Code Name- Walkies.

Under the cover of darkness the sheltie slips out of the building... his steps are quick, he lurks in the shadows, ever watchful. He must not be caught in the open. His black coat is great camoflage, his thick fur silences the jingle of his tags, his flexi leash glides without a sound. Out the door, past the bushes, slipping in between parked cars... Stealth is essential.

My purpose?

Hiding from the kids in the parking lot...

Don't get me wrong I LOVE kids. They like food, I like stealing their food. They like to play chase, I like chasing them! They want to kick/throw a ball, I'll gladly play fetch for hours... I just don't like THESE kids. Mom doesn't like them either... she tries to be nice but they just don't listen. I cringe at the sound of "doggie! Doggie! DOGGIE!!!!" They come sprinting across the parking lot, descend upon me like a swarm and get directly in my face... I turn away and they move with me. Mom asks them to step back and they don't listen. They grab at my leash, they want to walk ME. Oh no, Mom says. She says I need to be walked in a special way, its good cover. They pull on my tail, hit me on top the head as they are "petting" me, shoot at me with their little laser guns, one even poked me in the face! I stand there patiently panting, waiting for it all to end. Then they run screaming away, yelling that I tried to bite them. WHAT?! I was panting! What part of panting equals biting?

Somedays when I get home from daycare they don't even let Mommy get the car in park before they are tap tapping on the windows asking to pet the doggie. For the love of dog kids! Let me arrive home in PEACE!

It's like they magically materialize out of thin air... yelling "Doggggieeee"

So Mom and I have resorted to covert operations for walkies. She scans the parking lot and when the coast is clear we run down the steps, alongside the building to the back of our condo complex for our walk. If we're feeling bold we'll cross the parking lot to our normal spot, but usually when the kiddies are out we revert to stealth mode or don't go out at all. Mom has tried education, telling them I'm a nice doggie, showing them how to pet nicely, etc. Instead they romp into the middle of our training sessions and demand that I do this or that trick. So not cool. (Note from Stormy's Mom- Has anyone else had this problem? It's seriously disturbing b/c one day these kids are gonna get bitten by a dog that is less tolerant than my own. I don't want that to happen. They play unsupervised in our parking lot ALL THE TIME and as Stormy said I and a few other dog owners have tried to teach them proper dog greeting etiquette but it all flys out the window when they spot a dog. All of us dog owners physically cringe when we hear them coming. It's sad but true.)

It makes me happy that MY kids are good around dogs. Sure Dylan drops spaghetti in my fur right where I can't reach it when he's eating and Christopher tackles me from time to time. But I know when I hear "MeMe, come!" or "MeMe, Sit!" or "Here MeMe" its my favorite boys calling me to have fun... which is the best part of liking my kids. (Note From Stormy's Mom: MeMe is what my nephews call Stormy, sometimes they refer to him as Steamy. Either way it is WAY cute to watch them together.)

Here are me and my boys together...