The following story is, for the most part, true. As usual, the names have been changed to protect the innocent. Of course, I won’t promise that there aren’t any slight exaggerations here…

I live in a more or less rural area where there are lots of country roads with farms, woods and a number of small neighborhoods here and there. I frequently take long walks around the area, both for exercise and to unwind from the pressures at work. Many of the homes and farms have dogs and various other animals and the dogs are frequently allowed to run free. Since many of the roads have little traffic, and the houses are not especially close together, roaming dogs don’t seem to get in quite as much trouble as they do in the cities and suburbs, and most stay fairly close to home. I’ve always been an animal lover (if you’re reading this you probably, as I do, love animals more than most people do!) and I have managed to make friends with most of the critters on my walking routes.

Occasionally, one or more of the dogs will join me on my walks, sometimes with the owner’s blessings, especially if my own dogs are not with me. A number of years back, I had set out for one of my long walks, usually averaging 6 to 8 miles. I had decided not to take my dogs along, as they were getting quite elderly at 13 and 15, and didn’t really like to go much more than a mile or two at a time.

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