on a Test drive!  No, I don’t mean I go to a car dealership and put the pooch in the back seat and roll down the window so they can feel the breeze on their tongue as we peruse the streets.   Taking a four legged friend out for a short jaunt through my neighbourhood is incredibly helpful in allowing me to take stock of my charge, as there are so many variables to consider.    I want to know what kind of torque I am dealing with from man’s best friend, is this one an old clunker or a porche?   What kind of a pace can I expect, a leisure meander, a steady jaunt or a downright, aerobic run.  How smoothly does my friend handle when we pass by it’s canine cousins, what kind of reaction can I anticipate?  If a bunny or a cat, catches us off guard, will we pass by unfazed or will we go from zero to 60 in hot pursuit?  It’s important for me to be able to evaluate if I can have other four legged friends join us on our trek, can we hit the cruise control and keep a nice stride or will I be constantly in need of pumping the breaks?  I need to know if I can handle them if they hit the gas or will  their be the potential for a crash and burn?  The last thing I want to be doing is spending a half hour in defensive driving mode, trying to steer ourselves from mayhem, that’s exhausting!   Taking a test drive is invaluable so I know what I can expect.  Yesterday I took a big guy out for a loop, it had been a while since I had been behind the wheel with him!  I was getting a handle on his particular quirks and figuring out what gear he liked to cruise in.   Low and behold, this morning when I got him and my boy leashed up and ready to go I was rather surprised by how quickly he was able to accelerate, not sure if it was the time of day or the heat that had made him a bit sluggish the day before, but today he was in high octane mode!  And wouldn’t you know it, I was wearing the wrong shoes!  There is nothing worse than having a pair of loosey goosey slip ons on your feet when you know you might have to hit the brakes.  I would like to say, even though I hadn’t made one hundred per cent of a correct assessment on my test run, we had a pleasant spin, albeit, a little choppy at times, but we were able to traverse our route and make it home safe and sound!

My heart Flutters 

This morning as I was watching James Corden and a bit he does on his show called “Car Pool Kaeroke “, with last evenings guest being none other than the fantastic Mr. Ed Sheeran!  I was sitting by the front window waiting for one of my clients to arrive when I realized I had a different sort of visitor than I was expecting!  This sweet little bird fluttered past the window a few times and then landed on the sill and peered inside.  May sound odd, but the moment was sort of magical and special.   For about ten minutes it’s little yellow face animatedly checked out the goings on in my living room…an Ed Sheeran fan maybe?  It finally struck me I should get a picture, I’m always slow at getting the camera open on the old iPad so I thought by the time I got my act in gear it would’ve taken flight, but no…apparently it wasn’t in any rush or shy of the paparazzi.  Later, I noticed the squirrel in the background, I am feeling a little Snow White like today….minus Seven dwarfs to tend to and an evil step Mother trying to feed me poison apples!

 

Just me and my man!  The house was so quiet last night!  Kind of cool, but ever so strange.  I enjoy being busy, and I love my visitors,  the house is a flurry, or maybe a furry, of activity usually.    On the weekend we took our Romeo to visit my daughter as we are about to have a handsome boy come to visit who isn’t aware that cats aren’t an appetizer we provide for our most valued house guests!   My spouse and daughter weren’t home, that left just Lucas and I to ramble around.  I didn’t have to feed Mr. Kitty every few hours.  It was interesting really, some people lead peaceful existences like this!  They get a solid night of rest.   Lucas slept, that’s what you do when you are a senior dog, variety comes in the form of occasionally trading one resting place for another.   As I followed my somewhat normal routine this morning, it felt so mundanely tranquil, no cat lazing about to keep me on my toes, no visitor’s dog laying in front of the shower waiting for me to take them for a walk.  I guess I got a glimpse of what life might look like in ten years or so…not a bad thing, just different.   What I did realize is I appreciate my four legged friends who keep my days fun filled and far from monotonous.  A state of calm is a wonderful experience, for a night…but I am quite thrilled today to have Newton resting under the desk, nudging at my elbow looking for attention and Sam about to come join us so the two can romp about and bring a little effervescence to my otherwise sedate morning!  If things don’t liven up I might have to consider a changing the name of my business to “Resting Paws” as that summed up the scene around here yesterday!

Unrequited adoration!  I was out walking with Max last week when a little ray of sunshine happened upon us!  We were briskly making our way along a lovely Crescent when the cutest little bull dog came running up to us.  At first I was a bit worried, one is never sure how things will go when one dog is off leash and the other one is tethered.   When Max meets another of his kind, he has been trained to lay down and allow the other canine to pass by while he waits patiently.  Miss Cutie Pie came running up, Max did his thing, and lounged in the grass waiting for her to move on, but his handsomeness was not to be over looked! Our new friend wasn’t interested in heading back from whence she came, nope, she had taken a shine to Max!  She was utterly smitten by this aloof giant.   Basically his new admirer had a strategy, the minute he got up to move she would throw herself at his feet!  It was too funny, Max this big lug of a Irish Setter weighing in at about 100 pounds, was unsure of how to deal with advances of this of a thirty-five pound female swooning before him.  He would get up and try and pass her, she would drop in front of him, belly and legs in the air and he was flummoxed, he was not trained in how to handle these sort of advances.  I handed off Max and went door to door trying to figure out where our tag along belonged.  The first door I knocked on,  the man scratched his head as he took in the scene before him, he had no clue where she was from!  I mentioned she had a blue collar on with white Daisies…he said “that’s her name, Daisy, I think she belongs next door.”   What I learned from this encounter was, individuals who aren’t “pet people” are not tuned in to the comings and goings of the four legged creatures that inhabit their street!   I rang the bell of home next door to this gentleman’s and realized that yes in deed, a dog lived next door…two in fact and they were both inside, neither one was named Daisy and I had disturbed their people’s dinner.    I don’t like to disrupt people at meal time, but ten minutes had elapsed and we were going no where until we found out where our cling on lived.  I apologized for the disturbance, but requested if the woman could take a few minutes to come out and look at the dog to see if she recognized her so we could get on with the task at hand (I was being paid as a dog walker, which wasn’t happening).   She came out to see Max with his girl friend draped in front of him on the sidewalk, the bull dog was like Kryptonite , Max was incapable of getting around her .  The lady exclaimed “That’s Sunny!”  and pointed to the house where she belonged.  I rang that door bell and a young woman came to the door, I asked her if she was missing some “Sunshine?”  She looked puzzled at first and I smiled.  “Your side gate is open and I believe your dog is down the way laying before a handsome stranger hoping to be his date for the evening!”   She came out front and spied her elusive housemate who had snuck away undetected.  She bellowed the dogs name, but there was no hint of recognition or show of concern at being discovered off her property!   Sunny was not going to give up on Max, she was determined, she wasn’t going to allow him to get away.   The barefoot young woman had to wander down the sidewalk and retrieve her charge, Sunny watched us as she was carried away, with dismay and longing in her eyes.  Max on the other hand seemed relieved to be rescued from the advances of this rather forward and presumptuous young lass.  Poor girl, unrequited love is tough!  I have to say, I admired her determination and unyielding commitment, she wasn’t easily thwarted, if she had not been carted off,  I think we might still be standing there :o)

Sometimes it is very hard to be politically correct, I will try to be brief, so please excuse me if I offend!  As a dog walker having the proper apparel is very important, for example, having finger mittens in your pockets for those early spring days to take the edge off of a chilly morning can be a life saver or an elastic for your hair on an unexpectedly windy day!  Being comfortable is very important when you’re walking three or fours a day and biking from one location to another.  Let me say I am beginning to feel my undergarments are working against me!   Good lord, I’ve tried all styles and sizes, the granny panty, bikini, thongs (or more aptly put, all wrongs) , seamless, small, medium….no matter what I buy I can’t seem to find a pair of gotchies that don’t create angst while I’m making strides.  One minute I’m walking along enjoying nature and the next I have a wedgie!  It never ceases to amaze me the places my panties end up!  There is nothing more irritating than stooping to scoop and coming back up only to realize your cheek is hanging out and you don’t have a free hand to fix the issue.   More times than I can tolerate, my drawers bunch up and I walk around feeling like I’ve been pantsed, thirty minutes of pounding the pavement with your BVD’s  chafing your backside is more than I can bare some days!  I often wonder if I’m known by the other people out with their pooches as the lady whose constantly “picking her seat”.  My Kingdom for a pair of briefs that fit properly!  Why is it so hard for me to find a covering for my backside that ‘full fills’ their purpose ?  It seems like a lofty ideal that while I’m doing my job that they do theirs, it would be wonderful if they had me covered!

My life is full of comedic moments.   I am clumsy and messy, I am the girl to forget to put the lid on the food processor properly and spray it’s contents all over the kitchen walls. I am kind of a disaster, which I am totally fine with, I am not worried about my over all appearance.   One of my charges and I were walking over near RIM park, there are some absolutely gorgeous trails to meander on.  Due to the copious amounts of rain we have been getting as of late, I decided to stay away from the river trail and struck on the path through the farmer’s field, I figured I was being smart!   We were plodding along, and my cell rang…often I won’t answer my phone when I am out walking but I had just sent a picture of my companion via text so I thought maybe one of her people had something they wanted to communicate    I fumbled around to answer the call while keeping my eye on my charge.  Imagine my surprise when I realized we were about to wade into a rather sizable deposit of water on the path.  Thinking I was smart, I veered onto the grass with the concept that we would stay dry and take the high ground (I should also mention, the grass is where the snakes hang out, so this was incredibly brave on my part).  HOLY CRAP, instead of serpents we were both caught off guard as we sunk into the mush, what seemed sensible was in fact a poor choice.  There I was, holding a phone talking to a different client, and my shoes were filling with muddy water!   I realized my sweet girl was so confounded by the experience of sinking that she thought the best way to cope would be to lay down.  I think I might have yelled into the poor gentleman’s ear “OH GOD NO!”   Not sure he noticed.  We floundered to get out of the marshy mess and got back to a dry spot.  I think my girl was mortified she was all messy, what to do, what to do…oh, thank heaven Andrea is here, I will just wipe myself on her capri’s, how handy!  I started snorting at this point, I am not sure which one of us looked more bedraggled?  One side of her head was soaked, my legs were streaked with dirt and our feet were soaked.  The up side, we were at the beginning of the walk so we still had a half hour to traverse around in the light breeze and sunshine, which would help to cake the mud on us so we could brush it off!   By the time we were homeward bound we were less messy.  I have to say I am down right grateful for the big towel her people keep in the garage which helped remove the remainder of the offending dirt!  I love those amusing moments in life that are messy but put a smile on your face, it’s fun to wallow in the mud every now and then when you are with a good friend!

Me and my Dyson are really good friends!  How could we not be…with the amount of animal hair floating through my hallways, we are practically joined at the hip!  Last weekend I had four dogs and the cat wandering around the household, I felt like I was back in some Western movie, but instead of tumble weeds skirting about, there was wisps of multi coloured fur wafting across the hardwood with me endeavouring to take them down.  I could have had the vacuum out every hour!  Recently someone suggested I should get a Roomba, it was an interesting idea to have a machine quietly deal with the copious quantities of hair lurking under couches and in corners.  I have mulled the idea over in my head and even costed them out.  What has been holding me back are a few Facebook posts I have seen with disasters that have befallen their new found cleaning gadget, it becomes a Poomba!  But it’s Facebook right, it’s probably not true, it’s just some elaborate hoax to make us all laugh?  Nope, I have now met three people whom have woken up to a plethora of poop smeared all over their floors and a machine that is now useless.   I have lost count of the number of times I have woken up to piles of vomit on the living room area rug, but the other day I went downstairs to find a lake of excrement and I decided, there will never be a Roomba for me…me and my Dyson, we are going to stick together!  For the most part, we have had a very functional relationship, only once did I not see that the cat had thrown up on the mat at the front door and gummed up the power head!  My bad!  (Admittedly I have never gotten the smell out of the hose part despite my efforts to clean it with Q-tips and Febreeze.   On the upside, I now have a very good understanding of the mechanics of my vacuum and can take it apart with ease to clean out its various tubes and beater bar, a side career perhaps?   I digress).  The take away is, my Dyson has never let me down and we work well as a team!  When someone invents a device that cleans my floors but has a thorough understanding of what it is like to have furry friends a foot and can stop and take care of the offending mess and then get on with the business at hand, I might entertain the idea of giving my Dyson a well deserved vacation!

There are some days I think I am false advertising!   Am I a Dog walker or is my charge a People Mover?  Should I be receiving remuneration or should I be paying  for their services?  My new charge Max, I have no illusions of grandeur who is walking whom! This handsome and sturdy canine specimen is like the wind and I am the kite, flitting along behind.  I find it amusing as we trek along together, he leads and the only option for me, is to follow!  I have learned that if I relax and quit trying to be in charge, going along for the ride can be quite enjoyable.  He tracks and travels, and I take in the sights of magnolia trees and lilacs in bloom, whilst maintaining an effort to prevent Max from pillaging people’s tulips that happen to be in the wake of his adventuring.  It was a beautiful evening last night, my friend stopped and looked up at me for an instance and I could not help but be energized by his enthusiasm and zeal for exploring the familiar trails near his home.  I feel with Max, I have to relinquish the idea of being the “Dog Walker” and embrace what it is like to be invigorated by the world and have a fire for putting one foot in front of another!  We all have a purpose and for my four legged companion, he is “a People Mover” and my job is to make sure his nose eventually steers him towards home!

Walking woes?  My daughter and I often refer to Lucas our dog as “baby boy!”  Which really is ironic, considering all the grey on his muzzle, cataracts in both eyes and his obvious slowing down!  My handsome canine is good friends with the young dog next door, they walk together most days, once in the morning and then later on in the afternoon!  On the days Diesel isn’t paired with Lucas, his enthusiasm for the task at hand truly wanes.  He lazes about on people’s lawns and won’t get his groove on.  After a week of the boys not being teamed up, they are back together today,  shoulder to shoulder trekking through the neighbourhood.  The hard part, Lucas is truly struggling, noticeably slowing down and having trouble keeping up….his mind wants to go and go, but his body isn’t cooperating to the full extent!  Diesel has developed a very sweet bond with the old fart next door, he likes having him at his side….not sure what will happen for the duo as time marches forward.   My old man needs to take it easy and learn to slow down and shorten up his route.  I need to find Diesel a new walking mate whose energy level is more evenly matched, and yet somehow, I feel that even though he needs to get exercise and exhaust some of his energy, he is quite happy as long as he is trudging along side his friend, regardless of the distance or speed.  I am worried about jogging out Diesel’s jiggles and wiggling his waggles away, whereas I think that dear sweet pooch is more concerned about the companionship and spending time with his friend!  Something for me to consider, walking isn’t just about getting fit, it can also be about connecting with a buddy!

Basket Cases! They’re the couple who spent £80k cloning two puppies from their beloved dead boxer in a Korean lab. So what happened next? They’ve brought home their surrogate mums too…

• Laura Jacques was so shocked when her boxer died she stopped eating
• Husband Richard Remde came up with the solution of cloning the animal
• Using a dead animal’s cells had never been done but it was a success
• Now they have four original dogs, two cloned pups and two surrogate mums
• Couple’s emotions and finances are under duress but they love new dogs 

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3735348/Basket-Cases-couple-spent-80k-cloning-two-puppies-beloved-dead-boxer-Korean-lab-happened-ve-bought-home-surrogate-mums-too.html#ixzz4gh3Mqi4N
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Grief is a powerful thing!  We had a lovely dog named Piper, a Sheltie who was rather fragile from day one!  We realized in her seventh year of life that we were unable to fix her and prevent her from triumphing over her health issues.   We had seven months to hold her in our arms, love her and try and reconcile ourselves to the fact that she was going to die, but when we lost her it was miserable.  Losing a member of your family is heart breaking!  It took me over a year to recuperate from watching my girl surrender and take her final breaths.  I cried every day for the first six months, I felt sad and struggled to present a normal me out in public because I felt broken inside.   One of the hard parts was not being able to talk about it with others without a feeling of being mocked or ridiculed.  So I suffered in silence.  I know my spouse was bereft as well, he too could barely talk about it and to this day he will cry when he thinks about losing her. So what if someone offered us the chance to clone our dear sweet Piper, would we jump at the opportunity for a do over?   I think if I had been asked that question a week after she had passed, when I was overwhelmed with grief I might have said yes! But with time, comes clarity…I can look back now and realize that the new version of Piper, would not BE Piper…as it’s life circumstances that would shape it’s existence, she would not be the exact same dog!  The whole nature versus nurture!  The things this new pup would experience would be different, and although that dog was a replica on a cellular level, it would not BE Piper!  I also realize with Piper’s demise, I met Romeo…who really needed us!  On the road to recovery from losing our beloved pet we also opened our home to Lucas, a dog who has forever changed me and whom I also love!  There is one thing that I know, you can never go back!  The only direction to move, is forward!  Loss is painful, but it also allows our heart to reach out and try and share more love with another being that really needs it!  I can not help but consider all the money spent by the couple mentioned above and think how many animals desperate for a second chance, could be changed and improved by that amount  of money.   You get a  feeling when you lose a loved one,  that you’ll not only miss them, but you will miss the person you are at this time and place because you’ll never be this way ever again.   The luxury of a do over is pure folly, not to mention the expectation placed on the animal that is the clone of your former pet!  It is not that I don’t empathize with that gut wrenching feeling of loss, I have been there, laying on the couch in a ball weeping, I know what it’s like to try and walk down the streets where we used to meander and see her everywhere and wish the world would swallow me up and the pain would subside. What experience has taught me is that moving through that pain will lead you to other beautiful experiences that at the time you can not imagine!  There is no wrong or right, but this couple’s choice gives all of us a chance to pause and think, to appreciate the now with the ones you love.  To honour that relationship by moving forward when it comes to an end and keeping an open mind so you can embrace the next opportunity that could enrich your life experience and make you feel whole again!   Loving Lucas and Romeo, does not diminish my love for the fur babies I have lost and whom I still shed a tear for now and then, it enriches my experience and will fortify me and help me to continue to love again and again.