My Little Entrepreneur

Dog walking is the latest in a lengthy string of entrepreneurial ventures for Maddie.  
This girl has it.

She desperately wants a dog.
Desperately!
So back this fall {mid-October} she decided that since we've been pretty clear that we're not up for a family dog at this point in our parenting careers, she could maybe walk other folks' dogs to a) get her dog fix, her picking-up-poop fix, and her dog-hair-all-over-her-clothing fix OH, and b) earn money for horse riding lessons.

We made up a flyer together which had the following details:

* My name is Maddie *

*I am 9 years old *

*I am very responsible *

*I LOVE dogs and wish I had my own *

* But since I don’t, I’d love to walk yours *

*Anytime after 3pm *

* $1.00 per walk *

She handed out flyers up and down both sides of our street.
She had extras in the car and any time we were near our home and she saw someone out walking a dog she begged me to stop and she would jump out and hand them a flyer.
She has been so persistent and that makes us proud.

But her spirits have been down. No one has called. Most politely declined and as a result she has been so very sad. While people have been very kind in listening to her schpeel as she hands them a flyer, no one has taken her up on her offer.

Until Mr. Greg. Just two weeks ago we were within a couple blocks from home and Maddie spotted him. A cute little white dog. And as is usual, she begged for me to pull over so she could jump out and ask the man if she could walk his dog.

I pulled into the garage and Maddie came bounding up the steps a few minutes later.

"His name is Mr. Greg and he said he would call to talk to you or Daddy about possibly walking his dog Max."

And he called. Within a few minutes.

He's such a nice man. Max is his baby. He loves his Max but was willing to see if Maddie was trustworthy with his precious dog.

So the first time he went with us, letting Maddie hold the leash. And right from the start Maddie did a super great job and after that first walk Mr. Greg wanted to know when she could come back.

We've come to love little Max and thoroughly enjoy Mr. Greg. And you know me, I'm not a huge fan of the canine, but little Max has weaseled his cute little chubby behind into my heart. I like going with Maddie to walk him and thankfully we've had the mildest Chicago winter that I can remember. It gives she and I a chance to chat about her day, connecting without our little buddy {aka Jackson} in tow. {Our little buddy stays behind with Jack.}

Here's Max in all his adorable-ness.

Little Max loves him a good tree.  
Every.tree.we.pass.
ALL of them.
It's, shall we say, a leisurely walk.

When we first started this gig, Max would not run to save his life. But now, he jiggles alongside Maddie, working his hardest to keep up with her, waddling his cute behind all the while.
I so love seeing them run along together. Makes me smile.

After every road we cross, Max knows that he gets a little petting time.

And snuggling time, too. 
I know, I know, you're all thinking, "GET THAT GIRL A DOG!"

{Did you see the dog hair on her sweatshirt above? 
I'm not sayin', I'm just sayin'.}

The sunshine was delicious this particular day!

We love his one-ear-up-one-ear-down. LOVE.

Sweet little Max.

And so, our daily routine now includes walking Max. He is crazy about Maddie and just today Mr. Greg said that if anything ever happened to him, he would want Maddie to have Max.

That's a pretty high compliment coming from Mr. Greg.
Made Maddie feel pretty great!