Back in my dog walking days, I had the pleasure of caring for puppers big and small, spritely and lazy and everywhere in between, but every once and awhile one pup would really stand out from the pack.
In this case a pair of puppers...
When I was just starting out, there was a bit of a learning curve. Although caring for dogs was second nature to me I had to figure out pretty quickly what neighborhoods would ping me on the WAG app- which trains to take that wouldn't land me in Times Square as well as keeping careful logs of local Starbucks bathroom codes, so I didn't have to buy something every time I needed to use the restroom (lol money was TIGHT). It was mostly pain in the ass logistics but once I figured it out it wasn't so bad.
Soon I had my regulars and Sparky and Sebastian were among the first. I had no idea what to expect when I arrived at the apartment because the owner hadn't uploaded a photo- to my delight, I jimmied the door open and got inside with moments to spare, just making my requested arrival time.
Just as a note, NYC apartments have some of the most difficult and unnecessarily out of date locks I've ever seen in my life- my jimmy game got real good that 6 months.
Anyway, I finally got in and these two smiling faces were there to greet me. They absolutely lost their minds barking and doing spins and bringing me toys I could hardly get them to sit still enough to attach their leashes.
These two are just as ridiculous as they look in the photos, total bruisers but also complete mamas boys.
The Wag app allows clients to message you directly and I remember their owner was so concerned and guilt-ridden over having left them while she was on business that she wanted constant updates. So my picture game was extra strong.
She let me know that she was worried that they would be depressed or have separation anxiety so sometimes I'd be asked to come back in the evenings as well.
There was one week, in particular, we are neither of them wanted to walk. Like, at all. We would get about halfway down the block and Sparky would just absolutely halt.
So here comes Dayleeo up 81 St. Carrying one doggo who's licking my face, thrilled to have been picked up, and half dragging the other behind me. Oh man, I got so much shit from people on the street...
" Ya know, you're doing that whole dog walking thing wrong hun."
or the classic...
"Who's walking who??!"
It didn't really bother me, I always had a smartass quip to shoot back at them and it was better than the unsolicited cat call. that's the funny thing about New York that I do miss in other places, someone's always got something to say. It's usually never in a mean spirited, just a way for someone to send out a ping to another human being in the loneliest city on earth. I get it.
The original analog tweet.
These two brought me so much joy. No matter what my day was looking like, these goofy faces always had a smile for me. Even on days when they were "too depressed to walk" I would have special permission from their owner to play with them inside the apartment tossing their ball or playing with a rope toy.
As friendly as they were to humans you should've seen them when they encountered another dog. It was almost as if they didn't understand that there could be any other kind of 4 legged being out there that didn't look exactly like them.
I was thankful that their owner always had them in color-coded vests because they really did look identical. They were brothers, so I imagine in their mind having not seen much outside the walls of their apartmet, that they had relegated the species of earth to be spark-bastians, and humans. When they saw another dog, they absolutely froze like they were encountering an alien life form which would make me giggle.
I'd gently nudge them on our way, until they decided they wanted to be carried again. ♥️
I've got a ton more doggo stories and photos to share so if you'd like me to continue sharing those adventures let me know!
Thanks for stopping by!
Your Favorite Ex Canine Mobility Specialist