New Frontiers

I did something Monday night that I haven't done before.  I'd thought about it, but I hadn't gathered the courage to do it yet.  I guess the bronchitis has addled my brain a bit.  At least, that's the theory I'm going with to explain my bout of temporary insanity. 

I suppose you're wondering what it is that I decided to do.  I decided to take Morgan for a walk by myself for the first time.  Of course, I also took Bunny along, too.  We had to get our Idita Walk minutes in before the bitter cold hit on Tuesday and Wednesday.  Fortunately, Monday was just warm enough that the snow on the roads was a bit slushy and not slick as ice like it had been previously. 

Morgan gets serious bouts of Cabin Fever when she doesn't get her regular walks.  Mr. Taleteller has a bit of an aversion to the cold weather walks and I often settle for putting it off when he doesn't want to go.  I could go out by myself and take Bunny, but that seems unfair to Morgan who really needs the exercise.  I'm also guessing that my nieghbors appreciate not having to hear her howl the whole time Bunny and I would be away from the house.  I know Morgan well enough to know that walking her is not like walking the hounds. 

Still, I'm no stranger to walking two dogs.  There was even a time when I regularly walked three Greyhounds at once.  Bunny is used to walking with me and Blueberry, so I knew she could handle it, and it's not like she and Morgan don't know each other.  What could go wrong?  I told myself that we'd just walk the short route and get our thirty minutes in.  That would kill the time it would take Mr. Taleteller to get home from his after work meeting. 

As we started out, I was patting myself on the back.  We were walking along and I even had both dogs' leashes in one hand.  Morgan was surfing the snowbanks while Bunny was demonstrating her perfect walking techniuque for me.  I couldn't believe I'd waited so long to try walking the girls together on my own.  I didn't need Mr. Taleteller to wrangle any dog!  I could do it all on my own.

When we got to the turning point between the short walk and the long walk, I started to think about doing the whole long route.  However, that's when my bronchitis decided to rear its ugly head and remind me that I am not invincible after all.  So, we made a turn and headed towards home, albeit reluctantly on all our parts.  We passed the school and there was some event happening that had a lot of cars parked or driving along the road.  I muttered a bit under my breath about people refusing to stop and let us by and we crossed the street to walk in the church parking lot, which was cleared much better anyway. 

As we passed through the parking lot, Morgan could see people walking around across the street and she went into alert mode.  I talked to her and she managed to make it past them all without showing her wolfy side.  I was so proud of my girls as we crossed the street and got within a block of our house.  At the corner, there was a house with a giant black lab tied out in front for his powder room break.  Morgan was on full alert by this point, but still holding it together.  I kept reminding her that I was there and thought we'd actually make it past when Bunny was overcome by the spirit of playfulness.  She did a little play bow and I said her name with that warning tone that signals I'm serious and must be obeyed.

Morgan's control snapped when Bunny started trying to get the lab to come and play.  The next thing I knew Morgan was leaping over Bunny in a move that the makers of the Matrix movies would have been in awe over.  Bunny ducked under her in perfect execution of her ninja play bow and I braced myself to go down hard as Morgan and the other dog both started to bark.  However, they had managed to twist their leashes together and instead of pulling against me, they pulled on each other.  I had to laugh as they both took a moment to pause.  The woman came to the door and reeled the black beast inside and I convinced Morgan and Bunny that going home was a good idea.  

I learned some things through this experience.  First is that I can walk Morgan and Bunny at the same time.  Second, there's a big dog that now lives along one of our usual walking routes.  Third, the next time I take Morgan and Bunny out together it will be warmer and dry on the ground.  Fourth, if I decide to walk Blueberry with Morgan and Bunny both then I need some sort of intervention.

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