milo goes to church

so today . . . milo went to church. he got to be a real, live sermon illustration. i suggested to rollie that he just use a photo of milo--i've taken plenty, and some are really cute. and if they put it up on power point, he would be HUGE and wouldn't that be good enough? rollie said no.
so i went off to church at 8:30 (which was really 7:30 because of daylight savings time) for band rehearsal and to kind of oversee our alternative service this morning, because diandra wouldn't be there. she was bringing milo to church. she got to sleep later. she didn't have to be there until 10:30. ( i admit, i was a little bit jealous.)

if we were smart, we would have snuck milo's leash into her car last night while both dogs were blissfully inhabiting slumberland. but we didn't. so this morning when diandra got ready to go, mia was not a happy camper. milo was leaving and so was his leash and she was not, which to her could only mean one thing--milo was getting to go for a walk, AND SHE WAS NOT!

we don't take our dogs out much, because we have to take them both. neither one of them wants to be left behind and it is hard to control both of them at once. one time i decided that it would be more efficient if i could walk them both at the same time. i have two leashes, so why not? i'll tell you why not--it is impossible! they are incapable of walking nicely when they are together, and the leashes get tangled up and they want to go different directions . . . i didn't even make it past the neighbor's house before i had to turn around and leave one at home.

so the usual walking routine is this:
1. wait until there is another human at home to be with the dog who doesn't get to go first.
2. take mia first--she is biggest and fastest, so it is best to walk her before i get tired. plus, milo will settle down in someone's lap and wait for his turn, whereas mia paces and barks at EVERYTHING if milo goes first.
3. switch dogs. mia will now be happy to slurp water and lay down and pant while milo has his walk.
4. walk milo--he is slower. but make sure to take a plastic bag, because somewhere along the way he WILL poop. he saves it up for just such an occasion.
5. come home and watch mia jump around hoping for another turn--she wants to be first AND last.

as soon as milo was done helping rollie with his sermon, i took him home. i worried about what was happening there while milo was on his little field trip to church. mia is not usually destructive (unless you are a stuffed toy or an empty toilet paper roll,) but i couldn't recall ever leaving her at home by herself once milo joined our family. and she is somewhat high-strung, so i really didn't know what to expect. milo was only gone an hour, but when we went into the house, i could see that mia had tried to escape. as i walked around, she stayed with me like she was my shadow. i think she thought it was now her turn to go for a walk, and she couldn't understand why i wasn't hooking the leash to HER collar.

tomorrow is the first day of daylight savings time--well if you don't count today--and that means it will stay light later in the evening. so i am going to start walking the dogs again. it has been a while since we have done that with any regularity and it will be good exercise for all of us. maybe i will give that "two dogs at once" thing another try . . .