By Jim Hagarty
2013
On Sunday we took our tiny dog Toby on a walking tour of the small tourists village of St. Jacobs, here in Ontario, Canada. I felt sorry for him as he seemed stressed out much of the time. Every time my wife would enter a store, the little guy would start worrying about her. He seemed to be wondering if he’d ever see her again. His head darted from left, to right to straight ahead and he kept repeating that process every few seconds.
Finally, he’d see her and a big reunion was under way. Till she entered another shop.
This went on for almost two hours and I really felt sorry for the little turkey. Imagine not being able to foresee that his owner would soon be back out to see him and to fret desperately over it.
Today I took a family member to a doctor in the city of London. I told him I would be waiting for him in the food court of the mall across the street and when his appointment was over, he would find me there. I got a slice of pizza and a pop and sat at a little table facing the front doors. My meal done, I started people watching, my favourite thing of all to do. But at some point I noticed I was no longer people watching, but watching for the return of my relative. I looked down the hall to the left, down the hall to the right, and straight ahead to the doors. And my head movements became quicker the longer I sat there.
I started to worry about whether or not there had been an accident. Had my relative been hit by a car crossing the street and the police and medical team were unable to find me? Would I ever see him again? I didn’t freak out but there was a certain urgency bordering on obsessiveness to my waiting and watching. Where the heck was he? This uncertainty was starting to do me in.
Finally, I saw him coming down the hall and I was relieved and excited.
I didn’t, however, jump up on him and lick his face, so you see, dogs and people are entirely different creatures.
