Ryder weighing in here. Brrr, it’s cold. Pete just said that it’s -15˚F out there. I went out with Alys and Pete, twice today, once on the trails and once around the loop, and I got cold. On the trails, I got ice balls in my feet. In going around the loop, my pads froze up.

Alys has been telling me all about the husky dogs, which are those dogs who pull sleds great distances in the winter. She’s been telling me how they live outside and are chained to their houses. Someone feeds and cleans them up twice a day. Being sled dogs, their only outings are during the winter months. Alys says that they love to pull. The best get to do the Yukon Quest or the Iditarod Sled dog races, which are winter events. They also

Ryder

most likely participate in the shorter qualifying races. And during these races they are fed frozen salmon.

Alys interspersed her remarks by telling me, repeatedly, that I’m a dog of privilege. It’s true, I’m both an inside and outside dog. I have a bed next to the woodstove, and I get taken for trail walks. I also get fed twice a day, and I know where the compost bucket is. At nights, I lie between Alys and Pete when they watch videos.

The other night they watched a video about a dog that had been reincarnated several times. This is only my first time around, so I don’t have a past history like the dog in the movie. However, I am very much enjoying life this time around.

I have just one complaint, and this is that I am getting tired of Alys telling me how good I have it in comparison to other dogs. I’m very much aware of this fact because it’s been drilled into my head. And what she says frightens me. I fear that if I do something wrong, that she might very well send me to live with a sled dog team. It’s not that I’m not strong, tough, or adaptable because I am. Rather, I’m used to the creature comforts – and there is nothing wrong with this.

I have told her that if she keeps it up, I am not only going to report but also insist that the Human Society come and take her away. She’d for sure sing a different tune if they tied her to a sled dog house and every so often tossed her a frozen fish. Actually, she might like being with others of her kind and pulling a sled. After all, she’s a very tough lassie who likes being outside for great lengths of time.

I have no complaints about Pete. He is a very kind and gentle soul who does upon occasion let Alys know that what she’s telling me is making me nervous. Every dog should have an owner like him.

Like Alys and Pete, I do wish it would warm up. They want to go for a lengthy bicycle ride and so do I. But Pete says we have to wait. In the meantime, it’s nice and warm in the house, where I generally reside.

Next: 8. 1/8/20: To Move or Not to Move, That is the Question