Sandy, my little girl dog insists that we go walking every evening regardless of what the temperature is outside. As we live in Texas, it can get very hot and tends not to cool down very much even late in the evenings.
Today was no different and with the high for the day at 104 degrees Fahrenheit at 6:00 pm, it takes a while for the the temperature to get to anywhere near what I call a reasonable and comfortable level. After all, this is Texas…

So, we have developed a system of leaving it as late as we possibly can before venturing out. It is a bit cooler and at least the sun is not shining directly down on us. We have enough trees and houses that our street is pretty much in shadow which does make it a little easier. It is still hot with the thermometer hovering in the high 90’s but it is bearable.

Mikey, the little boy dog is not anywhere near as interested in walking as Sandy but he goes along somewhat willingly as he needs to make sure that she is not getting more attention than he is. He is a good little walker as he stays to heel most of the time even on his leash although he hasn’t figured out how to disentangle himself when he gets wrapped up. He does sit and wait for me to disentangle him whereas Sandy knows just how to do that job and generally gets herself out of her own entanglements.The other difference between them is that Sandy charges off ahead and is pulling the whole time peeing and marking at every opportunity which I always thought was a boy dog thing, but apparently not.

Before we set out, I change into a pair of running shorts, not that I plan on running anywhere but at least they are a bit lighter and I tend to sweat a lot. I also make sure that I have a roll of plastic poop bags in order to clean up after them.

We usually meet several of the neighbors out getting their exercise and pretty much, always the same ones as we are all creatures of habit. We acknowledge each other with a pleasant word or two making sure to keep our distance on opposite sides of the road. None of us are wearing masks outdoors. There is one neighbor who has a little Dachshund that I wrote about before and he and Sandy just do not get along which results in him barking and Sandy screeching at the top of her lungs, not barking but literally screeching. Nowadays, when we, who think we are in charge, the owners, spot each other in the distance one or the other of us makes a point of reversing direction so that we do not pass and have to listen to the dogs.

If we do our usual walk, we cover almost 2 miles. Sometimes, if I am feeling especially energetic, we walk a little further and end up covering a little over 3 miles. That doesn’t happen too often as it is not really very comfortable walking because of the heat and in my case, sweat. If I have been to the Supermarket for supplies earlier in the day, that alone is usually good for at least a half mile and sometimes more.

Such is the world of dogs and their people. Let’s face it, we do not own a dog, they own us and they know it. They have us right where they want us…

Written 8/16/2020