Dog Walkers For Dog Walkers
Being a dog walker sounds easy—until you’re holding five leashes, one dog’s trying to eat a squirrel, another one’s pooping again, and someone’s tangled you up like a spaghetti noodle. I love dogs, don’t get me wrong, but they are chaos with fur. That’s why I’ve added cannabis to my daily routine—not so I can float around like some kind of dog-walking wizard, but so I can stay calm while wrangling tiny beasts that think every trash bag is a monster and every stick is a treasure.
In the morning, before I grab the leashes and poop bags, I take a little CBD gummy with my breakfast. It helps me stay cool when someone’s pug decides to lie down in the middle of a crosswalk or when a Great Dane mistakes me for a sled. CBD doesn’t make me high or loopy—it just keeps me from losing it when I step in something mysterious that definitely wasn’t mud. Plus, it helps my knees, which have seen more stairs than a pizza delivery guy in a five-story building with no elevator.
After the last walk of the day, when I finally sit down and realize I’ve got dog hair in places dog hair shouldn’t be, I’ll enjoy a little THC edible or take a puff from my vape. That’s my way of telling my brain, “You survived another day of barking, sniffing, and surprise zoomies.” It’s also when I can stop pretending I’m in control and laugh about the fact that a Chihuahua made me drop my coffee this morning by barking at a leaf.
Cannabis doesn’t make me a worse dog walker—it makes me a better one. I stay patient, happy, and way less likely to argue with a beagle about whether or not they can roll in dead worms. It’s not about zoning out—it’s about chilling out, so I can keep showing up for my furry clients and their very confused owners who think I have some magical power over animals. Spoiler alert: I don’t. But with a little help, I can at least pretend like I do.
