Asa here. After being home for a year, we thought it would be best to ease Mom and Dad back into society, by first visiting with relatives. Chuck Billy and I were pleasantly surprised that they remembered most of their socialization training. However, there were a few things we felt could use some fine tuning before taking them on grand adventures again. To help them prepare Chuck Billy gave me permission to take them out for a quick training refresher on Saturday. Yep, you read that correctly. Chuck Billy trusted me to train Mom and Dad! I’m not sure if it was because he noticed I have matured a lot in the past year and remembered my manners, or if it was simply a case of he wanted some alone time at home. Either way, it was an honor that he trusted me. Little did I realize though how awkward Mom and Dad would behave during this brief public outing.

Mom and Dad were visibly excited when we arrived at the park. There were comments about things that had changed, as well as gleeful squeals when recognizing familiar sights. Dad immediately jumped out of the car and popped open the hatchback to let me out. This is when we encountered our first training mistake. In their excitement to leave the house, they forgot to bring my leash! This led to some embarrassing growling between Mom and Dad. This training refresher was going to be a lot more difficult than I initially thought! However, as disappointment started to set in that I failed in my mission before I even started, thankfully I remembered Chuck Billy always keeps an extra leash in the car. Phew! Problem solved!

Or so I thought. I don’t know if it was the pressure of being in charge, the shock of not packing my leash, or the excitement of going to my favorite park after being away for so long, but suddenly my tummy didn’t feel well. This brought me to the next unexpected moment in retraining Mom and Dad. After answering nature’s call, I turned to look at Dad and saw him patting down all of his pockets with a look of panic on his face. How could he forget the poop bags? Poop bags aren’t new, he had to carry them all through the pandemic on our neighborhood walks. Yet there he was unprepared with empty pockets. For you see after wearing “dog jeans” for the past year, he had changed into “going out jeans” for our grand adventure. Jeans that were freshly laundered and did not have poop bags stuffed in the pockets! Oh my, how could Dad forget the first rule of going on adventures – always have poop bags! Luckily though Mom was prepared. I’m so glad at least one of them remembered their training, or in this case was still wearing their trusted, well-stocked “dog jeans.”

After facing and conquering two major training faux pas while still within sight of the car, we finally ventured forth into the park. I’m pleased to say, overall Mom and Dad did relatively well. I did have to help adjust their pace so they weren’t moving so slow. However once corrected, Mom and Dad each walked at a decent heel, remembered their sit/stays and down/stays, and kept their eyes on me most of the time. I also did well. I really wanted to show that father and son who were playing a game called “catch,” that fetch was more exciting. However, I knew I had to set a good example for Mom and Dad, by staying focused on them, and not worry about anyone else’s behavior.

I was so proud of them, that when it was time to leave I wholeheartedly agreed we should celebrate with a stop at the ice cream stand on the way home. The car ride there was filled with Mom and Dad’s happy chattering about all the sights, both familiar and new, they saw along the way. Yet when we arrived at our destination that’s when I realized I had yet another training obstacle. Neither of them had cash for the cash-only ice cream stand! They had become so accustomed to online shopping and touchless credit card transactions in stores, that they forgot all about cash! Back in the car we went, and headed home to pick up the money, as well as Chuck Billy, before heading back to the ice cream stand to celebrate Mom and Dad’s first big public outing.

Could things have gone better? Most definitely. But considering this was Mom and Dad’s first day out in public in over a year, I think they overall did well. Just please don’t tell Chuck Billy what happened or he may never trust any of us out without his supervision again!