October 2002

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Some days Aunt Becky earns her pay, according to office dog Zoe, more than others. This was a day I earned it, and had a lot of fun.

Part of the routine at the law firm every afternoon is that Wendy takes the outgoing mail. Zoe goes with her, and they visit two more law firms en route to the mailbox. Zoe gets treats at at least one of those offices. It's a pleasant walk.

As it happens, today was a very busy day at the firm. When it came time to take the mail, Wendy was with a client. I gathered our mail and put the lead on Zoe, thinking Wendy would be through in time to go. When I got to where they were meeting, it was apparent Wendy needed to continue what she was doing. So she asked if I wa nted to go ahead and take Zoe.

That sounded good to me, so we headed out. Zoe wasn't quite sure what we were going to do, but at least at first she was willing to let me call the shots. We stopped at the two law firms, and Zoe got her treat, along with much attention. Me, I got greeted and thanked and handed the outgoing mail from those places.

Then came the longer, non-stop part of the walk. Zoe knows the route better than I do (when I take the mail without taking the dog, I go a different route that's not as dog-friendly), so I told her to show me the way. She did, with a few pauses to greet her buddies (human) on the sidewalk. As we got to one building where to my knowledge Wendy doesn't make a stop, Zoe decided to go into stubborn mode. I suspect she smelled food inside.

Zoe in stubborn mode means Zoe standing stock still, and making a face reminiscent of the expression of a two-year-old child saying, "No!" This time, Aunt Becky wasn't in the mood to dawdle (we were running late with the mail, after all), so I tugged at the lead and informed Miss Zoe that this time I had to win. Apparently I said it just right; she understood that I would probably tie the lead to the nearest railing and collect her on the way back if she didn't give in. Suddenly it suited her to come along.

As we neared the last driveway before the mailboxes, Zoe wanted to check out the traffic. I thought that was a bad idea, and managed to convince her without much argument that my way was better. We made it the rest of the way to the boxes without incident.

Then Zoe led the way back to the office. We didn't meet anyone in need of greeting on the way back until we got to the top of the small hill above our office. A car had parked, and one of Zoe's buddies was getting out. I knew we would make a greeting stop, which was fine with me. What I didn't know was how fast Zoe wanted to go down that hill to get to her buddy. It is safe to assume at that point Zoe was walking me.

Once we got the buddy greeted, we went on to the office. Wendy and the client were in the lobby, and I handed the lead to Wendy at that point. Shortly thereafter, Zoe came back to my desk to get her treat for being a good girl and walking her Aunt Becky.

And one of these next fine days, if it suits Zoe, we'll do it again.