Counting Humans

Last night lots of humans came to socialize with ours.  Humans get lost easily so it’s very important to count each one in and check the same number leave just in case any of them need to be rescued from a corner of the kennel that they can’t find their way out of.  Bowmore has always been in charge of this duty and took it very seriously.  He would observe the humans as they arrived, patrol the gathering area to check they were all where they should be and then monitor their departure.  Of course, as he got older he didn’t quite have the stamina to stay up late so liked to bark loudly at them as soon as they had finished feeding to make sure they left so he could go to bed.

Now that I have had to add human counting to my duties, I have decided to apply a more modern approach to this job.  I see myself as more of an ambassador to our kennel.  Last night was the first time that I have had the opportunity to really put this new approach into practice.  I put my best scarf on and greeted each human enthusiastically and showed them one of my toys to put them at ease, then guided them to the main human gathering area.  I spent the rest of the evening schmoozing and checking they were enjoying the food which of course led them to give me samples so that I could offer my opinion.  At the end of the evening, I helped escort them to the kennel exit and checked that they all got into their motorized dog carriers so that I was really sure they were truly off the premises.

As a first cut, I think this new approach worked pretty well.  The humans all seemed to enjoy themselves and I don’t think realized that they were being monitored, but man, was it exhausting.

 Talisker