5K = 5 meals?

Yesterday was the 14th annual Furry5K to raise money for Seattle Animal Shelter, and it was our third time going! I've been running and training for a half marathon in August and for-sure wanted to run this one. Ellie is no longer a runner since she can't see, but fortunately Chris was able to join me and walk with her.

My personal goal was to run an average of under 8 minute miles and I did it! I would have been even faster but there was a huuuge hill in the middle that seemed to go on forever! 

Anyway, we collected lots of loot-- treat and food samples galore, plus a few for us humans and brought it home. Ellie had a great time bumping noses with all the other dogs and was SO well behaved. She must have figured that dog noses would keep bumping her unexpectedly (because she can't see them coming) and to just go with the flow. 

However... after we got home and she crashed out, we had to run to the store to prepare for dinner. We returned to crumbs and treat wrappers spread all over the floor. Some of those samples were freeze-dried meals so Ellie had 3-4 meals worth of food in a very short period of time! My bad for leaving them on the counter where she could reach. :(

Bad dog!

Cut Paw

Last Thursday, Ellie got a little cut on her paw pad (I have no idea how). It bled a little, but it was so tiny that I figured it would heal up overnight and we would take it easy.

I noticed more blood on Sunday after we ran the Furry 5K and checked out her paw which was now inflamed with a bigger wound. Bad mom for taking her on such a long run! :(

We took her to the vet and she got antibiotics and a little bandage which makes her walk funny. She should be better soon hopefully!

My Trip to Nevada (pic heavy)

I had a flight credit from Alaska just sitting in my e-mail inbox since I didn't end up going to NY this past March. Impulsively, I decided to visit my mom for Mother's Day in Nevada. Escape the Seattle rain for some hot Mojave Desert sun!

It was just four days but I experienced lots of adventures! The first day, I rescued their old senior pup who fell into the pool!! My mom said this was the first time this has ever happened. He is so old and oblivious that when he surfaced in the water, he idly started paddling until I jumped in and scooped him out, lol!

Tucker the clueless senior pup

The next day, my mom and I went hiking with her two Rat Terriers. They were pains in my bum, compared to what I'm used to with Ellie being such a great hiking dog. They barked and pulled and tangled their leashes. Oy.

On the way back down, I had Dexter who was sniffing along the side bushes when suddenly I heard a *HISS*. I yanked his leash back and we noticed a rattlesnake! No one was hurt, but upon returning home and doing some internet research, we discovered that it was one of two: either the most venomous rattlesnake, or the kind that has caused the most human bites and deaths in the US! (!!!!!)

Mom and the dogs

Me at the top!

The next day, we explored Zion National Park and went hiking, fortunately with no more surprises, although it certainly was an adventure!

View of Zion on the drive in

View from our hike up into Zion

Little critter I found :)

How I spent my last morning with Dexter

Unrelated to the Nevada trip, my sister and I just did (walked :P) a 5k yesterday so Ellie finally got to see her best friend Goldie again! It had been months since they'd seen each other so they were pretty excited. :)

Goldie and Ellie

Furry 5K Walk

This past weekend, Ellie and I enjoyed a beautiful sunny Sunday at Seward Park in Seattle for the Furry 5K walk/run to benefit the Seattle Animal Shelter.

We were both overwhelmed with the number of dogs and people who showed up - hundreds! And the dogs were all shapes and sizes. It's always so much fun to see such doggy diversity.

Love big Danes!

Waiting to walk

In going through my pictures, I also realized that we went hiking on Saturday too! I went with a big group of girls and there were very few people on the trail which meant Ellie got to be off leash. She LOVED it. She kept sprinting ahead and then running back to make sure we were keeping up.

Ellie in front of the half-frozen Heather Lake

Lots of physical outdoor activities for us this weekend!