Sammy

Sammy is at least 12 years old. We don't know his exact age. We adopted him on April 1st 2005 from the Bisbee shelter, three months after Sara, and those two were soulmates until Sara died two years ago. He grieved for many months. Whenever I see Sammy sleeping on the spot where she died, I wonder if he can still smell her. I worry about him now as he's getting slower and his arthritis is now giving him a permanent limp. Even the glucosamine-chondroitin-turmeric tablets he gets twice a day don't seem to help him much anymore.

Whenever I go to the kitchen to give the dogs their treats, I pass out a treat to four dogs and then walk over to Sammy in the hallway where he waits for his treat. Sara did the same thing those last few years of her life, burdened by arthritis. She was Queen of the pack and we obliged. She had earned that status. Now it's Sammy's turn to be King.

I fear he won't be around much longer.

I try to walk the dogs every day, alternating between a fast 3-4 mile walk and a slow .7mile -1.5-mile walk with Sammy included. Today was supposed to be a faster, longer walk for me but the pack had other plans. Today all four dogs ran to the van for their drive to The Oaks, a "gated community" south of town, across from Hunter Canyon, where the home building company Castle and Cooke have a 34-unit area. Only one house is standing after ten years, and two more 4-acre lots are sold. The streets have been paved and the utility boxes installed, but this planned neighborhood is slow at developing. Why? I don't think it's because of the 2008 recession. I think because people know the area is prone to flood. There are two ditches that run through "The Oaks" that I can see being potential hazards in hurricane rains.

The gate is not yet closed to the public, so I've been going here to walk the dogs on a 1.4-mile loop. We did this loop yesterday, with Sadie, Minnie and Zeke up front chasing each other, and Sammy behind me lumbering along. I go at his pace when he's around and let the younger dogs romp on ahead. They like it like that. It took us 34 minutes yesterday to walk the 1.4 miles. Today, while the original plan was to just take the three hiking dogs and to leave Sammy at home to rest and to speed up Hunter Canyon, he insisted on coming along. I had no choice but to change my plans.

But when I got the The Oaks to start our hike, Sammy didn't want to get out. He fought me. At first I was annoyed because I could have done a power walk with the hiking dogs, but with him with me I can't do that. Yet he persisted. He did not want to get out of the van. Sara would do the same thing in her last year: she'd want to come along for the ride, but once at the trail head, wanted to stay in the van. Sammy is telling me something here. I need to respect his wishes.

The area is still not very busy. It's therefore a nice area to walk the dogs off-leash for the loop. The dogs can shit on the side of the road and no one is going to care. A few cars drive down the adjacent road to homes in the Three Canyons area a mile away, but this loop is still forlorn. A few homes are closer in the Oaks area, but only one completed house is in the planned gated community and occupied. I took the three dogs and power walked the 1.58-mile (this includes a short addition on Three Canyons Road, the main street through) loop while Sammy rested in the van with the windows open. Dark storm clouds were still lingering to the south. Lightning flashed across the mountains but the rain from earlier had subsided.

The views of the Huachucas from the area is quite intimidating. The ground here is almost at 5000 feet elevation, so 200 feet higher than our house. The walk is on pavement, with weeds growing over the asphalt. I'm going to hate seeing this pristine view disappear as new homes take over. Castle and Cooke have had this property for ten years and only one home has been built. I find that so odd. Yet, as I have now walked the dogs on this loop three times, and I love the view, I also sense that this area is not very well suited for the 34 4-acre lots because of the flood zone. Half of the area still shows the dead and charred trees from the 2011 fire, a stark reminder that Mother Nature is in control here. While there is beauty in the wilderness, some things should best be left alone.