What a difference my dog has made to my birding!

Anyone who reads my posts on Cobirders or Cobirds knows they quite often begin with...this morning, while walking my dog, I saw...and it goes on from there. When I acquired Scooter from a neighbor two years ago, I made a vow that he would have a better, fuller life than my previous dogs. Promised him I would walk him every day. I must confess that I had been watching a great deal of "The Dog Whisperer" and "It's Me or the Dog"...and figured the whole walking him 3 to 5 miles a day would quickly be forgotten...but it wasn't. I quickly realized that walking him made a huge difference to him and me. Our favorite place is Lathrop State Park, near Walsenburg, CO. It's walking path is just about 3 miles and we don't have to worry about "loose dogs" and being drowned in dust like we would walking around town or out by our house.

I have always considered myself an independent sort of woman...but for years I would vow to start walking again...and then I would come up with excuses...it's too cold, too windy...too hot...it was always "too" something... I knew the real reason...I was not comfortable walking alone. I felt vulnerable and ill at ease...there are bears out there, lions...and of course there are two-legged predators as well. Now that I have Scooter, a 70 pound male boxer...things have greatly changed. I walk with him everywhere...he is my constant companion...he makes me feel safe. I quickly noticed that (even though he does not have an aggressive bone in his body) most men are more than a little apprehensive of him. Once he introduces himself...he generally gets a pet on the head and off we go. On the other hand, women are more apt to take to him right away. He seems to subtly present himself differently to men than to women...perhaps just a little bit more alert. Whatever it is...I feel much safer with him along...as a result I am out and about much more...and am in better shape because of it.

Because I am out more...I see more...notice more...have become a better birder...and have become much more aware of just how diverse Huerfano County is. In the beginning it was just Scooter and me...now that he is trained, I take my binoculars and camera...when I stop...he stops...best of all he will sit, on command, and allow me to watch birds...we sit on the side porch and watch birds...on the weekends Paul and I take him on expeditions...over to the San Luis Valley, out Highway 10, over to Forbes Park...where we go he goes.He has made our lives richer and better...

2 members like this

Comment by Gary Lefko on May 26, 2011 at 12:45pm: It's always nice to hear of county reports outside of Pueblo, SE Colorado, El Paso, Denver, Boulder, Larimer and Weld! :-) Super job keeping us informed. Gary

Comment by Polly Wren Neldner on May 26, 2011 at 2:08pm: Thanks Gary!

Comment by Penny Bauer on May 26, 2011 at 2:44pm: Gary should add a "love" symbol. "Like" isn't strong enough! Yay, Scooter!

Comment by Polly Wren Neldner on May 26, 2011 at 3:49pm: Thanks Penny...you are very kind!

Comment by Beverly on September 20, 2011 at 9:18am: Polly, just discovered this post; it's inspirational! Believe it or not, I took the pups for a walk twice yesterday! They'll learn how it's done soon; then I can take bins with me! That was a beautiful story, thanks for sharing!

Comment by Judith Sanborn on May 4, 2012 at 10:47am: I just discovered this post, via Beverly's page. It brought tears to my eyes, Polly. I had two westies who were the love of my life for 11 years, but both have been gone now for some time. Oh, the walks we took, the people we met, and the adventures we had. Circumstances are such that I can't have a dog now, but reading your piece brought back such great memories. Thanks for sharing.