The winter in Western New York is typically very cold and very snowy. This month though a 111 year record was broken when the temperature soared to 71 degrees on Friday, February 24. I raced home after work and changed my clothes and fed the dogs. My dogs were just as excited about the nice weather as I was and raced around the yard and rolled in the grass. When they came back inside the house I asked them if they wanted to go for a ride in the car and go for a walk. Their ears perked up and they bolted for the door. I gathered a few poop bags and found their leashes. Royal and Maggie bounced in circles and made happy whiny noises while I removed their collars and put on their walking harnesses. It is such a wonderful feeling seeing them so excited! I love making my dogs happy!
I decided to drive to my sister’s house to ask if she would come with us. She wasn’t home, but my nephew Matt was. I barely got the question out when he eagerly accepted my invitation to take the dogs for a walk. Matt knows the Joe Panza trail better than I do, so I was really happy he agreed. It took only a few minutes to arrive at the park. Once we arrived the dogs jumped out of the car and started sniffing and tugging at their leashes. Of course, they wiggled around so much that Royal pooped even before getting to the trail. Luckily, it was right near a garbage can, so I was glad I didn’t have walk around carrying his poop. It is one of my pet peeves that people don’t pick up their pet’s poop. Even if your pet poops off the trail, always pick up the poop.
Matt has never walked a dog before. Something I hadn’t thought of when I handed him Maggie’s leash. Maggie is great on a leash, although she does like to move around a lot so there is a little bit of dancing and twirling you have to do. Royal on the other hand loves to lead the pack. He doesn’t pull as much when he wears his harness, but he still tugs. My shoulder gets a work out! At least I gave Matt the easier dog to walk!
It had rained the day before so the trail was damp with some big puddles in places. Royal is my water dog; he happily walked right though each puddle. Maggie was very dainty and maneuvered around them all. She does not like to get her feet wet.
Matt made the decisions on which way on the trail to turn. He carefully peered down each trail to scope out the puddles before committing to turning left or right! He was wearing sneakers and didn’t want to wade through the mud! Of course, I’m glad of that! I didn’t want the back seat of my car to be more muddy than necessary! Usually I have a vinyl protector on the seat so the dogs mess doesn’t get on my car, but I was lazy for this hike and didn’t put it on.
Another pet peeve of mine is meeting other hikers that have their pet off leash. We heard some voices up the trail and actually met their dog FIRST! I stood stock still and reeled in the leash on Royal. The dog approached us slowly, didn’t growl, and his tail was neutral. I still was shaking in my boots. Then I remembered Matthew. I told Matt to hold Maggie close on the leash and stay still. The owners of the dog came along and called to their off-leash dog, of course the dog ignored the commands. Their dog sniffed Maggie and Matthew and I encouraged Matt to just walk forward slowly. They had another dog on a leash, thank goodness, because this dog was growling at us as the woman could barely hold the dog back from lunging at us.
It is so dangerous to have your dog off leash. What if my dogs didn’t like to be approached by a strange dog? I would have been in the middle of a terrifying situation. Fortunately all dogs and humans walked away from the encounter without incident. We might not be so lucky next time. I held my tongue from saying anything to the other dog owners, but I think they got the message when I refused to acknowledge them and concentrated on getting my dogs out of there safely. Next time I use my friendliest voice to remind them of the leash law.
With that excitement past us we were at the car in no time. Royal and Maggie jumped into the car and we drove Matthew home. When I brought the dogs into the house I gave them each a couple treats and big bowls of cold water. We snuggled together and had a nice nap and dreamed of our next hiking adventure!
trailchaser2020 