Safety First

We have a Great Dane.  A GREAT BIG DANE.

This boy is 130 lbs. of pure love.  What a sweetheart. 

BUT.  Walking him is a serious chore.  In fact, the first time I took him out for a walk, I had to call my husband to meet us halfway because I was afraid the dog would rip my arm off and run down the street dragging what was once my primary writing hand behind him.  Insert Marmaduke cartoon image here.

So.  We bought a Gentle Leader harness and oh my word does that thing do a fantastic job of keeping him in line.  Highly recommend one of those, even if you don’t have a colossal-sized-mammoth-of-a-beast-that-you-call-a-dog to walk every morning/evening.

Anyway. 

Yesterday it snowed here.  And this morning when I took my horse-of-a-dog out for his morning jaunt, there was still snow/ice on the sidewalks, making them treacherous for those of us who only have two legs to stand on.  So I decided that since it was still the wee hours of the morning (6 o’clock is wee in my book) and the streets were quiet, I could probably just walk down the middle of the street with said mammoth.

So we set out.

And boy was I mistaken.

I started out walking in the middle of the street, and you would have thought based on pup’s reaction that I was walking him down the fiery road to meet the devil himself.  Even with his Gentle Leader harness on, he pulled and fought and dragged till we both arrived at the sidewalk.

And then he proceeded to give me the look that I have previously only known as my dad’s “look.”  You know the one.  It’s the one that says, “Girl, you are in so much trouble right now that I can’t even find the words to express it.  And ohhh, you just wait till I do!”

Needless to say, we continued our journey on the sidewalk. 

So.  I’ve discovered something new about my loveable Great Dane. 

He is a first-rate safety patrol officer.

And he is not afriad to enforce it.