RUNNING WITH MY DOG

 

As couch potatoes, my two dogs are second to none.

Snuggling down in their baskets is their favourite hobby and having a cushy time is their life motto. Actually it has always been the motto of all the dogs I have had.

 

 It must 'run in the family',cause the very first dog we had set the mood immediately.

Jolux was a cheerful, playful and energetic little cocker.

So, one day I thought I could start a running program with him.

We were on holidays in a hilly place in the middle of nowhere and far from the madding crowd, so a good opportunity to work out together.

I leashed him to leave our rental, but once on the quiet path I had spotted before, I let him go free.
When I started jogging, he thought I was playing, so he started jumping , barking and performing all the silly antics he mastered perfectly.

Then, little by little, he calmed down, and trotted behind me, letting out some heavy sighs, cause I didn't leave him any break to read the latest news, I mean, to sniff the blades, the clods, and all his fellows' messages.

Although I was running at the same, steady, moderate pace, half-an-hour later I was in a sweat and not so full of beans.

As for Jolux, I was amazed at his stamina , I could not even hear him panting or even sniffing !

I turned back to congratulate him, but no dog to be seen , even in the far distance !

I called him, I whistled (badly, but I did ), but  no barking reply.

All the way back home, I kept screaming my head off, in vain.

When I arrived near the house, I was out of breath,scared stiff and

panic-stricken.

First thing was to contact the local animal shelters, and then, to comb the neighbourhood again.

I opened the gate of the garden, and was looking for the keys in my bumbag, when I caught sight of Jolux having a nap on the door-mat !

The lady nextdoor came out, and asked me if it was my dog.

When I answered that she was right, the couch potato sprawling over there  and snoring was mine, she uttered a sigh of relief.

She said that he had been lying on the door-mat for three quarters of an hour. 

I looked at my watch and realized that my so-called training partner had taken a French leave and walked back home as soon as he had understood that if running for running's sake was my new craze, it was not his at all!