The triumph of a tripod dog

My tenacious little toddler has come down with a drippy cold. Gym policy states that "no sick children shall pass through daycare doors whilst ill". So thus, I skipped the gym today. Normally I would run outside instead but in keeping with the Terrible Two's, D2 stripped off all his clothes, planted himself on the ground and refused to go. This was a battle I was not going to win. So despite the shining sun and delicious temperatures, we all crawled into our unmade bed and took a winters nap. When we awoke, the sun was in the middle of it's grand finale, showing off a bit with dazzling oranges and reds as it set behind the barn. Too cold to drag my rug rats outside for a run.

When my knight in shining armor came home from slaying dragons all day, aka work, we decided to hit the gym together. We dropped D2 off at grandma's house to be spoiled with Oreo cookies and 'Thomas the Train' and headed off into the night.

I thought that baby H would be happy sitting cherubically in his car seat while the gentle hum of the treadmill lulled him to sleep.  Boy was I wrong. After exactly one minute on the treadmill, he was contorting his face and wailing like a banshee.  I ran to the car, replaced the car seat for his beloved, blue, baby carrier, strapped him in and awkwardly began again. After one more minute on the treadmill and a few sideways glances from fellow gym goers, H had had enough. I whisked him away to the locker room for his millionth meal of the day and that was the end of that. By the time he was full and sleeping peacefully in his pouch, it was time to go. No workout.

When we got home I was still itching to go for a run. It was thirty two degrees outside, menacingly dark, and I was creeped out. I wondered how I could venture out into the night without worrying that a psychotic serial killer was going to jump out of the nearest bush and attack?  Then I remembered that I own a very burly looking pit bull. No psychopath would dare leave their bush to mess with me when Lucky was around. However there was a catch.

Our sweet dog lucky had been hit by a lifted, dually, Dodge truck six weeks ago. One week after we brought baby H home from the hospital. His leg had been broken in so many places that the only option to save our darling dog was to amputate his leg. We knew that Lucky was one of the most active dogs on the planet earth, and so we were heart broken. We also knew that Lucky was never one to back down from any physical challenge and so we also had hope. This is what Lucky looked like six weeks ago.

Lucky had been my running buddy. Together we had tackled deserted mountain trails, bustling city side walks and trained for a half marathon. Any time I ran with him I felt protected and safe. The last time I had taken him out was one week after his surgery and on the vets orders. She said it was important to keep the circulation going to his stump by staying active. So I strapped a leash on him for a walk around the block. When we were about half way done he began to slow and by three fourths of the way he was dragging behind me. It was devastating.

He went through a few weeks of dark doggy depression, rarely leaving the comforts of the couch. His cheerful demeanor didn't take long to return though. He has been happily chasing balls and greeting visitors at the door (minus the jumping which is nice) for a few weeks. So I decided to try him out again on a run to see how he would do.

I leashed him up and we busted out the back door into the crisp night air.  Music trickled through my head phones as we passed house after house decorated with colorful strings of Christmas lights. Lucky ran as though he still had four legs. His canine muzzle spread into a joyful smile. We tore up block after block until we once again reached the cozy glow of light pouring from the windows of our house. By the end Lucky was still bursting with energy and was practically pulling me along. I tallied up the mileage equaling two miles. Not much to brag about but Lucky did it. Three legs and all. My running buddy is back.