Overworked and Underpaid

Dear Sophie,
Next time someone asks you what a working dog does, you can tell them all about your day which started out at 10:30 today with my visit to the doctor's office for lab work. Afterward, we picked up Grandma and went out for breakfast, then took her to the hospital. While she got her x-rays done, you and I took a walk over to a nearby rehab center for some private, unofficial therapy dogging to my nephew there, then we took Grandma to her doctor's appointment, then to the grocery store. I bet you were secretly jumping for joy because we had frozen stuff in the car ... that meant we could go home! What a treat to get out of your harness after such a long work day. But wait, there's more! Just a quick run outside and a fresh brushing and your harness went on and we were out the door again. Had to run over to your other Grandma's house to meet up with five visiting uncles and four aunts! All the excitement and tight quarters left you a little rattled and missing a chunk of hair in your tail after you got it stepped on. See? There's a very good reason I keep after you to "tuck the tail". After that, I think you were looking forward to getting home, and so disappointed when we didn't go there. Instead we ran out to Avondale to get In-N-Out burgers, and then spent another hour in Costco. About halfway through, your tail tucked under and you really really didn't want to be in there! While Daddy continued shopping, you and I took a little walk outside to settle down and, by the time we went back in to finish up the shopping, your tail was wagging again. After such a heavy-duty day, not to mention being two hours late getting fed tonight, you remained a fairly good sport about your work. You've had one exhausting day and your only reward was a couple of lousy biscuits, and a handful of shredded cheese on your kibble at dinnertime. But you got something hopefully a little more valuable than cookies or cheese ... you got my everlasting thanks!