The Dog Walkers

This afternoon I heard a knock on my door and when I went to answer it, two cute neighbor kids, Sara and Joshua, were there asking if they could walk my dog. Anyone who is familiar with Zeus knows he is 65 pounds of hyper, out-of-control pure muscle. We don't take him for walks, he takes US. So I explained how strong he was and that they would have a hard time holding onto him if they took him for a walk. Joshua said matter-of-factly, " I weigh 40 pounds and Sara weighs 50 pounds, so we can handle him." I decided to let them try since they seemed so determined about it (and I thought it would be pretty entertaining to watch). Both kids got a firm hold on Zeus's leash and started pulling him down our porch steps. Dawson and I sat on the lawn to watch them and make sure Zeus behaved himself. Poor Zeus didn't know what to make of the situation. He had a look of utter bewilderment on his face as they dragged him along the sidewalk. I don't know if he thought we were giving him away or what, but the look on his face was priceless. After about 5 minutes of yanking and tugging, some on the kids' end, most on Zeus's, the novelty had worn off so the kids brought him back to me. Joshua then asked me, "Are you going to pay us?" I figured that 5 minutes with Zeus should be worth something so I paid them each 50 cents and gave them both a small candy bar. I found out afterward that mine wasn't the only house they went to today trying to earn money. They also tried to walk Nico, Gus, Jake and Buck, but Zeus was their only volunteer. I got a kick out of watching them with Zeus and I think Dawson enjoyed it too.