Snakes, Smoke, and Foxtails... oh my! (by: Lucky)

Summer was made for dogs. Warm days. Swimming. Camping trips. Hiking. Basking in the sun. What could be better?! It's no wonder that the phrase "dog days of summer" came to be! But, when you throw things like rattle snakes, smoke, and foxtails in the summer mix... summer ends up being... not so fun!

It was bad enough when reports of it being rattle snake season started hitting the papers. My pal takes us on hikes and walks all the time... and while Carlo and Gerrit always have to stay in a "let's go" position (walking either on her right or left side), I'm special and I get to go off-trailing (ahhh, the benefits of ruling the roost!). However, when those rattle snake reports started coming out, my off-trailing ventures were seriously impacted. Now, my pal doesn't let me go far out on the flexi leash... and she's constantly scoping for anything that resembles a snake... meaning, I've gotten yanked away from many brown sticks. And, there are certain areas (good smelling areas!) that she won't let me go at all!

Then, there's the smoke. With all the fires and heat waves, my pal has been limiting our excursions to early mornings or evenings. The early mornings only happen if she doesn't have to work. And, in the evenings, if the sun is too far down (or if it's too hot and smokey, like it has been lately), we just go for a short walk in the neighborhood (borrrrrrrrring!).

And, then today... a report on foxtails came out. My pal had to explain what these were to us... cause we were awfully confused as to why a fox's tail would get stuck on us. And, why a fox would come up to us in the first place. Supposedly these foxtails aren't really tails at all... but, prickly plant thingys that people think look like fox tails. My pal showed us some pictures of foxtails, but Carlo, Gerrit, and I just could not see why anyone would think they actually looked like the tail of a real fox. The English language is so weird and confusing! Dog speak is MUCH simpler. But, that's a subject for another blog. Back to the plant thingys that look nothing like the tail of a fox... these thingys can get stuck in our fur, up our noses, and in our ears. They are supposed to be really nasty. Sooooooo... now my pal won't even let me pee in bushes cause she's worried about these things. Ugh!

Snakes, Smoke and Foxtails... oh my! What's become of our dog days of summer? Is it fall yet???