I know what I like, and what I don’t. I don’t like being in nature; I like to look at it from the safety of my home. I don’t like to sweat, even though I make myself exercise three times a week. I do like a good joke, a stiff drink and dogs, all kinds of dogs—big, little, fluffy and scruffy—well, except for energetic dogs. I like my dogs lazy. My golden retriever, Riley, likes to swim, but only if she is being pushed on a raft. That’s my kind of dog. So I am not sure what came over my family when we decided to adopt a Siberian Husky mutt.
After careful consideration, which consisted of looking at pictures on the Dent County Animal Welfare Society website (dcaws.org), we promptly chose Stella. Normally I fully research each and every decision. If I had, I would have learned Stella’s breed, is “energetic, active sporty, restless and destructive.” Also “a cold weather dweller” and “a bit willfull.” Stella was not going to lie around anywhere, much less on a raft in the pool.
But once I commit, I commit for life. There is no going back or return to sender. You can ask my husband of 31 years or my friends from high school who have been trying to dodge me for the past 35 years. So even though I knew Stella may not be a perfect match for the Hannum family, we would find a way to make it work. I decided Stella and I would embark on the 100 Missouri Miles Challenge (100missourimiles.com), issued by Gov. Jay Nixon, as a way to bond and release some of her puppy energy while slowly helping me overcome my dislike of nature. Plus, at the end, I would receive a car decal from the state of Missouri announcing my 100-mile accomplishment.
Never heard of the 100 Miles Challenge? Missouri is the ‘Best Trail State,’ according to American Trails. We have more than 1,000 miles of managed trails, including the Katy, which at 240 miles is the longest rails-to-trails project in the nation. Gov. Nixon has challenged Missourians to walk, bike, float, kayak or run 100 miles by Dec. 31 as a way to promote the “health and benefits of outdoor physical activity.”
Summer in St. Louis is not the perfect time to train a long-haired puppy to walk on a leash with an owner who hates to sweat. Or to run into anything that does not go inside to sleep. I firmly believe you should never make eye contact with a bird for fear you could end up just like Tippi Hedren in The Birds.
Puppies like to put everything in their mouths. This includes dead birds and squirrels, trash, half-eaten food, and rocks. All of which must be removed from their mouths. Every walk ended with me sweaty and gross, and extracting something from Stella’s mouth while screaming that I was contracting West Nile virus. It could so happen.
Anyway, I’d like to be able to tell you that Stella and I bonded, that our walks together wore her out and made her the dog that comes when I call her, lies by my side when I sit down, and stares at me lovingly. But I would be lying. Stella is Stella: a high-energy, garbage-eating canine who has wiggled her way into the hearts of our family.
Oh, and Stella and I did not make it to 100 miles. We hit our limit at 76. But I did learn that Missouri trails are beautiful and not too scary. I also learned that three-fourths of the way is better than nothing. So even though we failed the governor’s challenge, I am really hoping that somehow I can still get the decal for my car.
Photo: Bill Barrett