The (four-legged) Buddy System

I’m living a doggie-deprived life by choice.  I truly have no interest in being the primary caregiver for a pooch again.  I have to have the freedom to go where I want when I want and I didn’t have that with a couple of previous, high maintenance critters.  But I do miss knowing a dog or two and that’s evident when one approaches and I automatically drop to a crouch to say hello.

I also miss the forced walking that goes along with dog companionship so I hit upon an idea.  I placed an ad on a free site for a family that needed a dog walker and yesterday I met my match.  Echo is a big, beautiful golden lab who belongs to a neighbour a few blocks away and he needs lots of walkies to shed his winter weight.  I took him out for a get-to-know-you stroll yesterday morning and he’s the sweetest guy, if a bit overly excited when he sees other dogs, but we’ll work on that. 

At 124 lbs. he’s a handful to hold when he’s trying to zig and I want him to zag.  But it’s a heck of a workout and although my recent minor injury site was screaming for mercy after about 20 minutes, I think we have a mutually agreeable plan in place.  My pal Echo and I will take each other for a tour of Byron a few times a week.  I’ve promised not to bring him cookies and he swears he won’t drag me to any ice cream stands so maybe we’ll both get fitter in the process.  So if you see a grinning woman walking at a brisk clip with a massive golden beauty at her side, that’s me and my new pal Echo.