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| Dory and Me at the 5K, today |
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| Me with Bob and Sherri on 4/1/06 |
This morning my dog, Dory, and I drove to the local Airport to participate in the Bowling Green Humane Society 5K fundraiser. It’s held every year about this time.
The weather was not very cooperative. It was cloudy, windy, and cold. The temperature was in the upper 40s to low 50s throughout the walk. There was a threat of a shower but luckily we stayed dry.
I was a little concerned about how Dory would react to being around so many other dogs. When I take her and Angel on walks through our neighborhood she barks and behaves in a very defensive manner toward other dogs. But I believe that her behavior is directly due to her pack instincts. When she’s with Angel and me she’s with her “pack” and thus feels very protective whenever any other dog comes around. I was hoping that if it was just me and her she wouldn’t feel as defensive.
As we were parking she saw the other dogs walking around and started to bark like she does when a strange dog comes near our fenced in yard. But after we got out and started walking toward the registration area she stopped. She was curious about her new surroundings and the other dogs but not the least bit aggressive.
As we registered for the walk and picked up my complimentary t-shirt Dory continued to try and say “hello” to the other dogs. There were a lot of them in a very small area. I let her sniff and “greet” her new canine acquaintances. It was her first social outing in a long time. She was having a good time.
Once the walk started Dory practically ignored the other dogs. She was more interested in the smells of the lawns and sidewalks where we were walking.
A little over halfway, as we were doubling back to the airport we made a stop to get some water. The Humane Society had a drink station set up in an alcove. Both Dory and I had a refreshing drink.
Once we got back to the airport I got one of the free hot dogs and split it with Dory. I stood around listening to the announcement of the names of those who won door prizes. I didn’t win any of them.
I did get the opportunity to do a good deed however. While walking around I found an IPhone setting on a curb in the parking lot. I took it to the woman giving away the door prizes. She announced that she had and soon the owner came and got it.
After the door prizes were all awarded it was time to head back to the car. About that time Dory was ready to go. We drove out of the airport parking lot and headed for home. It was Dory’s day out but I was the one with the sense of accomplishment.
I’ve wanted to go on this walk ever since I had my weight loss surgery but until today I had to work on the day of the event. I had participated in the fund raiser once before on April 1, 2006.
That was back when I weighed about 370 pounds. At the beginning of this post are 2 pictures. One of them was taken today at the 5K walk. The other one was taken 5 years ago on April 1, 2006 only a few hours after I went on the Humane Society walk for the first time. Behind me are the syndicated morning radio talk show hosts, Bob & Sherri. They were in Bowling Green promoting Sherri’s first book. I’ve included the two pictures for comparison purposes. It shows how far I’ve come.
I took Dory with me in 2006 too. As you can imagine I had some difficulty walking the route. As a matter of fact I barely made it half way. Dory and I took the “rescue van” back to the starting line. I always felt a bit embarrassed that I couldn’t finish the walk. That day I made it a personal goal to one day go back and complete the walk. I did that today.
So now that I’ve completed my first 5K (which was on my list of 2011 goals) I’m looking forward to the next one. Also now that I know Dory can behave herself around other dogs I can start taking her to the local dog park to let her run free and get some exercise. That’s gonna be good for both of us
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