“Thank you for being a friend, traveled down the road and back again, your heart is true you’re a pal and confident.”   I was out of sorts last week, I had a blister on my toes, my newer runners were hurting my feet.  My lower back was sore and I had a literal pain in the neck.  A true Eeyore kind of day, “Oh bother…”   I was out walking my friend Sam and he was jauntily running a head sniffing  the tall grasses, he was having a carpe diem moment.  Me, I was focusing on my discomfort.  As I was feeling a twinge in my back my little buddy turned around and he smiled…yes, he smiled.   His expression said “thanks Andrea I am having a GREAT time!”  In that moment I smiled.  My mood made an abrupt change  from wanting to curl up in a ball, to appreciating the nice breeze and the sound the leaves made when they rustled.  I was thinking about how green and verdant the grass and wooded area around me was, and that the bit of rain here and there we were getting, was making for a lovely beginning to summer.   I have to admit, I didn’t note this change immediately.  It wasn’t until I returned Sam to his crate that  I came to the realization that for the remainder of the walk,  I had completely forgotten my aches and pains.  It is amazing what a good friend can do for ones outlook in the moment.  The cute expression from that  little pooch lifted my spirits and changed the remainder of my afternoon.  This morning as I headed out to do a walk,  I ran into my dear little friend and was reminded of last weekend and realized I had forgotten to acknowledge his lovely gift to me that day!

Do you converse with your furry companion?   I don’t mean do you chat when you are around them, I mean do you banter back and forth with them, as if you were engaged in a two way exchange?  Recently a member of my family was at a friends hanging out and had brought our dog.  The dog was laying in the middle of the kitchen floor and my daughter was asking our big old guy what he thought about being somewhere unfamiliar.  The humans in the room found this a little odd, and wondered if she thought the dog was going to answer her.    She explained that in our household, we have little tete-a-tetes with our pets all the time, why wouldn’t we, they are part of the family!   I know when the girls were growing up, having the dog or cat to talk to at the end of their school day or when they were feeling angst about some issue in their lives, really helped them, pouring out ones heart to sympathetic ear  is invaluable.   I can also say, that when we talk to our furry family members, they do respond!  Their tail will wag, an eye brow will raise, an ear will perk up,  sometimes they will come over and nuzzle their heads into our laps, it truly depends on what we are talking about or asking them.  Personally I have found all the animals we share our household with to be great conversationalists!  If you are person who likes to have a dialogue with your feline or pooch, you are not alone and no you are not eccentric, you do not put boundaries on a relationship.  A friend is a friend, period.

Walking the dogs this past week has been very entertaining!  On Monday when I was over by RIM park, I saw an Eagle perched high on a tree top watching some geese.   Of course, by the time I got my camera out of my bag and aimed upwards, it got camera shy and flew off.  The next day, in a swampy area by our house, I saw a Blue Heron.  It was just standing there, taking a break, as the ducks swam around the pond.  That afternoon a little snake wriggled past me, for the first time in my life I didn’t scream.  I will admit I did let out an “oh”, maybe it was because it was so tiny, instead of freaking out I thought it was kind of cute.   Wednesday, as a pair of my canine friends and I were heading toward home we saw a Gopher, that was a comical few moments.  It stopped and stared at us in the path, then scooted a few feet, I think it thought it was stealth and moving fast….not so much. It was rather rolly polly, I was reminded of the one in Winnie the Pooh and I couldn’t help but chuckle.    It was a good thing that the dogs were on leashes, as the snails pace it was shuffling at  made me keenly aware of why there are so many gophers, they have to have lot’s of babies to keep their species going as their escape skills are sorely lacking.  Instead of heading into the tall grass, where it could have disappeared, it ran ahead of us until I finally decided to move us in an opposing direction.  Today, was all about the bunny,  it seemed like every third or fourth household had a rabbit in the front yard.  The furry little critters were darting past us on the path in the park, one was actually running along side us for a bit,  thank heavens I was with one of my dogs who found that intriguing but not enough so to drag me into the tall grass (where I am sure my little snake friend and his much larger buddies were having an afternoon siesta in the sun).  It has been like an episode of Hinterland’s Whose Who out there, I am eager to see what creature will make an appearance tomorrow?!

Today I am thanking the dear lord for watching over me and my four legged friends!   I have said it before, I am the person that will, without a seconds thought, run in front of a bus to prevent it from hitting  a dog.  The first time I remember doing this was for Mary, the next door neighbour’s  German Shephard …I was around nine or ten at the time. Over the years I have bolted in to traffic many times in an effort to prevent some terrified pooch from getting smoked.  What happened to me today, I am hoping, will be the icing on the cake.  First off, I normally wear runners when I dog walk, but my right shoe was giving me blisters in two spots so I traded them in for my sandals, which are a bit loosy  goosey  on me, but fine for the client I was about to walk, or so I thought.   I went over and got my  little charge,  she is a senior dog, who likes to meander and take her time sniffing when we walk.   She has a harness type contraption that her leash attaches too, which seemed fairly secure to me, she doesn’t pull when we walk, and is never in any rush to get anywhere.  We headed out, all was good, she did her business and I had this idea to walk up to a spot where I know there is a garbage can, then thought, well, let’s head over to my favourite park.   Just as we were nearing the entrance I could sense she was starting to have a differing opinion of what direction we should go, I thought if I could just get her down the path she would realize how quiet it was and the traffic noises would die away…much to my horror she backed up and pulled and that harness went right over her body!  I can’t even relay what the next five minutes of my life and hers were like.  I knew instinctively she was going to run headlong into that busy two lane road, and she did, with me on her tail…I had stepped into her harness and I was now trying to run after her with it around my leg, her leash between my legs.  I remember seeing a truck and I bolted out in front of it, my right arm out begging him to stop.  She made it to the side walk, I was determined to stay with her,  as we went around a bend there was a young man and his Bernese Mountain dog,  He  saw her running with this wild woman flailing her arms in hot pursuit and thought he would try and help catch her.  I knew what was coming,she was in flight mode, she is afraid of other dogs and she was going to dash into the road again.  I looked over my shoulder and could see a vehicle, I put my arm out and darted in front of them to prevent them from hitting her,  as we were running down the middle of the road I was praying she’d get back on the side walk and not across into oncoming traffic.  Thankfully,  she did and found the path that goes into our subdivision.  She stopped there for a few minutes and I sat on the ground hoping she would coming to me if I sat still.  We stared at each other for a few moments and I tried to sound soothing  (but my breath was pretty ragged from running), she cocked her head and when her eyes locked with mine I could read the next message.  “Have you caught your breath?  Because I am ready to go again.”  She turned and bolted, she ran across another street and up a side street to a path through another park, almost getting into a tousle with a Beagle and then a Spaniel who was there with a group of day care kids.  I was loosing steam, but realized she wasn’t trying to loose me, she was making sure I was following but there was no way she was going to let me catch her.   We got within a block from her house and she was running along the side walk when she realized her cul de sac was ahead, so back she went into the street.  I saw a van coming up the road and again, arm out stretched ran right in front him praying his eyes were on the road and not looking at a cell phone.  He gave me quite the look, all I could think  was “Buddy, I know I am an imbecile, but this dog is NOT coming to any harm on my watch!”   We made it back to the house unscathed, but now she wouldn’t go in the front door for me, but was willing to go through the  side gate into the back yard.   She was safe, I went in through the house to let her in the back slider and as I opened the glass she was wagging her tail and pranced in and darted past me,  perching herself on the back of the couch! I gave her a little scratch under her chin and a peck on her head. Geriatric dogs should not be under estimated!!  I am grateful we had an angel on our shoulders that protected us from four wheeled mayhem, things could have gone very differently, but they didn’t.   I can’t adequately express how grateful I am to sit down at my computer and write this blog, with a happy ending!!!

My Mother had this expression she always used to say to us.  “Don’t assume, it makes an ass out of u and me.”   I find when I am out walking with the my four legged companions certain assumptions are made by people with dogs and those individuals out walking without a furry companion.  First assumption, smalls dogs are harmless.  Second assumption, big dogs are scary and aggressive.  I know a cute little canine friend who looks sweet as pie, but lord help you if a stranger or another dog gets too close, she turns into a ninja warrior and in a blink of an eye, things go south.  I have ended up covered in scratches and bitten because someone decided that just because she weighs 10 pounds wet, she is harmless.   Then there is some of the big dogs in the area that I encounter, people shy away from them because they may look like one of those threatening breeds, and yet they are wrong, those dogs are gentle giants.  I think when you are out walking with your dog you need to read the person walking’s body language, are they holding their dog close or moved off to the side, this is a way of saying, my dog needs space and perhaps doesn’t do so well greeting others.  It is a constant source of irritation for me when I encounter people that have those charming retractable leashes, that behoove their users (they retract) and allow their canine friend to run willy nilly into yours and the next thing you know you feel like a head of cattle bound at round up and you are trying to balance precariously with two animals flailing about your feet.  The other thing that drives me right round the bend, you can have the NICEST dog on the planet, but that doesn’t mean you can walk up to any dog, if you notice a person trying to move out of your trajectory with their pet, then allow them the space to do so.   Over and over I have been told, “So in so is friendly.”  And low and behold, the teeth are gnashing together and things aren’t as amicable as they thought it would be.  And then they announce that “So in so never does that.”   Don’t assume…    I might sound cranky, I don’t mean to, I just merely would like to suggest, if you encounter other dog walkers while you are out with your pet, allow them space and  don’t be offended if they don’t want to have your animals interact with each other.

When I am old and decrepit.  If we are lucky, our furry family members will grow old with us.  It’s a blessing to be able to watch your puppy move forward through all it’s life stages.  One day they are chewing the furniture, they are in full on puppy mode.  The next you realize that your friend has become much calmer and comfortable with your life together.  For years you coast along, not really realizing how quickly things can change.  With Nishka, our gorgeous Siberian Husky, Father Time snuck up on us one day. That dog could walk for hours and hours, she didn’t seem to have an off switch.  We took her on a trip with us to a cottage when she was  fifteen, she lost her Energizer Bunny status, it seemed like overnight she had slowed down markedly.  We went from an hour and half walk twice a day, down to an hour, which then reduced to a half hour.  It felt very sudden, she had became a geriatric dog in the blink of an eye.   Our pets seem to do that, they age gracefully and then there seems to be this cumulative affect, where time catches up to them.  Loving your animal in it’s twilight years is a true commitment.  With Nishka, she was a proud dog, it behooved her when she would wake up soaked in her own urine.  For us it was a major adjustment.  We had to lay down plastic sheeting in the bedrooms where she liked to sleep at night to protect the carpets, we were forever cleaning us mishaps.  Then came the day where the stairs were just not an option for her, we had set her up with a crate in the main living area.  Every morning I would have to wash her bedding.  Her incontinence meant frequent trips to the Doggie Wash for a bath to keep her from smelling.  The thing about having a senior dog, other people in your life will have a lot of opinions.  “Why don’t you put that poor dog down?”  If I had a dollar for every time I heard that, I could have retired.  The thing about our old girl, she wasn’t wanting to let go, she loved her walks, she loved being alive and there was no way she wanted to be put down. So I ignored the comments and jokes about the twenty-two caliber solution that would fix things.   This past weekend, I had the pleasure of taking care of a lovely old boy, whose back legs have different ideas about supporting his frame.  He can’t hear so well, he is stiff and sleeping is about all he feels like doing, until he hears his leash jingle and he perks up and is ready to get out for some fresh air.  His people have been incredibly accommodating to adjust to his needs and he is a happy old guy.  They are struggling with whether it is time to let him go, as he too, has become incontinent.  Where am I going with this?  Love your friend for as long as you possibly can.  Don’t let anyone make you feel badly about your decision to keep your four legged friend in your life.  As long as you are truly there to commit to their care and can cater to their needs, then there is no need to succumb to other’s judgement of what they think you should do. There is no right or wrong, as long as your friend is safe and supported, ignore those who think they have all the answers.   When it is time, you will know, our friends usually have subtle ways of helping us to realize they are ready to let you go, and then you can honour them by letting them go.

“And they call it, Puppy Love…”   Today I met a lovely  little pup, whose currently passed out under my desk.  Hard not to be enamored by her, she is maybe 2 months old, so she a wee love.  She has floppy ears and an incorrigible playful side.  Watching her sleep I can’t help but feel a sense of “puppy love”,  wishing she could be ours and that we could give her a home. It’s so easy to see a cute little babe and not think, “I want you!”  It is a very normal reaction, but puppy love can be dangerous, as it is given that title because it is fleeting!  Puppies become dogs in the blink of an eye, they are a lot of work and don’t stay little and cute for very long.   It is easy to want to love a sweet little ball of fur, but ask yourself the tough questions, do I really have what it takes to make this relationship work.    The saucy little girl that I have managed to exhaust with a twenty minute walk on a hot afternoon, is hanging out with me to give the woman who is now caring for her, a wee break.   She like I, has a big heart and when the little fur baby got foisted upon her, she didn’t turn her away.  The hard part, she is already overwhelmed, as  she has three of her own pets and had already taken in another one of her child’s pets and found a home for yet another puppy that her child had taken in.  It is very hard for animal lovers to turn their back on the helpless and needy, especially an innocent pup, whom if not given a stable and loving environment can end up with behavioural issues and once grown, not so cute and adoptable.  For now, she is sleeping and blissfully unaware how tenuous her future really is…and as I watch her little chest rising up and down, my heart melting and feeling more and more attached, I know that my family isn’t in a place to take in this little girl that is going to need a lot of stability and patience.  So today I say a little prayer for Rosie and hope that there is a wonderfully adept person out there, who is the right family to take her home and raise her and give her a happy life.  The take away, before you melt and say yes, do you have what it takes to progress from Puppy Love to the next step?   Do you see the two of you growing old together, because that is what the four legged, couch chewing, pooping on your favourite rug, big eyed baby before you needs you to know for sure when you say you want her!

Trust that inner voice!  We all do it, we have an intuition about something and we either choose to go with our gut or discount our instincts and ignore that little voice in our heads.  This past weekend on my way home from walking the boys I saw some neighbours down the way watching a young female duck standing at the road side.  Apparently she had been there since the night before and they were worried she was going to get hit by a car, the general idea was she had been left behind.  Their was a couple trying, with no success to catch her, hoping to take her to a pond where she would be safe.  I stood on the opposite side of the street, as I had the dogs to avert disaster and wished them good luck.  A little while later we were driving by, careful to watch for her and I realized there was a storm grate close to where she was standing and said to my husband, “I wonder if her babies fell down through  the sewer grate.”  My spouse responded that if that had happened she would have walked away , my gut told me, not if her babies were still alive.   This morning I saw the neigbhour who had been watching over the duck and asked him what became of her, as I hadn’t seen her since.   He said that his older son had said he had heard something, so had a neighbour, but he himself heard nothing.  But finally, one woman looked down into the sewer and sure enough, there were six ducklings down there.  After unsuccessful calls to the City to see if they could get someone to come help them remove the grate, the older gentleman managed to drag the very heavy grate off and took and ladder and went down into the grate to get them.  Sadly, one of the six had drowned, but he gave the five other wee ones over to Mom.  One of the five was too weak, and Mom ended up having to leave it behind. The lovely gentleman and his wife  took in the little thing, only to loose it as well.   He lamented to me that he felt very badly that he didn’t listen to his son or the others that had said earlier on, that they could hear something, he said if he had only thought to look the night before he could have rescued them all.  I feel for him, hindsight is twenty-twenty.  I am grateful that four little ducks were able to toddle off with Mom.  To me, that man is a super hero!  Vigorous applause for the people who try and make a difference!!

Kind.  Generous.  Gracious.  These are words that have resonated with me this week.  We live on a planet with many beautiful creatures, as fellow inhabitants of this amazing planet we need to learn to be good at sharing.  As of late I have heard many people lamenting about their gardens, how they have planted vegetables , only to have them munched up by a rabbit.  Another person was angry about the squirrels eating her bulbs.  At some of the locations where we lived it was deer eating expensive shrubbery.  I have also heard stories of people catching these creatures, whether it be in humane live traps or unsavory methods, such as poisoning or shooting them with pellet guns.   As frustrating as it is to have the fruits of ones labours end up as someone else’s meal, we can go to the local market or start over and plant more lettuce.   I had my basil plants eaten the other day, not the end of the world! The thing about gardens, it is relaxing planting seeds into the soil, the exercise in and of itself, is a reward.  I don’t mind sharing, we are all part of this planet and as much as we can lend support to others in need, why not have empathy for the creatures who share our residential neighbourhoods, who are part of a bigger picture of the ecosystem whose back yards we have encroached upon.  The rabbits, squirrels and deer, they need to eat too.  We are all vital to the master plan.   It is important to be kind, generous and gracious to other species and respect their life force.   Radical idea, but being human doesn’t mean I am any more valuable than that fuzzy little bunny in the back yard who lives under my deck and has a taste for Italian Basil or that beautiful deer that would munch on the apples from my tree.  I don’t mind sharing!

“Where’s Waldo!”  First off, let me apologize for the photo quality, I took these with my crappy phone, and secondly, I didn’t want to get any closer as I had my walking companions with me.  I suck at finding wildlife.  Over the years  I have been very frustrated when driving with my spouse as he will say something like “Wow, was that ever an impressive Moose back there…”  or “that was cool, a wolf and her pup.”   Of course, I missed it!  We will be out walking and he will say look at that gorgeous Red Cardinal and I am looking frantically for just a glimpse, but never see it.   I was walking through the park with Mattie and Pud and they stopped to have a vigourous sniff of a grassy area.  As I patiently waited for them to get there fill I realized there was my friend the fox…and was she ever close!  The two of us stared at each other, I thought she would take off or Mattie would start to bark.  To my surprise, the dogs were so intent on trying to pick up the scent of something (ah, that would be the fox that is 10 metres ahead of us) they were oblivious.  She decided to then squat down on the path and have a little bath in the sunshine.  I kept looking from her to the dogs, she knew they were there but they had no clue. Finally after standing there for a couple of minutes I gingerly pulled my cell out of my back pack, moving ever so slowly as not to alert the dogs to her presence. Of course as I get to the screen to take the shot, she got camera shy and darted off across the field.   The dogs still completely out of the loop that a distant cousin was checking them out.  When I got home and looked at the photos I had taken, at first I thought I had somehow managed not to capture her image at all, but with that neat little feature where you keep zooming in, I finally located her!  She wasn’t a figure of my imagination, I had really  seen her and I had proof!  As for Mattie and Pud, I finally urged them to continue walking, and as we exited the park their noses were working over time, as they smelled something intriguing.  I couldn’t help but feel thrilled that I saw what they were looking for, me, the person who never finds Waldo!  I totally get that idiom “Sly like a fox” .  Although, she was being rather overt when she started bathing herself, like “hey guys, over here, how much more obvious can I be?”  For once in my life it was me saying, “You know guys, that’s a fox you have detected and I would just like you to know, I saw her!”