The morning light glimmered off the dewy grass in the park as Amy walked Ritz, so named because of her rich golden color. The retriever mix bobbed and weaved along the path as Amy tried desperately to not have her wrist or shoulder jarred anymore than it already had. Since adopting the six month old, Amy had taken to walking her for over a mile twice a day in a naive attempt to curb her enthusiasm. This had thus far proven futile.
A bench coming into view, and needing to get a rock out of her shoe, Amy screamed "Sit!", and plopped down without waiting for a response.
Her large bust heaving and her red hair sticking to her face, she attempted to gather herself by redoing her ponytail and drinking some water before addressing the shoe intruder. The tiny stone taken care of, Amy took one final breath, before getting up.
As soon as her butt was free of the bench, Ritz lurched forward, tearing the leash from her grasp and taking off through the park.
Amy ran after her, crying and pleading for her to halt, heel, stop- every word she had ever heard an owner use on a dog. This of course meant nothing to the untrained puppy, except to make her run faster as they were now involved in a game of chase and all dogs love a good game of catch-me-if-you-can.
Amy followed the sound of paws and mayhem through the park, here and there seeing a tail wag or brown face facing her through brush. Ritz yipped and barked in play, urging Amy to come closer and try harder to catch her.
Calmly trotting up the path came a German Shepherd, leash dangling at his side and his owner calmly walking behind. Seeing the new friend, Ritz came barreling out of the bushes and began circling.
"Sit, Cody. Quiet.", said the tall, athletic man, commanding his dog to fall into line. The German Shepherd, Cody, followed the instructions immediately. He calmly sat, tail still, and watched, uncomfortably, as Ritz sniffed and shook her whole body trying to elicit play.
Amy ran and grabbed the leash, pulling hard to bring Ritz away. The man smiled and shook his head.
"How old is your goldie?", he said, amused.
"Six months. I have only had her a few weeks and she is driving me nuts. On the upside, I am getting a lot of aerobics in." Amy looked up at the man, finally noticing the creature attached to the german shepherd. She hoped her cheeks were flushed enough from her workout to hide her blush of embarrassment.
"Thanks for the help." She began to walk away and try to leave him behind before realizing there was nowhere to go on the straight tree lined park path.
Behind her Cody looked up at his man and the man looked back. He shrugged and reached into his pocket.
"Miss? Are you looking for any help?"
"Excuse me?" said Amy, turning. Ritz took the opportunity to see her new friend again, this time licking his stoic face and nuzzling his neck. Cody wagged his tail and nuzzled her back tentatively- he was still in 'Heel', but he wanted to introduce himself.
"Did you want help training?" He held out his card. "I am a dog trainer. I only charge a hundred dollars a session for private lessons and I can come to your house or you can meet me here. I do have group lessons at my house but they book up fast. RIght now my only opening is Wednesday afternoons."
Amy took the card automatically. "I'll think about it.", she replied. She smiled uncomfortably and began to walk away again. She looked down and read "Jake Flores. Dog Trainer and Behaviourist."
"Thanks again, Jake."
Amy tore Ritz away and went as quickly down the path as she could, wanting as much distance from the situation as possible. After turning several corners and leaving Jake far behind, she threw the card away. She was on a tight budget and had no intention of paying that much for lessons.
When she got back to her car and loaded Ritz, she headed home to pump. She had been supplementing her income by selling her breast milk. The shop who bought it made yogurt and cheeses and paid well. Every ounce helped her stay in the black.
Feeling the relief of a less full bosom, Amy sat down to eat some lunch and found her mind trailing back to Jake. He was handsome and cordial. He seemed to genuinely want to help, but she couldn't afford any other expenses. She had to pay rent and she had to save.
Her problems had started months before. She met a guy on a dating site who expressed an interest in ANR- adult nursing relationship- or sucking on a human breast and drinking the milk that was produced. She was turned on by the idea and after getting to know the guy and having a connection she moved in with him. After several weeks she started to produce milk and they were delighted.
Things were great. She had a lovely man in her who enjoyed helping her on her journey to full lactation and they were talking about starting a family. Every morning and evening he would suckle softly at her bosom and her production went from drops to tablespoons over several months.
Then, one day he didn't come home from work. The police came to inform her of the accident at the factory and she was left with having to pay rent or go home. She had made the tough decision to sell her breastmilk and work from home.
Ritz circled and whined by the door, needing to go out. Amy got up from her turkey and cheese hoagie and leashed her to go potty. The leash was in her hand, not her wrist, as the door opened and Ritz made a dash for the street.
There was a screech. There was a loud whine and thud. Amy ran in front of the Sedan and scooped up Ritz. She ran to her car and headed for the animal hospital, praying and pleading for divine mercy.
Three hours later, after x-rays and a thorough examination, all they found was bruised ribs but it was a wake-up call to Amy. Ritz needed training and so Amy searched for Jake online.
"Jake Flores, how can I help you?"
"Hi. This is Amy Swift. We met at the park. I have the uncontrollable yellow lab."
"Oh, hi. I was hoping I would hear from you. How are you doing?"
"Ok. I was hoping we could discuss group lessons. How much are they?"
"The group lessons are twenty-five dollars per session. I do require an initial assessment session that is fifty dollars and is simply to gauge whether you will fit in with the class. That can be an hour before class or at your home. I have time today if you want to meet at 4:30."
"That sounds great. I live at 341 Robin Rd. See you at 4:30."
"Great. See you then."
Amy hung up the phone and felt a tightness in her chest that was not breast related. She bit her lip nervously and looked around her messy nest. With a sigh she placed her pumps to her nipples and began to clean. He would be there in a few hours and she didn't have time to waste doing one or the other.
As the bottles filled she wiped down her counters and put dirty dishes in the dishwasher. With the pressure lessened, she removed the pumps and put pads on to catch the last drops. She moved on to the bathroom and mopped her floors, hoping they would dry before he arrived. She wondered what the assessment entailed.
"Might have been better to go to his house," she cursed under her breath.
She just had time for a shower before he arrived. With warm water running down her chest, she expressed the liquid gold that remained with a sigh. It felt good to get it all out but it meant flushing money down the drain. She looked at herself in the mirror and smiled.
"Hi, Hotness. Ready to entertain a man again?" She giggled to herself and then put on deodorant and brushed her teeth. She dressed in a sports bra, t-shirt, and sweatpants and waited for Jake. She bit her lip again and wondered if she was too eager.
The doorbell rang and she ran to open it with Ritz barking behind her. Jake was in a button up polo shirt and khaki shorts. He smiled behind the screen door and nodded to Amy.
Through the barking he managed to sneak in a "Hi, how are you?"
Amy nodded and shrugged in a silent gesture that he interpreted as "Help"
She opened the door and Jake squeezed past, barely missing her chest. He extended his arm to shake her hand and turned his back on Ritz, who continued to bark and carry on.
"Let's start with the first lesson. Ignore bad behavior. Reward good behavior."
"What?", Amy said, straining to understand him through the barking.
"Ignore her until she stops barking." Jake stood rigid with his back to Ritz.
Ritz danced around the room and jumped on Jake, who simply moved to knock her off and continued to ignore her.
Jake grinned. "Since this is an assessment, it is fifty dollars. I take cash or credit."
Amy nodded and smiled painfully.
"We can deal with payment later. I want to see you work with her. Do you have a way of calming her? Toys or treats? What is your reward?"
Amy ran to the kitchen and soon returned with carrot sticks. Ritz immediately began wagging and begging.
"Ok. Does she sit?"
"No. I tried but it isn't working."
