Walk a Dog

It’s nice.

A smile from a friend. Sun and a tree. Walking a dog. These are all things that are nice, and we’re going to talk about the last one: walking a dog.

Doesn’t that sound nice? Walking a dog. Mostly I mean “walking a dog” if you don’t have a dog who you have to walk multiple times every day for twelve years or fewer 🙁 or more! 🙂 If you do have a dog I’m sure walking him is nice, too — he’s a very good boy, after all, and you love his nosey — but it’s also a chore and you have to admit that I’m right. This is if you don’t have one.

Where do you get a dog, then? Uhhhh, I dunno, [dumb voice], ever hear of a friend who has a dog? Jesus christ. Or how about this, genius, how about: have you ever heard of an animal shelter than needs their dogs walked? You make me so mad.

Walking a dog is nice because you’re alone, but also you’re not. There’s a dog there. He’s exploring the world, which is fun to watch and causes you to be happier and more at peace than you would be normally, and you can talk to him. You can say, “Hey, bug, what do you smell?” You can say, “What’s that? Ohh, what’s that?” You can say, “Nope — no, buddy, we’re gonna go this way.” You don’t have anything good to say out loud anyway, so it’s nice that your interaction with the dog is somewhat limited.

What else? Here are the top ten reasons to walk shelter dogs from the website gowalkshelterdogs.org, which sounds like a good resource to me, if you’re trying to find a website about going to walk shelter dogs:

#10 If you are looking for a faithful walking partner who will never reschedule.

#9 If you haven’t received enough love today, unconditional love will be waiting.

#8 If you need a reminder that your life isn’t so bad…you have choices to make.

#7 If you think your dog should have puppies before getting them spayed or neutered.

#6 If you need an excellent reason to pull yourself away from a screen and appreciate the outdoors with someone who does.

#5 If you are unable to commit to being a dog owner, but want the company of a dog.

#4 If you feel like you haven’t accomplished much at the end of the day, volunteering is the cure.

#3 If you want to spend time with someone who doesn’t judge, complain, interrupt, or talk back.

#2 If you live by the saying…it is better to give than to receive. But in this case, you will receive an enormous amount of dog gratitude.

#1 Shelter dogs need you, or else they are confined to waiting, and waiting in a kennel.

A lot of these are deeply sad, which is the “elephant in the room” currently.

What else? It’s nice to be outside with a purpose: walking a dog. So here are some things you can do in order to achieve walking a dog:

• Walk a friend’s dog
• Walk a shelter dog
• Get a dog?

Thank you,

Kelly M. Conaboy