As I was taking the dogs for a walk this morning, I was thinking about how amazing it is that Lucie has turned into such a good little walker. For so many years she would pull so hard against the leash that she was walking upright on her two hind legs for most of the walk. We had to buy her a harness as she would just choke herself and retch repeatedly. We could not curb that behavior. She was such a terrible walker that not only did we stop walking her but Bobo as well, and that was wrong, because that boy sure did love his walks.
We used to walk Rufus by himself when we lived in Kent, and I told myself that Lucie didn't care as we left her standing by the door every day. When we made the big move out here, Julie and Andrew took the dogs in for several days to facilitate that move. Julie took Rufus and Lucie out multiple times a day and walked them around the apartment building. Lucie likes to walk now, she reported to me, and she is good at it. Better than Rufus, really. So I have taken to walking them both, and it's true, in her dotage, Lucie trots right along, stopping to sniff and mark many places, which Rufus eschews for the all-out pulling me along as I tell him repeatedly to stop. I am sure we entertain the neighbors as we make our rounds.
Lucie snores loudly behind my chair as I type this, and I know I will have to pick her up and carry her to another room when I am on to my next task. She doesn't see or hear well, but she still "swims" at Ben every day when he gets home from work, and she will endlessly flip Hezbollah (her little stuffed duck) off the chair in Ben's room as he tries to change his clothes. When we are out and about, Lucie is routinely mistaken for a puppy, and I guess that is what she will always be to us, as well. A little, brown, curly-haired puppy. I hope she stays that way for a long, long time. And I'll keep walking her just as long as she wants to do it.
3 comments:
Oh boy that sounds cute! I'm so happy that Lucie and Rufus (and you!) are getting out for walks. We get a bit of an extension on autumn out here, so you may as well enjoy it while it lasts. Yes, Lucie is still our little puppy girl, and still loves her Hezbollah.
now that's much more positive!! :) i'm delighted lucie's gotten to be such a good walker. i never imagined she'd get good at them, and i was never sure she liked them. but she certainly does now.
isn't it nice to get out a little? even on these wet days, i can usually sneak in a quick walk around the block. not as feasible with low-to-the-ground dogs, alas. i love that fall is longer here!
I'm sure that both of the dogs love their daily walks with you. Zoey, our gray dog, pulls on her leash really hard when we walk her. Gracie stops and sniffs a lot and marks every tree it seems. Hezbollah is a very funny name for a dog toy!
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