Poway Alano Club

By Mika the Wonderdog...Photos by dad & my buddy Fred

Saturday 5/31/08

Have you ever had a day start out bad and then get a lot better?  Today was like that for me.  I woke up when the lights came on outside this morning.  I had a good stretch & went to get dad up.  That sounds simple but first I have to get past mom and she really dislikes me waking her up.  Oh yeah, she says friendly stuff but you can tell its not good.  Then I have to wake dad.   If he is snoring like he was today it's easy.  I give him a good kiss as he breathes in and he reacts quickly! He Gagged once & woke right up!  He moves kind of slow when he first gets up but gets limber after the coffee is done.  

He got his cup of coffee ready, put on his hat and grabbed the leash.  At first I thought we were going to the dog park.  I got all amped up and was going to really lay into Todo (my dog park ausy shepherd buddy) but dad just walks me around the block & back to the house.  I mean I could actually smell Todo at the park & dad takes me home.  What’s up with that?

I was trying to figure out what I could chew of his to get even when he opens the jeep and puts his pack in there.  That means he is either going to the Gym (boo…hiss) or we are going hiking.  Yes!  He takes me to the Jeep.  Forget Todo !

So we go down Oak Knoll to the Alano Club.  Oh doggy...the aroma of eggs, sausage, bacon, all those restaurants cooking breakfast for humans.  They only eat once but I get to enjoy the aroma of it all !  So we meet the gang at the Alano Club.  I know when we get close because of the faint cigarette smoke as we approach.  Not only are we going hiking but there is a woman named Jo there with a cute black lab.   It?s old but pretty good for a walking buddy (the lab).   Then Fritz & Fred show up.  Their bald heads make great salt licks and they seem to like it.  Then Sheri & some other regulars show up.  A couple of new guys show up & come up for a kiss. I have a terrible time keeping all the smells straight but I do the best I can.  We load up & off we go.  
We tried to go to Blue Sky but they were full so we ended up at Poway Lake.  Now, I'm experienced here.  We've gone up the Mt. Woodson Trail to the antenna's in the past.  It?s a good climb with lots of smells along the way.  No dice ... dad takes us to a new trail around the dam and the lake.  Actually he gave my leash to this other guy Mark. 

It gets better because Mark is a front-runner and I love to lead the pack.  He tires out like most humans but seems to last longer than dad does when he leads.  Like an energizer human without the drum!

I tried to pull him around like I used to do with Sheri but it turned out to be a bad idea.  He’s too heavy.  He’s a good sport though.  He tried to jog with me for a while up the grade but humans just don’t have what it takes for a good time.  Maybe it’s because their nose is so lousy & they just can’t tell all the good stuff that’s going around.  Anyway, he’s pretty cool.

This trail ended way too soon but it was pretty nice.  We met a lot of other hikers and a lot of them had dogs that might have been fun to play with but  oh those wonderful smells just keep a pooch more interested in the atmosphere than playing.   Lizards, big cats, rabbits, ground squirrels, skunks, snakes, humans, horses, dogs ... you name it.  Truly a feast for the nose and heck my nose isn't even close to say a beagle or a hound.  What must they smell?  And then there are all those flowers!  If there is a doggy smell heaven, this must be it!   Fred stopped a lot to take pictures so he was way behind but we waited for him at the car.

I thought after dad took the guys that rode with us back to the Alano Club it was back to the yard for the day but no!  Dad takes a nap and then takes me to the dog park.  Norman the black pit bull & me had a ball wrestling.  Then dad and I went for a bike ride around the park.  

I just finished my chow & had about a gallon of water & I’m going to take my nap.  It's a dogs' life.

See Ya!