![\"\"](\"https:\/\/nosmallthing.net\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/walking-dog-225x300.jpg\")
I begin each morning pretty much the same way.<\/p>\nI begin each morning pretty much the same way.<\/p>\n
I stretch in bed for a few minutes. I make tea. Then I\u2019ll sit in the bay of my living room and write in my journal.<\/p>\n
Easily filling up several pages, I\u2019ll write out complete conversations I have with God, giving special attention to moments from the previous day where I want to acknowledge my efforts or extend myself compassion.<\/p>\n
My dog India, a spaniel-poodle mix, will follow me from bed to bathroom to kitchen to the table where I write. She\u2019ll curl up at my feet quietly until about 7:20 when she\u2019ll start trying to get my attention.<\/p>\n
She\u2019ll make a sort of whimpering sound, not from pain so much as from trying to get my attention. If I don\u2019t close my notebook and blow out my lightly scented candle within a few minutes, she may start pawing the rug or barking.<\/p>\n
We\u2019ll pad to the kitchen where I\u2018ll feed her breakfast. I\u2019ll put on shoes or boots (sometimes, I haven\u2019t even brushed my teeth yet), stuff a few plastic bags in the pockets of my jacket and we\u2019ll perform our pre-walk ritual.<\/p>\n
I\u2019ll put her into her purple harness, assuming I wasn\u2019t lazy the night before and didn\u2019t bother to take it off following our last trip outside.<\/p>\n
She seems to make this simple step a game. I can\u2019t tell if she does this on purpose or if I\u2019m especially uncoordinated in the morning. Probably, it\u2019s a bit of both.<\/p>\n
I untangle the harness, a mixture of water-proofed cloth, nylon leads and metal loops, ready to attach her leash at the back of her neck. I\u2019ll spread out an opening in the flat nylon bands then try to coax her to step into the space I\u2019ve made.<\/p>\n
But no. Either both paws will be poking through where one should be or she\u2019ll step down completely outside of the area required for me to secure the contraption under her belly. Or, she won\u2019t move her paws at all and I\u2019ll have to fish them through their respective openings.<\/p>\n
She\u2019ll make this process take much longer than necessary. But doing this sort of thing quickly is not the point. Not to her. Maybe I\u2019m in a hurry to get outside and get her to do her business, breathe a few breaths of fresh air and get home quickly so that I can read my emails, but those things aren\u2019t important to her.<\/p>\n
She just wants to interact with me, to play or just to hang out for as long as possible.<\/p>\n
After I get her harness on, she\u2019ll wait by the door patiently until she can hear the sound of the leash click around the ring on the back of her neck. I wouldn\u2019t think she would want to be so connected. Here again, I realize she has a different way of viewing things.<\/p>\n
Being on the opposite end of the leash is not about me controlling her. It\u2019s about us being \u00a0bonded. I believe in her eyes, it\u2019s about me belonging<\/em><\/strong> to her.<\/p>\n She doesn\u2019t run down the stairs as soon I open the door of my second floor apartment. She waits for me to start the descent. If I let go of the leash and motion her to go ahead, she\u2019ll wait for me on the landing.<\/p>\n Once I took her to the River Park dog area. Within the gated space, I took off her leash only to find her looking at me quizzically. She didn\u2019t move. I waved my hands. \u201cGo play,\u201d I cried out.<\/p>\n I threw a rubber ball in the direction of the playground, but she just watched me, as if asking me \u201cWhat am I supposed to do? Don\u2019t you just want to hang out with me in the sunshine?\u201d<\/p>\n Yes, when she doesn\u2019t want to follow the route I\u2019ve planned (usually when she can tell I want to go home before she\u2019s done exploring), she will sit down on the grass between the street and the sidewalk and make herself an immoveable object<\/em><\/strong>, challenging me to overcome her nineteen pounds of willful puppy flesh.<\/p>\n For the most part, we have a way of negotiating how long to stay out and in which direction we\u2019ll travel. Sometimes I\u2019ll defer to the allure of scents she picks up and will follow her. Sometimes, especially if the wind is strong, she\u2019ll surrender her resistance and let me lead her to the green door of our building.<\/p>\n As we take our first steps outside of my building, I\u2019ll often wonder if I \u2018m walking her or if she\u2019s walking me.<\/p>\n Taking a walk with a friend is no small thing.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" I begin each morning pretty much the same way. I stretch in bed for a…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":7885,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_exactmetrics_skip_tracking":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_active":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_note":"","_exactmetrics_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[632],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-7884","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-weekly-blog","grateful-dozen-belonging","grateful-dozen-noticing-small-things"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n