The First Walk

Back out on the street this morning, for my first "litter walk" since letting Elo go. Definitely a moment for sadness and memories.

The litter walk and the dog walk have been two separate things, lightly linked by geography (overlapping routes, although the litter walk covers more ground) and origin. The litter walks began one day as I was walking Elo and noticed the street was particularly littered. "Someone should clean this up" rose my inner voice. And from a slightly different place in my head "Well, you're someone...." Whoever that was (and I have my suspicions) set me upon a mission that I've continued every since.

Elo's walks have taken on a rather contemplative tone in recent years. As a pup, he was a bit of a handful, pulling on the leash, turning to grab the leash for tug of war. Among the things I tossed this week were a cloth muzzle we tried when he was particularly naughty, a metal choker collar (hoping he'd not be able to bite it), and several leashes with partially chewed ends from his younger days. Later, we'd take long walks at Deming-Young Farm, where I'd watch and listen for Bobolinks, and we'd both keep an eye out for dive-bombing red winged blackbirds. Pretty sure I stopped those because one too many entitled dog walker would let his (men, always) dog off the leash, and Elo and the dog would get into it, and I'd get yelled at because my dog (on leash, under control) was aggressive and his dog (off leash, not under control) never had issues with other dogs. Won't miss that.

In recent years, as Elo's vision and hearing slowly dimmed, it was all about the nose, so walks became one prolonged sniff. I'd mainly let him go as long as he wanted (my own exercise in mindfulness and patience), with an occasional gentle "let's move along now" tug on the leash if he just seemed to park it.  Elo had a few local fans - dogs who would notice his passing and get excited / barky. Occasionally we'd pass another walker on opposite sides of the street, and Elo might notice, his tail alert, his back up, his old ornery self. But mostly, walks were peaceful and solitary.

Dog walks would be an opportunity to scout out the litter situation, notice things for future reference. Occasionally (if I had a pocket or a free hand) I'd pick up something glass to prevent it from getting broken. But mostly, I kept the two walks separate.

So, back out today - a fairly typical litter walk after days of rain and wind. Thankfully none of the neighbors or Elo's canine buds were out (I'm sure they've noticed that Elo has not passed by in a few days) but I'll catch them up when I see them. A little sadness as I passed the first spot at the edge of the property where he'd usually poop, and the second spot down the road a bit. The places he'd usually stop for a good long sniff, the place we'd cross the street. I'm sure the sadness will fade but this first time back out, was good to acknowledge it.