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morning run:
Frijolita
Rita
George
Chester
Daisy
Lex
Hazel
Tori
Murci
(9)
Southern charcos: ~8k. We went out over the land bridge and south; it's now only up to my ankles and will probably be passable by vehicle in a couple of weeks. I put Hazel on the leash early because was too far ahead and not listening well. She's going through her terrible twos, it seems; she straightened up after a spell on the leash but she still really wants to bring the pace up if left to her own devices. I put Tori on the leash as we were getting to the dirty road and everyone arrived more or less together. George did really well - he has no problem with this distance so long as it isn't too hot and he had a great time swimming at the swimming hole.
GRADE: A
morning swim:
Greta
(1)
It was not too choppy or cold for the first time in a while. The ocean is ugly and shallow right now but Greta was up for it and she did really well. Going to try and make a push to get her out while the weather is nice.
GRADE: A
mid-day beach dash:
Archie
Rufus
Lily
Linda
Lex
Tori
(6)
Up the beach to Au Soleil Couchant and back: ~4k. Roni and I did a grand dog.kabuki performance and managed to get these six on the beach side when it was quiet out; Rufus had been keyed up all morning and Archie can't go on long ones so this seemed like a good idea. I left with Rufus and Tori on both sides of the double-headed leash (thanks Marie and Nicole!); it was a bit like having two horses under harness but we managed to get ourselves up the beach and past the soldiers quickly. We got barked at by the dogs there both ways and my charges were good; Linda deserves special mention, since she's so little and simultaneously so brave, she just ran right through those barking strays. The ocean is a bit muddy and churned up but everyone still had a blast swimming. Rufus managed to find a nasty old shark head on the beach up north and bring it all the way home with him... kind of disgusting but it kept him quiet and focused. A nice, quick run to get some energy out.
GRADE: A
morning run:
Otto
Eve
Reggie
Gowron
Twiggy
Luna
Bosha
Tori
Murci
(8)
Southern charcos: ~8k. Nobody was on the leash until I put Tori on coming home near the alt. land bridge; I wanted to reign her in a bit before we got to doce. It was a strange group but everyone got along well. I watched Otto carefully and saw no signs of a limp; he ran around like a nut and swam a lot. The charcos are definitely drying out but they are still a long way from done; the swimming hole was fun for everyone.
GRADE: A
morning run:
Ginger
Gracie
Truman
Tuesday
Daisy
MoMo
Steve McQueen
Hazel
Tori
(9)
To the swimming hole and back via the monte: ~7k. We left with nobody on the leash. I didn't put Tuesday on until we turned south on the parallel access road heading home; she seemed a little bit paranoid and I wanted her near me. I put Tori on the other end of the leash with Tuesday before we got to the blue bag trail because she wasn't listening well enough; she needs the leash once in a while to reign herself in a little. We took the blue bag trail on the way home and did a lot of swimming everywhere along the way. Everybody was great and had a good time the whole way.
GRADE: A
morning run:
Alice
Rufus
Jack
Frankie
Bosha
Twiggy
Hazel
Tori
Murci
(9)
Southern charcos, short version: ~6k. Alice was a bit limpy so I watched her carefully and kept it short; she had a pretty bad xmul stuck in her left rear paw/pad and it might've been sore after I pulled it out about 1km in. Twigs and Rufus also shouldn't go on super-long ones so it was no big deal and nobody cared - they all had fun. The charcos are starting to dry out a little now but it is still really muddy and sloggy for a lot of the way. We took the serpentine home and everyone had fun swimming and sniffing stuff on the trail.
GRADE: A
departure:
Lucy
(1)
Lucy was taken from us this day; I couldn't bear to post it until two days later. She had not been feeling well for some days but took a turn for the worse; three hellish days and two trips to the vet did not save her. Roni and I feel as though we have had our guts ripped out and, worse, we don't even get to bury her: the vet decided to send her body off instead of waiting for my response that night. I went back yesterday to collect her so she could be buried with the rest of our fallen friends but we don't even get the satisfaction of a grave and must content ourselves with our memories, frustration and extreme sadness. She put up with a lot in this life and yet maintained her playful and mischievous manner in spite of not feeling well. We loved her with all of our hearts and miss her terribly.
morning walk:
Lucy
Ginger
Bette
Tito
Maggie
Ziggy
Monkey
Bosha
Linda
(9)
I took this crew down to the land bridge and environs to swim around and have a good time. We went very slowly mainly due to Lucy; she hasn't been feeling well for days and I wanted to get a look at her on a walk. She is definitely a step slow and looks like she is in pain at least some of the time; she's been on meds because we thought maybe it was erlichiosis and the doxycycline has helped her mood a bit but there's still something wrong. The slow pace didn't bother anyone else at least: they were all running around and playing like lunatics the whole way.
GRADE: A
morning run:
Blue
Truman
Godzilla
Elewah
Daisy
Xmul
Hazel
Tori
Murci
(9)
Northern charcos: ~8k. Injuries have sidelined us one way or another for the last few days so today I tried to get some of the crazier, faster dogs out; also since Xmul is here I wanted her to have fun. She was on the leash almost the whole way; I let her off around the swimming hole on the way out but for the most part I wanted to watch her. Everyone was enthusiastic and behaved themselves well. It is starting to dry out in the monte a bit but it is still mostly flooded and the water has only receded a little. We went out like we were going to the long and winding road but curled around to the south instead of heading straight north when we got to the edge of the northern charcos; it was strange and beautiful out there, a little cloudy and not too hot. We saw nobody the entire way.
GRADE: A
morning beach exchange:
Twiggy
Xmul*
(2)
Nicole and Marie arranged to have Xmul come for a visit for a few days. I went out to meet Nicole on the beach as she was heading south; I took Twigs with me so that Xmul and Twigs could get used to each other before coming into the yard, as they are lifelong frienemies. I grabbed Xmul, bid Nicole adieu and took off north with both of them on leashes. We ran more less flat out up past the new construction and home again, not even 1km, but Xmul was hissing and spitting when we started and was calm by the time we got home. Good girls.
GRADE: A
morning run:
Rita
Gowron
Ernie
Molly
Twiggy
Steve McQueen
Hazel
Tori
Murci
(9)
Southern charcos, short version: ~6k. We didn't go to the swimming hole but we did do a lot of swimming, or at least the dogs did (note to self: NOT A DOG). I carried Steve McQueen into the launchpad but once we left he forgot his bizarre fears and ran like a chubby little angel... he's going to have to get out on more of these to beat that back a bit; Mega and Zoot are now the hardest cases left on the tribe. Rita was in high spirits; she is no longer getting that treatment for her allergies that is designed to get her system to react to the problem elements and her feet are looking a little better now. I think they still felt sore a little after we passed 5k but not like before when she was limping in the first 500m. I put Hazel on the leash as we were running home on the dirty road and everyone else stayed with me to the gate.
GRADE: A
morning beach dash:
Shirley
Rufus
Jack
Amber
Petey
Linda
Tori
(7)
Up the beach to the tortuga sign and back: ~3k. There were some simmers in the water at the soldiers' but only Tori paid them any mind; she swam out to them and nosed them and they laughed at her antics. Other than that a nice, short, fast run up and down the beach a stretch. I put Amber on the leash before the HoJo on the way back and there were no irregularities this time. Jack was a bit of a pain coming home but I managed him and everyone else was good.
GRADE: A
morning run:
Alice
Frijolita
Gowron
Rufus
Maggie
Daisy
Lex
Tori
(8)
Short northern loop: ~5k. Across the land bridge, north across the ridge continuing north through the intersection to the tortuga crossroads and home via the blue bag trail. We were trying to be clever and catch at least some of the tribe out in the launch pad but it was just too difficult; we almost had a lot of them at one point but I ended up with just Lex. Rufus also really wanted to go and it was going to be a shorty (getting hot) so what the hell. Everyone was really good once we got out and had a great time swimming and playing the whole way.
GRADE: A
morning run:
Ginger
Eve
Rita
George
Otto
Ernie
MoMo
Bosha
Tori
(9)
To the swimming hole and back: ~6k. We looped around south through the soggy salt-swamp west of bag end and came home across the jeep berm; there was a salt worker I recognized working in the charco directly to the north of the jeep berm and everyone was really good about it - no barking or running towards him. I had a few gimpy dogs that should not go on long ones so we kept it short and swam a lot. Everyone was good.
GRADE: A
afternoon walk:
Miles
Alice
Bette
Tito
Monkey
(5)
I took this crew down to the land bridge; it was hot in stretches but overall not too bad. I mainly wanted to get Miles out; Roni thought maybe he was a little down and I wanted to see how he was on a walk. He did seem a little less peppy than usual so we're going to look into it. Miles dawdled something terrible but everyone else ran ahead and jumped in the water with great enthusiasm.
GRADE: A
morning run:
Truman
Osita*
Tuesday
Rufus
Frankie
Lily
Daisy
Tori
Murci
(9)
Southern charcos: ~8k. We went across the land bridge and south first. Daisy, Rufus and Tori were so wound up and intent on rough-housing that Lily and Osita were both a little upset by it. Osita ended up ditching us before we crossed the land bridge and I didn't notice until we were on the other side... I knew she would just go home and it's a hard slog to get across so I kept going, with Daisy on the leash a few times and a lot of encouragement for Lily. Everyone's behavior evened out by the time we were heading into the deep monte and everyone was off the leash most of the way. I slipped and fell (a nice prat fall, complete with swearing on the way down) and this freaked Tuesday out a little so I ended up putting her on the leash just before we got to the palapa road proper. We took the bag end land bridge to the swimming hole and kept a pretty good pace the whole way. It was overcast and a bit cool so everyone was up for some serious running and swimming. I'll have to pay more attention the next time Osita comes, she's sensitive and hasn't done that in a while.
GRADE: A
