Yesterday we had to take Ray to our local supermarket but, given that our Bark & Fitz store was just across the road, decided to treat Ray to a visit there first. He really likes that store because not only does he generally get treats, but he also has a friend Dann who often works there. Of course it also helped having a coupon for a free 1/2lb bag of treats!

We were probably about 60 feet from the store when, coming towards us on his bike, we saw Dann! He cycled right up to us; stopped, and made a fuss of Ray while going through the usual social banter with us.

I suddenly noticed Ray. I think he was getting a little impatient with the dialogue taking preference over anything else and so promptly went into a sit position and stared at Dann! It worked. Dann started rummaging through a bag that was across the bike’s handlebars, and eventually found a bag of treats.

He continually chatted with us while offering Ray treats and, after a few minutes, he left to go wherever he was going, and we continued on our original plan. Everything went as expected from that point. Ray tried to help himself to bags of anything within reach, and we tried to thwart all his attempts (we were successful).

***

On a totally unrelated note: One of our desires with adopting a dog was to have a running buddy. Both Carol and I have done quite a lot of recreational running, and having a dog join us seemed a really nice idea. For reasons, which are covered in his book, Ray has never really achieved that goal due to all sorts of issues.

Carol just recently started running again and was taking Ray with her to see whether he is any more willing and able. As I am having difficulty walking at the present, running is not an option however, I did decide to accompany them on my bike… and what a pleasure it was!

It took him probably around 10 minutes to accept the fact that I was on my bike and staying with them but, after that, he settled into his “fast trot” pace. I was very conscious of two things. The first was how big he seemed to be when viewed from a bike. I know that he is not a small dog, but there are many much bigger than him. I can only assume that it was simply perspective from my bike. When walking him, he tends to stay very close and so I don’t get the same “overall view” of him! The second thing I noticed was how happy and relaxed he seemed to be just trotting along with Carol.

We’ll get our running buddy yet!