I'm not completely heartless. Just mostly.

The Awesome Husband had to go out of town last night, so Cecil and I were on our own today.  It was a banner day.

We went for a walk/run through the neighborhood in the morning.  I try to incorporate some running because it tuckers him out (and it's good for me too), but he's not used to running for long distances yet.  That dog can sprint like you wouldn't believe, but at about a tenth of a mile, he's all "nah, it's cool, I'll just wait back here, mkay?"

(Until we turn around and head for home where his breakfast is.  Then he'd drag me home if I let him.)

At the start of this particular walk, one of the kids on our street looked wistfully at Cecil and asked if she could pet him.  She was maybe ten years old, and she asked very politely.  I was impressed.

Being the horrible, heartless person I am, I told her no.

Cecil's walks are for training, but I told her maybe we'd stop on the way home.  Her family was setting up a yard sale, so it was a pretty good bet they'd still be outside.  Cecil lives a good life, but he's not allowed to say hi to everyone whenever he wants.

So we walked, we ran, we walked, we ran, and eventually we turned back down our street.  The yard sale was taking shape, and I noticed that the family's golden retriever was milling about. 

Now, Mr. Cecil is a good, good puppy, but walking calmly past another puppy while on a leash is not one of his talents.  On a good day, he whimpers impatiently, and on a bad day, he has a growly, snarly meltdown. In a matter of seconds, I'd played out a horrible scenario involving a ten year old girl recoiling in fear.

I made a strategic decision: since we were within striking distance of home and there was no traffic, I unclipped the leash from Cecil's harness.  I must have cashed in all my good karma, because when I told him to keep walking with me, he did it.  I mean, it was for maybe forty yards, but still.  If it wasn't good karma, it may have had something to do with the treats I dispensed every four seconds. 

By the time we got to the little girl's yard, the golden retriever was nowhere to be seen, so as it turned out, it wasn't an issue.  The little girl got to pet Cecil, he got to run home from there as fast as he wanted, and I hadn't been marked as the social pariah of the neighborhood with the vicious dog, so everyone was happy.

In the afternoon we went to the dog park, where that picture above was taken.  Sometimes good puppies who behave themselves and walk with their humans off leash get to run and sniff and explore, too.  I'm not completely heartless.