Sulking - What We Canines Do Best

I'll just lay on Yoda Matt until my walker is here.

I work from home full time unless I have to testify at a trial or hearing. My team is all over the place and we're usually just electronically connected most of the time so it works well.  Plus it saves me a 30 mile round trip commute that takes an hour each way on a good day, and up to two hours each way on days where there is snow, construction (the state bird of Illinois IS the orange cone) or traffic accidents as it's city streets, with lots of trains, rather than freeway.

My husband takes Abby for a long walk (or a run) before he showers and goes to work and a short walk when he gets home from work while I get the dinner dishes done (with the size of our kitchen, I opted for space during the remodel, not a  dishwasher).  If I'm working from home she gets to go out into the fenced yard for some play time throughout the day, weather permitting, and if I'm gone or my husband is out of town on business, she has a dog walker come by during the day for an extra walk.

We use a professional service, run by a local man and woman who live in a Village not far from where we live. Abby has one main walker and another lady as a back up in case of emergency or illness.  Abby just LOVES her main walker Jan. She reacts fondly to all of them, and they are so careful and diligent about giving her a safe walk, but when Jan's car pulls into the driveway she goes bonkers.

No, that's a truck, I want Jan's car!

Jan is a retired mail carrier, and in addition to loving a brisk walk, she talks to Abby the whole time in this always chippy and cheery voice and Abby just loves that, responding to the voice with great joy.

One recent week my husband was home so no dog walker.  Each and every day Abby would look longingly at the back door around lunch time and I would have to say "not today Abby, no Jan today" and she'd sigh and go back to her bed.

Since I knew how much she had missed her walker -  I scheduled one walk on that week, on Friday.  I said, "Jan's coming!" (she knows what that means).  I repeated it over the course of the morning, and she got more excited and happy, looking out the window from the couch any time she heard a car,, then going back to her favorite spot in the sun on the dining room rug to wait for the sound of a key in the lock.

Then I hear someone opening the back door at our scheduled time. Abby's tail is doing warp 10 and she about lifts off the rug like a helicopter!

 Ack!  It's not Jan!

Oh uh, apparently Jan took a scheduled day off. It was the backup walker, a lovely young woman who is quiet and very kind to Abby. Abby went promptly out but you could tell she wasn't too cranked about the turn of events and didn't bark at all like she normally does when Jan arrives.

Stone silence today as they made their way down the back steps.

Thirty minutes later, when she got home, the walker gave her a treat and left and Abby returned to her favorite spot on the rug - and the sulking began.

 You LIED to me, you said Jan would be here today!

 Maybe she's still coming  I'll stare at the back door for a while

 She's NOT coming.  Let the stink eye begin.

 Mom's a meanie!  She promised Jan and she never came.

 Sigh - I'll just sulk here all day and not even get up for a treat.

I haven't seen Jan for 87 years. Mom is SOOO mean.

When my husband got home from work that night, Abby didn't even greet him at the back door with a wagging tail but just lay on the couch where she retreated when her sun spot was gone. He looked at her moping and said

"What happened?"

I said, "I told her Jan would be here and it was the other walker.!"

He looked at Abby, laughing, and said, "So Mom LIED to you."  (thanks, hon, for supporting my case :-)

Finally, after some Dad pets, dog food, a walk with Dad and a treat, she perked up, but I have to say, NO ONE can sulk like a Labrador Retriever.