Normally at events like this you get a Polaroid picture, but these guys did much better. One of the officers brought his digital camera, laptop, and photo printer with him. He would take the pictures, edit them on his laptop, and print out a 5x7 while you waited. It was great. When I mentioned that I’d expected a Polaroid, he said that’s what the original plan had been, but he’d vetoed it. He said he hated getting those cheap pictures, especially when technology was such that high quality pictures could be printed on site. What could I say – he was totally right.
Because I thought it was a cute idea, too, I took Duncan with me so he could have his picture taken. I didn’t bother taking Reyna for a couple of reasons, one being that its too hard to carry two puppies and handle two dogs, and the second being that Reyna’s patience would have disappeared about three minutes after we got there. She doesn’t handle intense heat and boredom very well. Not that I can blame her for that...
When we got there, Duncan seemed to be doing fine. After we'd been standing in line for the pictures for a whole three seconds, though, Duncan started kicking his back feet out. I realized the pavement was probably too hot for him and moved him to the grass. After the pictures, he literally ran over to where a tent had been set up to keep the volunteers in the shade. He was very popular while we were waiting – and I was doing my best to pimp out the puppies – and made lots of new friends. I also had a ridiculous number of people comment on how big he is. Of course, compared to the police dogs that were there (mostly GSDs, one Belgian malinois), he was huge. After getting our pictures, he high-stepped his way at a very fast clip back to the truck. It took me a second to get the door open, considering that I was juggling a puppy, his leash, and the keys. As soon as the door was open, he tried to jump in. Unfortunately, we’d both forgotten that I’d moved the puppies’ crate to the middle of the truck right near the door, and he didn’t have the space he needed. The poor guy was stuck, half in and half out of the truck. Based on the yelping, I think that’s when a rather tender part of his anatomy hit the rear bumper, which was extremely hot. So I tossed the puppy I was holding into the back of the truck, got my arms under Duncan’s rear end and hoisted him into the truck. Poor guy, he went straight to the front seat and watched me load the puppies, dancing a bit in the seat, trying to get comfortable. What was interesting to me was that, while it was definitely hot outside, none of the other dogs were showing signs of being uncomfortable while walking in the parking lot. I checked him when we got home, and all parts were fine. Nothing burned or blistered. In his picture, he looks like he really could be a police dog. But not on hot days, since his tootsies are apparently too tender to handle the heat.
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