Early Retirement

It pains me to admit but Griffin has officially gone into retirement...

I got the team out today for a few short miles to get them back up to speed and he was extremely slow. We stopped a lot, which was good since the dogs were getting hot, and let him catch up. His body looks to be breaking down. Maybe hips or arthritis? This summer I will have the vet check him out but for now he is to stay off the trails.

The rest of the guys fared pretty well considering the heat (+23F) and all the time off they had. Stopping was okay in places but my hook wasn't all that reliable. Still, as always, they were on very good behavior and when the hook didn't hold they listened very well. Good thing cause I didn't pack hardly any weight in the sled and there wasn't much snow for the tipped over sled to drag against. Its really icy out there but the new snow we did get helped a lot.

The funny thing is that the pups seem to still be growing! After only three weeks off I noticed an obvious change in the way their harnesses were fitting. Hermes has gone up a size and Thani seems to have filled into his, which was a size too large to begin with. Calypso hadnt changed much but Boreas seems to be filling out as well.

There was one bad situation... when the team took the turn off the main trail to do the short forest loop Griffin was still trailing way behind. He was stopping to use the bathroom a lot as well as dipping snow. Everyone seemed to be off their game, lots of poop and snow breaks for everyone, but with Griffin's slower speed we had to stop a lot to let him catch up.

So when we were waiting right around the corner I saw Griffin through the tree line but instead of taking our regular turn, which is the turn we ALWAYS take, he went the other way and high tailed it as if he was chasing us! Hes always had a problem with his eyesight but maybe his hearing is going as well? I called and called to him but he never once turned in my direction. He wasnt chasing after anything so I think he just got confused.

It scared the pants off me but Juno was right on cue and turned the team around to chase him. Everyone did extremely well with only Ichabod getting into a minor tangle that he quickly stepped out of. It was very nice to see them do so well considering there were nine dogs (Hera stayed at home) on the line!

We chased after him but since we didnt see him at the truck we took our original route back to scan the fields looking for him. The team passed by a tracked vehicle extremely well and stopped right by the driver so I could ask if he had seen Griffin. Just like clockwork they took off again in good form when I asked and, thank the Gods, there was Griffin right up ahead running towards us.

Grateful is quite the understatement for how I felt when I saw him... in the state he was in I didnt know what was going through his head or where he thought we might be. Poor kid... hes always stuck to me like glue so I bet he was just as extatic to find us as I was to find him!

Hes inside now so I can evaluate him a bit more... his back end is a bit wobbly but hes very happy and has a great attitude. Im sure he will be fine, but knowing that hes not getting any younger is hard to realize...

No photos today. I had to sacrifice my batteries to our GPS since it was drained and even that didnt work well cause it was way off on our miles. It said we went 10 but Im thinking it was only a 5 or 6. A great distance to start them out after so much time off the trail...

Max speed seemed to be correct at 15.5... not sure about the average...