Bela could fit inside my backpack as a pup! ~ Bela, 6 months ago
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I miss my dog. Earlier this week we had to put my Vizsla, Bela, down. She was 12 years old and we had learned just a few days earlier that she had cancer. One of the masses found was on her heart so we knew the prognosis was very poor. We had hoped for a couple of months, but were only given a few days. It was the right thing to do, but an incredibly difficult decision for us.
I ran a little off and on before we got our dog, but she was really the one who got me running regularly. Initially it was to "wear her out" but then it became a joy to run with her. She ran in the dark, in the rain, on trails and on sidewalks, long runs and short runs, beside me with the jogger and alongside me even after we got a second dog who would also run with us. She trained with me for my first and second marathons, often running as far as 6 to 8 miles with me. She scared off a small bear while running with me in Montana. She was my trusted companion for many, many miles.
I hadn't run with her recently. She'd really slowed down and tired after just a mile. I'd been walking with her, often on a 3 mile loop that included walking my son to school. And the day before we learned she had cancer I had taken her (along with my other dog and my two kids) out on a hike. It was more of a walk in the fields than a hike, but she enjoyed it.
I really miss her. I miss those runs we used to do together. It's been two weeks since the last time I took my other dog for a run (3 miles), but losing Bela has made me want to get back into a regular routine of running with Greta. She's a 9 year old German Shorthaired Pointer and can easily run a few miles so I need to do that a couple times a week. She'd love it and so would I.
Do you run with your dog(s)? They really do make the best running partners.
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