Dog Sense; Priceless!

Some days, you just do not know what will happen. Some days just make you smile. One such day was when I learned something from a dog!

We were out for a walk. Me, my guy and his dog. I was in a bread making phase; I wanted to make some bread. It was a great excuse to go out enjoy the sunshine while we walked the dog to the neighborhood grocery store.

While on our walk, which we, incidentally “have to do” anyway, because the dog insists, we plan to combine our exercise with dog-walking and shopping for flour. It is great to multitask!

In no time we had reached the store. We did not want to leave the dog unattended, so I was designated to sit with him at the bench outside the grocery store, while my partner went in for the flour.

Wally is a lovable dog but rowdy when excited and needs to be supervised. Not everyone enjoys his sheer exuberance! Some are even frightened by the combination of his size and his "live in the moment" jubilation. He can knock a little old lady over without much effort. He doesn't mean to; he just does not realize he is too powerful. I have the bruises to show for the times I have been caught unaware as he nuzzles me into a heap on the floor.

As I approach the bench, I observe a physically disabled man sitting on one of the three benches.He is hunched over his walker not making eye contact; either resting or just sitting and enjoying the fresh air. It is difficult to tell the extent of his disability.

Wally would like to approach but I do not want to disturb the man. Wally is a Chocolate Labrador Retriever. .. I like to think he is definitely a people dog. If you say hello, he does a happy dance! Did I mention he is also very slobbery?

I steer clear of the disabled man. I sit on the middle bench to the right of him and well away from the bicycle racks on the other side so the dog wouldn’t slobber any disembarking bicyclists in his friendly sloppy manner.

Well, of course, the dog always gets attention and the next bicyclist that parks his bike greets the dog and gets a boisterous response. That done, I am relieved the dog behaves reasonably well and then sits at my feet. I glance over at the handicapped man and he is studying the ground with a scowl on his face. I hope the dog isn’t annoying him and tighten the leash ever so slightly.

After awhile, I relax and so does the dog. We settle back; do some people watching and I scratch behind the dog's ear. The time passes quickly.

Before long, our shopper appears with a ten pound bag of flour… okay, what if I lose my interest in bread making ? Maybe, he wants me to bake him a whole lot more than I intended! Oh well…we start to set off to cross the street.

Suddenly, out of the corner of my eye, I see a "brown blur" head for the disabled man, my companion instinctively pulls on the leash yanking his dog away. Then out of the corner of my eye I see something else…the disabled man is reaching out to pet the dog with a huge smile on his face!

“Just a minute," I quickly nudge my companion. My guy looks at me...? “Wally wants to say Hello”, I say nodding my head toward the disabled man. My guy eases the leash and Wally goes and does his “happy dance” for the smiling man.

Then there is another huge smile, this time for me. I am dazzled by the eyes, the face and the smile. I glimpse a charming, beautiful person and realize, it would have been okay to let the dog approach him after all.

That smile made my day, brightening a dull fall day… all because a dog decided to reach out! So go hug your dog already…sometimes they just know. what to do. Wally reached out and touched someone who needed the contact. He knew better than we did.

Dog wisdom! Priceless!