8 State Hurricane Kate

On Friday evening I had an errand to run. Realizing that Chase hadn’t been out much in the past month, I decided to take him along. It’s been very cold here for most of January, often below zero for days at a time. Bandit has been to dog training school and an obedience trial. Cayenne has been to obedience class and a TTouch workshop. But Chase has mostly stayed home since I don’t have room for all three to ride together in the heated part of the truck. Since I’ve been at home more, Chase hasn’t seen his friends at dog daycare or his friends Lisa and Becky lately.

I decided that just doing the errand and going straight home would be a disappointment to Chase, so we stopped at PetSmart and Chase GOT TO GO IN! I don’t remember taking him there before, and apparently this was a first for him. His eyes got REAL BIG when he saw the long aisle of treats. I don’t think he had even imagined that a place like this existed. We went down the long aisle of toys, with Chase politely nosing the most attractive ones. He was overwhelmed in a good way and was very well behaved. He didn’t pull on the leash or try to steal anything, he just enjoyed the experience.

Other dogs were loitering around the store with their people, waiting for an obedience class to begin. Whenever Chase saw a person, he wagged his tail and wanted to go over to greet them. I didn’t let him approach the people with dogs since they all seemed concerned and were probably in a beginner obedience class. They probably needed to work on manners more.

We went to check out the sale rack and Chase perked up when he heard a lady squeak a toy on the other side of the rack. He poked his head around the corner to investigate and she was happy to pet him and say hi. He wagged his tail wildly like she was chopped liver!

I don’t shop at PetSmart often because they don’t carry the dog food or dog shampoo that we use. Nothing against PetSmart because they have a nice store and a great charity foundation, but I can get lower prices on treats and toys elsewhere. I mainly go there when I have an urgent need for a rubber chicken (yes, this has happened)!

We decided to buy some new treats and Chase enjoyed meeting the people in the checkout line. He was excited to learn that the cashiers pass out dog treats, and since there was nobody behind us in line, he hung out and shared his love with the cashiers. I always thought that Chase’s ideal job (other than working sheep) would be as a therapy dog or a greeter at Wal-Mart. We might just have to look into that, or at least visit PetSmart more often!