A Little Freedom, a Little Mischief, and a Whole Lot of Love

There was one part of going to Africa that wasn’t easy: leaving Pax behind. At the same time the idea of taking him to Africa and him escaping to the nearest body of water is a complete nightmare: There is a croc pretty much in any body of water that you see there. What made it easy was that I knew that he would be hiking in the mountains with my partner. Pax was still a little naughty and got lost for about half an hour in the alpine but much better than 18 hours. For those of you who have not read the story, it happened when he was a year and a half old. A year and a half ago. It was brutal and we still have sort of PTSD from it. We use a GPS device but still sometimes it doesn't work that well. And if you're thinking, "Well, why didn't you just keep him on the leash," my answer would be: dogs need to be free, exercise, and learn to make decisions. Basically they're like teenagers. They behave much better when they get the naughtiness out of their system, and are kept busy. Our job is to do the fine balancing act of making them feel free and, at the same time, keeping them safe. Learning and being empowered is an important part of it. THIS MONTH'S READS Liver treats: safe or not?...