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morning walk:
Zasu
Henry
Tito
(3)
Roni took a nice, leisurely walk with these three down to the land bridge and back. Zasu got carried a little bit but was plenty feisty and didn't seem overly tired afterwards. Everyone had a good time.
GRADE: A
morning walk:
Alice
Ginger
Gracie
George
Osita
Ernie
Molly
April
Maggie
Ziggy
(10)
I took this group for a walk across the land bridge. April was on the leash the whole way. Gracie and Ernie left on leashes; I let Gracie off when I was certain there were no goats in our path and Ernie shortly thereafter. We came across a large group of salt workers who had a little dog with them. Ernie was the only one who didn't listen to me (he thought about it) and I had to run him down (hah) and put him on the leash, to the amusement of the salt workers. Everyone else was good in spite of getting barked at. Other than that everyone was perfect and had a nice time.
GRADE: B
morning run:
Godzilla
Eve
Gowron
Rufus
Jack
Twiggy
(6)
Past Au Soleil Couchant: ~6k. Leaving was much easier this time compared to the last outing with Rufus: if Roni opens the gate and there aren't too many dogs in the mix it works much better. The beach was churned up and nobody wanted to swim too much but the shoreline was a wonderland of smells from all the stuff that's been thrown up onto it in the last few days. Shortly after we turned around and started to come home Rufus found a whole dead fish, a shark about 2 feet long; he immediately decided he was going to try to bring it home and that became the story of the rest of the run. I thought he would drop it in a little while because it was heavy and awkward but he would have none of it and managed to get it all the way to the blue.bag trail coming home. I knew I couldn't let him bring it home because it would just cause fights, so I put him on the leash as we turned and left it in the bushes for Angel's dogs to find. Everyone else was amazingly good about the fish drama. It was cool and overcast out and everyone had a nice time.
GRADE: A
morning walk:
Blue
Reggie
Otto
Bette
Ziggy
Monkey
Linda
(7)
Roni took this group out for another long walk, more or less the inverse of her last one: she headed north this time on the coco trail, looped around south on the shore of the charco that abuts the land bridge and then crossed it and did a loop to the south. Monkey is a joy to take on walks now that she doesn't have to stop and urinate constantly - we're so glad she's recovered from her stones and is doing well. It was chilly enough that nobody took too serious a dip in the charcos. Everyone behaved themselves and had a nice time.
GRADE: A
mid-day outing:
Greta
(1)
It was not a good day to go out on the beach but it wasn't Greta's fault. She's an angel but she can be hard to wrangle.
GRADE: A
morning run:
Truman
Rita
Chester
Otto
Shirley
Frankie
Daisy
Roxy
Tupo
(9)
Up the beach past Au Soleil Couchant: ~5k. This was Tupo's first big-boy run and he had an absolute blast. He and Daisy left on leashes; Daisy came off at the shrimpery, where I switched her for Roxy and we stayed that way until we hit the beach. We took the blue.bag trail in both directions and Tupo ran it like he'd done it a hundred times before. He was perfect on and off the leash, gave me no problems getting him back on after I let him off, listened well and ran his little ass off. He really wanted to run, along with everyone else. He is not enthusastic about the water but I carried him into the ocean once and encouraged him as he swam back to shore to at least give him a taste. We hauled ass for stretches but I let them stop to sniff stuff and screw around several times. A very nice run on a slightly chilly morning.
GRADE: A
afternoon walk:
Monkey
Amber
Zoot
(3)
Roni took this group for an extended walk in the monte, and yet a pretty fast one. It's been blustery and, dare I say it, even a little cold the past few days, so going out in the afternoon was actually not life-threatening... quite a luxury for us. They went across the land bridge and in a loop to the south, but had to alter their route coming home because of the rather large herd of goats that meanders around our neck of the woods. Nobody minded an everyone behaved themselves on and off the leash (Amber).
GRADE: A
wellness clinic:
Nico
(1)
Today we (CADA, meaning Roni, Jackie and I) put on a wellness clinic in Celestun. Dra. Sandra and her crew came and set up shop in an unused hostel owned by a sympathetic local family who likes animals. We asked for a minimal payment from those who could pay and subsidized those who could not. The idea was to do those things that cannot be done in the context of the sterilization clinics and to give local people access to real, qualified vets and minimal cost. We offered donated vaccines for parvo, distemper etc., treatment for CTVT, worming medicine, treatment for mange and general veterinary consultations. All told, 25 dogs were seen including our little Nico who, as it turns out, has a fungal skin condition. We managed to get four of her litter-mates who are in other homes taken for vaccinations (along with a lot of other dogs), treated three dogs for CTVT and even slipped in two male sterilizations for street dogs that live around Hotel Gutierrez on the beach (thanks to Peter and gang for helping). It was exhausting for all of us but worth it in the end: if nothing else that's 25 dogs we won't have to take to the vet in the city on behalf of other people. Several people brought dogs in anticipation of the next sterilization clinic to have them looked at first, something we really want to do more of. For instance, one of them has a tumor which Dra. Sandra examined and will remove when she's brought in to be sterilized in March (tentatively). A good day for the dogs of Celestun... and our Nico did very well despite being scared.
GRADE: A
mid-day walk:
Miles
(1)
Just a short one with the little fella.
GRADE: A
morning walk:
Linda
Monkey
Nico
(3)
Roni took this group out for a walk across the land bridge and to the south. Nico didn't want any part of the leash today for some reason, but Roni worked with her on it. She was good off the leash and had a good time.
GRADE: A
morning run:
Posey
Eve
Mega
Lex
Steve McQueen
Hazel
Murci
Cookie
Junebug
(9)
Southern charcos: ~8k. June was on the leash the whole way and was really good. It was a blustery day and everyone really felt like running. We ran into people, vehicles and machinery at various points and although June was a bit skittish she was fine on the leash and I helped her through the rough spots.
GRADE: A
mid-day walk:
Miles
(1)
We had a nice time.
morning run:
Mega
Steve McQueen
Murci
Cookie
Junebug
Zoila
(6)
Past Au Soleil Couchant: ~6k. This was a fast, hard run with two tiny little horses under harness in the form of June and Zoila, both of whom stayed on leashes for the duration. The youth of this group speaks to how much energy there was in play. We took the blue.bag trail heading out but by the time we were coming home I have to admit I was starting to get tired so we took the short-cut along the edge of the charcos north of the shack coming home. The ocean is still a little churned up but nobody cared and we all jumped in a lot. June and Zoila were happiest when we were hauling ass, so we did a lot of that. It was bright and starting to get hot when we left but, again, nobody cared and we caught a few clouds on the way home so at least I wasn't so screwed, being the oldest dog on the run... I hope they're tired now. They should be.
GRADE: A
morning walk:
Ernie
Molly
April
Maggie
Ziggy
Twiggy
Tupo
(7)
I took this crew for a walk across the land bridge and in an odd little loop that went south at first and the brought us back to the land bridge from the north. April was on the leash the whole way. Tupo left off the leash but I put him on about halfway through and he was good either way: very enthusiastic but listened well. I checked him several times off the leash and every time I called his name he ran over to me. Ernie was on the leash briefly out of the gate but came off quickly and he was good about the pace and keeping together after that. A harmonious and fun little walk with a cute group.
GRADE: A
morning run:
George
Shirley
Otto
Rufus
Jack
Frankie
Daisy
Hazel
(8)
Just past Au Soliel Couchant: ~5k. Getting out of the gate was hell: Rufus was incredibly wound up and I had too many dogs in the mix to start with. I wanted Zoila to go but there was too much chaos, and I ended up kicking PupG out of the mix to bring the energy level down. We finally made it out of there with only Rufus on the leash; I let him off at the base of the blue.bag trail. We ran into Marie, Nicole, Xmul and their gang on the beach right at the tortuga sign; it caught me by surprise. Shirley was the only one who was really interested - she was fascinated by their terriers, Mel and Rudolph. I had to get her on the leash in the surf before I could start north, and everyone else just followed after an extended hello with Xmul (who was on a leash). Once we were going everything was fine with this group and they listened well and had fun.
GRADE: B (can't be an A, that start was awful)
morning walk:
PupG
Amber
Zoot
(3)
Roni took this trio out for a brisk walk around the cow pasture. She left with Amber on the leash, let her off and then got her back on coming home and she was good through all of it. Amber is one of those dogs that really takes comfort in being on the leash sometimes. Zoot was a little less manic without so many other influences. PupG is always an angel and she had a good time.
GRADE: A
mid-day walk:
Tito
Monkey
Linda
Coco
(4)
Some days are good for walks and some are not. Today was overcast and reasonably cool so Roni took advantage of it. It turned out to be pretty hot even under the cloud-cover, and the bugs were worse this time than on the first walk because the pace was slower. Nonetheless everyone had a great time, including Coco who did well on and off the leash on her first real walk. Roni carried her for the first little bit but then she was fine. She came home on the leash and was a good girl. Monkey and Linda are both good influences; Linda left on the leash and was good both on and off. Good girl Coco!
GRADE: A
morning run:
Truman
Eve
Elewah
Lily
Luna
Murci
Cookie
Roxy
Junebug
(9)
No-man's land: ~9k. June was on the leash the whole way and was really good. Roxy was also on the leash for all but a short bit in no-man's land and it worked out well enough. Since I had Elewah I knew I didn't want to be coming home from the north, since she has consistently dashed off to harass the dogs at Angel's corner every time; for this reason I picked a route that had me going north to south. Unfortunately I had no idea how flooded no-man's land was until we were really in the thick of it: it was ~1.5km of mud up to my ankles and water almost up to my knees. After about 300m of it I realized it would just be easier with Roxy off the leash: she's short and the water was up to her chest in places, so I let her pick her own path through the flooded wilderness while keeping a close eye on her. This was one of the hardest slogs I can remember; I decided to bag the extra distance south after no-man's land proper and took the fork in the road that leads down to the palapa road, then continued home via the usual southern route to the land bridge. This worked out well as far as Elewah was concerned; she ran ahead a little towards the end but never left my sight and came home straight to the gate with the rest of us.
GRADE: A
morning walk #1:
Alice
Ginger
Gracie
Rita
Ernie
Molly
Maggie
Ziggy
Tupo
(9)
I took this group for a walk across the land bridge and to the south. Tupo did well, as did everyone else. Gracie was on the leash the whole way with various others on for spells.
GRADE: A
morning walk #2:
Otto
Nico
(2)
Roni took these two for a walk up the coco trail to see the flamingos in the charcos to the north. Nico did some time on the leash but was mostly off. Otto started out on the leash and was a good boy and a good example for Nico the whole way.
GRADE: A
afternoon jaunt:
Miles
(1)
I took Miles for a little walk around the shrimpery. He had a nice time.
GRADE: A
morning run:
Posey
Eve
Frijolita
Mega
Lex
Steve McQueen
Murci
Cookie
Junebug
(9)
Northern charcos: ~8k. This was really Frijolita's route. I had intended to run the southern charcos but Frijolita will absolutely not go that way. When I turned to head east from the shrimpery she gave me that look that means she's going to bolt for home, so I stopped and headed north on the coco trail instead and she was happy. I thought I would run to the northern end of the palapa road and run south to appease her, but when we got there yet again she just would not go south. Since she feels so strongly about it I didn't see any point in fighting, so I took us east and then north, effectively running the normal "northern charcos" route backwards. Who knows why she hates the palapa road, or whatever it is about that route, I'm willing to work with her if I understand her issues. Nobody else cared at all; in fact June had a great time because she had never been that way before and she likes seeing new things. She was on the leash the whole way and a very good girl. In general this was a high-paced run and everyone had a great time.
GRADE: A
morning walk:
Alice
Ginger
Osita
Rita
Ernie
April
Maggie
Ziggy
Molly
(9)
I took this group for a walk across the land bridge with a loop to the south. Ernie, Molly and April left on leashes; I let Molly off across the road and Ernie as we neared the land bridge. April stayed on for the duration and was good. It was blustery and overcast and everyone enjoyed themselves.
GRADE: A
morning run:
Truman
Godzilla
George
Otto
Shirley
Daisy
Twiggy
Luna
Roxy
(9)
Up the beach past Au Soleil Couchant: ~6k. Same route as yesterday. We left with Daisy on the leash; I switched her for Roxy at the shrimpery and we were fine like that until we got to the beach at the tortuga sign (blue.bag trail both ways). I let Roxy off on the beach as usual. George lagged a little bit at times but it was mostly due to him wanting to screw around; he drank a lot of water and generally kept up. Everyone had a blast and behaved themselves.
GRADE: A
morning walk:
Tito
Linda
Tupo
(3)
Roni took this adorable little crew out for a walk across the land bridge. Linda started out on the leash to keep everyone together; she stayed on until the land bridge and was good thereafter. Tupo spent a little time on the leash and managed to figure it out quickly and ended up walking on the leash like a champ. Tito needed to be carried a little (he thinks of it more as supervising) but did well and will hopefully be tired today. It is hard to imagine a cuter group that this, but I'm sure we'll come up with something.
GRADE: A
morning run:
Rufus
Jack
Lily
Cookie
Lex
Zoila
(6)
Up the beach past Au Soleil Couchant: ~6k. Typical Rufus-and-gang run, with slightly fewer dogs than normal to keep the energy down at the gate. Rufus was really worked up today and could've used the muzzle this time in the first 250m. Once we were going things evened out and everyone was good. Zoila had a blast.
GRADE: A
morning walk:
Blue
Reggie
Tuesday
Gowron
Monkey
Linda
(6)
Roni took this group for a walk in the monte to the south with mixed results. Reggie and Tuesday were both on the leash the whole way and they can be a pain in the ass like this. Roni wrangled their leashes during the walk to make it a bit better but they just don't go together on leashes very well. PupG, Monkey and Linda all obviously had fun in the charcos but it wasn't as much fun for Roni as it might've been... sometimes it's like that. There was no misbehavior, at least.
GRADE: B
