The News of Liza Kate

Today was Pony's semi-annual visit to the vet. Everything went on in its usual way - he got his temperature taken (ouch), he got some shots (ouch, ouch!), got his nails clipped (finally), I got a talking to about his plaque (ouch!), paid $292 (ouch!!), etc - business as usual.

It's really beautiful out today, so on the walk home, I decided to get a cup of coffee and a crossword puzzle. I just knew we would have a splendid early afternoon - I would get a bit of caffeine into my system and work my brain out a little while Pony would feast on the pocket full of treats I got from the vet. Basically we would have a dreamy day off together.

So, I tether Pony to a chair outside - the one right by the door so he can still see me. Usually, this keeps him from howling like a freakazoid and it has never failed before.

I place my order, look back at him again, notice people smiling at him and then at me and I felt, for a second, a little bit of pride.

"You see?" I tell myself, "You can have a normal life with a dog. You can be one of those pet owners that other pet owners envy - no problems, no weirdness. Look, someone is even walking by and he's just sitting like a good boy. Victory!"

I turn back around to pay and hear "Miss, your dog is taking off!"

"He got off the chair?"

"No, he took off with the chair!"

I dropped everything and ran outside to see him barrelling across a very busy street dragging a giant metal chair behind him.

"Pony! Pony wait!!" He looked behind at me for a second and then kept right on trucking.

When I finally caught up to him at the bank parking lot, he was exhausted, defeated, and trembling a little. Like me.

A very nice man came over and offered to carry the chair back for me - mentioning casually that next time, I might want to consider tethering him to something a little more substantial - like a building.

Another man shared a story of his own involving a dog he was dog sitting and a trash can outside of a 7-11.

A nice lady offered to sit outside with him while I went in to finish my transaction - I left the newspaper behind.

Everyone in the place laughed a bit - with me - I gave a general "Thanks everyone!" and we were off.

I was still shaky for a couple of blocks - enduring the flashes in my mind about what could have happened if, say, a driver wasn't paying attention, or - if I had tethered him to the 8 foot tall wrought iron plant stand that I almost actually tethered him to.

I eventually felt a sense of relief, told Pony he was crazy, gave him a treat and thanked him for filling my life with adventure - even if no one would ever envy us.