Walk

When left alone, television becomes boring.  I was left alone last night.  Cora went to be with her sister for the birth of our newest niece!  It is awesome to be a new uncle...now, four times over.

I was at home all day.  At about 11 PM I decided to take Toby for a walk.  I took him to the park.  There was absolutely no one to be seen.  So I let him off the leash.  He thought he was in heaven.  I walked quietly with him.  The traffic on the highway zipped by in flashes of light and whooshes of sound.  Toby was a white spot in the dark.  He was SO happy to be free and exploring without me disturbing him except to sound off when I lost sight of him.  He would zoom by me in an extension of his parabolic orbit to let me know he heard me.  I was very proud of his behavior.  He is a good dog, he just has lots of energy!

We had walked through the territory of two exceptionally loud and annoying chihuahuas on the way out.  Toby was very polite and did not jerk the leash.

On the way back from the park, I got a text that announced that there was a new little girl in the world, and that she happened to be my niece!  I was ecstatic!  We were walking home with Toby OFF his leash.  since it was 11pm and it is our small town...well, it wasn't necessary.  We were within less than a block of home and crossed the street when the dog of one of our neighbors let loose a war cry and began to close in.  Toby did not have a leash.  He is a good 25-30 lbs.

The dog that made the report is a papillion that might be 12 lbs when he is soaking wet.  I said, "go get him!" and off Toby went.  It was a large parabolic intercept.  Toby began to cut off the attacker, and the attacker became the defender and when Toby got within 6 or 7 feet, there was a strange, plaintive high pitched yip that issued from the little aggressor.  Toby never made a noise.  I called Toby off and he came back.  The little guy decided Toby's withdrawal was a retreat and made chase...yet he kept his distance.  It was all very amusing.  The little guy never got very close after that, though he did bark.

Overall, it was a fun walk!  Not a bad way to spend a weekend!