Taking to the Streets with Lola

Lola is my new Miniature Schnauzer. She is almost three months old. Because I live in an apartment Lola can't just go play in the back yard. So we go out onto the street almost seven times a day for her to go potty. She is learning and doing great! In the process, I am meeting people.

My neighbor kids love her, though a few are afraid of the six pound, tail wagging, nose licking beast! And the adult neighbors think I am crazy to keep a dog in the house. Dogs are for the streets and for backyards. Not many dogs live inside here; it is a new concept. That is why I am surprised at how many people stop, stare, ask questions or pet the puppy.

I have talked to grannies and their grandchildren, Jehovah's Witnesses, and business men. I had a long discussion about the Bible with the neighbor while he was cleaning out the garage. I talked to a college girl working on her thesis and we were joined by a lonely old woman who rambled for fifteen minutes without a breath. I was chased down the street by a man trying to over stuff Lola with some sausages he had in his bag. I kept telling him no, but he was very insistent.

But mostly I am stopped by people who want to tell me that I am not raising my puppy correctly. She is too fat, too thin, too young or too small to be outside. It is great fun to be lectured by those who have never owned a pet in their lives! Lola is a great tool and certainly a great way to interact with the world.

And she likes to bark at the hair dryer...which is really funny!