Mount Denali

This morning when I woke up, my back was stiff. Normally when I wake up with a sore body part, I have an idea as to why. Today was no different. I had quite the adventure yesterday, and I laughed about it when all was said and done, and I'm still laughing about it today.

The weather has been crazy-amazing the past few days, so I've been trying to get down to the trails along the river to get out and give myself and the dogs some exercise. "Dogs?" you ask. "I thought you only had one!" I do, but I am also watching Jon & Rebecca's two dogs. (Jon has training in CO for about a month, and so Rebecca & Asher went along too. They had originally planned on taking the girls, but with all their luggage and baby stuff, the dogs just didn't fit. Enter Sarah. It actually works out perfectly, since I am staying in their house, I may as well watch the dogs. They have been a huge blessing to me while I'm waiting for Mike to get here!) So first, you have to picture me walking three dogs. All at once.

This actually is easier than it sounds, because all the dogs walk with the Gentle Leader. This is a head collar for dog-walking that works like a horse bridle. (NOT a muzzle. When people come up to me and ask why the dog is wearing a muzzle, I want to freak out! Pet peeve!) If you have a dog that pulls, I highly recommend it! How else do you think I am able to walk three dogs at once? And mind you, these are not little dogs! Crockett weighs in around 60 pounds, and I'm guessing Denali & Kenai are around the same.

After a few walks with Crockett & the girls, I've pretty much got it down to a science, and, for the most part, can avoid leash-tangling and other problems that might occur. And when I come across people on the trail who compliment my dog's good behavior, I just smile and thank them and continue walking. If only they knew that two dogs are not mine, and the third is certifiably insane. Sigh.

So yesterday I'm walking with the three, and I decided to make it a short day. (God was looking out for me when I made that decision!) I am more than halfway done with the walk, when I notice that Denali is limping. So we stop, and I check one of her paws. The best way I can describe it is that the pad looked like it was peeling. Flaps of pad-skin were pulling away from the bottom of her foot. I didn't think this was something that was supposed to happen, so I checked all her feet and noticed the same thing. I felt that this was too weird an occurrence to be chalked up to coincidence, so I made a mental note to call Rebecca once I got back to the car.

As we progressed, the limping got worse, and I was starting to wonder if she needed a vet. I tried to encourage Denali as we marched along, but you can only say "What's that??"and "Come on Nali! Come on girl!" in an upbeat voice so many times before the dog catches on and realizes that nothing is there, and you're only coaxing her to do the LAST thing she wants to do: walk. And every once in a while we would stop and I would let her rest and talk to her in what I thought was a soothing voice. She looked at me like, "Why did you do this to me?" and I felt awful.

We were seriously less than a tenth of a mile away from the car, and the trail veers off in an uphill slope to the parking lot. This small stretch of path was once paved, but hasn't seen any TLC in a while, so it's becoming quite gravelly. I knew this would be the ultimate test for someone whose feet were killing them. As we started up the hill, I felt very optimistic. And then Denali stopped. My car was sitting at the top of the hill, and the sunshine was hitting the car, and rays of light were coming off the car making it look almost holy. Denali crept forward for a few precious steps, and then I couldn't get her to move anymore. I looked down to the bottom of the hill, and we had gone about ten steps. I looked up to the car and it seemed a mile away. I thought to myself, "Ok Sar, you're going to have to do this yourself."

So, with the leashes of two dogs in one hand, I bent over and scooped up Denali. I alternated speed-walking/jogging with putting the dog down and giving myself a bit of a break. Every time I put Nali down, I tried to get her to walk. No dice. To make matters worse, it seemed that Crockett and Kenai could not appreciate the seriousness of the situation at hand. Every time I would begin to move with Denali in my arms, they felt it was appropriate to frolic around and wrap their leashes around my legs, making the scene look even more ridiculous than it already did. So once I reached my stopping point, I had to spend some time untangling the three leashes from everyone's--dog and human--legs.

About halfway up the hill, I started praying that someone would come along and offer to help me. That prayer went unanswered. A little further up the hill, I started thinking about the people parked in the parking lot, since it also serves as a scenic overlook. I had visions of them looking down and laughing at me for not allowing my dog to walk up the hill herself and taking bets on how long it would take me to get to the top. I silently cursed them.

After about twenty minutes, I was sweating buckets. We finally made it to the parking lot, and thankfully, Denali was able to make it the rest of the way to the car. I talked to Rebecca, found out that apparently this has happened in the past, so I felt better knowing that I hadn't made the situation worse or needed to call the vet. Everybody wins. Except my back. But I feel a little better thinking about how sculpted and firm my back must now look after all that work. They need to add the carry-your-dog-up-a-hill-with-two-other-dogs-in-tow workout to all the fitness magazines. I really should inform the editors of the magazines because I think I'm onto something.

(Side note: Nali is doing better today but I am going to let her take it easy for a few days. I am busy today and tomorrow with walking the two healthy pups, cleaning, grocery shopping, baking, and cooking since Mike will be here tomorrow night!!! YAY!)