Friday, August 05, 2022
Here’s a terrific image of Louie. He’s caught while urging me to throw his ball. Every bit of his face is in action. His beautiful marble eyes are alert, his mouth opening for action, and his body is about to take off. Louie loves anticipating and chasing balls more than anything else on Earth (except for his food bowl).
Louie is thirteen years old. For nearly all those years, he ran with my horses on trails and now has arthritis as an aftereffect. He understands that trails have become too much. When he’s with the horses and me at a trailhead, he chooses not to follow but to await our return. He hangs out in the shade under my trailer.
At first, leaving him at the TH while I rode was worrisome. Louie is a beautiful merle, and he’s cute. People often reach out to him. But he doesn’t cotton to strangers. Louie has an effective stink eye that can frighten away most would-be petters. I find him fresh and happy whenever my traveling group returns.
Despite his arthritis, I wouldn’t change a moment of our time together on the trails. I’ll bet that Louie, too, wouldn’t alter a moment or reduce our miles. He was an excellent trail buddy, strong, loyal, and always nearby.
Dear Friends: After an early life as a little couch potato, he proved brave and able. Diana
Diana's Morning Blog 