Home Zookeeper

I mean that literally. We had Agility training tonight and I decided that Kodiak and Quinn deserved to come along. There are several fields fenced off and they usually move the sheep so the dogs can get some energy out before and after class. Since Quinn and Kodiak are so often (always) stuck at home they’re starting to get a little too chubby. It’s hard because Kodiak can’t endure too much physical activity. And we thought that Quinn was getting too old.

I was very wrong about Quinn. I almost started crying (with happiness) watching her run up and down the field chasing another dog and a ball. She looked SO happy and so beautiful. She didn’t run as fast as she used to, but moved faster than I’ve seen her in ages. She chased the other dog, while the other dog chased a ball. She growled and barked and had so much fun. When the dogs went to work in class in the next door field she walked up and down the fence wanting to join us.

It was so hot. Too hot for Kodiak but Quinn loves the heat, which is so weird. She will lay out on the deck even when it’s 100 degrees. We have to force her to come inside and cool off.

As I watched Quinn run around in ecstasy I look over and see Kodiak rolling around with a look of pure joy on his mug. Then I hear the trainer say, “There’s fresh sheep poop in there.” … Yeah, thanks for the warning!!! But it was so cute to see his face that I didn’t even care.

He rolled and rolled and got up and then rolled some more. My sweet crippled boy was SO happy.

It was too warm for me and for Trooper. I started getting a headache about halfway through and Trooper was not concentrating at all. I had a very hard time keeping his attention and getting him to go over jumps.

With 15 minutes left in class Trooper really lost it and jumped OVER the freaking fence separating the two fields. Good grief. At least we know how high he can jump. By that time I was done anyway and I needed to take Kodiak in the barn and wash him off.

Dried sheep poop does not come off easily. I got as much water on me as I did on him. His fur literally turned green as I rinsed him off.

The photos here are obviously representation of how he looked. =) It was pretty gross but I was just so happy to see him out and playing in an open field that I didn’t care. I’m hoping we’ll be able to take them again soon. Though he will need at least a week to recover. He wouldn’t even jump into the truck when we packed up to go home. Poor guy.

I hope he isn’t too sore in the morning but I am glad that they both got to get out of the house. It’s so hard to balance their need for exercise with their limitations (age and injuries).