Crossing paths with a happy puppy on his walk, turns into a lovely chat about dog recognition, dog walkers and meeting an incredible dog mom.
May 15, 2019, 8 p.m on the streets of a bustling city, Mumbai. Financial capital of India, teaming with diversity, second most densely populated city in the world. And who do I smile at on the sidewalk? Yes, a dog. Happy puppy on his evening walk with his mum. I made the assumption he was a boy, because, when you spend as much time as we do with dogs… you learn, girl and boy dog faces.
So this happy puppy on his walk, brings a smile to my face and we cross paths. 10 seconds later, a slightly bewildered and very polite lady, comes up behind me and asks, “do you know him?” The unspoken ‘dog person’ bond kicked in, I knew she was talking about the dog!
So I look at the dog again, and smile sheepishly , I speak to a bunch of them in the mornings, and I probably do. She goes on to explain that he decided to turn around on his walk and come say hi to me. Well, needless to say, my week was made. A happy puppy, on the streets, seeks you out to say hi, dog people you know what a dopamine hit feels like! I inquire if its a specific dog walker he walks with in the morning?
The reply was such a pleasure to hear. This incredible dog mom of “Goldy” (name changed to protect his identity) accompanied the dog and dog walker for an entire month before she handed her dog over to be walked. This is what pet parenting is all about. In our uniquely time constrained lives, it is inevitable we need help with our kids and pets. But that help must and can never come at the expense of their welfare and safety.
Super dog mom has such an easy solution. Acknowledge you need the help, but always vet the help. Because when you put the work in at the beginning, chances are you get it right the first time. The results showed in this bundle of blonde sun shine, happy, confident and helped his mom make a new friend!
Follow your dogs instincts and advice and you’ll be a happy pet parent. So kicked that super dog mom looks at me and says “I thought you were a dog person!” A day does not end better than that, unless you take into consideration that I go to do this on a sidewalk in Mumbai.
Sources: PetMD : https://www.petmd.com/dog/behavior/do-dogs-and-cats-have-long-term-memories
NIH – News in Health https://newsinhealth.nih.gov/2018/02/power-pets
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