Mom and I wanted to go somewhere far away this weekend. We were willing to take the Covered Wagon for 6 hours to find somewhere where the weather wouldn’t be rotten and the roads wouldn’t be covered with white dirt, but no matter what direction we looked in, there was going to be nasty weather. So we decided to stay home.
“I have an idea,” Mom said. “You know that mountain where there are always people, even at 4:30am on a Thursday?” “Yeah, sure,” I said. I like that trail because there are cows. “I bet with the weather being as nasty as it is, there won’t be a lot of people there. Let’s go for it!” “Goody goody gumdrops! Moo-cows!” I said. I’m part cattle dog, so barking at moo-cows is why I was put on this earth. I’m very good at it.
All the people who weren’t at the mountain were really missing something special, because just like us, the moo-cows had come to hang out on the empty trail and were chilling within sniffing distance. Not only that, but because cows are wide and flat like sails, they were all lying boneless on the ground so that they wouldn’t blow away. I barked at a few of them, but they just rolled their big moo-cow eyes in fear and stayed lying on the ground like dropped blankets.
Presently a bunch of humans came by and said something to Mom that we couldn’t hear because their words blew away before they got to our ears. “I’m fine,” Mom said, and waved them away. The wind followed her hand, and blew the people down the hill so that we could be alone again. “I think they were asking if you pooped your pants, Mom. You had better get up before someone starts a rumor.”
Normally I would have coached Mom to hurry up if she were running 45-minute miles, but something told me that today was not the day for coaching. So I took teeny, tiny steps beside her. Then, a big moo-cow stepped onto the trail not 20 feet in front of us and looked right at me, challenging me to do something about it. I didn’t even pull on the leash to get a better look or bark at him. Every time I leaned forward to get a better sniff, Mom gave me a tug on the leash and told me “no,” and I pulled back. When this moo-cow told all of her moo-cow friends how bad I was at barking, Mom was going to owe me big time.
Finally we got back to the car kennel, and Mom tipped herself into the car seat. “Can we come back and try again tomorrow?” I asked. “I don’t think that I’ll be better enough to hike tomorrow, Bub,” Mom said sadly. “You know, Mom. You committed to taking me on regular runs and adventures, and you haven’t been keeping up your side of the deal lately. If you’re going to miss any more hikes and runs, I’m going to need a vet’s note if you don’t want to be fired.” Since Mom is a loyal human, she agreed to see the knee vet this Friday. Until then, it’s nothing but naps for this hunk.
Oscar the wind-blown Pooch
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