Columbus Dog Scouts - hike at Prairie Oaks

Today Cash and I had an exciting outing. It was our first event as a dog scout. Cash passed her dog scout test last week and today we went on a hike outing with the club.  We are currently having a hike-a-thon fundraiser for the month of May to raise money for the national dog scouts of America club.

The club met at Prairie Oaks Metro Park in Plain City. We were met by Andrea and her husband and there two dachshund as well as Denise and her mixed breed Mugsy.  We started off the hike at the picnic area and followed a trail around a lake. Lots of goose poop ( one of Cash's favorite treats ) so I had to watch her close so she didn't spoil her dinner with dessert first.  After a trip around the lake we went into the woods and over a bridge to a second trail.  There is no tiring out Cash, she loves to go go go on her walks.

Over all we had a great time and met some nice people and dogs.We look forward to doing more activities with the Columbus Dog Scout troop.

Hiking at Mohican State Park

Cash had her first adventure today at a state park.  We decided it was to nice to stay home today so I called up my brother ( Scott ) and his wife ( Lisa ) to see if they were up for a hike in the woods.  Off we went to Mohican State Park with Cash and Tank. Avery got left at grandma's but she loves it there with all of the extra TLC.

We arrived at the park after a 1 1/2 hr car ride and the dogs were rearing to go. We hiked the Lyon Falls Trail and then followed it around to dam , then back to the Covered Bridge entrence. It was about 5 miles over all. Mostly up and down hills and over a few small streams.

Cash loved the water. She would splash and play in the puddle and we let her swim in the streams a little. Nothing seemed to bother her ( but there are no scary balloons in the woods ). There was lots of activity with families, other dogs , and small children.  Cash met a little girl on the trail and the little girl walked Cash for a little while ( they both thought that was great ) then we went our separate ways.

On the way home we stopped in Centerburg and had lunch at an ice cream shop and ate outside, while the dogs lounged around the picnic area.  It was a great day and I can't wait to get out on the trails again.

balloons

Cash and I did our monthly visit to Heartland of Marysville nursing home today. Cash loves going out into the public as a Therapy Dog ( she loves wearing her red bandana ) and today was no exception. We arrived at Heartland and Cash carried in her basket of ID photos to hand out to her new friends. Everything was going great until .... those scary helium balloons came out of nowhere and tried to eat her alive. She barked and ran out of the patients room. To my horror I didn't know what to do, Cash is always calm and collected.  The patient on the other hand thought it was hysterical that Cash was scared of the balloons.  She offered to put them on the floor but Cash still wouldn't go near them, at least the patient was mobile so she came out in the hallway for our visit.  Aside from that we visited with many other patients and even a small child who was in visiting relatives. Cash was a star as always.

Now on to the next adventure...

My family

Let me start by introducing myself and my family

I am a Veterinary Technician and also a photographer so you will see lots of pictures of my pooches. I have 3 black dogs, 2 are registered Labradors and one is a lab mix. Avery is the oldest , she was about 2 years old when she came into our lives. A client of the vet clinic where I work found her running down a busy road and didn't want her to get hit by a car so they brought her to us. Upon exam we discovered she was having trouble breathing and was very pale with a swollen face and ears. The exam revealed a cable embedded into her neck constricting blood flow and making it hard for her to breath. We quickly sedated her and removed the cable and re hydrated her. Once she was recovered and no one came to claim her I brought her home and have been in love with her every since.

The second lab to enter our lives was Cash , she was 7 months old at the time. And she has made me laugh every day since she came to live with us.  Cash was suppose to be my husbands hunting lab but she was more interested in playing with corn cobs and sleeping than retrieving birds. She is a lazy girl but a sweet heart so I quickly claimed her as my dog and started working with her to be a Therapy Dog.  She passed her TDI test with flying colors and now goes on visits to nursing homes. She also became a Dog Scout in May. We are hoping to go to dog scout camp next year so we can earn some merit badges. What can I say I am a dog mom.

The third black lab is Tank. We got him in November 2012 and he is a hunter through and through. Dave loves to hunt duck and geese with him. He is a hunting machine. He also has his junior hunt title and is working on his senior hunt title. My husband is going to breed him once he gets his senior hunt title or maybe his master title. I have never had an intact male dog in the house but Tank is great. He is so well behaved and although he is crazy when it comes to hunting he also knows how to relax around the house.

I love coming home everyday from work to spend time with my dogs and my husband and I try to get them out hiking, walking and swimming as much as we can. Our dogs are our lives and here are some of there adventures. I hope you enjoy them as much as we do.