Hikin the Dogs

Today was a complete waste of a day. I didn't go to work, stayed inside all day, and spent most of my time browsing the web. All of the sudden I looked at the clock and BAM! It was 5 o'clock in the afternoon. Why can't work be like that?

Well I decided I better take a couple of dogs for a walk before I found that the entire past 24 hours was a complete waste. So I grabbed Jake (German Shepherd Dog on the left) and Brandy (German Shepherd Dog on the right) and headed for the hills.

As you can see from this picture, I am lucky enough to live by the mountains. Even better, its the Sandia mountains, one of the most unique mountain ranges in the world. They aren't the rockies, but at 10,000+ foot elevation, they're fairly substantial. What makes them interesting is on the west face, its desert and rocky. On the east side, its like a different world, green and complete dense forest. More like you're in Colorado. So depending on my mood, I will hike on one side or the other. I can get to the east face in about 15 minutes, but the west face is literally out my back door.

My view, which I have expounded here and elsewhere, is if you own dogs you owe it to them AND to yourself to get them outdoors. Dogs love going on hikes like this, and they are VERY good for human beings too. If we all got our lazy asses out hiking in the hills we'd loose weight, have less diabetes, and less heart disease. Unfortunately I don't see nearly enough people out there hiking. Most folks are inside watching TV with their dogs cooped up in a small city yard. Pathetic. Does that describe you? Get out there and get your dogs outside.

If you don't have access to mountains, well that's a shame. Take your dogs for walks in the city for now. But make some plans for a trip or two. Your dogs will thank you for it if you take them out in the wilderness now and then.