Butt sniffing, a long walk, and romance -- what more could a dog want
Cowboy & Tess are beat after a full morning participating in a special dog walk with the residents and friends of Country Inn of Downey, an assisted living residence where Carol, a friend of mine, has been staying since June.Organized by activities director Manuel Guevara, the walk through the neighborhood with assorted dogs was designed to get people up, out and moving. And, boy, did it work.
The whole idea of having the walks came about during the summer. Manuel, who also is an aerobics instructor at the Lakewood YMCA, frequently brought his dogs, Peanut and Dynamite, with him while making his rounds at the Country Inn.
Along with the facility director's dog, Little Bit, the canines soon became a big hit with the residents. When they'd walk them outside, a number of residents began to ask if they could come with them.
"The people who wanted to go on the walk were people who didn't like to walk," he said. He realized that he'd hit on the perfect all-around therapy. What better motivation than the dogs to get residents outdoors and walking?
So this summer, Manuel organized the first official Country Inn Dog Walk-athon.
Saturday's event was only the second dog walkathon (they'll be held three times a year, summer/fall/spring). Manuel put the word out to his fellow YMCA instructors and students. Along with other assorted family members and friends, I'd say there were some 15-20 dogs, though I didn't actually count them.
The walk wasn't short -- we probably went nearly a mile. And it must have been quite sight, seeing all the folks in wheel chairs and walkers, along with all the dogs, snaking along the sidewalks through town.
Here are some of the photos I took (most will be on the jump).
Cowboy arrives.
Why does he always look like he's just been beaten?
.
He warmed up enough, however, to greet all the new arrivals as the crowd gathered at about 10 a.m. Among the guests were two giant schnauzers. Here's #1. Manuel, right, checked everyone in as they arrived.
This was actually Cowboy's second visit to the Country Inn. He seemed nervous the first time, but was a little more relaxed for this weekend's dog walk.
I think part of it is he hates having his picture taken!
Some people & dogs came in costume, but not us (unless you count Tess's cast for her broken toe).
This is Truman, the other giant schnauzer, with his owner, a pirate. Truman sported a coordinating pirate scarf.
(Lots of canine butt sniffing took place, as befitting any worthy dog gathering.)
At right is Mike, who knows Manuel through the Y, along with his dog Cookie, a border collie mix who is .... yeah, you got it, sniffing Cowboy's butt while he's sniffing hers.
What did I tell you?
Here's Tess getting a pat from one of the residents. (She just got her new pink-and-white cast the night before.)
The dogs all loved the attention and got along with each other famously.
(Well, for the most part. There was a brief vocal skirmish when Tess, who had already eaten 2 treats, got a little too pushy wanting a 3rd; a blind Samoyed named Bob -- is that a great name? -- let her know it was HIS turn, thank you very much.
Tess wisely surrendered and retreated in all meekness beneath my friend Carol's walker.)
More photos on the jump .....Click below
Cowboy got a few pats as well.
You can see why pets provide such good therapy.
And it really is a two-way deal. The dogs all seemed happy to meet so many new people.
So, after all the social greetings were dispensed with, off we went, a jumbled mix of humanity and canines of all shapes and sizes.
That's Moose the Malamute on the left, who weighs in at 130 pounds and was a shelter dog. And with him is his best buddy and roommate, Bob, the fluffy white Samoyed previously mentioned. Both belong to Marilyn a YMCA exercise instructor and fourth grade teacher in a local Catholic school. She tells me that Moose was featured recently in our sister paper, the Long Beach Press-Telegram (he got a whole half a page, which is about how much space he'd need given his size).
Organized in a line, of sorts, we headed out. That's Cowboy up ahead on the right being walked by Carol's former neighbor Gail (in the red shirt and blue jeans) who came with me for the visit.
Gail's really a cat person (she's keeping Carol's cat Baby right now, and also has 2 of her own, Nosey and Happy). So she was a good sport in agreeing to handle Cowboy for me since my hands were pretty full with Tess and trying to take photos.
The dogs seemed to enjoy the scenery and new smells. Tess was startled to spot herself in a window reflection as we went by one shop.
And Truman, at left, decided he'd head into a little boutique at another juncture, but was stopped before he could get inside to do any serious damage to the family credit card.
That's Bob in the center and Cowboy at the right.
There was the occasional ill-timed accident, of course. Poop happens.
Here's Marilyn picking up after Moose. It was a 3-bagger, as I recall, right in the middle of the street.
"He's a big dog," Marilyn explained.
And when a dog's gotta go, he's gotta go.
Along the way, there was opportunity for plenty of social interaction between residents and visitors.
Bob gets some water during a well-deserved break, below. How happy he looks!
It's believed that Bob's blindness was the result of an untreated eye infection, according to owner Marilyn who rescued him from the streets.
Behind Mike, who's getting the water dish ready, is an Australian cattle dog-terrier mix named (I think) Spina. Looks like a battle of the wills being played out between Spina and her owner in the background. So we had a bit of drama on the trail as well.
Cowboy and Tess appreciated the shady rest stop and water break, too.
After all, this was Downey -- hotter than the South Bay, for sure.
Tess yawns after getting back to the Country Inn where staff served up barbecued hot dogs and lemonade for residents and their human guests on the patio.
There was more water for the dogs and some dog treats, although a few hovered sneakily at the foot of the barbecue grill.
Lunch time!
That's Marilyn, in the orange shirt, handing out some healthy treats to Moose and Dynamite.
And it wouldn't be a party without a budding romance, right?
Peanut, the tan little one in the photo on the left, and Shule had met before but taken little notice of one another, I was told.
But for some reason on Saturday, their stars were aligned. The birds sang, music played -- and these two fell fluffy head over heels into what looked like true doggie love.
They were pretty much inseparable the whole time, nuzzling, playing and washing each other's ears.
Awwww.
I hear a wedding is being planned.
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About the Bloggers
Daily Breeze reporter Donna Littlejohn has shared her homes with a succession of wonderful, funny, and occasionally difficult canines -- Muffin, Fritz, Ellie, Mercy, Pilgrim and now Cowboy, an Australian shepherd-border collie, and Tess, a border collie. From strong-willed terriers to weirdly obsessed Australian shepherds, they've invaded her world with boundless energy, wet noses, muddy paws and soggy tennis balls. But they've really brought so much more than that -- like laughter and joy, some unexpected life lessons, and more than a few tears along the way.
E-mail Donna at donna.littlejohn@dailybreeze.com.
Josh Grossberg grew up with the usual array of animals: goldfish, dogs, hamsters, parakeets and turtles. He now owns the loudest dog in the South Bay(Video: Rocket the Dog) and is the least popular person on his block. He spends his free time in dog parks, pet shops and always has an extra plastic bag in his pocket just in case. He also has a cat.
E-mail Josh at josh.grossberg@dailybreeze.com.
Thank you so very much.
Happy Thankgiving
Donna -
Thanks for documenting the day with print and pics.
Cookie told me she enjoyed seeing old friends and making new ones like Cowboy, Tess and Spina.
Look forward to seeing you next time.
And Tess promises to be good and not try to hoard all the treats next time!
What a wonderful article and great photos. I loved reliving the day! It was so much fun for all - both furry and unfurry friends! Moose, Bob and I are looking forward to the next dog walk with everyone!