January 11, 2016

• Walkin' the Dogs

  It was a beautiful crisp day for a walk; all the prerequisites were in place, decorative clouds, freshly washed bushes, firmly packed sand, and undiluted coyote scents. Mike’s legs were sore from doing a bike ride in the morning and a dog walk in the afternoon yesterday, so I set off on my own with Molly and Sadie walking obediently, one on each side.

  We headed for the wash, as usual, and at first it felt a little creepy being out there alone as I’m used to having human company. But as we got farther from civilization I grew more confident. I assuage my fears with the thought that perverts are too lazy to walk very far from their vehicles.

  

  We had tested letting both dogs off the leash together yesterday and they came when called, so I turned them both loose as soon as we got past the gate at the reform school.

  

  We headed west when we got to the levy, heading towards Barb’s house. The sand was moist and provided good footing so we followed the water course. Molly found only one small pocket of quick sand but only sank to her fetlock before skirting around it.

  From the wash bottom it’s hard to tell where you are in relation to the city so I decided to make my way back towards the bank to get my bearings. There’s an old flood control barrier that consists of heavy wire fencing stabilizing the south perimeter of the airport property. I was able to find a place where it was low enough for me to step over. The dogs were perplexed until I encouraged them to jump over to follow me up the bank. Then they nimbly leaped over and followed me up the steep embankment. It turned out that we were still quite a ways from our target, the end of Judson St., and it was difficult going because there was a lot of brush; so we turned back to the wash to continue traveling down river. They led the way back and didn’t hesitate to leap over the fence the second time. Molly is excellent at route finding when she ascertains where I want to go, which she does with surprising alacrity. Sadie, who sails over obstacles more easily, isn’t as concerned with picking an easy path for me and she’s more nosey. Molly seems to have a less active nose and relies on sight to keep track of where I am.

  By the time I spotted the tall trees in the distance that marked the intersection of Judson and Pioneer, my legs were growing weary. We again cut cross country, through stream beds, rocks, and landscaping, until we came to the bank. I scrambled up, resorting to all fours when it got really steep near the top. Molly and Sadie tried to find an easier route but when I called, Molly came back and followed me up. Sadie met us at the top.

  It occurred to me that there could be a fence at Pioneer as Judson is closed there, but I was too tired to consider turning back. As we approached Pioneer, my fears were confirmed. I could see a HUGE fence spanning the road. And there were insurmountable fences on either side of the road on which we were walking so there was no skirting around it.

  

  Thankfully, there was a gap beneath the gate just wide enough for me to wriggle under. I scooted on my belly, propelling myself with my toes and emerged outside the fence with nothing worse than a muddy shirt. (Oh, yeah, I got the new tights that Tamera gave me for Christmas muddy too.) I turned to the dogs and urged them follow my example. Molly assessed the situation and immediately crawled under. Sadie, who is a little taller, looked a bit concerned but quickly followed suit. There was quite a bit of traffic on Pioneer and a couple of people stared as if they had never seen a 63 year-old woman crawl on her belly like a reptile AND have her two dogs emulate her as if it were an everyday occurrence. I stood and giggled with proud delight at my brilliant girls as they sat waiting quietly for me to take pictures of the gate.

  

   

  The rest of the walk home was uneventful but beautiful. I was so pooped I had to take a nap. The dogs seemed none the worse for wear.

   

  • 9:49 pm
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