Strange Day at Doggie Park

Guinness and I arrived as a man we know was crossing the field with his unfriendly Wheaten Terrier. Guinness couldn’t wait to get out of the car. I told him that was an unfriendly dog, but he took off racing to meet the dog. Within 20 feet or so, he “remembered” and stopped in his tracks. The owner encouraged him, so he came for pets while the dog barked at him. We crossed the field together where we encountered Frank and mad-dog Mattie. Guinny did his business in the leaves a distance from us. By the time I got there, the leaves were camaflouge and Guinness managed to clean it up himself. Yuck!

After everyone had gathered, Guinness decided to chew sticks rather than play. Today was very cold, -17 F with no snow. My plan was to chase him to give him exercise plus remove the stick. I have a tradition of falling at least once every winter. Even the winter we lived in San Diego: while walking Hershey on the uneven sidewalk, I tripped and ripped my jeans. Again today, no ice; no snow, yet Uggs are not meant to be running shoes. I think they caused me to trip on the flat frosty field sending me skidding diagonally until I finally touched down. No one saw it happen. Too bad, because I think it would have been a comical sight. I’m not sure what happened to Guinness’s stick, but I never saw it again.

With me engaged in chatter, I missed Guinness following Frank out of the park. Once I realized it, Guinness ignored my calls. I didn’t feel like running again, besides my knee was beginning to feel “wet.” My thoughts were – if he gets run over, he gets run over, and I won’t have to deal with his nonsense. As Frank reached the street, Guinness decided to heed my command. I snapped on his leash intending to leave, but Burton came racing to play, so I released him. Once they stopped running, I picked up his leash and headed home to check out my leg and throw my outer clothes into the wash.