Eulogy for Sammy

Sammy died at 5:28pm.

Once Sara died in July 2013, he never was the same.  When Sara died, he lost his playmate.  He was never close to the other dogs that joined our pack.  He grieved for a long  time but did snap out of it and wanted to join the other dogs when I took them on walks.  His last walk with  the pack was the Sunday I returned from my Spring Break trip to the San Bernardino Mountains this past March.  He walked a mile when the other dogs did three and rested in the van and waited.  He never showed an interest in walking after that, although he'd look at us as we gathered for the front door.

Old dogs are like old people.  We adapt to their special needs.  We tolerate their quirks.  They remind us that we will be like them one day.  They teach us patience.  Old dogs are still part of the family so we do what we can to make their life fulfilling.  With Sammy it was walking slower and not as far.  I gave him glucosamine supplements and added vitamins.  I fed him less treats since he wasn't burning the calories when he was younger.  Even the younger dogs put up with him as he was the old patriarch.  He'd howl at a distant siren and cause the rest of the dogs to howl.  I will miss his howls.  I worried about his health this past year when he started showing fatigue or lack of interest in walking.  I knew it was a matter of time.

Most older dogs are put down when they start relieving themselves in the house. I saw that firsthand when I volunteered at the animal shelters.  When Sammy started soiling the carpet in the hallway or living room, I'd clean the affected area and try to barricade the living room with boxes or large items to keep the dogs out.  At one point I simply gave up keeping the carpet clean, though.  When I saw Sammy soil the carpet, I'd yell at him and he seemed to realize what he was doing and would run outside.  Just earlier this month I saw him go outside to pee or poop.  He liked napping on the bare tile of the dining area because that was a central place between the water bucket and the back yard.

Sammy's health spiraled downward just last week. I was in the Baltimore area over the Memorial Day week for my nephew's wedding when I got a text message from Kevin that Sammy was in great pain. That was a Saturday afternoon and I was with my sister on the way to our rehearsal dinner in Little Italy.  I thought he was dying that day but he lived a few more days. He had become paralyzed in his hind legs and was in pain.  The last time he was able to get up on his own was Sunday, when he also took a tenderloin steak that Kevin had made just for him.  Kevin kept me updated on Sammy's health and it became my goal to get back home Tuesday to see Sammy alive.

I got home at 1am.  The home had a strange smell.  It was not the smell of feces or urine (Sam and Pache had both peed a lot by the front door and at times it was rather strong) The smell was more acidic, like that associated with hospitals.  Sammy was lying on his right  on the tile floor with a water bowl by his side. He was resting and breathing softly.  When I called him name he woke up and soon began to whimper in a high-pitched howl, a howl I had never heard from him before.  He clearly was in pain.

That night I never got any rest.  I rested by his side on my camping cot.  I'd pet him and give him water, which he drank a lot of.  I replaced the wet towel by his side, a towel moist with both water and urine, and made sure he could rest his head on something soft.  He could still raise his head and move his body around, but he showed no interest in the rest of the meat Kevin had for him.

Wednesday morning both Kevin and I agree we needed to put Sammy down.  He was clearly in pain. My first choice was a mobile vet but I couldn't get through to him.  My second choice was New Frontier, an upscale vet clinic that does euthanasia at home.  My third choice was our own vet at Sierra Animal Hospital, but you must bring the animal inside to the clinic.  I never considered calling animal control because the county Animal Control Officers here can be rather gruff.  I made an appointment for 4:45pm so that Kevin could be there after he got off work.

Sammy's last day on earth meant a day of quiet peace.  I gave him water, sometimes I held him up so he could drink better, but he could also help himself to the water bowl and drink lying down.  I replaced the soiled towels with fresh, dry ones.  I wanted to start cleaning up the living room, but I also knew I couldn't use the vacuum or carpet cleaner.

Sammy howled in pain twice in the morning, at 8am and again at  around 11am.  He rested in between. I stayed in the home to watch for any physical changes, like the deep breathing animals display before death.  He was still alert and would move his eyes and ears when I came near.  His eyes, despite the cataracts, were alert.

Sammy's condition went from serious to critical at around 2:30pm, right before Kevin came home.  His breathing became loud.  I knew that he would pass today even without any euthanasia.

More later (this is a hard one to write as I still get choked up)
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Bisbee at Night

I didn't want to deal with the 87F heat and opted instead to walk in the evening.  I had a lot of recyclables to drop off and used Bisbee as an excuse.  The town has plenty of drop-off points for various plastics, metal, paper and cardboard.  My flaw today was starting too late.  I didn't get going until almost 7:50pm, past dusk.  The lack of any moon light made this walk a challenge.

The goal was to walk around Old Bisbee and create a route that didn't require climbing stairs, as an alternative to the 4.7 mile Bisbee 1000 route. That's really not that easy, as most roads in town are dead-end roads and are connected by stairs.  Only three streets are through streets.  The lack of any moon (moon rise was after 10pm) created really dark corners in cul-de-sacs that surrounded me with darkness.

I started at the Copper Man statue, walked uphill to Quality Hill, then got stuck in a dead end.  This happened at least three times as I tried to map a route that was doable.  In two instances I had never been in the dead ends before, providing new views of the town that is rather quiet after sun set.  The only noise comes from Brewery Gulch and St Elmo's bar.  One of these days I'll van camp in town in order to wake up before sunrise to capture the views.  The only places with human nightlife were the various restaurants that cater to tourists:  the Screaming Banshee, The Stock Exchange, the Grand Saloon, the Old Bisbee Brewing Company and the local favorite, St Elmos.  The side streets were void of tourists.  A group of tourists asked me were Cafe Roka was.  Yes, I look and dress like a local!

From Quality Hill I went back down to the main street and walked the original route up the Gulch.  A stray dog there startled us.  It was tall, lanky and looked like a coyote with German Shepherd Dog markings.  Its tail was between its legs so it was afraid of us as well.  Later on, while looking at its photo, I noticed a collar.

I turned around here, just across from the Mimosa Market, and went uphill by the City Park.  At another cul-de-sac at N Sleepy Dog Drive off Miller Hill, I stumbled into a pack of rooting javelina.  Zeke would have chased this family had he not been leashed.  The animals scurried up a steep hillside and vanished in the bushes of a small yard under a home.  Not wanting to startle any more night life, I opted to stay on the main roads of Shearer, Tombstone Canyon and the like.

Across from the Grand Saloon I even came across what looked like a desert kit fox.  Its bushy tail and angled pointed ears were a give-away this was no cat.  It froze as it stared at me staring at him, before it, too, ran off into the darkness.  If all these  critters were within the town, imagine what was out in the dark canyons nearby!  There were people in the adjacent parking lot totally oblivious to all the critters around them.

Zeke and I managed 5.3 miles, some of it by repeating several stretches.  I avoided Moon Canyon entirely because I figured I'd see even bigger wildlife there, but adding that canyon would have added another mile to the route. By 10pm we both were tired and rested in the van parked across from St Elmos.  Now the loud screams from the drunks annoyed us and we finally drove off after 11pm.  By then Safeway foods was closed and I couldn't get Zeke a raw meat snack.  It's been a while since I stayed that late in Bisbee. Two more weeks from now, with school out, tourist season will explode with a vengeance.

http://www.mapmyhike.com/workout/2190945041

San Pedro River Loop (4 miles)

It drizzled most of the night.  The wind had died down before sun rise, replaced by a cold front that has hit most of the West.  Denver got hit with hail the size of baseballs yesterday, and northern Arizona got heavy rains.  Rain this time of year isn't so unusual.  What is unusual is how cold the rain is.  It was only in the low 50s this morning!

The mountains were shrouded in fog and more rain was moving in from Sonora.  With no call-in for today, I decided to take advantage of this fine weather and take all the dogs down to the river. Sweetie needed her exercise so I picked the remote southern terminus of the San Pedro River Trail outside Palominas on the eastern banks of the river for a hike.  I wore a medium-grade fleece shirt and my yellow North Face rain jacket.  Both came in handy.   I had no concrete plan as for time or distance; that all depended on the weather and the dogs.  The Mexican border is only four miles one-way straight south from this location.

A USBP van was parked in the trailhead parking area.  I waved at the agent and immediately took the pack across the wash and south along the marked trail.  It was 11:17am. It was nice to see the dogs chase each other and have fun.  I definitely felt the chill but it didn't prevent Minnie from panting at the one-mile mark. That's when I decided to turn southwest on a maintenance road and take the pack toward the river for a cool refreshment. This was a wise decision for the dogs, but not so much for my van later on.

There was no one around me.  I figured the cool weather would bring out more wildlife, but perhaps everything was hunkered down and staying warm.  We got to the river within two miles.  Last night's rain didn't create water volume, but the wash was damp.  I was able to walk in the wash the entire way back to the bridge.  There were small pools of deep water and shorter runs of flowing water, but nothing long-flowing yet. That will come with the monsoon.  The river changes its course every year.  Some years there is so much water that I have to stay above the banks when walking along the river.  Today I had no such concerns.

The trees along the river look healthy this year.  I'm not seeing a moth infestation as in previous years.  All four dogs ran around some more, chased each other, and fetched sticks that I threw.  I'm sure they all picked up ticks while in the water, though, so I'll be watching for that in a few weeks.

I ended up walking back north along the river, joining the wash again south of the bridge and taking the wash back to the parking area.  Other than some tall dead grass near the river, I had no major obstacles to surmount; it was easy walking today. Sometimes the weeds along the river grow so dense that bushwhacking through that is cumbersome.

The walk was 1:39 minutes long. The USBP agent was still there.  I waved at him once again before driving off in the rain.  This was a well-timed walk, as as soon as I neared the van, another short thunderstorm erupted. The dogs all did their share dragging mud into the van.

Some people may complain about this unseasonable cold front, but this cold moisture will help curtail our wildfires burning across Arizona.  Our mountains' trees need this water.  Sunny, warm and seasonable weather should return in full again by Thursday.

http://www.mapmyhike.com/workout/2181173852/

Tinker Pond - Sheelite Ridge loop

Gusty winds plagued us all weekend.  Yesterday I opted out of a 12-mile hike on the Arizona Trail with the hiking club at Redington Pass because of the forecasted heat -- 92F-- and the wind.  I took the dogs out for a 4-mile power walk instead.  A new fire, the Mulberry fire, was reported yesterday afternoon north of Sonoita, in the same area the larger Sawmill Fire burned for over 46,000 acres that began on April 23rd.  I didn't see much evidence of any fire burning from that direction. https://inciweb.nwcg.gov/incident/5174/

Today I wanted to hike the AZT from yesterday's club schedule but ended up staying close because driving in gusty conditions for 90 miles to a crowded trailhead was not my idea of a fun time.  It turns out that the guys who did hike yesterday on the AZT did a partial bushwhack anyway.  I don't like bushwhacking as injuries sustain off-trail can lead to delayed rescues because of the rough terrain.  The hiking club has become a bushwhacking club when certain people lead hikes.

Temperatures today were in the low 70s with an overcast sky.  Perfect for hiking!  I told Kevin I would do 6-8 miles today and it turned out to be exactly 7 miles, all on firebreaks on Fort Huachuca.  I repeated the Tinker Pond hike from March 25th, this time with the intent of making it to the pond.

Tinker Pond access is on the post's most southeastern boundary, across from the aerostat field off Garden Canyon Road.  The last time I hiked here, on March 25th after a control burn, I saw a herd of antelope. Today I saw three turkeys instead.  The last one, a tom, was slowly strutting across the road with no care in the world.  I stopped to take his photograph before the dogs went on a barking frenzy.

We were the only ones at the trailhead.  A gallon jug was placed at the start.  Was this for any thirsty border crossers? The first 1.5 miles were the same route I took last time, on meandering firebreaks slowly going uphill.  This time I stayed in a southwesterly direction.  The burned area is slowly coming back to life, with a new layer of green grass while the unburned area looks dead and dull.  We haven't had much rain since early March; more rain would surely have made the burned area grow back even faster.

I had no trouble remembering the route.  But this time I noticed a trail of pink streamers on tree branches at the 1.35 mile mark. These weren't here last time. These streamers are left behind by border crossers who mark the way for other border crossers.  The streamers usually indicate a safe passage, a spring, or a shelter.  Curious, I followed the pink streamers up the side of a small hill and discovered an underground bunker.  I had to crouch down to get inside.  A ten foot hallway then turned right into a larger room, but I didn't go in all the way as I didn't want to be surprised. The dogs didn't act alarmed so I knew no one was inside.

I didn't linger long as I had six more miles to go.  Tinker Pond was next.  The trail gained in elevation fast.  The pond was at the two-mile mark and 5156'.  I didn't have to tell the dogs to jump in.  Water looked clean enough.  There were no other animals around.  I had water for the dogs but always prefer they drink from natural sources, as long as those sources are clean.

I was going deeper and higher, surrounded by emory oaks, alligator junipers, yuccas.  The firebreaks were on my Google maps and GPS but had no names. Some were long abandoned and overgrown, but an old graded area revealed once-used trails here.  I came up to a crest at the three-mile mark with views into Garden Canyon Road and points east and north.  The crest allows border crossers good vantage points, but it's an area that if an injury were to happen, rescue would be difficult and delayed because of the loose soil and steep grade.  I stopped often to rest.  Between the 2.and 3.7 mile, the steepest, I stopped often enough to drag that mile out to 51 minutes.  It wasn't so much that the grade was steep, it was more that I was tired of hiking on very loose and uneven terrain.  Deep groves from intense past rains can turn these old fire breaks into ankle twisters.

  

The Sheelite Ridge is a natural barrier to the namesake canyon. The trail ends at the base but I didn't go that far west.  I took a left turn going due south and downhill.  The Ridge looked inviting but rocky cliffs are notorious mountain lion habitat so I opted to not explore the base of the ridge.  I'd do it with company but not by myself.

Sheelite canyon is a popular birding destination, even after the 2013 fire that took out the upper elevations and caused severe erosion on the trails.  This eastern barrier keeps predators out from this direction.  It's a steep canyon, too and not for the unconditioned.

Clouds were slowly getting darker, adding to dramatic sky effects.  On a hot, clear sky this hike would be unbearble, but the cool temperatures and overcast made this loop enjoyable.  I'm so glad I had ideal conditions for this loop, as I got to see higher elevations from different locations never before seen.  I could see the upper falls in Brown Canyon.  Along the southeastern post boundary now bordering Brown Canyon, I could also see illegal trails made by border crossers wanting to use the firebreaks to get down into the valley.  Part of the barbed-wire fence had been cut open and replaced.  People coming through this area would have to have bushwhacked a steep canyon to get here.  The remote area would allow many to sneak in undetected.

Betweem 3.7 and 5.2 miles I was following the post boundary with Brown Canyon and hiking in a northeastlerly direction.  I was at the highest elevation along this loop, at 5900'.  The remote beauty now took over. I stopped now more to enjoy the views.  The overcast skies provided shade that otherwise would not be here on the exposed trails, but the late afternoon also helped provide for shade.  Both dogs were by my side.  Minnie would have slowed me down and Sweetie would have wanted to run down the white-tailed deer we came across.  The dogs were so tired by now, they didn't notice a young fawn feeding right off the trail.  I stopped to photograph it but my movement startled the fawn and it sprinted off, still undetected by the dogs.

I didn't bring my windbreaker on this hike.  My movement kept me cool but had I rested more, would have felt the cold front coming in.  This is unusual for this time of year.  Others may have complained about the unusual 70F day, but I took advantage of it with this hike.

It was all downhill now, often on steep, loose decomposed granite.  This kind of terrain is more painful on my knees than a steep ascent.  At the 4.8 mile I crossed the trail I had used last time on this loop, so now the trail was familiar once again, as lower Brown Canyon came into view.  Here's where I then took a northwesterly turn on an abandoned trail that brought me back down to the land navigation course and close to the hidden shelter.

While scenic views were along the Ridge, I was now in a small riparian area.  Herbaceous plants were growing back from the fire.  Yuccas that had burned stalks were also coming back to life.  After a heavy rain I assume this area would be brimming with wildlife of all kinds.  Sadly, we encountered a young, dead fox and a few feet further, the spine of another mammal I couldn't recognize.  It did not have canine teeth.  I'm going to assume it was of a deer.

We  had now hiked almost six miles.  It had been four miles since the dogs were in Tinker Pond.  I had stopped to let them drink while on the Ridge trail, but Sadie didn't take that opportunity.  The dogs had to have been thirsty by now.  The trail we were on came out north of the old Site Boston wildlife pump but by then we had less than a mile to the finish line.  The dogs would have to wait until we were back home for more water.

Dark clouds were now forming over the mountains.  It looked like rain, which was not in the original forecast for today.  It was breezy but no longer gusty.  I lucked out with the weather and this trail!  The seven miles took me 3:47 hours.  Once back at the car and seeing the Sheelite Ridge from the parking lot, it was hard to believe this was only a seven-mile loop.  The Ridge looks farther away.

The waning western sun was now casting its golden hues on the grass as I drove off. It was almost 5:30pm when I got home.  Minnie and Sweetie were excited about their walk, but I ignored them and they didn't harass me for long.  Sadie slept in the hallway as soon as we got home and didn't move much the rest of the night.

Hiking on wide firebreaks is only enjoyable when there is cool weather and overcast skies.  Today was such a day.  On a typical May day, this hike would not be much fun, although a short 4-mile loop to the pond and back around the riparian area would be a pleasant after-work jaunt as long as there was daylight.  I'm glad I finally made it to Tinker Pond.  That area is a hidden gem that few people get to enjoy.
http://www.mapmyhike.com/workout/2176826195

Kevin was awake but in bed when I got home.  He had made a nice pot roast dinner and kept my plate in the microwave.  I'm normally starving when I come home from a hike, but tonight I didn't eat right away, instead grabbed crackers and later some custard.  I'll save the pot roast for tomorrow.

Emmanual Macron won the French election today.  That didn't surprise me.  What does disturb me is Marine Le Pen's far right party, the National Front, won just under 35% of the vote.  This shows a steady increase in the National Front's policies since 2002, indicative of the social unrest across France.  While I do support stronger law enforcement vis a vis crime, drugs and gangs both here and in Europe, what does disturb me is the hatred that comes with it toward anyone not deemed "normal."