A Teaching Exercise

The beautiful weather continues here in Iowa.  Of course anything would feel better than what the whole month of July had in store for us with the high humidity and sweltering heat.  The best thing about cooler days and nights is that I often get TWO walks each day instead of just one.  On the evening walks The Nice Lady often comes with us, I just happily trot along while The Nice People chat softly in the twilight.  

Well last night there was a big change in the form of a small, furry, black and white body:  Mo got to go for a walk too!  She had never been on a long walk before and I was dubious that it would go well.  When she first came to live with us she hated the leash and would bite at it and pull on it or just sit down stubbornly and refuse to move.  She's had a little more practice since then because Sam and The Nice Lady walk her half a block to the post office most days.  She even got her picture taken there by the UPS man one day so he could show his girlfriend how cute she was.  I guess that was her 15 minutes of fame.

Much to my surprise, and The Nice People's too, Mo was a trooper!  She didn't pull on the leash, she walked right alongside of me, keeping up with me, and walked the whole way without needing to be carried.  For every one of my steps she has to take about 4 since her little legs are so short but in true Havanese fashion she just bounced along like she'd been walking on a leash all her life.  The Nice Lady kept commenting on how pleasant it was to walk with us and even gave me credit for teaching Mo how to walk so nicely.  I felt very proud of myself and of Mo!

When we got home Mo crawled into the bed in her pen to rest and I jumped up onto The Nice Man's lap, baby style on my back.  I may have fallen asleep for just a minute, but I was awake enough to hear The Nice Man say that this pose was pathetic even for me.  I just kept my eyes shut and pretended not to hear him, but I was thinking he must like pathetic because he snuggled me a little closer and sighed his happy sigh that he saves for only when he feels like all is right with our family.  It was a very nice way to end the day.  

Love,
Merlyn