Jim with the Airedales, ready to go on an outing:
Pixie, Angie & Courtenay

Photograph by Maureen Scott

On 25 March 2005, Maureen writes:

The Circus Goes on an Outing

It's a lovely spring day here in southern British Columbia, so we bundled the Circus up and took them down to Colony Farm Park -- a boggy area full of small streams, dikes on which to ramble at will and lots of wildlife.

Oh dear! What were we thinking?

We started off well enough with Angie & Pixie team-walking and the Littlest Lunatic trotting along on her Flexi. Now before 20 or 30 of you advise me not ever to walk an Airedale on a Flexi, let me remind you that LL is nearly blind and suffers from hearing loss. Letting her loose in a park is akin to saying, "Goodbye! See you sometime . . . maybe!" Once she gets a certain distance away, she can neither see nor hear the upright who is frantically yodeling her name. At least on the Flexi, she thinks she's as free as the other two when it's off-leash time.

So, off we go. The Circus promptly takes exception to a savage Daschund that must have weighed all of three pounds. Much yelping & snarling ensue. Called to order, the procession lurches forward.

Maureen with the Airedales in the park:
Courtenay, Angie & Pixie

Photograph by Inez Smillie

We unleash Angie & Pixie.

"Oh, LOOK!" shouts the Pixilator, "ducks!!!" and off she dashes. Angie pelts along behind. Irritated, the ducks rise in a complaining cloud and hover over the girls, swearing violently in "duckish". Balked of their prey, A & P are distracted by new sprigs of grass and pause for a snack.

Meanwhile, LL has found something that smells wonderful. Everyone races to the spot and four little noses sniff frantically. LL gambols off, grinning broadly and chanting, "Nyah Nyah! Made you look! Made you look!" The Circus stomps off in utter disgust.

Pifflesqueak, who is not supposed to walk much due to her various ailments, has finally been let out of the grandkids' stroller and is rocketing along. Suddenly, and for no apparent reason, she snaps to an abrupt halt and turns a summersault. Investigation indicates that the Littlest Lunatic has shot in front her, neatly "clothes-lining" poor Squeak. Dusted off & consoled, she appears fine. We note that Squeak is now keeping a weather eye open for the errant Flexi line.

Pifflesqueak in the grandkids' stroller

Photograph by Maureen Scott

Next we discover that the Circus is missing a couple of members. After a brief search, Angie & Pix are located, sitting patiently, on each end of a drainage pipe beside the dike path. They are calling beguilingly, "Come out, come out, wherever you are!" It seems there is a muskrat hiding in the pipe. The girls are prepared to wait forever if need be until he emerges. Application of a leash to a pair of little collars solves this problem.

While we are distracted by the muskrat issue, the Littlest Lunatic scrambles off to the end of her flexi, chasing after something in the grass. It's the first snake of the season! LL pounces just as Jim spots her prey. He yanks sharply on the Flexi and LL's dive becomes a three-point landing -- on her two knees and her nose! She yelps & glares at him. The snake gulps in relief and slithers away.

We spin around to discover Pixie is thirsty and has chosen the ickiest muddiest puddle anywhere within 100 feet and is happily swallowing the muddy water at warp speed.

A walk with the Circus on a nice spring day! What could be more relaxing?

Jim just bought a new buggy for Poodle. It's one of those runners' strollers with the big bicycle wheels. The baby stroller was getting bogged down on gravel and other nasty surfaces.

Pifflesqueak in her new PoodleMobile

Photograph by Maureen Scott

We are likely the only family you know with two dog buggies!