To acquaint you further with life here in France, let me just begin by saying that owning a dog is a very 'social' pasttime. We go everywhere with our masters! A few years back, John and Robyn took me to an enclosed café while they waited for Ariana to complete her SAT's in a neighboring town. While they sipped on their coffees and ate their warm croissants, the waiter brought me my own bowl of water to help me pass the time. (I gratefully thanked him, but unfortunately his pant leg got a little wet in the process... sorry, Bud.)
Multiple walks are definitely a daily ritual for each dog owner and on these walks ... we socialize. While I am enjoying all the smells that the world has to offer, John will be talking with his "guy gang" of other dog owners about everything from the weather to gardening. But for me, the best part of this promenade is the moment in which John or Robyn will release me from my lead and allow me to run free down the dirt path and retrieve any stones that they throw my way. To be honest ... this is the greatest thrill of my day!
But the other week John and I were startled by an unexpected animal out for a walk as well! As we were playing "retrieve the large flying rock," John spotted a black pig come out of the adjacent field and begin to follow us. As the pig got closer, John began to realize that this was not the local farm animal that had just escaped, but instead a wild boar that in fact can be quite dangerous, even to humans. He quickly leashed me back up and we started to walk faster not knowing what this fellow would do. The funny part was that for some reason this young wild boar really wanted to socialize that day and quickly picked up speed to catch up with us. It must have been a funny sight to watch as we too picked up speed trying to advert any possible danger. We came home that day winded from the unexpected jog, but filled with excitement to retell our walking tale!
Guarding my kingdom until the next great adventure...