Park

I trained Sharav to walk on my left side, in the “heel” position. He loved it, and we never deviated from it.

Do you know why it’s traditional for a dog to walk on his person’s left? It’s because a hunter will carry his rifle over his right shoulder, and with the dog on the left, if the weapon accidentally discharges, it won’t kill the dog by mistake (flip directions for left-handed hunters).

I’ve never hunted, though, and Sharav wouldn’t have had any clue what to do if I had ever tried to take him hunting.

Now that he’s gone, I’ve continued taking morning and evening walks as if he’s still with me – I don’t really know how to stop – and weirdly keep finding myself walking to the left, like I always did with him, expecting him to be there.