I honestly don’t remember how old the dogs were – it’s one of the details I have erased from my memory – but Cannon wasn’t yet a year old and I’m pretty sure it was winter. Katina and I got the idea to pack up the cars and head to Canaan Valley in West Virginia for some great hiking and a night of cabin “camping.”
The plan was sound and we were ambitious, including laptops and games in our gear – we were going to accomplish so much! Once at the cabin it must have taken us four trips each to unload our respective cars. We were prepared!
It should be stated that this was the first time the dogs were together for an extended period of time. It is also important to note that Cannon was sporting a bandage on his foot that was protecting an injury that needed to stay clean. Also important to share is that Katina and I were rookies even though we had owned dogs before.
The two intact males started to play upon our arrival and we were constantly trying to intervene (mistake). We would let them go for a while but when it escalated beyond the point we thought was appropriate, we reprimanded and separated (futile). Meanwhile Cannon’s bandage was constantly falling off causing Katina to take him back to the bedroom and try, try again to wrap his foot in just the right way. This, too, was unsuccessful.
At one point we built a fire in the large fireplace and though the flue was open, smoke filled the cabin. After some time we figured out how to position the fire in the fireplace so as to minimize the soot in the air, but only after we opened the doors and windows and put on a layer of fleece. The dogs were unfazed.
Then there was the time when in an effort to separate the dogs, Katina tied Cannon to a chair while Karma lay panting on the kitchen floor. Cannon drug the chair down the hall after Katina getting it caught and scaring himself. Clearly that didn’t work.
Somehow we managed to make dinner and of course drink the wine but no games were played and little work was accomplished. Karma was up all night sniffing at the door and moving about the small room hoping that any minute Cannon would appear and the wrestling match would resume. Not much sleep for me.
In the morning it must have taken us 45 minutes to make bacon and eggs. I think Katina re-bandaged Cannon a few times and Karma played the role of instigator. We tried to take the dogs for a walk but with Cannon’s bandage constantly sliding off, all we got in was a lap around the cabins. Needless to say we were exhausted and we made our eight trips to the car and stopped by the conference center on our way out. By my memory the smoothest part of the trip was when we stopped at Pizza Hut on our way home. Mmmmmm, pizza.
Thankfully, the next time the dogs met for a playdate – this time at my house – we let them have the run of the lower level and we went upstairs, letting them figure it out all on their own. Without our constant fretting and intervening, the dogs figured it out. Imagine that!
P.S. Cannon went to the vet on Monday for a follow up visit. Turns out the bandage could have come off over the weekend without hurting his foot. Great.
