[at-l] A week with Ben

[Cody Girl]

Sounds like a normal week one with a dog, LOL!  Also sounds like you're
enjoying him a lot.
Happy Thanksgiving to you as well.
Cody
On Nov 25, 2010 12:17 AM, "Jim and_or Ginny Owen" <spiriteagle99 at hotmail.com>
wrote:
>
> Let’s start with the idea that many of you haven’t been kept up with our
lives. Not that it’s been
> deliberate, just that we’ve been very busy, sometimes very confused and a
lot of the time, very
> tired. So… the 30 second update is that we (meaning Jim) couldn’t do much
hiking this year because
> of knee and foot problems. Probability is that long-distance hiking is a
long shot from now on.
> NOT happiness.
>
> So… after 100 miles on the AT, about 65 miles on the Florida Trail, and
getting blown off the PCT
> (twice in about 300 miles), we bought a house, moved in Sept 1 and spent
two months trying to
> find all the stuff that we’d “stuffed” into storage over the last 4+
years. And then came the dog.
> And none of it was that simple, but you REALLY don't want all the details
on that mess.
>
> We’ve both wanted a dog for the last 18 years. When we bought the house in
MD, it was supposed
> to become home to a dog. But that didn’t work out, largely because of work
schedules, and then
> because we went hiking and traveling. It’s hard to live with a dog when
“home” is a backpack – or
> the back of a pickup truck.
>
> The dog’s name is Ben. It “was” Duke, but that didn’t fit for us. He came
by way of a Golden Retriever
> rescue shelter in West Virginia. And he was... a three year old 70# male
puppy with no manners, very
> little training and no clue about how to play. But he was house trained.
>
> We brought him home a week ago Monday night. And it’s been an interesting
week living with a
> multiple-personality dog. Yep – many personalities.
>
> First, there’s Gentle Ben – the one who takes food very gently from our
hands or lies with his head
> on Ginny’s feet.
>
> And then there’s the Demon Dog who showed up on Tuesday, and “almost” made
the trip back to WV
> on Wednesday.
>
> And Ben the bloodhound, who takes long walks with us with his nose to the
ground, tracking every
> other living thing in the Universe.
>
> And Ben the obstinate, who wants to go outside – and then flops on the
ground and refuses to move.
>
> And Ben the tractor, who pulls us along on our walks. It’s like walking a
deaf water buffalo.
>
> And Ben the love-sponge, which is typical of Goldens.
>
> There was also Ben the stinky, but we fixed that with a bath. He didn’t
enjoy the experience.
>
> And there’s Ben the thief, who sometimes steals anything he can get his
jaws around – and runs.
>
> And Ben the insane, who about once a day shows up, picks up his duck or a
ball and exhibits a
> wonderful (and hilarious) case of the “zoomies”, racing around the house
like he’s possessed.
>
> And Ben the super-hiker who loves to walk, especially in the woods where
the smells are even
> more disgusting, or at least more interesting, than in town.
>
> And then there’s Ben the intelligent – the one who’s learned sit, come,
down, off, and NO,
> and is learning to walk without emulating a D-5 Cat.
>
> It’s been a wonderful, time-consuming, laugh-inducing, frustrating, tiring
and satisfying week for
> us. And we’re looking forward to many more unique experiences with Ben.
>
>
> We all got a good night's sleep last night - for the first time in a week.
Even Ben needed it.
>
> We wish you all a wonderful, happy Thanksgiving
>
> Jim & Ginny
>
>
>
> http://www.spiriteaglehome.com/
>
>
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