Down Drabbington Road

Yesterday, I didn't have to go to work. I went to a doctor's appointment with one of my students. And lucky for me, it was right in Waltham! After the appointment, there wasn't enough time to drive up to the northshore to finish my work day so I took the opportunity to spend the beautiful afternoon with Riley.

In Weston, down route 117, and off a little road called Drabbington Road, there is a well known place called Cat Rock. Any time of day, there are people walking their dogs there. Oftentimes you may see dog walkers with a whole herd of dogs of every size, shape, and color. I tend to stay away from these groups. I can never understand how one person could be in control of so many dogs! I rarely walk with more than two dogs. Either Riley and Mandy (my neighbor's Maltese) or Riley and Agave. Just keeping track of two dogs and keeping them on voice command is enough to keep me busy the entire time. Lots of people like Cat Rock because of the many wooded trails, fresh running streams, and the swimming hole. I have never seen anyone there who isn't walking their dog, so you don't have to worry too much about your dog bothering non-dog people.

Yesterday, I decided to enjoy the 50+ temperatures and take Riley and Mandy out for a romp. Mandy was shaking with excitement when I arrived to pick her up. Riley and Mandy make a funny pair: large black fluffy dog with tiny white fluffy dog. And they run and play with each other, so they appear as a pair. It is very cute. Right away, Riley found a ball and was thrilled to be able to carry it around the entire walk. Mandy, a little unsure where she was trailed Riley wherever he went, bravely jumping over logs and through muddy puddles. We saw a few other dogs, one woman who clearly did not want her dogs interacting with any other dogs, one man with 6 different types of hunting dogs (Golden, Lab, Irish Setter, German Pointer, Cocker Spaniel, Brittany Spaniel) went out near the water, maybe to train, and another woman with a friendly yellow lab named Manchester. We stopped to chat as Mandy, the social ambassador, greeted her with enthusiasm. For a little dog, she is one cute dog. We got to talking a little about therapy dog training. Her dog certainly had a wonderful disposition for it. At one point when I was rubbing Manchester's ears, Riley strolled over to check things out and Manchester let out a low, rumbling growl. Embarrased, the women quickly said, "I hate it when he does that, he gets so terratorial." And I looked at her and said, "I wouldn't worry about it too much. I think most people over-react to growls. Growling is not always a display of aggression. Dogs have their own way of communicating and that is just how they say, 'hey, you're too close to me, back off.' I'm sure if they had a nicer way to say it, they would."
She seemed pleased with my reaction as if she had never thought of her dog in that way. We said our goodbyes and went on our separate ways. Riley was very satisfied with his walk and jumped up into the car without any hesitation. Back down Drabbington Road and home.