Note From the Editor Discipline from the Dogs
drawing by Joe Lee
I
jog( walk fast) for less than 15 minutes every day but it is just enough to get my heart rate going and make me feel better. This has been my habit for the past four years. I stray from the routine only if it is pouring down rain, if it is less than 15 degrees outside, or if an early morning meeting demands my preparation.
I owe this daily discipline to my dogs Tessy and Shadow. They accompany me on my jaunt and get very upset if we are not jogging by 9:30. Shadow actually cries like a puppy in the morning to tell me to put on my running shoes. The dogs let me know when it time to go. It is our little ritual. I suppose it is like a buddy system of discipline like when you workout with your girlfriends at the gym. You don’ t want to let your friends down by not showing up. Bad habits are much easier to maintain than good habits and we need the encouragement of those around us to do the right thing. I do it for the dogs, not just for me.
My son ran cross country for the past six years so when he hears me talk about my run he laughs,“ That isn’ t running.” I respect anyone that can run for miles every day. But when I see the runners’ faces at the finish line of those cross country races, I know that is something I will never embrace. My little run is enough for me and the dogs.
The dogs like to stop and smell everything along the way, checking out any signs of other critters. Our neighborhood in Helmsburg has a population of animals that outnumbers the people. There seems to be at least one dog in every household. There is even a house with two pot-bellied pigs, some ducks and chickens, and a lot of little dogs that yell at us when we go by. We hear turkey gobbles from another home. Squirrels and birds scatter when they see us coming.
I believe this discipline of a few active minutes a day is prolonging my life. Since I started the routine I have had fewer colds and seem to have more endurance when I make my rounds in Nashville. Both the dogs and I are getting old and our joints ache. Sometimes we even limp along our path. As long as we can still move, we can do our dog jog. I think we are better for it.
— Cindy Steele
Nov./ Dec. 2014 • Our Brown County 13