I have shared a lot of blogs about hiking with Rocket. One might wonder what a typical hike is like for this mischievous, sometimes over excitable pup. All our hikes begin the same. We get in the car and Rocket gets excited; he can’t help but to throw out a few barks and leaps as he gets in the truck and rides to the trail. Once at the trail, the real fun, or business, begins. First comes the tasks of sniffing. This act is a must do, not only upon entering the trail, but throughout the hike.
Once the first order of business is accomplished, we move on to advancing. As we fall into rhythm, everyone begins to relax and enjoy the sights and sounds of nature. It is usually at this point that Rocket will get distracted by a chirping grinny, and that must be checked out! Rocket ensures that the chipmunk will not interfere with our hike any further, then “marks” the spot before resuming the hike. This “marking” continues for about the first 1-2 miles of our hike.
With the critters out of the way, Rocket is free to explore landmarks of interest. On this particular trip, he decided to investigate the remains of an old spring-fed well located on the site of an early settlement. The well was shallow enough for him to easily hop into, but hopping back out became a problem. It was just deep enough that he was unable to pull himself out. There he sat looking at us, stuck in the well, just waiting on us to come to his rescue.
I am not convinced that he was as amused as we were as we stood there laughing at him.
After lots of encouragement, Rocket made a desperate attempt to pull himself out.
And after several attempts….
…he made it. With this fiasco out of the way, Rocket was ready to resume his hike in search of more excitement!
After the first half of our hikes, around the first or second mile, Rocket falls into a more relaxed pace. Once the hike is over, he gets back into the truck and settles into the seat to rest contently during the ride home. On the best trips, we stop for pup cups on the way home!
This hike was taken on a mild day in February. There was nothing out of the ordinary on this hike and Rocket’s behavior was completely acceptable. It was during this same month that the unexpected happened. My next blog will not be a pleasant one. I feel I should warn you that you will see and read about a very scary and painful episode in Rocket’s Story. In fact, it is the very reason that I began this blog.