Today marks Vita and my longest uphill run to date. Left the house, ran up the Oak Grove Road for approximately 4 miles to its intersection with Leeds Creek, turned around and ran home for a total of about 8 miles.
Vita is a very fast dog with an enormous amount of endurance. However, she normally isn't as fast as the critters she chases. Even when I think she is exhausted and doesn't have any energy to spare, she can transition from a trot to a sprint in a snap if she sees a critter of any kind. Today was the exception. Just over half way into our excursion, Vita spied a squrrel and took off. Expecting her to intercept me a few strides down the road, I was surprised when I heard the cries of a frightened squirrel fighting for its life. Vita has a long yellow squeaky toy, "Mr. Squeak-ums," we call him, which she loves to fling through the air. To my horror she was treating the squirrel as she would Mr. Squeak-ums. Call me a hippie, but I love animals. Needless to say I yelled at Vita until she let the squirrel go. Several minutes later, after I gave Vita a thorough tongue-lashing in addition to several swats to the nose, we continued home. The entire run home she stayed two paces behind me and resisted her carnal urges to chase rabbits, birds, lizards, and other critters. I feel remorse over disciplining my dog, however, she must learn self control. I must leave now and return home to face Vita...wagging tail and all. Man's best friend.
Vita is a very fast dog with an enormous amount of endurance. However, she normally isn't as fast as the critters she chases. Even when I think she is exhausted and doesn't have any energy to spare, she can transition from a trot to a sprint in a snap if she sees a critter of any kind. Today was the exception. Just over half way into our excursion, Vita spied a squrrel and took off. Expecting her to intercept me a few strides down the road, I was surprised when I heard the cries of a frightened squirrel fighting for its life. Vita has a long yellow squeaky toy, "Mr. Squeak-ums," we call him, which she loves to fling through the air. To my horror she was treating the squirrel as she would Mr. Squeak-ums. Call me a hippie, but I love animals. Needless to say I yelled at Vita until she let the squirrel go. Several minutes later, after I gave Vita a thorough tongue-lashing in addition to several swats to the nose, we continued home. The entire run home she stayed two paces behind me and resisted her carnal urges to chase rabbits, birds, lizards, and other critters. I feel remorse over disciplining my dog, however, she must learn self control. I must leave now and return home to face Vita...wagging tail and all. Man's best friend.
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