It's been a year today since we lost our Gustifson.
http://www.commandonlandon.blogspot.com/2011/02/gustifson-h-blakfurs-last-ride.htmlTime has healed a lot, but not a day goes by that I don't think of my waggly little boy dog. Gus and I used to hike canyons a lot, so today Dinka and I went on a "Gus Hike" to find some adventure.
Dinka and I happily hiked along in the warm February sun. We were both a little tired from yesterdays bike ride so the leisurely pace was welcome. And the canyon wasn't too technical....yet!
We rounded a bend on our easy hike and found a wall of rock chocking the canyon. Having not a geological bone in my body, I have no idea what kind of rock, but it was black, slick and seemed to resist the water trying to erode it better then the red sandstone we had been hiking through all day.
There were three levels of frozen waterfalls that would have to be ascended if we were going to make it any further up canyon. There were some really technical scrambles so, I would carry Dinka in one arm, and grip rock with the other, and then throw her up to the next ledge. The ice and slick rock made this pretty tricky.
We made it to the bottom of the third falls, but it looked too risky to try and get over. So, we turned around to head back down... which for some reason is always harder then getting up, especially with a 14lb dog in the crook of your arm. I coaxed Dinka down what I could, and carried her what she couldn't make herself. At one point I had to drop her about 4 feet to a rock landing. She handled it pretty well; always obeying my commands.
On the last descent, I dropped Dinka down onto a rock to wait for me to climb down to her. As I was chimneying down the rock I saw her slip. She tried to leap to some ice in the frozen pool below us, but broke through it! I'll bet she was only under the ice for three seconds, but it felt like an eternity before I could grab her little butt and haul her out. She was completely stunned. She didn't even shake off the water. I pulled off my shirt and wrapped her up and rushed her down canyon to where the sun was shining. There, she immediately came back to life, shaking and rolling in the sand to dry off.
I'm really glad Dinka didn't drown on the anniversary of Gus's death. Thank goodness she's here and fine, sleeping in her little doggie den, not a care in the world...I sure do love that little dog, just as much as I did Gus!!!
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