The canine cure

Dogs are therapeutic. And they are magical. They can simultaneously act as a stimulant and a sedative. They can get you up excited and they can calm you down. They are the best anti-anxiety treatment around for many of us and the best antidepressant. Combined with the physical activity of walking, the effects of the canine cure are multiplied ten-fold.

Many of us need some time spent with other dog people as well. It's amazing that two people who don't really know that much about each other, and at least one of whom may be an introvert, can talk non-stop about their dogs for an indefinite length of time. And we can talk about anything:  training, feeding, vetting, and pooping.

A woman I've known for years, and who has fostered for me in the past, came out to hike with Maya and me yesterday afternoon. It was hot and steamy, not a breath of wind was blowing, but somehow we all enjoyed it.

King is a good looking and friendly young shepherd. He was barking like an excited shepherd when we met and Maya met him with her hackles up higher than I've ever seen, just to let him know that she was in charge. The two dogs got along fine but Maya mostly walked beside or directly behind me, while King took the lead as we headed down the trail.

The walk came to abrupt halt when King encountered two box turtles apparently engaged in mating, right in the middle of the trail. The turtles were equally startled. I moved them off the trail but they had themselves locked in a position such that one of them was on its side no matter how I placed them. I was concerned that the female might get rolled over on the back of her shell and didn't want to leave them that way but I also didn't want to interfere, particularly since I didn't know what I was doing, or for that matter, what they were doing.

We left them sort of on their side and on a slope in the hope that they would be able to right themselves when they disengaged. We also came back a little later to make sure. They had gone on their way pursuing their turtle business and were nowhere to be seen. I don't know how I failed to get a picture but it reminded me that we always see something new in nature, even when walking very old and familiar trails.