Thursday, September 4, 2014

A disastrous walk around Lawlor's Island


I know what you're gonna say: "You've already told us about your walk around Lawlor's Island".

But when I say I "a walk around Lawlor's Island", I don't mean a walk upon Lawlor's Island, I mean a gosh darn walk all the way around the Island.

The view from Lawlor's looking back toward Woodside and the oil storage tanks. 

Of course I wasn't alone on this silly undertaking: I had Trey with me.  I've stopped taking a ball to throw for him, after our last visit where he ran into the woods with a ball, and came back with a rubber boot !   (Hey !  That was a $6 ball you stoooopid dog !)

It didn't take Trey long to find something for me to throw.


On this trip he brought me a running shoe, a sandal, a Croc garden shoe, a rubber boot, a diver's rubber hat, a stick and a six foot tree !

Some things are more throwable than others.

Trey and the tree he wanted me to throw for him. He carried this damn thing for ages.

It wasn't long before the boot was shredded.
Cooling off on damp sea weed.



A thong, or do you call them "flip flops" ?

His pièce de résitance was glomming onto a massive truck tire that was embedded in the sand.  To his profound shock and displeasure, I was unable to pick it up and chuck it into the water for him.


The walk was a mite longer than I expected.




Each time I'd walk around a point, I'd expect to see the end of the island.  Instead I would be presented with yet another cove.
Finally I climbed a hill to see where I was and if I'd be able to cross from one side of the island to the other..


And found that the answer was, "no" as it was too overgrown, and covered in deadfall to cross easily.


But oh, it was pretty.

Looking toward McNab's Island and the far side of Halifax Harbour.

A lobster boat, and Devil's Island can barely seen in the distance.

So what part of this walk was "disasterous" you ask ?

Well, it wan't that it was over four hours of walking over rough and rocky ground on a very hot day.

And it wasn't that my kayak had been carried into the harbour by the rising tide, as this time I had secured it to the shore.

No.

It was something else.

Something that I didn't realize until Trey and I were most of the way around the island.  Something that happened after we'd made it 'round the point and back down to the shore where I blithely threw a stick into the water for Trey.
The "something that happened", happened in this cove.

And I didn't know it had happened until Trey, Trey my indomitable, over-the-top dog, lay down on the sand and refused to get up.

And still I didn't get it.

I thought he was just tired and tried to cajole him into following me down the shore.  After all, it was still a 1/2 km walk to the kayak.

He refused to follow me.

Trey never refuses to follow me.

I walked on, calling back to him, and calling his bluff.

He refused to get up and follow me.

WTF ???

I walked back, knelt down and checked his feet.

OMG !!!

They were shredded !  Every one of his paws was ripped.  Some pads had flaps of skin just hanging off, while on others fresh raw skin was all there was.

I realized too late that in that final cove, I had been heaving his stick into water where just below the surface the rocks were covered in razor sharp Barnacles !   What an idiot I am !   I had no frikkin' clue and of course, Trey refused to listen to his body until it was too late.

Photo after we got home and cleaned his poor paws.
Alone and worried what Trey would do left on his own, I hustled down the shore, got the kayak and paddled back to where I'd left him lying bewildered by my abandonment.   It was over half an hour before I got back to him.  He had moved a mere 50 feet down the shore in a vain attempt to follow me and was just standing there mournfully.

Oh it was a miserable paddle back to the mainland with a sodden, whimpering dog hunkered down down on my lap.

Back home his  feet were cleaned and Trey's enforced period of quiet began so his paws could heal.


That was almost three weeks ago now and his feet are a good as new, but what an awful way to learn a lesson.

It seems that Trey and I are destined to always learn things the hard way.

~~~~~~  ~~~~~~

If you missed my scintillating post about walking on the island and the lesson I learned on that visit, you can see it here.

23 comments:

  1. Oh no!! What a disaster! Poor ole Trey. Sending a big, snugly hug over to you, and - in my mind's eye - a humungous crunchy juicy bone to chew through while you are recuperating. I wish I knew how to get one to you in real life. Aww, poor pup.

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    1. Reggie, he's all better now, but let me tell you it was no small feat keeping him quiet for a week. For the first couple of days he kept quiet on his own coz his feet hurt but after they started to heal, he wanted to play. I knew I couldn't let him play as that would just re-open the wounds on his feet. He's such a big jerk ! But, he's MY big jerk.

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  2. This is soooo sad, Sybil. I am glad that his paws are now as good as new, but it's still hard when something so painful happens. Hugs to both of you.

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    1. The worst part was the guilt over my stupidity. Thanks for the hug. However I should warn you that if you try to hug Trey he will try to force his tongue into your ear ! ;-)

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  3. awwww……..poor doggie! And poor you having to leave him and the worst part is poor you walking 4 hours in the heat. On the up side, you and Trey must both be in fantastic shape!
    Flora

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    1. Thanks but I'm not in "fantastic" shape. I always bring loads of water with me and I had gone through two thermoses by the end of my hike and that worried me. If I did hikes like that every day I'd be in great shape. Sadly such adventures happen every few weeks. Otherwise I go for "saunters" in the dog park or to local beaches.

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  4. Oooohhh. Poor dear Trey. What a traumatic experience for you both. I'm glad Trey is better now. What a walk. I would call it a trip. You truly an adventuresome person. I kind of envy your strength and ability to accomplish that massive hike. Big hugs to Trey,and a high five to you.

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    1. Thanks Bonnie. I think I'm going through a mid-life crisis a bit late: turning 65 next year. So I feel compelled to do silly things like this ...

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  5. What a fine mess for Trey and for you. It does take a while to sink in when something goes awry with our pets. You could go back and look for the 6 foot tree to use for beating yourself or maybe some of the shoes. :-) I'm glad that a mere 6 weeks was all that was needed to heal his paws.

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    1. Oh his paws were mostly healed in two weeks. My punishment was having to live with his pent up energy while he healed ... lol

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  6. Oh no this must have been heart wrenching for you both! I have arrived home from walks to find Ms Daphne's paws in rough shape. I've thought she was sitting down from being tired and stubborn, and then felt so guilty when I saw the real reason. Glad you are both mended now.

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    1. S**t sure happens sometimes with dogs doesn't it ?

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  7. Oh, that poor dog! How in the heck would you know about the barnacles, for pete's sake? The sad thing is that while YOU may have learned something, I fear that Trey has learned nothing. With healed pads he's gonna keep badgering you to throw things...no matter what lies underfoot. Sigh.What a day.

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    1. Oh he'll never change. Hopefully I might learn though ...

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  8. What a sweetheart (however ornery) Trey is - I'd like to take a walk with him, too. Do you think he would like it down in the South? xo

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    1. I'm pretty sure he'd love anything that allowed him to run free like a goonie bird !

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  9. Poor Trey :( of course you could not know about this kind of danger. What a fright it must have been ! I am glad all is well now. I like the picture of Trey on the deck, the way he looks at you.

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    1. He has one of those, "Beatings will continue until morale improves", sorta faces. lol. Soppiest eyes ever.

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  10. Barnacles! Poor Trey! He's such a playful dog - it's heartbreaking to think of him suffering like that. I'm glad his paws are feeling better now. The look on his face in the last picture is priceless...

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    1. Barbara, Trey really has mastered the "sad dog" look hasn't he. He is all better now but he hated not being allowed to run and play for a couple of weeks while his feet healed. He just does not listen to his own body.

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  11. Oh poor Trey, poor Sybil. What a lucky dog to have you as his human. My old dog Otto wandered into a patch of sand burrs at the beach one day. They got down between his pads and covered his legs and his flanks. He refused to move, and I had to carry him back to the house, where I had to put on leather gloves to remove them. After that he refused to walk in sand.

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    1. Having a to carry poor Otto must have been difficult. (I'm assuming he was a big dog) And also very upsetting. I'm glad he recovered but that sucks that he wouldn't walk on sand after that. I don't think we have Sand Burrs here. By the sound of it I think that's a good thing.

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