Old Route — Heavyweight Tee

There is a faster way home. The dog knows it. You know the dog knows it, because on the one occasion you were carrying something that smelled sufficiently interesting, the entire geography of the neighborhood became available at speed.

Ordinarily, however, there is the corner to inspect. The patch beside the wall. A gate behind which another dog may or may not be considering a public appearance. You have stood beside these things in every kind of weather while your companion receives information that has never been made available to you. You are there in the rose tee today, pleasantly warm, watching a nose take an extremely thorough interest in an apparently unremarkable inch of pavement.

Over the years the route has changed a little. There are places you no longer need to go and one shorter crossing you both prefer. You notice that you have begun waiting before the dog asks. At the gate, you stop together. Nobody comes out. This does not appear to reduce the value of having checked.

When you reach your own door, your companion looks up as if to confirm that you have enjoyed the outing. You have. You have seen almost nothing new, taken a wildly inefficient route, and spent a very good half hour in company that would choose you again tomorrow. Inside, there is water to be poured. Then somebody needs to sleep across a doorway.

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