Sammy Story 15: The Walk

Theo and I decided to take Sammy for a walk around the pond. According to Sammy, walks have a definite script for how they ought to be conducted. First, you show him the leash; preferably when he is in his safe basket. Notice the look on his face. It is easy to read his mind:
I know what that is. I know what that means.
Can I get away before they grab me? They’re too big. But I can lean away and dodge while they try to hook that thing on me. Must make it as difficult as possible–maybe they’ll give up.
Darn.
There is no point in trying this at the door, because he doesn’t come when you call him, and he definitely doesn’t come if he sees either: a) the leash, or b) The Ogre.
So this necessitates walking down the steps to the door with Sammy on the leash. This is
also part of the plan: act terrified, try to bolt, get choked back by the leash, get tangled in the human’s feet. You might even have to be picked up by mom and carried out the door and set down where the walk will start.
Even then, there must be some confusion about which side you are going to walk on. If mom is holding the leash, it is natural to be on her left, but this is a problem if HE is there, because then you must be beside HIM. And it is even worse when she hands the leash to him, because now you have to walk on his left, and she is on his right and not next to you. And…oh well, might as well just walk.
And he does! He is absolutely gold when he actually does the walking. It’s as if he slips into “this is the way it is” mode and just does it.
The last part of the ritual is stopping the walk. It is traumatic to unhook the leash, you know.
I mean, you want to get away, but you haven’t quite made the connection that getting the leash off lets you do that. Also, it means hands grabbing you, even if they are gentle and slow, so you have to squirm or lean away again. But finally, you are free! Run!
We always make sure we do this in the back yard and that Theo has already headed into the house. And the good news is, it is getting better. The drama is not as pronounced, but the motions of fear are still there.
We walk around the pond, and it is going very well. Except for the leaves blowing across the path. Those are scary. Everybody knows that. It’s a well known fact: leaves are scary.
Very scary.