Reminds me of when I learned that my dog could walk all on his own! We took Max to work every day of his life with us. Customers still look for him in the corner office. Our small manufacturing plant is situated on several acres of landscaped property. Bushes, grass, rabbits, squirrels, and traffic abound.
Getting out of the car and going into the employee entrance was always a battle with Max with him pulling me off my feet at times — heading to sniff under a bush, or over to an employee on break. My biggest fear was that he’d dart around the building to greet a passerby (with, or without, another dog) or jump out into the street to get creamed by a passing truck.
I usually had things to carry besides the leash — books, mail, purse, etc. One day I just dropped the leash and said “heel”. To my amazement, he behaved like a model obedience dog and trotted alongside, or just ahead of me. I never tried to drag him into the building (or into the car) again.
It was like he said, “Look, Mom. I can walk all by myself.” In many ways these wonderful beasts are a lot like 2 year olds.
Another nice story, thank you for sharing it with us.