There I was, cruising along the slippery neighbourhood sidewalks of the Canadian small town suburbs, trying to avoid face-planting into a patch of black ice. Pulling me along was my freak on a leash, Ginger: an uber happy, hyperdetermined golden retriever puppy with a floppy tongue and an urge to explore. I was dog sledding sans sled. Waterskiing on wet snow. “Who’s walking who?” a passerby quipped. He had a fair point. I wasn’t