A mile and a half into Gudy, heading towards the peak, Argos and I were greeted by one of those dogs with the creepy blue-white eyes (husky? Australian Shepherd? cattle-dog?). As we were about to crest a hill, the dog suddenly appeared sans owner at the top of the hill and started to run straight for us.
I picked up a big stick just in case, fully prepared to use it, as he approached Argos. They circled a little then kicked into a full blown snarling snapping "man contest". I called Argos off and, as he heeled to my side, I gave a little praise for money well spent on his training. He really is a great listener and is getting even better as he matures.
As quickly as the contest started, it halted and suddenly they were BFFs. They sniffed and romped and I continued to run. I saw the ghost-eyed dog had a collar but was puzzled that there wasn't a person attached. After literally a mile, I saw a group of four in the distance who, upon seeing us, stopped and stared. These must be his people, I thought.
As I approached I asked them if it was their dog. "Yeah" they said, "We were wondering where he went off to." I laughed and made a joking comment that I found another running partner as Argos and I continued on our run.
Just shy of the peak (about a half mile later) I heard hard breathing to my back right. I looked down and there was that dog, still running with us! Argos and I stopped at the peak to wait for his owner. I was quite sure this pup was on the young side and based on his heavy panting and lagging behind I knew he was not going to be able to keep up with us if we continued.
When the owner arrived I suggested she leash him up until we get out of sight. She said, "He's kinda new for us (i.e. we just got him) and we weren't sure how he would do off leash."
What??!
So you take a brand new dog (to you) and allow him to wander at his own risk in one of the most notorious trails to get lost on? Smart lady, real smart. When I first ran with the DTR on this trail there were jokes and warnings of previous seasoned runners who got lost on a Gudy run and had to be searched out by the other runners. Add to it the noted mountain lions, bears, and coyotes...well, that's just irresponsible in my opinion. Can't blame the dog either.
On the way back up to the peak from the other direction we came across this:
what animal is this from?
Gave me a little dose of the heebie-jeebies seeing how picked clean it was. Looked like there was still some bloody tissue around the eye sockets too.
Yesterday was a nice flat run at Fairmount Trail. Now that I know where it leads to I can set my goal of an out and back knowing it will be an easy 7 miler.
I waited until 1930 to run so it would cool down. It's starting to heat up around here and actually feel like summer!
Finished in an hour just as the sun was setting. Perfect timing! Ended the evening with a chocolate covered cherry smoothie: homemade plain yogurt, freshly pitted cherries, and chocolate whey powder. It was fabulous.
1 comments:
It's always a joy to see animal parts sprinkled all around the trail you're running on, isn't it? I've gotten more used to it, but it's still creepy.
I'm guessing that's a deer pelvis and lower back, but hard to see without moving around it.
Hooray for Argos and master for the heel! Good boy. As for clueless pet owners, I think you expressed my thoughts pretty well.
Been looking for the cactus flowers but still haven't seen any myselef. They're fairly fleeting and fragile considering how tough and spiny the plant is.
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