I wrote earlier that i just discovered today that Sleeping Giant Provincial Park, our destination, closes tomorrow, the day we will reach it. My disappointment is tempered only because i already have fond memories of my two travel partners there (and we're getting thre a week later than planned because i tarried longer at or detoured to earlier campsites than planned). The first time was on our way to Alaska in 2001 when they were four months old, the trip i took to scatter Sonntag and Kessie's ashes over the North Slope tundra, 100+ miles south of Prudhoe Bay. The second was last year, at the return point of our journey through all of Labrador, Quebec and Ontario (www.northessttoalaska.blogspot.com). Our plan tomorrow is to travel a couple of hours farther to Kabecka Falls Provincial Park and spend one night there as it closes the next day. I thought about travellng 157 miles north to Lake Bukemiga, where we bivouaced one night last year, but that will have to wait until a future trip. On tuesday morning, i will decide where this trip goes from there, but today i was inclined to think that it is time to return to DC to get Leben back into his twice-weekly swim therapy (for therapy, yes, but to work off all of the treat-weight he gained on this trip.)
Leben' situation with his walking continues to deteriorate. I suspect this would have happened anyway had i been managing him back in DC because his routine here was basically what it would have been back n DC. It was actually easier for him on the road because he did not have the the walk to get outside to the same old park. I have resisted writing about it on purpose, but i will pose the matter now, namely that there is something patently unfair about putting a dog who could walk just fine before despite disc ruptures, but after surgery can hardly walk. Now i know what the vet meant when he said almost in a footnote kind of way, he could come out worse. As i reflect on it now, Leben was not a good candidate for this surgery because his symptons (spaying legs on slppery floors, interrupted running, lying down more than in the past) started two years earlier and at 11 and a half, his real full recovery period from the surgery (which was not four-eight weeks, as i was told, but longer, much longer) would go past his life expectancy. I figured, however, that the next step down for him would be like Sonntag's sudden paralysis and wouldn't it be better for him to be still walking? The answer i now know is No. Sonntag lived a full life in his wheelchair and i know how to manage a large paralyzed dog. When i get home, I will order another canine cart (wheelchair) for Leben and then decide when to have him start using it. Once he goes in it, he will never walk again, so i have some mind reading to do.
This trip has turned out to be much more difficult than my journey with Alaska with Sonntag, but not only bacause Leben's situation is much more complicated than Sonntag's or because i had already managed Sonntag as a paralyzed dog for more than two years and i had it down to a science. What makes it more difficult is that i am determined that Erde, Leben's very active sister, is also getting the benefits of this trip and that they are treated equally. If Erde deserves all the treats she has been getting on this trip, it is because she has provided the entertainment for all of us. What a playful dog is. Disobedient and inconsiderate, but playful.
In the photo, you can see that the trail to this beach was hadicap-accessed. It would have been impossible for us to make the trek to the beach without that access. And if my friend Karen had not convinced me to take the CATV, we would not have made the trek because if Leben cannot do something on this trip, I do not either. I will admit, however, it was a bit difficult navigating the CATV up a few slopes, up a few steps, and through the sand where the ramp ended. I would just like to have been able to read Leben' mind when i had to tip him onto the two back wheels to extricate the CATV from some precarious situations. When i return to DC, i may look into accessorizing his CATV with a winch, like my Defender.
It' s 8:45 and getting cold outside. Time to turn in so i can get an early start tomorrow. This message will probably not go out until Monday morning when i have internet access again at Marathon.
PS...I'm not smiling in the pix because it was too cold.
Ed - The cold weather is probably aggravating the arthritis in Leben's back. He might do better in a warmer place. It's been unseasonably cold here (all that Canadian air has come our way), but will warm up to seasonal temps this week. Safe trip.
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