Pick-up Dogs How Two Rescue Dogs Save the West from Being Won
Posts Tagged ‘dogs’
Dogs and Epilepsy
It started with a hard thump and then rhythmic pounding in the middle of the night. In a single breath, I was jolted out of sleep and yelled, “Something horrible’s happening.” Marcos’s head pounding against the bed frame in the other room. The horrible of smell of a metallic urine, adrenaline pumped out onto the […]
Mountain Worship in Winter
Mountain Worship: When the mountain’s out, I’m happy. When the clouds cover the mountain, I still hike. –Ancient Kendalian proverb
Sunshine Daydream. An October walk through Twisp Pass
We took this walk in early October on Twisp Pass among the North Cascades of Central Washington in early October. It was absolutely delectable. The sun was blazing, and though the pass was covered in snow from a recent storm, the temperature was in the 70s. The hike in total was about 9 […]
Origins of the Adventure Buddies name
It’s time to explain the origin of the name Adventure Buddies of Pick-Up Dogs fame. Five years ago, my then girlfriend-now wife Kirsten and I had left Marcos and Lupe, my two rescue pups, and headed to Mexico. It was tough to leave the dogs behind but we did, cringing as we packed the suitcases. […]
Mountain Worship
Adventure Log Date: January 11th, 2013 Location: Artist Point, End of Mount Baker Highway Goal: A sunset view over Mount Baker Temperature: Between 14 and 20 degrees Farenheit Adventure Soundtrack: Recordings of Grateful Dead concerts recorded during their Spring tour of 1972 in Europe. Words of Inspiration: Goin’ where the wind don’t blow […]
Therapy Dogs work for hugs, treats and…Drawings!
Marcos made some more friends this week. And we got this nice drawing from a young girl with whom we read stories like Green Eggs and Ham, Max, the Shelter Dog, and Dog of Discovery, which is about the Newfoundland that went on the Voyage of Discovery with Lewis and Clark. The kids are not […]
Dogs in Middle Earth
This isn’t really Middle Earth. Or New Zealand. But the rocky outcrops and enormous boulder fields up near Artist’s Point at at the end of the Mount Baker Highway are not unlike those of the Misty Mountain Hop or the mountains of Rohan. The brilliant fall colors, which visit us when we’re lucky in October, […]
Exploring Rainbow Ridge
What is the noblest delight? What brings greater pride to man? Discovery! To know that you have been where no others have been before. To behold what no other human eye has taken in before. Breathing in an atmosphere that is totally fresh. To come to an idea no one has stumbled upon […]
Criss-Crossing the Cascades from East Side to West Side with Dogs
Lu’s plumage, her long tail, wildflowers, and Mount Hood in the background. Mount Hood morning. Mount Jefferson and the Cascade crest accented with a slight fog. Ponderosa pines along a ridge in Central Washington. Marcos and Kirsten with the absolutely enormous Mount Rainier some 60 miles into the background. Mount Baker with glaciers unfolding […]
The Shade of Trees
“In the shade I should have known the tree which gave it, without looking up,—not because the sharp little spicular leaves of the fir, miniatures of that sword Rome used to open the world, its oyster, would drop and plunge themselves into my eyes, or would insert their blades down my back and scarify,—but because […]
Spring Melt at Yellow Aster Butte
It was when I was down all fours trying to climb over a log that blocked the trail, snow in my hair and mud in my fingers, when I realized that the log wasn’t blocking the path […]
Dogs and Clouds. April in the North Cascade Foothills.
I feel oh so near When morning doves appear And ghosts of April ring Echo the refrain Soon finding a place In these lost verses. —Sun Kil Moon, “Lost Verses” from April
What are Pick-Up Dogs?
What are pick-up dogs? Pick-up dogs are not only dogs that pick us up when we’re down as I’ve seen Marcos do when we visit hospice patients, nursing homes or psychiatric patients. Pick-up dogs are dogs that ride in pick-ups. Dogs riding in vehicles seems to be an American tradition that goes back a long […]
Dogs in Cuba
In 2009, I was given an academic visa to study Cuban culture. I went mainly to pay homage to some of my favorite authors and musicians and to see what the island is really like. I spent my 10 days in Cuba walking the city of Havana. When I travel, I like to constantly be […]
The Forest Path and the Rain Dogs
This post is about light and the absence of light in a Northwestern forest foray. In winter, Marcos, Lupe and I walk down a path that is like a passage into a Brothers Grimm fairy tale, the forest so dark that it is spooky and unforgiving. Lupe takes pleasure in the smells of the forest […]
Do dogs perceive beauty? And if so, how does this perception manifest itself?
My hiking partner, who doesn’t have a dog, has asked me on several occasions while watching Marcos and Lupe observe a mountain view or a special afternoon light, Do dogs perceive beauty? And if so, how does this perception manifest itself? This is a hard question because tastes vary from person to person and also […]
A review from a veterinarian
The book is called “Pick-Up Dogs” (Click here to buy the book) and it is a half academic, half personal journey into what our relationship with dogs tells us about our relationship with the world. Do we try and tame our pets and the world to our every whim, or do we open ourselves up to […]