In Barcelona, you see a lot of people walking dogs, and something made me take note of an interesting dog-human pair I passed yesterday. The dog was a low-slung dachshund-beagle looking thing, and the man holding the leash walked with the slow, jerky steps of someone with reconstructed hips or legs. Neither of them was in a hurry. I thought he was a pretty lucky guy.

Dog walks man!

 

The dog is out to walk the man. He needs his exercise. (The man that is, he’d never leave the sofa otherwise.)

They’ve known each other long and well. It used to be the man who organized the outings to the local pipi-can.

The dog now fetches other things than what his master throws — medications, the remote control …– It’s amazing how he knows his master’s needs, no words and no command.

But if you’ve ever had a dog I think you’ll understand.

Dedicated to 3 special dogs: Penny, Brandy, and Lady

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vocabulary: In an attempt to toilet train dog-owners, Barcelona city planners came up with the idea of establishing officially designated dog pooping areas in parks, and coined them “pipi-cans” (‘can’ = dog).