Walking With the Puppy

I've been spending a lot of time walking around the block of my neighborhood over the last month or so. Beacause Rigby the puppy is still young, she tires out pretty quickly so I can't stray too far from home while on our walks. This summer, the temperature has been unseasonably cool so everyone is out in the evening when I'm on my walks. Kids are playing and riding bikes and parents are working in the yard or on a fitness walk. It's quite busy and I've chatted with a lot of people who I don't usually even see. Some of these chats have been quite interesting and some have been quite funny. Here are my two favorite of the summer...



1. Austin, a little boy who lives around the corner from me, has been very interested in Rigby. Everytime we see him he stops us, takes a treat from me to give to Rigby, and asks me all sorts of questions about her. He is really very sweet. One evening he sat right down on the curb to pet her and we had this conversation...

Austin - There's a police over there. (points up the street where the police car is parked)
Me - Oh, really? Why?

Austin - (shrugs) I don't know, someone called them about my mom.
Me - Oh no, I'm sorry!

Austin - (shrugs) Ehhh, it's ok.

I never found out what that was all about, but it sure caused quite a stir in the neighborhood. I've never seen so many people out, walking by the house with the police car in the front of it.



2. Just yesterday I was on a walk in the evening and going the other direction was a mom pushing her son in a stroller and her daughter, who was about 3, rode on a tricycle type thing. She hopped off quickly and asked if she could pet Rigby. I told her she could. I've been working a lot on training the puppy so I carry a hunk of string cheese with me as a reward. Rigby is a little skittish of children because they move so quickly and she's a herding dog so I always give the kids who want to see her some of the cheese so she will see them as treat givers and not small creatures to herd. So I said, "I'm going to give you a piece of cheese to give to her," to the little girl as I pulled off a little bit and handed it to her. Her eyes lit up and she said, "Thank you," right before she put it in her own mouth and ate it! That made me laugh out loud. How cute is that!?!?

I've never been all that neighborly. I'm a pretty private person and I don't like people in my business if I don't know them. Plus, I don't like neighborhood drama. I've met some very nice people out on these walks, but I also see the potential for gossip and backstabbing from a few. I think once the puppy has the endurance for longer walks, we will be heading out of the neighborhood. Until then, the stories are pretty good.