Adventures of The Friz

As most of you know I love The Friz, my K9 counter part.  If I didn’t have him in my dismal existence on this planet then I would be close to suicidal. I could put a collection of words together  that might bring a tear to your eye, but let’s just say he is my best friend. He is the only friend that has stuck by my side, and never wavered.  All he has ever asked of me was food, water, and a bit of attention.  It’s this lack of anything more that motivates me to be more than I am for him. I believe this is what the poets call true love.  This preamble motivates me to share a little story about The Friz.  It’s not one of those stories that would make Lassie look like a run of the mill ally dog; in fact it’s not hart warming at all.  None the less:
Recently I decided to visit Mt. Olympus.  Mt. Olympus about 2.5 hours away and so it became a mini road trip.  Due to a frequent stops it became a four hour trip, once we made it to Mt. Olympus we were heavily disheartened at the fact that to enter the park it would cost $15.  I didn’t have $15 to spend for only an hour or two in the park.  On the way to this disappointing fact, the road we traveled followed along a river.  I was so exited to see a river, I know Frizbe was.  There are plenty of lakes in my area of Washington, but not rivers.  During this four hours trip Frizbe was antsy while constantly shifting his weight in the set next to me.

Not to be detoured by not wishing to depart with $15, I found a place that would allow us to walk along the water line and not have to pay to do it.  After being cooped up in the truck for those 4 hours, Friz was elated to get out and stretch his legs.  As we walked along the trail we found a little cove that allowed for some splash chasing.  For those that know Friz you will remember that splash chasing is his most vocal time.  He only makes this sound when chasing the splashes that rocks produce when thrown at a high velocity at the water. In fact for those that may not remember, let me help you out.  You know that ringing in your ears that everyone gets from time to time? It’s because of Frizbe, no matter where you are at in the world you can hear his piercing yap.  If Frizbe’s earsplitting yapping is any indication of his excitement, then I would say he is sufficiently elated.  We abandoned that cove in order to recover my sense of hearing.

We continued along the trail for a short distance when I found what I was looking for.  I saw a way to cross the river to an island that had many palm sized rocks and moving water. In order to get to this island we had to cross upon a series of fallen log bridges. Fallen trees, to be crossed in turn, provided the path.  The first leg was two small, yet long logs paralleling each other, one narrower and slightly lower than the other.  For a human this is simply a balance beam maneuver that we learned in elementary school.  For a confident deficient dog it was a bit more of a challenge.  I made it across the first leg then turned around to see how Friz was faring.  He regarded me from afar with a look indicating a state of mind similar to “you’re kidding right?”  I encouraged him to follow as I knew he could do it.  In watching me cross, he followed in similar fashion.  The right legs on the smaller, lower log and the right legs on the larger higher log.  Watching him cross those logs was by far one of the funniest things I have seen.  His head is down and his legs are working, it had a sprawled eagle look to it.  What nearly made me fall in the water laughing was the whimpering sound he made at each step.  If translated, the sounds and body language he made would sound something like, “I don’t like it, I’m going to fall I know it, I don’t like it!” To Frizbe’s credit he made it.  However, he was so displeased with this whole affair that once he reached the end, and about to start the next log series he elected for a different approach. Instead of easily transitioning to the next much larger and easier log to cross then what he just went through, he got in the water. I guess he figured that swimming the path his master had insisted he follow was much better.  I walked along the log slow enough so that I could render assistance if necessary.   Let me take a moment and remind you that the river is fed by a glacial mountain about 10 miles away.  This means the water was cold!   Frizbe, in his Border collie wisdom, weighed the displeasure of walking along the logs against the cold water he was currently in.  Once he reached the end of log two, his dilemma was resolved and he got out, with a little help, traversing the final log with enthusiasm.  About three quarters of the way across the log the path was slightly hindered by tree matter that, under normal circumstances, he could get over with out a problem.  I figure he hesitated because he had not be able to shake off the cold water from his body and pause, momentarily, to lick his genitals warm again.  Once encouraged, he made the rest of the distance with out a problem.  We made it to the island finally, and had a good time enjoying the water and rock splashes.

When we were done enjoying the fruits of our perilous trek across the water we had to go back the way we came. This time with Frizbe’s new found experience crossing the logs a less eventful, but not completely devoid of calamity.  99% of the first log was not a problem, but even though he had a new found confidence, he knew that he would not be able to jump over what was left of the roots that the now first set of logs retained.  He nearly decided to attempt the jump, but I called him back from doing so.  I know what Frizbe is capable of and what he is not.  I stepped over him then lifted him over to the second log.  He exuberantly ran across to the end and started on the last leg to land.  Remember his displeasure the first time around?  Well that was all gone.  He trotted along it as though he did it every day and only used one of the logs to do it.  As with all confidence it can get us into trouble if we are not careful, Frizbe was about to learn that.  Just as he was within 2 feet of land his grip on the log failed him and he fell over hit his shoulder on the smaller, lower log and entered the water.  I traverse the last little bit of the second log quickly to render assistance.  You see the embankment was quite steep and not easy to get up on even if have all wheel drive like a dog.  By the time I was halfway to across the log myself he was able to get himself out and stand on the shore wagging his whole body and smiling a Frizbe smile as if to say.  “I did it daddy! AND IT SUCKED!, but I did it”.  Needless to say Frizbe didn’t have any problems keeping still on the way home, in fact he slumbered peacefully.