Come rain, sleet, snow, hell or high water (or something like that), I deliver a heart pounding exercise session every morning for Ella. We spend almost 2 hours in Central Park running, chasing squirrels, playing frisbee, and trying to avoid all the horse poop on the Bridle Path. Not delivering is not even an option…not unless I’m ok with her bouncing off the walls of the shoebox all day (and sometimes – like, today for example (*counting to ten and breathing deeply*) – she does that anyway…).
Ella LOVES horses…almost as much as horse poop. (sorry – but it’s true…that sh** is like doggie catnip!)
But while she might admire them from afar as they majestically trot through the park, she isn’t too keen on them being all up in her water trough.
Only it’s not technically Ella’s trough (try telling her that). This is one of the troughs along Central Park South dedicated to the carriage horses by the ASPCA. And the truth of the matter is that Ella is too much of a diva to stick her head in and drink directly from the trough anyway. Momma had to fill her portable plastic cup from the spigot like we do at all the other people-dedicated water fountains (momma’s actually ok with that – if you saw how dirty that water was, you would be too).
Anyway, point is, Ella was really lapping up that nice cold water in her clean personal cup when she came face to face with the one animal she has never (yet) tried to incite play with (thank god)…
Horse to Ella: “You betta check yo’self.”
Horse again to Ella: “Uh huh, that’s what I thought.”
Ella to Horse: (mumbling under her breath) “Oh come on this is getting ridiculous now. Nobody needs THAT much water…”
Ella to herself: “OK THAT IS IT! I’m about to make my move if this horse doesn’t trot on in 10 seconds.”
Ella to Momma: “Momma are you sure you don’t have any Poland Spring in your bag? I am so parched…”
The bad news is…Ella’s diarrhea was back this morning. The good news is…she barely even thought about her fiery bum because she was distracted by the sprinklers that were out again in Central Park!
I am totally willing to risk boring you all with repeated posts and excessive pictures of Ella and the sprinklers – in my opinion, it’s just too hilarious not to share each time. And I have to admit, playing in the sprinklers is a lot of fun even for me (not to mention incredibly refreshing on blazing hot days like today). We do get a few strange looks though – sometimes during the festivities (people just can’t fathom a dog who loves to get wet as much as Ella does – clearly they’ve never known a retriever), but mostly afterward as we walk through the park dripping wet. Most people are confused as to how we got to be so wet. They assume I let Ella jump in The Lake or Bethesda Fountain (which always upsets me because they are so filthy i would NEVER let her jump in there)…I can only assume they think i jumped in with her or something. (Can you imagine those pictures?)
It is HOT in NYC today…you could fry an egg on the sidewalk (though i wouldn’t advise eating it)…and I can’t say the timing is the greatest what with Ella battling her tummy troubles and all. Heat like this could give anybody the runs.
The good news is that Ella seems to have perked up a bit and her energy levels have returned to normal. We’re still working on getting that tum back to normal though – better, but not where I’d like to see it…so we’ll keep our fingers crossed that she keeps progressing over the next several days. And in the meantime I am working hard to try to keep her from eating any other random things that could aggravate her stomach…like, say, for example, paint chips from her chewing on the wall last night? Uggh. Lead poisoning…yeah, that’s just what we need right now.
Anyway, we have managed to make it to Central Park in spite of the heat. The athletic pup she is, Ella understands the importance of staying hydrated in such extreme conditions, so she’s taken it upon herself to make sure she’s got water with her every step of the way. In addition to making me stop at EVERY water fountain in the park to fill her drinking cup, she also picks up every discarded water bottle she finds along the way. It’s not just for her though – it’s an important job…She’s really doing her part to keep the park clean…now if I can only teach her to drop the bottles in the recycling bin when she’s done, I’ll have a very trendy “green pup” on my hands…
What kind of dog is Eli? Ella is my first Golden and I...
