Seeing-Eye Dog Continues To Shed Pounds

Blogger's Note: I periodically suffer from blurred vision, caused by styes developed from walking and cycling in windy weather. So I'll offer this short story instead if the usual politics. 

In early August, I started to walk a very cool black lab named Mason. He's a seeing-eye dog. His owner has been unable to exercise him, and he gained weight. He was 140 pounds when I started. He should be about 90 pounds, I'm told.  In late September, he was down to 128 pounds. Yesterday, I walked him down to the local vet, where he weighed in at a sleek 118 pounds. 

When we first started, he was exhausted after about a half mile. He was also bothered a bit by the heat. As time went on, we gradually increased the distances. These days, he goes anywhere from 3 to 5 miles daily. He really looks forward to it, and has much more energy than he did in August. 

I've almost been fired a few times. Once, he tore after a fox and both of us ended up covered with burrs and nettle. Not long ago, we got nailed by a skunk during a night walk. I never even saw the stinker. 

This dog has managed to find trails that led us to a hidden baseball field as well as the Indian Tower. He's also discovered nearly every pond and stream within a five-mile radius of Nazareth.  

This fellow was trained for two years before being paired up with his owner. He's extremely intelligent. For one thing, he knows the difference between left and right. Most people have trouble with that. 

He also has an incredible sense of smell. He will stick his nose in the air and whimper to let me know that another animal is near, long before I see it. He loves a game in which I hide small pieces of hot dog and have him seek them. I think he could probably have been used as a drug detector if he washed out as a seeing-eye dog. 

This is as good for me as it is for him. Walking is a great exercise and a great alternative to cycling.