次男とお散歩

記録的な西部カナダの熱波が何とか収まり、外に出る危険性が無くなったので次男と散歩に行ってきました。
熱波の最終日から数日間は、雷雨予報が出ていることから、その合間を縫って、天気と相談しながらの散歩になることが予想されます。

まずは、熱波終了の翌日、週末の日曜日に次男を連れて散歩に行ってきました。せっかくなので、すこし車で走った場所へ行きたかったのですが、次男の希望で、家から最も近い公園へ行くこととなりました。

いつもの公園の遊具で遊んでいると、近くを犬の散歩をしている人が通ります。犬に興味のある次男は、どうにかその犬と遊びたいのですが、言葉が出てきません。一見障害の無い子供に見える次男は、言葉が出ないことで、周りの人にはあまり犬に興味が無いのかな？と思われてしまうこともしばしば。
散歩が目的の犬の飼い主はペースを落とさずに通り過ぎてしまいます。

公園の隣の家の庭に、これまで何度も訪れていながら気が付かなかった大きな犬が居ることを発見した次男。
恐る恐る大きな犬に近づいていき、フェンス越しに触ろうとしますが、手が届かず結局見ているだけにおわりました。

こちらの犬はとても躾がされているので、吠えることも、威嚇することもありませんので、不用意に近づく次男でも安心して見ていることができます。
私が近づくと、少し犬はあとずさりをするのですが、次男だけになると、フェンスの穴に鼻をおしつけて、少しでも次男に近づこうとし、次男には心を許しているようにも見えます。
近所の遊具は遊びなれていて、すぐに飽きてしまう次男ですが、この犬に会いに来るという楽しみが増えたかもしれません。

The record-breaking Western Canadian heat wave has managed to subside, and now that there is no longer any danger of going outside, I went for a walk with my second son.
Since thunderstorms are forecasted for the next few days after the last day of the heat wave, we are expecting to take a walk in between and consult with the weather.

First of all, I took my second son for a walk on Sunday, the day after the heat wave ended. We wanted to go to a place that was a bit of a drive away, but at the request of our second son, we decided to go to the park closest to our house.

While we were playing on the playground equipment at the park, we saw a dog walker passing by. My second son, who is interested in dogs, wants to play with the dog somehow, but he can't find the words. At first glance, he looks like a child with no disability, but his inability to speak often makes people think that he is not very interested in dogs.
Dog owners who want to walk their dogs pass by without slowing down.

My second son discovered that there was a big dog in the yard of the house next to the park, which he had visited many times before but never noticed.
He fearlessly approached the big dog and tried to touch it through the fence, but he couldn't reach it and ended up just watching it.

The dogs here are very well-behaved and don't bark or threaten, so even my second son, who was carelessly approaching the dog, could safely watch.
When I approach the dog, he backs off a little, but when my second son is alone, he puts his nose against the hole in the fence and tries to get as close as possible to my second son, and he seems to be forgiving of him.
My second son is used to playing on the playground equipment in the neighborhood and gets bored easily, but he may have more fun coming to see this dog.