A Scare

First and Last Trip to Oconee Forest Park

To be honest, only I was scared. Maggie was just enjoying the romp through the woods and dropping her ball thinking I ought to throw it. And Henry was following his nose.

Two or three dog people have told me lately about the dog park behind the intramural fields. They tell me about this when I tell them it's hard having Henry, because he can't be trusted off the leash but desperately needs to run and chase things. This place is huge and fenced in, they told me. Today we went there. It's in some lovely woods with lovely trails and we had a nice walk getting there. Henry was dying to go off the trail and follow his nose, but I pulled him back. Finally we got to the dog park. I noticed that there was one spot where a little ditch had washed under the fence - one big enough for Henry to get through. But it was so far away from where we went in I thought it was unlikely Henry will ever get there. I thought, if Henry goes that way, I'll go make sure he doesn't get underneath. The fence also was low in places, but Henry is low, so that seemed like a reasonable risk. This place had woods, hedges, a little house, grassy areas, paths, etc. etc. etc.

We got to the dog park, and I let him off the leash just like the other people were doing with their dogs. At first we were hanging around in the grassy clearings with the other dogs. Maggie was chasing her red ball. Henry was being very good, not going off. Finally, he could run a bit with Maggie when she went to fetch a ball.

Then it all changed: Henry got a scent and trotted off into the small trees and thick underbrush on the edge of the clearing. He stopped and barked at whatever it was, and I could see him. I called him (he doesn't really come when he's called out in the world - only in the house - I don't even think he hears me because he's so involved in the smells) and I was trying to figure out how to get to him in spite of the underbrush. Then he took off again. Again I could see him, but he only paused there for a second, and he was gone. I started after him and quickly realized I had no idea where he was - this was a very big place. He barked after a minute and I tried to head in that direction but of course there was no direct path there. I still thought I would get him at this point, but that was unrealistic. As this event unfolded it became clear just how big this dog park was.

I just looked it up online - 15 acres. For those of you (like me) who don't know how big an acre is, this park was 269 square yards. That is, big. If you had a square whose sides were each the length of 2-1/2 football fields, it would be smaller than this. And there was just no visibility!

After his bark two minutes in, I didn't hear Henry anymore. I was running and walking fast through the woods, having no idea which way to go. It was getting late - maybe 6:30 pm. If he moved every time I do, we'd miss each other forever. Should I keep going, or would he go back to where he'd left us? Two people who had come in around the time I did were helping me look for him, sort of, while they were calling their own year-old lab. I didn't know if I would ever find him in the huge enclosure. I thought, it'll be getting dark soon. How will this ever work? I'd left my bag with my cell phone and the leashes hanging on a fencepost - that seemed pretty dumb in hindsight. When I got near to a trail, a couple of people rode by on bikes - they hadn't seen him.

One of the people helping me look for me told me that the park wasn't fenced in after all! In fact, the the edge of it also backs up to "the loop," which is the limited-access highway that circles Athens. She said a lot of dogs had been lost this way. Some dog park! I was calling and calling - Henry didn't respond at all. I couldn't find him anywhere. Hounds are known for not being able to get back where they came from.

I decided after a while to try to be systematic about it. To check all the way to the right and then back toward where I'd started to get my phone and leashes. When I got there the lady who had been helping me find him was rubbing his ears. He then wanted to go back into the underbrush. I had a very hard time getting him over to where the leash was so I could hook him up. I'm sure this seemed terribly unfair to Henry, who after all had come back like a good boy.

Business Idea

I have been wanting to come up with a business I could start with minimal start-up capital... and finally I have! I'm going to start a company to make brown candles from Henry's excess ear wax. I think we can go far.

A Tick

Maggie had a tick today. She growled at me when I was just getting ready to take it off her.

Poison Ivy

It appears to me that poison ivy is freaking everywhere here. I hope a lot of these leaves are look-alikes. Usually I'm pretty careful about where I step and where I put my hands (I try not to scratch any itches on my face or the rest of my body if my hands have been in and among the questionable leaves), but of course I wasn't today. My eyes itch now - let's hope that's just a fluke.

OK, I just did that research to see how to tell look-alikes from poison ivy. I think everything I've seen really is poison ivy. Maggie, Henry, and I will be indoors for the remainder of the summer.