Ricky the Beagle, Connecticut’s only dog to have completed three transcontinental road trips (I can’t swear to this, but I’m gonna go with it until someone proves me wrong), is about to embark on another excellent adventure: cross-country skiing!
Yesterday, Joe & Pam and Tom & Marcie, all from WePo, joined the Beagle Man for some x-c in Vermont. Tom and Marcie brought along Ella, their 11-year-old Labradoodle. This was actually Ella’s second ski outing; I’d been told she’d joined them once before, and it had been a big success.
Well, I gotta tell you, Ella was just the best cross-country ski companion you could ever ask for. She romped and rolled in the snow. She dashed out ahead — but always came back to check on us. She was up for ab-so-lutely anything. Her only moment of indecision came when Tom and I chugged up a little hill and then cruised behind a stand of trees. The others remained in the open field below, barely visible to us for a short period. Ella seemed torn, and a little anxious . . . but she stayed with us. (Alphas stick together 🙂 )
Any down sides? Ella tended to plant herself right in our path whenever we had a downhill, making things a little dicey, since none of us really knows how to slow, stop, or turn on those suckers. And T&M had to pull over a few times to help Ella with her paws, when the space between her toes iced over. (Booties next time.) She also barked a fair amount, but I chalked that up to high spirits over fresh snow and a
blue-sky day. I found it endearing.
And what does all this have to do with Ricky?
Well, as most of you know, Ricky loves Vermont. And loves snow. And loves hanging with other dogs. And he’s a hardy hiker . . . once I’ve made it perfectly clear that snoozing in the car is not an option, and that there’ll be treats every 50 yards. So . . . next time we’re all up in VT, we’ll have not one, but two mascots — a Labradoodle and a beagle — for our cross-country expedition.
No, I haven’t told Ricky about this yet. The last thing I want him to do is pull a Carol, and refuse to cross-country ski. (Just because of that one less-than-stellar-outing . . .) But my guess is he’s really gonna get into this thing.
Your thoughts?
LOOK FOR A NEW BEAGLE MAN POST EVERY THURSDAY. OR PRETTY CLOSE TO THURSDAY. COULD BE WEDNESDAY. OR FRIDAY. LET’S NOT GET TOO OBSESSIVE HERE . . . 
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Battery of pills aside, I want to be Ricky when I grow up!