Three miles at Max pace

Max was indoors as I was preparing for today's walk so I grabbed him, put a harness on and off we went. Della doesn't care who her plus one is. She assumes that she's always going and she's pretty much always right about that. Max seemed interested and seemed to enjoy it, though Max is rather difficult to read.

What was obvious, however, is that Max is slowing down. I've known that from the way he's taken to indoor life but it was even more obvious out on the trails. He got into the van on his own, but I almost had to help and it wasn't exactly a graceful jump. Della let him lead most of the way and he didn't waste any energy pulling me. He set a pace that was somewhat slower than our usual, but not by so much that I felt under worked. We were in the woods for the entire route and we saw no one, which is how I like it. We did spot a deer or two, which makes everyone happy. 

I love walking this time of year. It's cool enough that I never get uncomfortably hot and sweaty, but still warm enough that I can wear shorts and not freeze my hands and ears. I've said it before, autumn is my favorite season. 

Max got a good brushing when we got home, although there's still plenty of fur needing to be removed. He also got a pain pill with dinner and I'm making them part of his routine from now on.