He did totally pull me off my feet. He really did lunge at his friend Chapman, a black Lab, while on leash and while I was off balance with one foot in a calf deep hole in the snow. And he did this only two days after walking off when I took a bad spill on a damaged steel grate in a sidewalk. I felt some kind of way that he didn't come and check on me then and it came right back today she he just forgot about the leash because he felt like playing.
But there was a lot more to this morning. While he was off-leash in the park with Chapman, Prophet ran headlong up and down the trail; Chapman in hot pursuit. They wrestled with each other and played tug with sticks. And this all gave me a great deal of joy. We took our off-piste detours into the ravines and down to the Metro North tracks, too. Even two days after the most recent snow (and there have been so many storms) we were breaking trail there. And Prophet also lured me into playing tug with his sticks once Chapman went home.
I don't know what he remembers about this six hours later. But I know that I can choose to remember. Just as I can choose to forget that he yanked me off my feet. Because I choose to value our mutual trust over his momentary loss of control in the face of the joy of play.
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