Several years ago I wrote an essay, "Walking the Dog" about walking with Spike. I included it in this book my memoir workshop produced. (That's Jeff's and my wedding picture in the middle of the cover; I also included my piece "The Limo from Hell" in the collection.)
Until six months ago, walking with Lola had been much different. From the beginning, we saw that Lola was more comfortable outside than inside. Unfortunately, we didn't realize that Lola was afraid to walk on the streets.
She was so scared that at first we had to carry her outside just to pee. After about two weeks, we started to take her to parks to get her some exercise.
I felt bad for Lola. Spike usually had three, sometimes four walks a day, including some dog park visits. Lola usually got one park visit (if she were lucky--two.) Otherwise, she didn't walk, except to the back lawn.
There were a few times when Lola walked about a block's length along the sidewalk. But these were isolated incidents, and she didn't seem to progress.
Suddenly there was a breakthrough. It may sound like melodramatic hyperbole to say this changed my life, but it did...in a way.
For one thing, Lola can get a good walk without going to a park (though we usually do take Lola to a park or trail.) I enjoy walking around the neighborhood, checking out the changes, but mostly meeting the other dogs such as Dylan and Bishop. I'm especially fond of a beagle mix named Ruby. Ruby loves Lola and pulls on her leash when she sees Lola. They look adorable as they walk down the street together.
Lola still gets spooked by loud noises: unfortunately she tries to run into the street--not a good response. Lola doesn't like to walk in the dark. But overall, I'm happy with her progress and love our neighborhood walks.
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