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morning walk:
Zasu
Miles
(2)
Roni took these two for a walk down towards the land bridge with the dual purpose of getting our two oldest dogs out on a slow walk and foraging a big bag of pasiflora for tea. All objectives accomplished. Zasu is amazing: she's 19 years old and still can kick our asses when she wants to. Miles is equally amazing in his own way: his will to dawdle is unequalled in the history of this planet. I'm sure of it.
GRADE: A
morning walk/swim:
Ziggy
Linda
Perl
Ruby
(4)
I took these four out for another walk/swim on the beach to the south, mainly; the last one was such a success and this is a fun little group. Linda wanted to screw around on the shore a bit more than last time but everyone swam with wild abandon and enjoyed themselves immensely.
GRADE: A
morning run:
Truman
Frijolita
Elewah
Luna
Xmul
Steve McQueen
Murci
Cookie
Zoila
Tupo
(10)
Au Soleil Couchant and north: 7k. Zoila can be a handfull but the rest of this group was stellar, even Elewah. We ran all the way to Au Soleil Couchant via the monte for a change; I wanted to check out the state of salt-worker activity on that route and also give Zoila some running time in the monte because I don't let her off the leash on the beach yet... maybe soon, but she's still a bit too wild. We hit the beach at ASC, headed north quite a way and came home via the tortuga sign. The big news (for me) on this run was: Tupo swam! Of his own accord, no less. He's been playing more and more in the surf with his buddies on runs and today he just threw himself in all the way. It was only once, but he's never done anything like that before. Pretty cool. A salt worker (Mosco, someone I happen to know) was working alone in the charco nearest to the road and that was all it took for Zoila to freak out and pitch a fit; she's always on a harness, at least, but I still had to literally reel her in like a fish, pick her up and carry her past him even though he was at least 10m. She's a sweetie and very smart but needs more leash time and experience on the road to get over The Fear. Elewah did her now-usual dash to the beach as we were getting home. As it turns out she dragged Luna and Tupo with her, there actually were people swimming nearby and they had a dog with them that was on the shore. Elewah, Luna and Tupo were perfectly friendly to the other dog, who was a little put off by so many other dogs appearing at once, and I just hooked Luna up and talked the other two back to the gate, no worries. Elewah will probably always do that but it's a tiny vestige of her former attitude when she was still mostly wild. All in all a nice, fast, hard run.
GRADE: A
morning walk:
Alice
George
Archie
Ernie
Molly
April
Maggie
Ziggy
Perl
Ruby
(10)
I took this group for a walk up the coco trail to the maginot line and north on the beach a bit. April was on the leash a lot but I trust her more than I used to and she did not disappoint me. She ran ahead a little on the beach but listened and stayed with me. I had her on the leash coming home to keep her from running too far ahead but she was an angel the whole way and probably didn't need it. Perl and Ruby did extremely well, in large part because they had nothing but good examples: everyone behaved perfectly and the two newbies did what everyone else was doing. We got barked at a bit on the way to the beach but neither pup was interested in returning fire; in fact they both listened and stayed with me. Everyone swam like nuts and had a good time sniffing stuff in the monte to and from the beach. A very nice walk and a good experience for the puplings.
GRADE: A
morning walk:
Ginger
Bette
Blue
Gowron
Otto
Monkey
Amber
Zoot
(8)
Roni took this group for a walk in the monte and the beach at the maginot line. Zoot's desire to "lead" when he doesn't know where you're going can be frustrating; his overridding impulse is to be with Roni so he never goes but so far astray. Everyone was really good in general and enjoyed the monte and the beach. The trail down the maginot line is pretty right now and the bugs still have not kicked in despite all the recent rain... we know they're coming, we're just happy to have a few more walks and runs that don't result in blood loss.
GRADE: A
morning pup training mission:
Ziggy
Linda
Perl
Ruby
(4)
I snuck out with these four to go for a swim in The Big Water. We farted around in front of the house and walked lazily to the south, jumping into the water constantly for more aquatic ninja training. Perl and Ruby are coming along amazingly well. Ziggy and Linda were both great examples: they stayed with me, listened and swam a lot.
GRADE: A
morning run:
Truman
Eve
Posey
Shirley
Lex
Cookie
Junebug
Tupo
Nico
(9)
North beach run: ~7k. This was Nico's first run: her skin problem is finally starting to clear up and she's been putting on weight and looking more like a dog for a few weeks. I had her on the leash the whole way because she gave me trouble getting her back on the leash the last time I took her out and I don't know her reactions to people and vehicles yet. Her brother Tupo has become extremely dependable that way and I think Nico will be the same but it's best to ease into things. She did well the whole way and had a great time splashing in the water and running... those long, long legs are good for running. June was off the leash on the beach and on it everywhere else - she was an angel and had a blast. We took the blue bag trail heading out and the maginot line coming home. I'm very proud of Nico.
GRADE: A
morning walk:
Alice
Ginger
Bette
Gracie
Archie
Ernie
Molly
Maggie
Ziggy
Hazel
(10)
I took this group for a walk up to the beach at the maginot line. Molly was an idiot crossing the road and should be on a leash there. Otherwise everyone was excellent. I had Gracie and Ernie on leashes leaving but they came off quickly. I mainly worry about those two if there are goats around, but it was obvious even before we got to the shrimpery road that there weren't. Everyone had a good time swimming and screwing around on the beach. Ginger managed to get a dead fish almost all the way back down the coco trail coming home - pretty funny to watch her manage it.
GRADE: A
morning run:
Posey
Truman
Eve
Blue
Xmul
Mega
Murci
Cookie
Junebug
Tupo
(10)
North beach run: ~7k. Blue was thrown in as 10th dog at the last minute. This was a fast one, north well past Au Soleil Couchant. We took blue bag trail heading out and the maginot line coming home. June is getting better about seeing random people but I still don't trust her off the leash around vehicles. She's fun to run with and really likes to haul ass and play in the water (that's what her social media profile would say); that's true for everyone else who came on this one, come to think of it, except Tupo and his comical aversion to the water. We managed to sneak up the maginot line without attracting any attention and everyone was good the whole way to the gate.
GRADE: A
pup swim:
Perl
Ruby
(2)
I took these two down to the beach for an extended swimming session. They both had an excellent time and I was highly amused.
GRADE: A
morning run:
Alice
Rita
Otto
Rufus
Shirley
Daisy
Twiggy
Tupo
(8)
Maginot line and a little more: ~5k. This was too many dogs to take with Rufus: the energy was too high in the launchpad and we had a rough time getting out. Rufus was too wound up and it took me several tries to get him pointed in the right direction and focused on running. Everyone settled down by the time we got to the shrimpery but it's not fun to leave like that; the harness helps a bit but not with the issues at the gate. He should not go with so many dogs, even if they're all good - he pours his own excitement into the mix and it sloshes over into everyone else. We should probably also go back to using a muzzle when we leave if only because he then focuses on that and it's easier to get him running and having a good time. As bad as the exit was, the rest of the run was nice. Everyone behaved themselves and listened to me in spite of being barked at constantly by strays and the dogs at the HoJo. There was a man clearing brush right on the border of the maginot line and everyone was perfect: not one bark or even a move in his direction, he and I exchanged pleasantries as we went by. Started poorly but ended well.
GRADE: C
morning walk:
Ginger
Bette
Blue
Gowron
Monkey
Amber
Zoot
Coco
Nico
(9)
Roni took this group for a fast walk in the monte to the north and east. Coco was on the leash the whole way, on her harness; she isn't thrilled by it but she was good. Amber left on the other leash but came off at the shrimpery and only went on at the very end coming home. She needs to be on the leash leaving and coming home because she gets ideas and Zoot is easily influenced but she has improved markedly in the last few months. It was hot out and the edges of the charcos stink but at least the bugs weren't bad.
GRADE: A
vet trip:
Nikkita*
Anonymous Dog*
(2)
I haven't normally posted about these kinds of trips but I'm going to start: this was a trip to the vet that didn't involve any of our dogs, the kind of thing we do as CADA all the time. Nikkita is Jackie's dog and also a good friend of mine; she was sterilized by us, was diagnosed with CTVT and was subsequently treated by Sandra on several vet trips like this one. Jackie was concerned her cancer might be coming back (it did once before) but she received a clean bill of health and was a very good girl through a difficult trip (blown tire early on). The anonymous dog (don't know her name) is a poor little chihuahua female that was hit by a car about 2 weeks ago. The owner brought it to Jackie, who consulted with Dr. Vic and Sandra and gave it pain meds until it could somehow get to the vet. I was told of this late last week and today was the first day I could get away. It turns out she doesn't have any internal injuries other than her hip, which was more or less shattered by the blow; she's otherwise okay. She can be fixed by surgery, but only Dr. Novelo does this kind of work. We have used Dr. Novelo in the past and he is very good, especially with orthopedic surgery. He has to look the case over and come up with an estimate of how much it will cost. The owners gave me some money for the vet but it will not be anywhere near enough - Sandra said she's sure this will be a costly surgery; she sent us home with better pain meds to last a few days. Jackie is now looking for donations from some of the people here who have helped in the past; you can also donate to us to help. Several people who live in Celestun recently donated to help the poor little pup whose leg had to be amputated, so we're hoping some more money can be found to help here. Assuming all goes well I'll probably take her back early next week. A hard trip both ways in the heat but both dogs were troopers.
morning run:
Osita
Frijolita
Chester
Frankie
Xmul
Mega
Murci
Junebug
Tupo
(9)
North beach: ~7k. I purposely threw Osita into this one because she hadn't gone in a while and she loves running with her sister Frijolita. We took the blue.bag trail both ways to the beach; there was a small group of salt workers just to the north of where the trail lets out on the road to the east and everyone was fine with it, including June (probably because there were no vehicles). Osita ditched me right after we got to the beach, which is annoying. Frankie and Xmul were both playing very aggressively in the water and I think Osita didn't like it. She gets like this sometimes and just gives me this look that says "I don't feel like it now, Dad." If it had been another dog I might've just cut it short and turned around with her but she's old and smart and knows her way home; also, the rest of the dogs really needed a longer run than that. She ran home on the beach, obviously, since Roni said she was wet when she got home, and she didn't make everyone crazy when she arrived so she must've turned up one of the beach trails before our house to arrive at the back gate. Next time she'll go with Alice and George and gang. Everyone else was perfect, although I had to really ride Xmul and Frankie verbally and put them both on the leash at different times to reign them in a little. June and Xmul were off the hook on the beach and on it everywhere else, but I'm starting to think I might trust June off the leash in the monte as long as I don't hear any vehicles. Nice, fast run.
GRADE: B
morning walk:
Ginger
Blue
Tuesday
Gowron
Monkey
(5)
Roni took this group up to the maginot line and the beach. All of them love the water and are good about getting barked at by the dogs at the HoJo, although that is annoying. Everyone behaved themselves and had a good time.
GRADE: A
morning run:
Eve
Posey
Truman
Lily
Luna
Lex
Murci
Cookie
Zoila
(9)
Southern charcos and then some: ~9k. This was such a high-energy group and we left early enough that I wanted to do a bit of recon on the monte and see where the salt workers are now. Zoila is a bit of a wildcard but she was on the harness and was the only dog I really had to focus on. Right off the bat we ran into a couple clueless kids trapping birds at the Shrimpery: their moto freaked Zoila out and I had to carry her down the road east to get past them. Once I put her down we took off and didn't stop for at least 2k, all the way at the southernmost point of the run. We made such good time north up the palapa road that I decided to do the full monty and hit the beach at Au Soleil Couchant; it jacks the distance up a bit but we were doing so well and Zoila really loves to swim (along with everyone else on this run). We took the beach all the way to the maginot line to give everyone as much time in the water as possible. They were all angels, and Zoila had a really great time.
GRADE: A
morning beach run:
Alice
Rita
Otto
Rufus
Shirley
Daisy
Twiggy
Tupo
(8)
Maginot line: ~5k. I threw Alice in because she always wants to go with me and she's been a pain at home. She's fine on runs like this, she just likes to lag a little in spots, although it was probably borderline too hot for her. We left on the road side for a change and Rufus was pretty good; we used the harness on him this time, at Roni's suggestion, and it is definitely the way to go from now on with him. We didn't run that far or that fast and the beach was kind of gross but what the hell, everyone had a good time.
GRADE: A
pup swim:
Perl
Ruby
(2)
These two charmed me into a trip to The Big Water. They are crazy funny.
GRADE: A
morning run:
Eve
Blue
Posey
Xmul
Mega
Lex
Murci
Cookie
Junebug
Tupo
(10)
North beach run: ~8k. I threw Blue in as 10th dog at the end because she's always so good and really loves running with her sisters (Eve and Posey). Xmul was extra wound up but settled down after the first kilometer or so. We took the long way to the beach and stayed on the ridge the whole way this time. Solitaria and Loba were clearly visible on the other side of the alt. land bridge and barked their heads off at us as we ran past on the other side; my charges behaved themselves perfectly and did nothing but stay with me. We heard those two barking at us for almost a full kilometer as we picked our way north along the road that runs right on the other side of those charcos. Once on the beach we ran north farther than we have in a while and took the maginot line coming home, to give everyone lots of time to swim and screw around. The pace was high most of the way. Xmul and June were off the leash on the beach but I had them both on before we got to the maginot line. Everyone was perfect to the gate. Nice, hard run. Surprisingly few bugs.
GRADE: A
pup swim:
Pearl
Ruby
(2)
I took these little marmots out for a swim and run-around on the beach. We have to get more video of them, they're hysterically funny and cute. Today Ruby was the brave one, last time it was Pearl.
GRADE: A
vet trip:
Linda
Anonymous Puppy*
(2)
Today we did some CADA duty. A fisherman saved a pup with a severely broken leg that had been abandoned in a cardboard box: it had a compound fracture that went untreated. They brought it to Jackie, who sent pictures to Dr. Vic; the vets said it had to be amputated, as the bone was already starting to become infected. I took the pup to Dra. Sandra today and, since I was going, took Linda to be checked over. She has been grouchy at times recently and she hadn't been seen or had bloodwork done in years, so why not. It turns out she has the worst hips of anyone, she's just small and tough and doesn't complain too much. You wouldn't know it from the way she acts. Her bloodwork all came back clean. The pup was operated on and did well enough to come home that day (there were doubts). It's recovering well now and should be fine. I'll find out more about the fisherman who saved it, since Jackie said they've saved several dogs and want to help more. Good vet trip, although the reason was terrible.
GRADE: A
