You know how your dog listens to what you say and picks up on certain words? Some of those words are useful for them to know, like sit, stay, or get down. But some others trigger untimely excitement when you are not ready to act on them, like walk, ride, or bye bye.

My parent’s generation thought of dogs as animals. In my generation, they were elevated to family pets. And now, in the homes of millennials, they are treated as children.

As I pulled out on to Markham a young dog, about the size of a standard poodle, runs in front of me and towards this bicyclist on the opposite sidewalk. The Bicyclist and I thought he was running to attack him. But no. There, in the oncoming lane, lay a big black lab. He’d been hit by a car and his dog companion was seeking help. It must have just happened.