Dog Tale 14: The Early Morning Walk

I start every day walking William. I rarely use an alarm clock anymore. William barks me awake, usually before I want to be. If it's really early--say 3:30 or 4:00--I plead with him to lie down and wait just a little longer. Sometimes it works.  

The other morning when William barked, I glanced at the clock before getting out of bed. I thought I saw the big hand on 8 and the little hand between 5 and 6. "Going on 6 o'clock," I thought and got ready to walk William. Lots of dogs get walked in the hour between 6 a.m. and 7 a.m. William might see some of his friends.  

Once outside, I urged William toward Warren Street. "Maybe we'll see Lucy," I told him enthusiastically. But there was no Lucy, no Cookie--no dogs being walked on the street at all.

When we got back home, I realized why. I had looked at the clock before I'd rubbed the sleep from my eyes. It wasn't 5:40 when William woke me up; it was 4:40.