Author's Note: As always, my thanks to Eclecticwoman818 for her help with correcting my grammatical errors and suggestions with plot development and continuity. Please vote for my stories. Obviously 5 star ratings are wonderful for my ego, but all votes are appreciated. Comments are also always welcome. Thanks for reading.
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I walk my dog a lot. She goes for a 15 minute walk before I go to work and at least a 20 minute walk when I get home. On weekends, it's usually ½ hour in the morning and another 20 minute plus walk in the evening, plus frequent other excursions to the farmer's market or to work with me. And on Sundays, we always spend about an hour and a half walking the trails at the local park. As a result of all this, with me clearly as the leader of our little "pack", she is a remarkably well behaved, well mannered and happy puppy.
It was on one of our evening walks on a Friday in the early spring, with the weather starting to turn warm and daylight lasting until after suppertime, that a car pulled up along side of us and, as the passenger side window lowered, I heard a female voice call out "Excuse me, can I ask you a question?" I bent down to look through the window and recognized my neighbor from down the street who I knew on sight, but couldn't recall ever having had a conversation with.
"Sure", I replied, "What can I help you with?"
"I've often noticed you walking and your dog seems to be so well trained. I'm considering getting a dog and was wondering where you took her for training."
I smiled at that "Well, what she knows, she's learned from me although I'm not sure it meets the definition of "training" since she only knows "sit" "stay" and "come". Mostly I've used the techniques I've gleaned from watching the guy on the National Geographic channel and understanding that it's more about being the leader than it is about teaching "commands".
While she considered my answer, we walked around to the drivers' side "By the way, my name is Rich, and this is Kasey. She's kind of an indeterminate breed, but I tell people that mom was a boxer and dad was a handsome stranger."
She chuckled at that description, and then extended her hand through the window. "I'm Angela, and I've got a few other questions, but I suppose I shouldn't block traffic. My house is at the end of the block on the other side of the street. Would it be an inconvenience to meet me there so we can talk some more?"
After I assured her it would be fine, she pulled off toward her driveway, and we followed. As we approached, I allowed Kasey a bit more lead as she wanted to sniff and get to know who this person was. I'm not sure what Kasey thought, but what I observed was an attractive woman, about 5'-3" tall and maybe 125 lbs. She seemed as though she was probably in her mid 40's although she could certainly pass as younger.
"First of all, let me offer my condolences on the passing of your wife. Your neighbor Dave told me about it, and as I'm a widow, I can certainly relate to what you're going through."
"Thanks", I said. "Although a sudden passing is a shock, I think it's still preferable to a lingering illness"
A sudden cloud seemed to pass over her face as she said how true that was, but it quickly passed, and she asked if I'd mind coming in so she could kick off her shoes and change out of her work clothes.
"As long as you don't mind if Kasey comes in, I'm fine with that."
"Oh, no" she replied "if I'm going to get a dog, I'd better get used to having one inside."
We followed her inside and while she went to change, I took a seat on the sofa and Kasey sniffed around for a bit before she came over and sat by my feet. When Angela reappeared, she had changed from her navy blue pants suit, ruffled white blouse and 1" heels to a pair of shorts, a faded t-shirt from some band I had seen years before and bare feet. She took a seat in an overstuffed wing chair opposite me.
"I've decided that I'm tired of coming home to an empty house every night and have finally convinced myself that I should get a pet", she said. "I'm allergic to cats, but dogs don't seem to bother me, so I've been looking in a couple of the pet stores and have seen some of the cutest puppies, but since I've never owned a dog before, I think I should get some advice."
After considering this for a couple of moments, I asked, "Are you home a lot?"
She replied that she worked a full week but other than that she was usually home as she didn't date much since she hadn't met anyone she was interested in since her husband had died.
"Well, my advice would be to reconsider a puppy since they rarely come housebroken and quite often will chew anything they can get their needle sharp little teeth into when left to their own devices. My personal feeling is that you may be better off getting a more adult dog which has a better chance of being potty trained, will be less likely to chew everything in sight and has the added benefit of having a somewhat developed personality so you can have a better idea about how the dog will behave."
She thought about this for a couple of minutes then seemed to realize the logic involved.
"Where would I find a more adult dog, and how would I know if it's right for me? I'm afraid that I'll fall in love with a cute one, and it will turn out to be a devil."
"If you'd like, I'd be happy to accompany you. There's at least two shelters nearby and since I used to volunteer at one, I know most of the staff there and know a couple of people at the other one if they're working tomorrow. May I also suggest that we bring Kasey along since she has a tendency to avoid dogs which are too high strung or aggressive."
We agreed to meet at her house at 11 AM the next day and as we left, she thanked me with a warm smile and said she hoped she wasn't imposing on my weekend. I assured her it was fine and that I would see her in the morning. As I walked back up the street I thought that this was an unexpected but intriguing turn of events.
Saturday morning as we were finishing our early walk and passing Angela's house, she appeared on her front porch holding a cup of coffee and waved.
