I had a different sort of day today. My dog Sam had a date with the vet for his yearly exam. This meant that they needed me to bring in a stool sample as well. They didn't specify but I thought it safe to assume that they meant a sample of his, not mine. That being the case, I had a challenge before me.
On the nicest of days and best of conditions, I don't hang around outside watching my dog poop. It simply doesn't happen. Therefore the fact that I was doing so on a blustery cold day while there's about two feet of snow on the ground set off some warning bells in Sam's head. He kept looking back at me as I cleverly stalked him, scuttling from breezeway to tree, etc. around the yard. I tried to appear uninterested in what he was doing, but I don't think I fooled him for a minute. It was all too unnerving for him and he kept returning to the house, business left unfinished so to speak. Back inside we'd go for an hour or two until he'd request to be let out again. So I would let him out and hurriedly bundle up in coat and boots and try to surreptiously follow him once more.
It took all day but I was finally triumphant about 45 minutes before his appointment.
If one can call the ability to scoop and bag dog poop a triumph. Personally, I have my doubts.