When circumstances compel you to spend more time at the office than anywhere else, it doesn't take long before you begin applying the same tools to all locations. When I was asked (yeah, right, "asked") to take my granddaughter, the Little Princess, and one of the dogs she has become attached to on a trip to the park, I had to consider which one was going to provide the most "opportunities." Findings, as follows.
• Walking to and from the park: On the surface, this would seem the simplest part of all this. However, the dog, though energetic, is not what one would consider ... bright. Which means the concept of walking while on a leash doesn't always take root in his very friendly if somewhat underutilized brain.
The granddaughter appears to have most of the rules of traveling outdoors down pat. She just has the order wrong. She runs out into the middle of the street, stops and looks both ways. And, while she's a fairly accomplished walker, gravity still, for no apparent reason, raises its ugly head. My general impression is that this may be a lifetime concern. I'll check back when we try soccer for the first time.
Advantage: Not understanding how a leash works is goofy but not dangerous. Got to go with the dog here.
• Park and, uh, personal time: Once at the park, the dog's principle activity seems to be going to the bathroom on every small tree, fence post, stake and any other object slightly higher than ground level.
And then there's the ... other, which requires me to walk around for rest of our time in the play yard carrying a plastic sack full of, well, you know. Because that's not the sort of thing you'd want to leave on a bench for someone else to find.
The granddaughter is house- and all other places-broken. So, there appear to be no maintenance issues that were a concern of mine.
Advantage The granddaughter. By the way, if you're thinking of just walking off with random plastic bags you find in the park ... I wouldn't.
• Meeting strangers: For no apparent reason, the dog may be one of the happiest animals I've ever been around. Perhaps he remembers that as a puppy he was rescued from a storm drain by a friend, came to live with us for reasons even we can't explain and considers every day "above ditch" a good one. Since it doesn't appear he can remember the way from the laundry room where he sleeps to the back door of our house, I kind of doubt it.
Whatever the case, that spirit seems to manifest itself when he meets other people, dogs, passing bicycles, clouds in the sky, etc. He goes into a full-body tail wag, bounces around happily and exhibits the slight underbite that makes it look like he's grinning like an idiot. Since he seems incapable of fiendish plotting (or remembering that a closed door is more like a wall than a passage), I'm going to assume this is sincere, and makes him very difficult to resist.
The granddaughter has never met a stranger. She has also never met someone (or thing: other animals qualify) who isn't an audience. So when she encounters other people, fellow children or the aforementioned animals at the park, the ensuing conversation makes absolutely no sense and completely melts hearts.
Advantage: Let's call this one a draw.
• General park activities: For the dog, that appears to consist of the previously highlighted bathroom breaks and walking back and forth along the fence line, probably in a vain attempt to remember where he was and why all this looked familiar.
For the granddaughter, this consisted of being loaded in the swing, being unloaded from the swing, being loaded back in the swing, climbing on dangerous things, swinging on dangerous things, walking across dangerous things, then being loaded in and out of the swing again.
Advantage: Again, when being asked to judge, take the path of least danger and worry. Go with the dog, again.
• The event as a whole: As I said, it's been a bit since this was part of my routine, and since timing meant I was denied access to games, game scores or even updates on my phone, to be blunt, prospects weren't promising. But there is something about kids and dogs. You shouldn't co-star with them and you find yourself pretty captivated by them.
Advantage: Grandfather. Not close.
Commentary on 12/02/2016