The Inaugeral Walk - A Leash and a Latte

Sunday, 2/19/12

We had a beautiful, partly sunny, cold winter day with a group consisting of eight dogs and ten humans.  As per the Seattle standard, many arrived with a latte in one hand and their dog's leash in the other.  Of course the key is to finish your coffee before you need to carry that first poo-bag; if you can do that then your walk is sure to go much more smoothly.  Luckily all who arrived were obvious experts when it came to juggling leash, coffee and poo-bag.

Coat pockets aren't just for keeping hands warm!

I was so happy to see such a great mix of dogs, from large to small and calm to hyper.  All played an important role in the group as we moved through South Seattle. 

I must admit that I was a little nervous with not knowing exactly what to expect as each dog-and-human pulled up in their cars to our meeting location.  For several days before our first walk, I visualized how those first few moments would go, over and over in my head.  I saw a lot of lunging, barking, and growling... not from any one specific dog or dogs, but just as an overall ambiance.  On the other hand, I also had a very good feeling about how the pre-walk time would play out and imagined that all the humans were doing their jobs to keep themselves and their dogs spaced out well.  Some of this came from the fact that I already knew some of the dogs and people that were to be a part of the first walk, and the rest came from information gathered from the other groups in Chicago and New York.  These groups were honest in saying that things can be difficult and sometimes seemingly chaotic in the beginning, but I was also very inspired as I heard about some of the success stories regarding shy dogs gaining confidence and reactive dogs learning to be calm.  I did know that however the first several minutes went, that it would be worth it for everyone.

Lovely Lilac is an adoptable Pit Bull Terrier in Seattle.  Look for her on Petfinder!

Now all I had to do was convince the new members, as well as those questioning their ability to be part of this type of group, that it will be worth it whether your dog is shy, fearful, reactive or has no social skills whatsoever... this WILL benefit ALL of us!  ...and I truly believe this to be possible.

Dozer was the perfect dog to lead our group!

What really happened in those first few minutes, the few minutes I spent many, many hours worrying about?  Nothing.  No reacting.  No lunging.  No barking.  The only noise outside of us humans introducing ourselves and our dogs to one another came from our black lab Dozer as he whined with excitement to let us know that it was time to get walking!