Monday, October 20, 2008

Charlie the Hiking Dog


Anyone reading this chronicle of Charlie's work knows by now that we witness Charlie's influence on Tim just about every day.  Whether it's language development, social skills, empathy or otherwise, there's just no denying that Charlie has proved to be an invaluable tool in helping Tim find his way.

Now I think it's time that I add hiking to Charlie's list of positive influences on Tim.  

While we have always been eager to hike (particularly in CA - the views here really are extraordinary), hiking had become increasingly difficult with Tim as he insisted on being pushed in a converted bike trailer.  Of course, this limited where we could venture and as Tim grew, it became more difficult to push him up anything greater than a slight incline.

Then, along comes Charlie.

I don't know how or why it happened but as soon as Charlie started joining us on our hikes, Tim wanted nothing to do with the bike trailer.   In fact, on our first outing with Charlie, Tim squealed with delight as he watched Charlie scamper up the trail.   Seconds later Tim leapt out of the trailer and took off after him.   Since then we've been able to abandon the trailer and explore areas that were simply not accessible to us before.

These photos were taken on a hike we took a week ago at Del Valle.  It's a mildly steep climb up to an elevation of about 1500 feet.   The views are intoxicating.

 Charlie and Tim both managed the climb like seasoned hikers and seemed to motivate each other both up and down the trail.   Without Charlie I'm certain that these sights would remain unseen for us.   Yet just one more reason to praise the Wonderdog!

8 comments:

Casdok said...

What fab photos! Thank you for sharing your hike with us!

Shannon and Cameron said...

I love the last photo!

DMV47 said...

Glad Tim's said goodbye to the bike trailer! Hiking with Charlie does seem so much more fun :)

Gretchen said...

Love the shots! Of course, having a gorgeous Golden in them makes them just perfect. :)

david mcmahon said...

Thank you for the link you left on my blog when you visited. Nice to see some familiar faces here too.

I enjoyed reading your presentation style and the depth of your emotion which shines through.

Given the subject matter, the most incredible shot is the fourth picture in this post.

Bravo!

Anonymous said...

Wonderful pictures and more importantly, wonderful to hear the new things you are all doing! I hadn't been on this site for a few weeks, but had to comment after I was so excited to read about the bike and hiking adventures. Pictures are incredible! One more thing - furminators work really well on cats too - ours loved it so much we brushed him bald in one spot by accident when we first got it! (I know you're laughing out loud reading this!).

Michelle O'Neil said...

Your blog is so great! The photos are killing me! In a good way!!!

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