Baxter's Day Out

Don't think less of me, but one of my favorite films in the "Family" category is "Baby's Day Out." I'm not sure if it's the cuteness of the wandering baby or Fred Thompson as the FBI agent, but there is something about the movie I adore.

Well, today, we experienced Baxter's day out. He loves car rides, and we go to the park almost every day, so leaving the house isn't new to the puppy. But today we ran errands.

First, we went to the bank drive-through to make a deposit. Baxter could hardly contain himself when I put the checks in the shoot, and he watched the canister take off. I actually had to hold him by the collar, he was so excited. And when the canister came back, there was a little dog biscuit in with the receipt. He liked it.

Then we went to Good Will. My girls collected quite a few books when they were children, and the things have been shoved in the guestroom closet for years. I finally sorted them not long ago—a bag to keep, a bag to throw out and a couple of bags to give away. This morning, I finally hauled the heavy give-away bags down the stairs and heaved them into the trunk, and Baxter and I dropped them off as a donation. I kept the most enjoyable books, but I hope some other family enjoys the good-but-not-great books we dropped off.

Then we went to the pet store. I needed to buy dog food but can't take the dog into the grocery store, so this seemed ideal. We picked up the big bag of Iams for puppies and then went to explore the collar section. My big, bad puppy pulls on the leash, and he's going to snap his neck in two, or at least strain at his innards, so I wanted another option. I found a harness that I hoped would work better than the strap around the neck. While we checked out, the employees fawned all over Baxter and gave him another dog biscuit. He liked it.

Our final stop was to the park so we could test out the new harness. I knew it wouldn't stop him from pulling, but I hoped it would at least be less of a strain. It turns out he seems to pull a little less with it. He's still a little ADD and darts off at moving things like leaves and people, and he stretches the limits of the leash to smell something in the grass, but our walk around the pond was actually enjoyable.

Baxter met a new dog friend, owned by someone we know, and pooped and peed and walked through leaves and got wet in the dewy grass. Then we came upon a couple out for a power walk of some kind, and they stopped to meet the cute puppy. The man asked if Baxter could have a treat—he keeps a baggy of dog biscuits in his pocket because they said they have a lot of dog friends—so Baxter got another biscuit. And of course, he liked it.

On the way home, he was probably thinking he'd hit the jackpot today with all of the treats. I was thinking that I hope he's worn out by all the activity and is ready for a nap!