Hart and I had to go to the hospital for a pre-scheduled doctor's appointment for Hart. But the day was too hot to take Corky with us--and he goes EVERYWHERE Hart goes, as a rule. So we said to Evelyn, "You take Corky for a walk while we get away in the van." We had told the dog we were going and that he wasn't coming, but he didn't take us seriously! So, we put the leash on Corky and Evelyn left for the walk. Hart and I left to go to the hospital for the test. We were gone from 9 - 12, a very hot time of day. When we got home, Evelyn poured out her tale of woe about Corky.

Corky KNEW we had left him and he DIDN'T want to go for a walk with Ev. No way! She got to the corner with him and he balked. And I am telling you, when Corky balks, he balks. He is like a stubborn mule. He puts all fours down and pulls in the opposite direction from you. So he pulled and pulled, but she was insistent that he was going to go with her. She was headed to the post office, four blocks away. Dogs on leashes are allowed in the P.O... Well, she got almost there, after pulling him and tugging him. But then he pulled harder than she did and got his head out of the leash. HE WAS HEADIN' HOME! Across the road he went--not heavy traffic. Thankfully, it wasn't on the main street where there is more traffic. There isn't a lot of traffic in our small town, in comparison to a city, so it wasn't streaming with cars, even on the main road. But he wasn't heeding the traffic. HE WAS HEADIN' HOME! He headed to the Museum corner, adjacent to a park. Evelyn scrambled after him. (Picture a very meticulous, prim-and-proper **unlike-me** lady of almost 78, running across the street after a very cute, but stubborn, 40 pound corgi-terrier-cross).

Near panic, Sis saw 3 teen-age boys with their father, in the park. She yelled, "Oh, catch him! Catch him!" So the four of them scrambled after this rascally dog, who was doing his best to avoid them... HE WAS HEADING HOME! Finally, the boys caught the dog, and Evelyn—with great difficulty—got the leash on Corky's neck....Now, abandoning her plan to go to the post office, she headed for home. No problem. CORKY WAS HEADIN' HOME! He practically pulled her all the way. When he got home he headed straight for the driveway. NO VAN! He tore into the office. NO HART! He ran to the living room to Hart's chair. NO HART! He raced to the bedroom. NO HART! NO WHEELCHAIR! He heaved a big sigh and flopped onto the floor by the door, sulking.

Exhausted Evelyn, not having accomplished her post office work, flopped onto her bed for a rest. Later, she snuck out the front door and retraced her steps back to the P.O. What a day.

We had to go out again in the evening. We were not planning to take Corky again, as it is still hot at 7. But after that episode, we decided we would take him and find a shady place to park. We did, and a satisfied Corky ended his day, happy. His job is to look after Hart, and that is what he intends to do. ALWAYS!!!! And the second Hart gets out of his wheelchair to go to bed at night, Corky jumps in. Ah! My day is done! Finally I can relax!

PS. I think it will be a long time before Evelyn takes Corky for a walk again!

Helen