Skip to main content.
« Previous entry: Caris magazine | Main page | Next entry: Check the passenger’s head »

July 2nd, 2007

Going walking without a dog

no dog

This is a three minute cartoon, which explains why it looks a bit odd. The dogs look like crosses between sheep and rabbits, but that is just the angle. The man walking is stooped over owing to the burdensome cares of life which are weighing heavily upon his weary shoulders. dog walking pollThe trees are just there for scenic effect, so I have put a minimal amount of effort into them. You will notice that there is one tree near the three dog walkers, but three trees near the single non dog walker. This is hidden symbolism.

I have noticed that it is not really acceptable to go walking in our local country park without a dog or a child. I suppose this is why people have dogs or children. The advantage of a dog over a child is that a dog can be walked on any day of the week, whereas children are mainly walked at the weekends.

Yesterday I went walking for about two hours. We are blessed with a country park that is a few minutes from the house and it does not take long to get to a point where you could be in the countryside as long as you go in one particular direction. From some of the lofty points you can see Canary Wharf and the Gherkin, as we are the first bit of quite high ground that you come to if you go east from London. It really was quite beautiful yesterday evening, what with the sunshine and everything.

I have put up a poll in the left hand column to see what you take when you go walking. It will help me to see whether I am odd when I walk, or whether it is the people giving me odd looks who are odd.

[Update: results of poll are to the right.]

29 Comments »



Share this on Facebook:

If you enjoyed this post you might also enjoy these (possibly) related articles:

If you liked this post why not send it to someone else by e-mail? Click here to do so.

This is a single post on the Cartoon Blog by Dave posted on Monday, July 2nd, 2007 at 7:44 pm. Click here to read all of the latest posts. Both comments and pings are currently closed.

Other things technologically advanced people may like to do: trackback from another site, follow responses via the comments feed, bookmark on del.icio.us or digg.

29 Responses to “Going walking without a dog”


  1. Emma says:

    It is equally difficult to go walking on the beach without a dog or a child, I have discovered this. Being able to go for a walk more easily with a dog is the only reason why I would ever contemplate having one…….then I remember they scare me witless.

    July 2nd, 2007 at 8:32 pm
  2. ruth says:

    …and it is also difficult to go walking in the rain without people looking at you as if you’re bonkers, from their car windows. IT’S ONLY WATER (…plus a bit of acid, probably)!

    July 2nd, 2007 at 8:41 pm
  3. Doris says:

    Although I have a dog, I find it harder to take him with me when walking as he will inevitably bring shame upon me at some point. This can take the form of running away (so then I get the same funny looks as those without a dog – only funnier, as I have just a lead and they must wonder if I think I have an invisible canine companion), fighting with other dogs or making sweet love to other dogs. If he fails to do any of these it will be to lull me into a false sense of security, so that as I relax and engage in pleasant conversation with fellow walkers I encounter, he will void himself in the most spectacular manner possible. Then roll in it and run away.

    July 2nd, 2007 at 9:40 pm
  4. rain says:

    i have neither dog nor child, but would think a person must have a great deal of chutzpa to walk *both* at the same time.

    p.s. the park people were probably more cuious about your glasses than they were about your lack of child/dog. perhaps you should get a puppy – a “dog child”
    :)

    July 2nd, 2007 at 9:53 pm
  5. ~c. says:

    I usually take my Cartoon Church calendar with me, just in case I forget what day it is.

    July 2nd, 2007 at 9:59 pm
  6. rain says:

    p.s. do the three trees by walking man symbolize something re: carbon footprint? …or there may be a forest up ahead.

    July 2nd, 2007 at 10:00 pm
  7. Peter Kirk says:

    One of the tree trunks looks like a woman, carrying a heavy load on her head. The bowed down man could be carrying another heavy load on his left shoulder. In between, perhaps a child with a heavy load? No wonder they are getting strange looks.

    July 2nd, 2007 at 10:48 pm
  8. Simon says:

    I take both a dog and two children with me on some occasions. On other occasions I just take the do and one of the children, or the dog on its own, or on other occasions, one or more of the children but no dog. Sometimes my wife walks with me and any of the above combinations.

    Sometimes I walk on my own on the grounds that my children / dog / wife have no interest in walking to the station and catching a train to where I work.

    I think it is also important that you know that our cat has never shown any interest in coming for a walk with any of us. Except once, when she was very young and didn’t know any better.

    July 2nd, 2007 at 11:30 pm
  9. Maddie says:

    I have a friend whose cat used to walk with her to Tesco, actually, just half way to Tesco, then the cat would disappear into the bushes until said friend would come back, call for the cat and they would proceed home together. She thinks people looked at her oddly when she first stopped and called out, and even more oddly when a cat appeared and started walking with her.

    Worth thinking about.

    July 2nd, 2007 at 11:41 pm
  10. Kirk says:

    On many of our beaches (sunny island of Guernsey) it is illegal to take dogs so I do not suffer from the funny looks.

    I often take my fiance, where does he rank in the dog /cat/child/ferret/etc problem? He does come to heel when I call him, unlike some dogs I have seen.

    July 3rd, 2007 at 12:13 am
  11. Rob says:

    We go for walks with our cat (previously plural cats), but not to the supermarket:
    (a) because of the major road crossing; and
    (b) it would be worse than going to the supermarket with children – the cat would spend hours in the petfood aisle trying to slip expensive/unsuitable items in the trolley, having feline tantrums etc.

    July 3rd, 2007 at 8:54 am
  12. joe says:

    Thanks, I’ve often wondered why I have a child, and now I know.

    July 3rd, 2007 at 9:05 am
  13. MadPriest says:

    O.K. I’ll say what nobody else has been impolite enough to say. The reason why people treat a MAN on his own in a park with obvious suspicion is that you are immediately regarded as a possible paedophile. As a population we have been sensatised to child abuse so completely that a man on his own is now a social leper. However, the only man I have ever known who was definitely a paedophile owned and walked a dog.

    July 3rd, 2007 at 9:20 am
  14. Chris Clark says:

    I have noticed that dogs and children immediately break down English reserve. It is quite acceptable to say to complete stangers how gorgeous Rover or Tixylix is without fear of arrest.

    It would be quite good if the church could break barriers down in a similar way but I suspect the reverse is frequently the case…avoid him he is wearing a fish!

    Is the symbolism that a single tree indicates the dogs are in community, and the single man is confused by the plethora of communities he could join and is thus ostracized?

    July 3rd, 2007 at 10:53 am
  15. Cathryn says:

    I once took my rabbit for a walk if that makes you feel any better about your drawings. Didn’t go as far as I did with the dog and the rhythm of walking is slightly different as had to stop every few yards to nibble at dandelions (the rabbit not me). My rabbit is probably the only rabbit to be taken on a trip in a car to Sainsbury’s. There was a reason but it is too long winded to explain here! Do people call their dogs things like ‘Tixylix’?

    July 3rd, 2007 at 1:43 pm
  16. Carolyn says:

    Due to the zeal for “fitness” here in the US it is not uncommon to see lone walkers or joggers in the parks. You just have to be dressed appropriately and no one gives you a second glance.

    July 3rd, 2007 at 2:12 pm
  17. Karen in Laguna Niguel says:

    I take:
    ~ 1 (one) yellow labrador retriever, the wondrouos Serene’s Perris May Aviotti.
    ~ a water-filled bladder daypack for me; a bottle of water for Perris.
    ~ Trekking poles.
    ~ an extra shirt.
    ~ a sun visor.
    ~ some snacks, including an apple, some raising, some bread.
    ~ a full pack of Orbit peppermint gum
    ~ sometimes a friend.

    I have recently seen:
    ~ other hikers, very few solo — most with adult companionship
    ~ a California Bobcat.
    ~ Hawks, bunnies, squirrels, crows, a doe, rattlesnake tracks, a California King snake

    July 3rd, 2007 at 4:45 pm
  18. Nina says:

    Here in the States, if you are dressed for exercise and moving with a great sense of purpose, there’s no problem being alone. In the more driven city environments, however, one gets odd looks for moving slowly and looking happy, especially if one is dogless. I once climbed a tree in Central Park, something I’ve always enjoyed, and and got all kinds of strange looks–apparently not many New Yorkers have climbed trees.

    July 3rd, 2007 at 5:09 pm
  19. Arti says:

    These days I expect some parents are calling their Children Rover and Tixylix ( and probably their dogs Jenny and Stephen)

    July 3rd, 2007 at 9:13 pm
  20. Gretel says:

    I find people don’t seem to see me if I am listening to my ipod when I am walking…

    July 3rd, 2007 at 10:10 pm
  21. Cathryn says:

    Isn’t Tixylix a foul tasting children’s medicine? My dog is called Harry.

    July 4th, 2007 at 9:40 am
  22. Rachel C says:

    I too recommend taking Kirk’s fiance walking with you, doesn’t stop the strange looks, but at least you know they’re not directed at you ;) Perhaps she could start a ‘hire a fiance for a walk’ scheme, twould give her something to do!

    July 4th, 2007 at 10:27 am
  23. ash says:

    Dave, why don’t you get one of those special leaches that make it look like you’re walking an invisible dog? then at least you can blame their stares on the fact that you have an invisible dog? Also, you could steal some fairy tale lore, and say they are stupid if they can’t see your dog, because only the wise see him.

    July 4th, 2007 at 3:28 pm
  24. Dave says:

    Ash – I like the idea of leeches on an invisible dog.

    Do visible dogs have leeches? I should hope not.

    July 4th, 2007 at 11:18 pm
  25. Sarah says:

    I had an imaginary dog once. He helped to stop me being scared of the men walking without dogs or children. I called him Butch so every time I got frightened I could shout “Butch, butch, come here boy!” And everyone would give me a wide berth for fear of a large, fierce dog bounding over the horizon. Sadly, he died in a tragic car accident about a year ago.

    July 5th, 2007 at 7:59 am
  26. ~c. says:

    Did you mean “leashes” or those blood-sucking things?

    July 5th, 2007 at 3:13 pm
  27. Sue says:

    you could always borrow a dog. I would post you mine, but he eats postmen and so might cause a staffing crisis with Royal Mail (or whatever they call themselves these days).

    Sue.

    July 5th, 2007 at 6:57 pm
  28. Clover says:

    I take my iPod, a pair of large sunglasses, and a hat. This tends to make me rather anonymous-looking (or so I tell myself).
    I’m a bit afraid of dogs too, so if you don’t take your dog with you I don’t mind so much. I would be giving you a grateful look rather than a strange one, but due to the large sunglasses you might not see it.

    July 10th, 2007 at 8:08 am
  29. Cathryn says:

    the survey results so far are suggesting that this is where we are going wrong with our all-age worship. perhaps we should be planning services to engage with dogs and ipods?

    July 10th, 2007 at 10:40 am