A Day in the Life of a Dog Walker

Monday morning.  I awaken to a wet tongue licking my hand.  'Good morning, Sam', I greet one of our house guests, a mostly black border collie who's been with us for the better part of a week now.

Getting everyone fed is the first order of the day and it's not as easy as one might imagine.  Especially with our new arrival -- Buddy, the yellow Lab -- thrown in the mix.  Why is it that Labs are so food obsessed?  After inhaling his own breakfast he's doing the rounds checking to see what everyone else got and who could use some help finishing.  I finally have to put him outside so the other dogs can eat their breakfast in peace.

Vixen and Pepper in the park

My first walk of the day is a beautiful white Samoyed by the name of Vixen.  She's 12 years old now and her owner only wants her walked on-leash.  I normally don't do on-leash walks but I make an exception for Vixen because our walks start at 9 am and I don't start my group walks until later on.  Another reason is because her owner always has a fresh pot of coffee on when I return and we have gotten into the habit of challenging one another intellectually while solving the world's problems.

Today I  take Pepper with me so that Vixen can have some company.  There's a park nearby that we visit and then continue around the neighborhood before returning.  During our walk I get a call on my cellphone from an occasional client requesting me to take her Lab, Tasha for an all-day outing.  She's a lovely dog when she's out walking but a real pain in the vehicle with her constant whining and barking.  Nevertheless, I agree to come by when I'm through with Vixen.

First, though, I stop along the way and visit Minion, a friendly gray cat that lives with Pepper.  She has an automatic feeder that works on a timer.  I put her dinner in it and set it for 6 hours.  Then I clean out her litter box, water some plants, and we're off to get Tasha.

After picking up Tasha, I go back home to pick up our dog, Bailey, and the others.  They consist of Sam, Buddy, Jake (another Border Collie), and Hunter, a Hungarian Vizsla.  I leave Pepper at the house and we head for Beaver Lake, picking up Samson on the way.  He's a big, friendly Samoyed..full of play, who loves to get dirty.

Sam, Jake and Sampson at Beaver lake

Beaver Lake is another of Victoria's great doggie friendly parks.  The advantage that it has over Mt. Doug is that there is a lake to swim in and fields for the dogs to romp and play on.  I usually go to the farthest parking lot...right on the south end of the lake...where there are fewer people and hardly any traffic.  Most people don't like driving to this spot because there are at least a dozen speed bumps to go over before getting there.  (Hint:  it can also be accessed from West Saanich Road -- without the speed bumps.  Don't tell anyone.)

After spending an hour romping in the fields, splashing in the water, and hiking on the trails it's time for everyone to jump back into the van where they get a treat and a fresh drink of water before we take everyone home.

Chaka, Sam & Nova at Mt. Doug

After dropping everyone except Tasha off, we're off to pick up the next group which consists of a brown Lab by the name of Sam, Nova & Butterscotch (Shepherd X and Spaniel with an attitude), Chaka (another Shepherd X) and Piper, an older yellow lab.   Sam absolutely loves the water, but he's not allowed to go swimming this week while some abrasions are healing so we decide to go to Mt. Doug.   We enjoy a nice leisurely hike in the shade of the trees in the park.  It doesn't matter how hot it gets elsewhere, there is always lots of shade in the park.  And when it's cold, wet and windy...as Victoria often gets during the winter months, the park trees provide shelter from the wind and the rain.  It's just a wonderful treasure for dogs and their owners.

After our park walk I'm finished my dog walking for the day.  But that doesn't mean I can go home yet.  I have to get everyone home and I also have a half dozen cats to visit.  Fortunately I can get to see most of them as I'm in the neighborhood either picking up or dropping off the dogs.

By 4 pm all the dogs are safe at home except for Tasha, and I've seen all the cats except for Pickles, a diabetic cat that I have to visit every 12 hours to administer insulin.  (This means I'll have to go out again later tonight to take care of her.)

Before taking Tasha home I stop at a pet store to pick up some dog food and when I return to my van it smells like someone has been smoking in it.  I glance suspiciously at Tasha but see no incriminating evidence.  Strange, I think.  But I don't give it another thought until a few minutes later while driving toward Tasha's house I reach for my cellphone to call Julie.  My cellphone that should be sitting on my dash.  The one that was sitting on my dash when I went into the pet store, leaving the window open and the door unlocked!

Dang!

So, okay...sometimes things get stolen.  Sometimes the dog in the back of the van won't stop whining.  But all in all, I wouldn't trade this (job?  it's not a job.  work?  it's not work.)...whatever it is, it's better than anything I've done before.

In another life I had a large reforestation company.  Hundreds of employees every spring.  Always complaining...about the food, the land, the price, the weather, the mosquitoes...on and on.  Today my clients are ecstatic to see me...wagging their tails in barely contained joy.  What could be better?

Update:  Email this morning from Minion's owner who returned last night to discover my cell phone at his place.  The world's a better place.  Am I losing it?

Sunday at Mt Doug

When I tell people that I walk dogs for a living they generally envision several dogs all constrained by leashes.

While some dog walkers do this, Victoria is blessed with having a variety of great places where dogs can be let off leash.  Mt. Doug is one of our favorites.  It has an abundance of  variety in terrain...from the lower relatively flat trails...to the steeper climbs that take you to the summit where the view is spectacular.

I like to park in the small lot at the end of Glendenning Road because it is really safe.  When I open the door to my van and several dogs bound out I know I don't have to worry about them getting into any traffic.

 The other parking lot, off of Cordova Bay Road, is a lot busier, especially after noon when they open the gates that allow the traffic to proceed to the summit.

 On today's walk I took all of our house guests.  While we're not really in the business of boarding dogs, we do take dogs in on a limited basis.  Normally two or three is our limit, but for some reason we found ourselves overbooked this weekend.  In addition to Jake, a border collie that we've been looking after for more than a month now while its owner is in the hospital, we had Sam, another border collie, Pepper, a shepherd cross, Buddy, a yellow lab who just arrived this morning, Hunter, a Hungarian Vizsla, and Issie, a Maltese/Schitzu.





Hunter

When I first started walking Hunter three years ago she was very, very nervous and timid.  I couldn't let her near other dogs.  She spent all her time looking around her shoulder, her tail tucked firmly between her legs.  I didn't dare let her off leash.

I slowly introduced her to some of my regular dogs and it was wonderful to watch her gradual transformation.  Before too long she was joining in with the others.  I took a video of her playing on the beach and sent it to her owner who was flabbergasted by her behavior.  She couldn't believe it was the same dog.

Our dog, Bailey

It's hard to believe he's 8 years old...still acts like a puppy.  Here he is trying to bite a leaf.

Fun at Mt Doug

Normally the summer time is the slowest time of the year for us as the kids are home from school, families go on vacation and when the weather is nice most folks enjoy getting out with their dogs, rather than hiring a dog walker.

Not so this year.  For some reason things have just gotten very, very busy for us.  Perhaps it's the cats.  Today I had just as many cats to visit as dogs to walk.  And this time of year cat visits generally mean watering the plants and the veggie garden so they can take a bit of time.




Friday's walk at Mt Doug included the following:

• Chaka -- a medium sized mixed breed (german shepherd + ?) that I've been walking now for over 3 years.  She was attacked when younger and was very unpredictable around other dogs so I had to walk her alone...on leash. Gradually she was introduced to the group and today she quite happily jumps into the back of my van with 4 or 5 others.
• Finn -- she is the energetic golden doodle -- 3 or 4 years old now -- flying around trying to entice somebody to play with her.  
• Nova and Butterscotch are 2 buddies from the same home.  Nova is the larger mixed breed and Butterscotch is the small spaniel with the attitude.  I walk them on Monday, Wednesday and Friday...same as Chaka.
• Sam is the brown lab -- getting on in years, but no signs of slowing down.  He joins me every weekday...loves the water.  Retrieves tennis balls...but only if you throw two.
• Xai Xai is the black shepherd mix in the video who wants to chase Finn, but knows she can't keep up with her.  Normally she's content to do her walk with a stick in her mouth.

Tomorrow's Saturday so I'll be mostly visiting cats, however we do have a few house guests and we'll be going out to Beaver Lake in the morning before it gets too hot and/or crowded.  And later on Nova & Butterscotch will be treated to a rare weekend outing.