The other day I committed a beginning service dog partner mistake. I was at fault for being in a hurry and focusing on things besides the needs of my dog. Thankfully the consequences weren't really that bad, but it was a good reminder for me to slow down and pay attention to what Morey is telling me. I guess this is my confession....
Morey and I were on our way to a meeting on campus and for some ridiculous reason I decided it would be nice to push there instead of drive. I guess I forgot that it was 100+ degrees outside so my idea of a nice stroll for some exercise turned into a sweaty miserable experience. Oh well.
We were running a bit late and so I was going along at my extra-fast speed. Morey usually enjoys trotting along beside me, but for some reason he kept pulling on the leash. I assumed it was because the pavement was hot and he was trying not to burn his paws. There really wasn't any way to get him off of it except by moving forward so we just kept moving.
All of a sudden Morey stopped and with my momentum the leash was jerked from my hands. (That's why you never ever wrap the leash around your hand!) I turned around to see what had happened and saw poor Morey pooping on the sidewalk. Oops!
I had obviously misinterpreted the reason behind his forging. I thought it was because his paws were hot, but it was because he was trying to find some place to stop and "hurry". Poor guy! He is usually on a pretty regular schedule and so I was not expecting that to be one of the causes for his unusual behavior. Because it was outside and I had my trusty poop bags handy to clean up it wasn't too big of a deal. But, I was sufficiently shamed for not taking a moment to think about ALL the possibilities for why Morey was suddenly acting strange. Lesson learned!
No comments:
Post a Comment