WALKING AND DOGS

Several times a day I and one or more of my dogs will take a walk down the street to one of several parks that we have at our disposal. This is not a demanding routine but familiar nonetheless. People walking and dogs walking are two very different worlds. We humans will set off from the front door at a brisk pace, purposeful and directed. We have a route and a destination in mind. As we travel the route towards the destination we enjoy the sights and sounds, perhaps a few social opportunities, and the walk is more or less uneventful. For a dog, from the moment we set foot on the path away from the front door, the experience is first and foremost at ground level. What may be going on up above us or down the street is relatively unimportant. Of utmost importance are smells. As soon as we leave the front porch there are smells on the lawn, smells on the laneway, smells around the trees, smells at the edge of the road, smells on the tires of the cars. Theirs is a world of smells.

Where our walking is shaped by a destination and a route, a dog’s walk is shaped by territory, by history, and by the critical task of establishing one’s importance in the environment. There is no distinction between a tire, a blade of grass or the most archetypal of spaces, a fire hydrant. What matters is the identifying scent left behind.What matters is being the freshest and strongest of scents. The top dog.

As we walk these issues do not alter any importance. Designating territory right off the porch is every bit as important [or so it seems] as any bush or clump of grass anywhere along the route. It seems that my dogs can take a break from this territorial obsession for brief periods of time, apparently enjoying running around or circling around my feet as we walk. Nevertheless, such distractions are short-lived. Over and over again, they come back to that smell that calls them like a siren song, ever enticing, ever challenging, with no possibility of not responding.

We each have our needs as we walk around streets and parks of our neighbourhood. We each seek out the corners and vistas that satisfy our needs each time we walk. The challenge Is always to respect the needs and priorities of each other and find a pace and rhythm, so that the return to the front porch brings satisfaction, at least for the moment.

Yours, on the journey,                           
Ray
Walk as if you are kissing the Earth with your feet
Thich Nhat Hahn