(48) Dog Heaven

Yesterday Beeker and I went to the woodsy part of the Lake of the Woods Prairie. This always gets the dogs excited. Even when I drive up the street to get to the entry, they start moaning. There is not other way to describe the sound that comes out of them when they know they are about to go somewhere they love. The prairie and the grandparents house. Since Brad had to work,it was just Beeks and me. Beeker has not been to the woodsy part since last year because it gets just too muddy during the winter and early Spring. I put him on the 20 foot leash with out his gentle leader so that he could really track all of the smells. He is absolutely in Dog Heaven when we go this route. It's wet, its muddy, its smelly, and its got lots of grasses and sticks to jump over. True dog heaven. I so wish I could have him off lead. We have been there when we have met other dogs and owners with the dogs off lead and I always wonder how they can afford to do that. I would be afraid that I would be ticketed for breaking the leash law and afraid that Beeks would run away and not return. My fear. Anyway, he loves getting twenty feet of freedom. We were about 5 minutes into the trail and Beeks starts to put his nose to the ground, tracking back and forth across the trail. I'm thinking that he is going to find some interesting stuff, a dead critter or deer doot or something real cool. He stops and then goes for something I can't recognize but looks orange. I get to him just as he is about to swallow a tiny piece of a goldfish cracker. The tail end. Yep that's my tracker!

The trail has been bushwhacked somewhat,cleaned up, tree limbs cut and large chipped limestone put down for the runners that use this 5 mile trail. It's rugged and it has good changes in the terrain so most every day there are joggers on this wilderness trail. Whenever we see some person coming I recall Beeks and when he comes I keep him to a heel. We greet who ever we meet and I notice that we don't get a warm greeting in return. Now if you know Beeker, he isn't threatening. He looks but doesn't bark. I think that most people are fearful of any dog they don't know, even dogs who are under control. Even if they have dogs themselves. Even if they are "dog people".

We cross creeks every so often. This is the best part to Beeker. On the right is slime water and on the left, filtered through the big limestone rocks, is clear. I gear him towards the clear side and in he goes. It cools him down, it feels great and then up he comes, happy as a dog in heaven. I was able to keep him to the left for most of the creeks, except one time when he went into the left side, splashed then darted up and out of the creek bed into the other side. the slime side. When he came out his face was covered green.
By the time we got back to the car Beeks was happily wet,sandy and severely muddy. He had to ride in the way back to get home. This isn't his usual station in life but he was so tired that he didn't complain. Good thing DQ was on the way home. He didn't complain about that either.