Walking with a celebrity

Went for a walk down to James' work today (about 1.5 miles) away. To get there, it requires us to walk down the main road which has a lot of traffic - though we are on a sidewalk, don't worry!

It's so funny because Red gets so much attention in public! Everyone cranes their necks to get a look at him. And apparently people know us from seeing us out because people point, honk and wave.

Almost every time we walk down the main road like this, at least one car pulls over to talk to us. Last time it was an Oakland County Sherriff wanting to chit chat and see Red up close.

This time is was a guy in a pickup. As we were walking, I hear someone call behind me, "Excuse me!" and thinking there was someone on a bicycle wanting to get by, I moved to the side. Then the voice said again, "Excuse me!!". So I turned around and a guy in a pickup had pulled off the road and was trying to get my attention. I doubled back, thinking he needed directions or something (another thing a lot of people ask me when I'm walkin). But he said, "I see you have a Doberman Pinscher."

"Yes," I answered.

"Do you have any pups for sale? I've been looking for some in the area and your boy is perfect," he asked.

Shaking my head, "No, sorry - I'm not a breeder and my boy is neutered. He is not breeding quality."

The guy looks at me confused. So I continue quickly, "But if you go on the Doberman Pinscher Club of America website, they have a list of reputable breeders sorted by state. I think the website is www.DPCA.org." The guy writes this down.

He seemed interested and willing to take my advice so I continue, wanting to educate him as much as possible while I can, "Don't buy a puppy from someone in the newspaper. You want a pup from a reputable breeders who health tests their dogs, that's very important."

He thanked me for the information and went on his way. I felt so good that I was able to educate someone and hopefully prevent them from supporting a BYB (backyard breeder) and getting a poorly bred puppy.