Janet's Blog

The other day, I was walking with my dog, Jackson, when he stopped to sniff at a rather large pile of dog poop in the grass next to the sidewalk. Without giving it much thought, I said, "Jackson, we don't need to sniff other people's poop!" Jackson, a Shih tzu/Poodle mix, is pretty spry for 15 years old. As soon as the words were out of my mouth, I realized how ridiculous I sounded. To start with, my words made no difference at all to Jackson, who was just doing what comes naturally for all dogs. Secondly, I wasn't joining Jackson in his sniffing, so the word "we" was completely inaccurate. And, of course, the poop he was sniffing was dog poop, not people poop. Yet that whole incident, trivial though it was, got me to thinking... Dogs sniff things, including random piles of poop, in order to learn something useful about another animal or a food source. Their noses are much more sensitive than humans' noses, so their sense of smell is a primary way fo...

When I was walking with Jackson the other day, near Northfield Park, a man in an over-sized pickup stopped and rolled down his window, leaned out, and thanked me for picking up after my dog. (I guess it was obvious that the translucent bag dangling from my hand contained Jackson's poop.) I think I raised my mittened hand in acknowledgement before he continued on his way. I didn't quite know what to think about that unexpected interaction, because I was just doing what I always do. No matter the season, whenever I walk with Jackson, I always tie a couple of plastic grocery bags onto Jackson's leash before we set out. After Jackson does his business--usually two or three times each walk--I put my hand inside a bag to pick up his poop, turn the bag inside out, and tie it at the top. Then I carry the bag in the same hand as the leash until I toss it in a convenient trash can along the way. In the winter, the hardest part of the whole process is untying the bag from the leash wi...

Ah--the joys of walking the dog in the summer. Neither of us need a jacket or boots when the air is balmy and the sidewalks are clear of snow. Evening walks are the best, when the cool breeze blows away the heat of the day, and the only sounds are the train in the distance, and a few cars on the highway. Hah! And the neighborhood dogs barking every time we walk past, and the car stereos blaring, and the kids yelling to each other as they play on the sidewalks. But, I love it all, anyway, and Jackson does, too. For nearly a month, we got to share our walks with the "granddogs," Bowie and Bella. Bowie is a black Pugapoo, and Bella is some kind of Beagle mix. They both just finished a couple of weeks of intensive training in Wisconsin, with the dog trainer who lives across the street from Erin, Reed, and Will. Bowie, who received a little extra training, was on his best behavior most of the time, walking sedately, rarely tugging on the leash or attempting to chase any bunnies or...

It's been nearly three weeks now since Levi and I set out for our adventure in and around Madison, Wisconsin. We started very early in the morning, rising long before the sun was up, at the (almost) ungodly hour of 3:30, so we would arrive at the Scottsbluff airport in plenty of time to catch the 6 a.m. flight to Denver. It should have been gratifying to see that we weren't alone. The airport filled up quickly, and the plane was nearly at capacity, too, for our first short flight. It was still early when we traipsed through DIA, walking, even on the moving floors, riding escalators and the train, until we finally reached our gate and boarded the next flight to Chicago O'Hare. From there, we caught another puddle jumper to the Milwaukee Airport. (Tickets were much more affordable to Milwaukee, rather than Madison, and Erin was willing to drive a little farther to pick us up, so we made the cheaper choice.) I've been to Wisconsin before, first driving through as a tee...

Every time I take my designer dog, Jackson, for a walk, I can't help but think how much he has changed since I started taking him for regular jaunts, about a year ago. And, to tell the truth, I've changed, too. Jackson is an energetic, eleven-year-old Shih-Poo. Ever since I was an apartment-dwelling kid, I walked all over town, to and from school and the parks in Fairbury. Nearly every weekend, my family would take extended hikes out in the country, accompanying Dad as he hunted for ducks or pheasants, or even squirrels, whatever was in season, or exploring some of the historical sites that dotted the area. I didn't realize how much I enjoyed those daily walks, until I started up again last year. You see, I don't like walking alone, and neither Bill nor the kids have ever been committed to walking with me more than once in a blue moon. So, I haven't walked much in recent years. Last January, my friend, Deb, invited me to go hiking with her at one of the wi...