Today SAINTS had a booth at the Maple Ridge Farmer's Market, and Copper was invited to come with us.
I picked him and and put him in the back of my Pathfinder, and I think he just assumed we were going off the the park where we often go for a run. He sat up attentively, as he always does, making little noises of happy anticipation. It took him a while to realize that we had been travelling for more than the three or four minutes it takes to get to the park. He suddenly went silent...and then I noticed his nose, pointed upward, going snuffle, snuffle, snuffle at the air coming through the window, trying to read the air for direction and a possible teasing hint of where we were heading.
We reached Maple Ridge and out he jumped, ready for a day's exploring on his leash. One thing about Copper - he is one of the happiest, funniest, most adaptable dogs I have ever met. Carol once described him as an eager exchange student - a very apt description. This schoolboy is willing to go anywhere with anyone as long as it involves an outing and, preferably, some food.
At the farmer's market, he hung around the booth, scrounged cookies from the dog bakery booth next door, greeted every one and every dog with happy grin and wagging tail, went for a few walks around the area, and - thankfully - didn't demonstrate his wonderfully annoying woodle even once. He was the perfect ambassador for Saints, and his ultimate reward was to share Carol's ice cream cone - no doubt something he will brag about in schoolboy fashion to the other critters back at Saints. He had a great day, and he's really, really hoping he'll get to do that again soon.
Okay, maybe they are not opposites - too funny.