Our yard is bordered on the east by a State Highway, on the south by an old cemetery, on the west by a cornfield and on the north by a horse pasture. There are fences and old stone walls as borders and behind the house there is a pretty thick patch of brambles and thorney vines that would keep anyone out of the cornfield. Riley was sniffing around in the corner of the yard and actually ventured into this thicket. I thought nothing of it, just happy that he was curious and exploring. But he went further and further back into it. Just about when I started getting concerned that he wouldn’t be able to come back, I saw him trotting out into the horse pasture! How did he get there?
Next thing I know I’m crawling through the thorney thicket, collecting mud and burrs and wishing I had worn better shoes. I saw how Riley got into the pasture, in a small break where one type of fence became another and he could walk right underneath. I had to go underneath too, but not at effortlessly as Riley did, trust me.
So, there we were in the pasture. He’s sniffing around and I’m walking a little behind him. I didn’t want to interrupt his curiousity and exploration. I love anything that lets him feel like his world is big and interesting, and he was moving through this huge pasture so fearlessly. He was sniffing deer poop and horse poop and a wasp nest and splashing through mud, or what I hoped was mud. Then I started to wonder how we were going to get home. I couldn’t very well cross the pasture and exit through the barn. We would have to go back the way we came, on our bellies and through the muddy thicket.
But not until we met the neighbors. One more thing to put on Riley’s “Things I’m Not Afraid Of” list – Animals that weigh 10x as much as he does. By the time we crawled back under the fence and got home we were both covered with mud and burrs, and exhausted. Riley let me handle and wash his feet and legs, then he slept the rest of the day, just like any normal dog.