November 12, 2013

The Dog You Need

To celebrate Ruby's maybe-birthday yesterday, I decided to take her for a hike.  Initially we planned on just going out to a rural area where we could walk some wide, gravel roads with pretty scenery, but I ended up stumbling across a hidden gem of an open space area, really almost too good to be true.

 
We met only one other person at the start, a woman walking a three-legged buff-colored Pomeranian.  I could tell that we were likely going to intersect, but I wasn't sure which way was she was going so I didn't change our course, just kept Ruby on the opposite side of the road as they exited the open space area.  They turned our way so we were walking parallel for a short time, although I picked up our pace to get ahead.  I was so proud of Ruby as we passed - she was interested but not reacting - but after we got in front the Pomeranian started barking  and Ruby could no longer contain herself.  She started straining at her leash and barking, and I broke into a jog and led us off the road. 


It was then that I noticed the county sign that designated the area as public access, so in a way we have the yappy Pomeranian to thank for our discovery.  I kept feeling like we were trespassing, that this beautiful respite in its transitory shades of rust and gold under a brilliant Colorado blue sky couldn't possibly be ours alone for the wandering... A little footpath gently wove around the edge of a ravine, into a pine forest, over a slick rock ridge and across a meadow with a cattail marsh at the bottom.


Ruby was a different dog in this setting.  I didn't ask much of her, as I wanted her to be able to relax and enjoy herself. Her terrier side definitely took over as she kept her nose to the ground for most of the time.  We listened to the calls of red-winged blackbirds from the reeds and dogs barking in the distance.  I truly felt she was in her element, not worried about traffic or strangers or the constant noise of the suburbs, and began to fantasize about a life in the country. As Ruby panted happily and explored the terrain with all her senses, I felt my own stress melt away.
 

Driving home with her curled contentedly in the back seat I realized that if Ruby were the "take anywhere" dog that I had initially hoped to adopt, we would not have traveled off the beaten path to find the swath of land that felt like our very own for an hour or so, that reminded me how much I love following my feet into the woods behind a wagging tail.  


10 comments:

  1. She's so photogenic! I can never get good photos of the girls on a trail. Normally it's their backsides, blurry because we don't stop walking. My old girl, Scarlette, is pretty reactive. I normally make them both sit and stay when we encounter another dog, or a bark-y dog. I keep meaning to put yellow on her leash, but I doubt people know what it means, anyways.

    Glad you're getting some bonding time with your new girl!

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    1. Yes, I really like the Yellow Dog movement, but don't think enough people know about it yet. Sitting still tends to make Ruby worse, it's best if we do an emergency U-turn or just create distance as quickly as possible. We had an off-leash dog come up to us this weekend in my boyfriend's neighborhood and Ruby was great, leading me to believe that she really just wants to Greet! All! The! Dogs! (by way of jumping in their faces which many do not appreciate).

      Ruby is very photogenic - my other dogs were pretty camera shy, and black animals (my Chow/GSD mix) are so difficult to photograph.

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  2. "...if Ruby were the "take anywhere" dog that I had initially hoped to adopt, we would not have traveled off the beaten path..."

    Beautiful. As you work with her, Ruby will become more comfortable in more situations. But it's great that you love her for who she is now and that you see the blessings of being with her.

    You touched my heart. :)

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  3. Ruby is just stunning! I really love her markings! :)

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    1. Her unique appearance is what drew me to her Petfinder photo - that and the mischievous glint in her eye!

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  4. I loved this article! I have a bull terrier mix and ruby reminds me of her. the terrier definitely is more predominant. I wanted her to be the take anywhere dog, but she isn't right now. hopefully soon... the situation you described above is probably exactly what we would experience as well.

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    1. Thanks so much for reading and commenting! Oh, terriers! They keep us on our toes, don't they? I hope your girl leads you to some hidden gems along your journey, too.

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  5. Ruby is such a gorgeous dog. I love finding spots like this and we're lucky, because we have so many that are within driving distance. I'm looking forward to getting back out there now that our weather is supposed to warm up.

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    1. She really is striking - I still cannot stop admiring and photographing her! Ruby is reactive in the car towards bikes, dogs and pedestrians (thankfully not other cars...) - getting there is half the battle so the more remote the better!

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