We live in a neighborhood that backs up to the Delaware Greenway. The Greenway is a scenic byway for walking, hiking, or biking with trails leading along areas abundant in culture and history. The Delaware portion of the Greenway, runs about 13 miles, the entirety of the Greenway runs the length of the east coast, from Maine to Florida. Because we live here, we have this incredibly beautiful walk available to us, and it is virtually in our back yard.
Scrappy and Lola used to run with Mom on these trails, that is, until The Doctor told Mom that Scrappy shouldn’t be running as his form of exercise anymore (Lola never liked to run). Now it’s just leisurely walks along the trails. They’ve seen deer, fox, snakes, frogs, turtles, racoon, and fish. Mom finds bones in the woods, she collects them, she is weird.
I enjoy walks, but not as much as I enjoy food. Lately I’ve been awarded the opportunity to go on “the walk” – a short version of it, with Scrap, Lola, and Mom. On warm days, I’ve learned that Mom will stop at the stream and let us play, if no one is around. The running water is very exhilarating and quite refreshing on a hot day. Scrappy and Lola run down the embankment, get a drink, take a dip, and go running back to Mom. So that’s what I did, the first time.
The second time, Mom didn’t just drop the leash. She actually unhooked me. Scrappy and Lola were already enjoying the water when I made it down. I like to play in the water for a minute, then I sit. The cool water just feels so nice on the backside! Scrappy and Lola completed their stream time, ran back to Mom, and prepared to finish the walk through the woods.
Me…
I ran up the embankment to Mom, then ran back down. Naturally I wanted her to think I wasn’t quite finished yet. But I had other plans brewing. I crossed the stream and went up the embankment on the opposite side. I looked at Mom and she looked at me. I think she knew what I was up to at that point. I could tell by the way she said my name in a low, slow manner. As soon as my name was done coming from her mouth, I darted off in the opposite direction, into the woods.
Let me paint the picture for you. I am disappearing further into the woods, gallivanting over, and under, and all around. Hello freedom! Mom in her ankle splint, climbing up the embankment with Scrappy and Lola, “running” (broken ankle, remember?) across the bridge to get to the side I ran to, and shouting “Kevin, come and get cookies”. LIAR! She is a liar, who lies. She didn’t have cookies, but i came back, because what if she did?
My stint in the woods was a blast, a true taste of freedom, unabashed, uncensored, dog being dog freedom. What’s the problem, you ask? For starters, my hip. My hip is a real problem sometimes. I ran so fast and so hard on those sticks, through those trees, over the boulders, that when I came back I was done. Sore and done. Once Mom hooked me back up, I lay down on the trail, and no amount of coercing, bribing, or dragging was going to get me back up. Mom was very annoyed at this point. She held onto my collar, took off the leash, hooked it to Scrappy, then wrapped the leash around her waist. She did the same thing with Lola’s leash. She then scooped me up in her arms and carried me the one mile back home. When we got home, she was exhausted. She said to Dad “imagine walking a mile with two dogs wrapped around your waist, and carrying a 25lb weight in front of you”. She then looked at me and said “no more off leash fun for you, Mr. Schmoo”, she calls me that sometimes.
Just to give you a glimpse into the future I required carrying one more time through the woods, to which Mom’s reply was “no more trail walks”. Then once more when we went around the block, to which she responded “you’re Dad’s responsibility now”. In general Mom has a three strike rule, I hit all three.
I am not a bad dog. I just do bad things sometimes. I think that’s true for everyone. We are all innately good, but sometimes we just need to test the limits and boundaries put upon us. Good dogs, as well as good people are going to do bad things. It’s okay to test those limits and boundaries. The thing is, being good doesn’t excuse me, or anyone else from the consequences of our actions. We have to be held accountable. We still have a price to pay. Walks with Mom, Scrap, and Lola are the price I am forced to pay. I am going to work really hard to earn that back, but for now… I am a good dog, who did a bad thing, and is suffering the consequences of his actions.