Summer’s relentless heat is finally easing, and today we felt the first of the crisp, cool autumn breezes coming off the ocean. This is my favorite time of year. In other parts of the country, the leaves are changing colors and people are enjoying the summer’s last hurrah before tucking in for winter. Here in So Cal, I am less worried about rattlesnakes and heat exhaustion, so I can take my dogs out to hike in the canyon. It is such a joy to watch them stretch out and run with no real destination. To move for the joy of moving. My labrador bounding through the bushes like labs really should, my border collie racing around trying to figure out how she can keep an eye on all of us, and my pugs racing down the path, here and there venturing a little ways off only to decide that there too many stickers and bushes and that staying on the path is much better. My biggest joy is letting them just run and run. I literally have an canyon across the street, and mostly it is deserted so I can take them out and not worry. No other dogs, no people, just me and them. At the top of the hill, we can see the ocean, and even though all the brush is California dead and dry, it’s still peaceful and pretty.
These are my zen moments. I can find the quiet in their freedom and joy. They love to run the canyon, what dog wouldn’t really? I can’t even remember how many rescue dogs I have fostered that have been rehabilitated by that canyon. After being stuck in the shelter, the chance to run and play, sniff and explore, and just simply be a dog for a while is a medicine like no other. I’ve watched them go from spun up, out of control maniacs that no one wants; to steadier, calmer, more social members of the canine community. The exercise is much of it, stretching out cramped muscles, letting loose their pent up frustrations. But there is something different about the canyon. It’s not the dog park, with the forced interactions and the resident doggie gangs that pick on the newcomers, it’s not a long walk where you must mind your manners and at least not drag me down the street, and it’s not just running around in the yard. The canyon, to these dogs, must look like forever. Open hillsides, rabbit burrows, coyote trails to follow, an endless array of sights and smells. I’m sure my ease there communicates itself to them. There is really no where for them to go, they can run till their hearts content and I just wait for them to return. They always do. It’s not that they want to leave, I am, after all, their pal and the lady with the cookies; they just want to GO. Just go for a while with no one to tell them they are bad, or wrong, or too much to handle.
I wonder how much happier most dogs would be if they all had a canyon. A place to dance their doggie dance with us as observers and companions instead of our usual controlling selves. The world in general makes me panicky and stressed, the canyon for me is peace. I wonder how much better we’d all be if we had a canyon to play in.
I didn’t know where this was going when I started it, but I would like to dedicate it to my many foster pups who have run the canyon with me, in hopes that they are as happy in their new homes as they were in the canyon……………………
Posted on September 17th, 2007 by michelle
Filed under: My dogs, Random run ins
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