My Other Boy

While it's obvious that I love horses, that adoration is rivaled only by my love of dogs - I am a dog trainer, after all - and I'm surrounded by dogs almost 24/7 (in fact, the only time I'm not is usually when I'm with horses).

Currently I own five dogs of my own: Sasha - a German Shepherd/Husky mix I've owned since I was twelve, Taco - a rather large Chihuahua, Anubis - an overweight Pit Bull/Bull Mastiff mix, Zorra and Capone - both long-haired Chichuahuas.

Then there's Cash - an almost 80 lbs. Beauceron Shepherd/Rottweiler mix that I co-own with my friend, and boss, Kelli. Cash lives at my work, acting as a sort of canine peer councilor as well as security. He's an awesome dog, with a personality similar to Maverick's, which could be why I love him so much.


Cash spent three of his four years living in a garage in Richmond, California, with the name "Pequito." The name alone was probably torturous enough but, worse, he had almost no training and had spent his life locked away from dirt, deer scat, muddy water - you know, nature. So P and I make it a point to take Cash out into nature when we can.

Usually we go to the dog park (despite how much I, as a trainer, hate the dog park, it's still a relatively safe and enclosed area where dogs can run and swim, which has its value), but yesterday I though it'd be fun to take Cash to my new favorite spot, the Serpentine Prairie, and let him run while I checked out the trails.

Cash had a total blast! You'd think he'd never seen an open field before (which is possible, I suppose); he tore up and down the hills, through the tall grass and trees, rolled in something I can only guess was bobcat or fox scat, then rolled in dried horse poop, then rolled in a fresh gopher hole. It was great to take him out there, follow him off the trail to go exploring, and just watch him be a dog until he was about ready to collapse.


I really do believe that there are some things you can only notice or experience when you're with a dog (or riding a horse, for that matter). They draw your attention to places you never would have looked had you been alone, and keep you from doing distracting human things, like talking on the cell phone or listening to your iPod.

I saw so many plants and flowers that I might not have noticed had Cash not gone over to sniff them. There were crazy tree formations and very cool, hidden deer trails, and the aforementioned wild animal poop. This is probably my favorite flower discovery so far (does anyone know what it is?):


We also saw a California Alligator Lizard. Unfortunately, we did not get a picture because, just as we were pulling out the camera, Cash promptly came over and flopped down on top of it.

I guess there are things dogs don't notice either.