Not your Average day shopping...

My poor kitties were scraping the very bottom of their litter boxes and as much as I knew I needed to go shopping for some, I dreaded the thought. I get the big 18 kg size box of clay clumping litter and can barely pick it up, even to put it in the cart. I'm so grateful when someone comes to my rescue and puts it in for me. Remember, I'm only 83 pounds, so that is extremely heavy for me.
This past week, I haven't been feeling too well, but there was no more stalling. It was either buy some or teach the cats to use the toilet. Both being difficult, but the first reasoning made more sense.
I called Shasta and told her I had a BIG job for her to help with. As I was grabbing her hoodie and winter boots, she immediately knew she was getting ready for an outing. When I put her halter on her on her first, so she knew work was involved, which she loves. Then while I was getting my winter gear on, she was rolling and doing somersaults with excitement. Once I had my backpack on and a one mitt, I grabbed her spare leash, tied it to the sled and attached it to her halter. There was plenty of ice and snow, so this was the best route to go.
I wondered if she would get frowned upon because of the ban, or wondered if she'd get her usual attention that she normally gets. She's such a ham and an attention getter where ever we go. I wondered if today would be different.
Well, once we hit the sidewalk, my doubts all disappeared. She had people laughing, smiling and coming up to her. I don't think one person passed without giving some sort of cute or nice remark. Even people in cars were smiling and pointing.
Once at the mall, I tied her outside by the sled and told her to "Sit!" She immediately got into the sled and sat. I snickered inside and could see other's doing the same thing. Now one thing with Shasta is, once she has an audience, she will go out of her way to keep their attention. I told her, "NO NOISE! You sit and behave and Mama will be right out." With that I gave her the stay command with my hand and left. I kept looking back to make sure she listened and so far she was just sitting and waiting.
I don't know when she starts? Probably as soon as I'm out of sight and hearing range I guess. But I quickly went into the grocery store, someone helped me with the litter again *whew*, and grabbed a few other items I needed and wheeled the cart outside to...a big laughing, smiling crowd of people. Everyone knew she belonged to me once she saw me. One man told me she was singing songs. I asked if it kind of sounded like 'mom'? And he said, come to think about it, it did sound a little like mom or maa maa. LOL Another man came out of the grocery store with a package of wieners and asked if she was allowed one. I told him she's love him forever. He ended up giving her about 3 all in pieces, one by one. Her manners were wonderful and she took each one delicately. Then she gave the man a sloppy kiss and I told him, "I told you so!"
People were still all around giggling and I heard one woman exclaim, "Oh! For heaven sake. She's an angel with boots." A young boy about 11 came up to me and asked if it was alright to pat her and I told him, "Sure. She's friendly and loves to be patted." As he was patting her, he inquired, "Isn't she suppose to be muzzled?" I told him the bill had passed, but it was yet to be law and until such time, she doesn't need to be." He said that's a stupid law. She's too friendly to need a muzzle. We talked a bit longer and I explained it was how they were raised and good breeding. It was nice talking to this curious boy that asked a lot of questions. Hopefully I educated him in the matter and he then he could educate some of his peers.
It was time to leave. Shasta had gotten her attention and I still had one more small stop to make to buy a stamp and mail a letter. I went and tied her to a bike rack and told her to guard the litter. Like, as if someone would want to steal clumping litter. LOL Because there were no people around this time, she was sitting just as I had left her and she didn't put on her act. Did I not tell you she was a ham?!
Once we got off the pavement and onto the snowy sidewalk, the sled just slid behind us like nothing. People were still giggling in their cars and pointing and Shasta and I enjoyed our shopping trip. She made a chore that I dread so much into a happy adventure. Once we got home and I dragged the box inside, I went and got her 3 doggy snacks, which we refer to as 'cookies'. With hugs and pats from me telling her how awesome she was and the sloppy kisses she gave me, let me know we both had a wonderful time. For her, it was the excursion and attention, and for me it was seeing that people accepted Shasta for her nature, not her breed...Plus...The cats finally had their litter.