Walking the dog

As I was cycling back from the supermarket today I passed a tiny, ancient couple walking their Labrador. I see them now and again, and the sight never fails to cheer me up.

Both of the old people are very, very thin. The dog, by contrast, is enormously, extravagantly overweight. It is easily heavier than the combined weight of the couple.

You'd think that taking this dog for a walk would be a good idea, but in this case you'd be wrong. You see, the old couple have one of those big trolleys like the ones you see being used in the back of supermarkets for loading and unloading cartons - a sort of large platform on wheels with a handle for pushing. The dog lies sprawled over the platform, rolls of fat overlapping dangerously, and somehow manages to look both exhausted and regal as it rolls along surveying its surroundings. Its chin rests on the platform as if raising its head is just too much effort.

The old couple stop to rest now and again, but so would I if I were pushing that. They look very sprightly for their age, but I don't suppose that's so very surprising. They certainly get plenty of exercise.

I have never spoken to the old couple aside from greeting them in passing, but someday, if I can figure out the correct polite words, I'm going to stop and suggest that perhaps when the vet said the dog needed to be taken for walks, that wasn't quite what he had in mind.