Hiking With My Dog

Another dream of mine fulfilled.

I always wanted a dog I could go walking with and not have her leave me. Yesterday Daisy and I hiked through the corn fields near our house. Daisy is a timid dog until you get her out in the wild. She perks up and loves life like crazy.

Since we don't have a fenced in yard I always feel kind of bad that she can't just go out and run around for a while. I try to walk her regularly, but sometimes life gets the best of me and our walks are very short. So I wanted to make it up to her yesterday.

There have been times before that I would try to let Daisy run free and she took off like a fox bit her tail and I was afraid I would never see her again. Yesterday was different though. She's my dog now. We have bonded. I love her and she loves me. We don't want to be separated.

She didn't leave me.

She would run off a little ways, but she always came back.

It made me so happy.

I even tested her by stopping for a bit to see how long it would take for her to come see me. It took a few minutes. We both waited where we were and then finally she came over to me as though she was checking to see what was going on. I had plenty of treats to reward her with too.

Don't you love those stories about dogs who protect their owners in a time of trouble? That's what I envision Daisy doing for us if she ever needed to. I know. I am a total sap when it comes to my animals. I can't help it. I can totally see God's idea of having animals as companions for Adam before Eve came along though. No one greets you as happily as a dog on a regular basis. They live and breathe according to your actions. It's so great and fulfilling.

Granted, I know dogs can drive a person crazy too. Daisy is an exceptional dog, but even she about had her little neck wrung when she got away from me at the school and pooped by the walkway. But, she's doing what dogs do. I know dogs can have terrible habits too like getting into the trash, or chewing things up. My dog Scooter who I grew up with always got into the trash. He was so ornery. We loved him though and believe me he would have protected us if the time came. He bit his fair share of people who weren't even close to attacking us.

All this to say, I love my dog. I really thank God for her. It was so therapeutic for me to be in the fresh COLD air yesterday, hiking through the fields with my puppers. I believe it was for Daisy too, running like the wind, chasing all the smells of deer, squirrels, birds, etc. I need alone time like that at times, and it's much nicer for me to spend it with my dog than to be truly alone in a desolate field.

The funniest thing about this post is that if you ever met or meet Daisy she will probably be very afraid, and you will not be able to imagine her protecting us if she can't even handle dinner guests. But, she is getting better. She doesn't hide when people are here, and she barks like crazy now when people come to our door. She's got a loud bark too which I love. It is intimidating.

And, one night there were people walking outside. The windows were open and I have never heard Daisy growl the way she did. It was great.

Okay, and recently we had a plumber come to the house. Usually when people come I will tell them, "Oh, don't worry about the dog. She's all bark no bite." Then I realized I don't really want people to know that. So, to the plumber I said ... hee hee ... I think this is so funny ... I said, "Oh, don't worry. If we tell her you are okay, she'll think you are okay." As if, with one word she would attack. It's just always a bit unnerving when you have a strange man in your house to do work. I don't like it so I want them to think if they attack me my dog will attack them.

So, that's life with my dog. We may go for another hike today. My shoes got so muddy though and now with the snow it's going to be rediculous in the field. I'll have to wear my boots. I was so sad I forgot my camera yesterday though. We were both so happy!

Daisy on alert in our yard ... isn't she pretty?

Do you know she was scheduled to be put down? A woman rescued her and got her into the Rescue that we adopted her from. I guess this woman will rescue dogs from high kill shelters if she believes they can be a good pet for someone. Daisy came all the way from Kentucky! I can't imagine such a sweet dog being put down, but I am figuring that since she was so fearful they thought she would never be adopted.