Not Patrolling Much

In the last week, I've been out in the park almost every day, but just for a short, slow walk along the west side. My old dog has heart problems, and they seem to be suddenly worse this week. Tika has had ups and downs in the 16 months since we discovered the congestive heart failure, so I'm hoping that this is just another brief down. 

She used to be untiring; could "hike" 10 miles with me, which meant that she ran back and forth and acted as scout the entire time, so probably more like 15 or 20 miles for her, and then still wanted to play when she got home. She used to fly over jumps and through tunnels competing with me in dog agility at a phenomenal speed with great joy.  So this is hard for both of us to take. Yet, going for a walk is still her favorite thing in the world, even on days when she doesn't want to eat or play. She usually likes attention, so when people ask whether they can pet my dog(s), I say yes.

But, this week in particular, she doesn't seem to have the energy to walk very far or very fast, and she's coughing a lot, so I'm concentrating more on her than on patrolling for the leavings of naughty neighbors.

I have picked up a couple of dog poops, a few cigarette butts, and maybe a half dozen random bits and scraps.  I've thanked a couple of people whom I've seen picking up their dogs' messes. I've smiled and said hello to bike riders, kids, walkers, joggers, families, other dog folks. 

Because any day is a beautiful day to be out in our park.