Scootie's Booties
I have a running buddy... with four legs and a fur coat! If you follow me on social media, you have probably already seen pictures of my running partner... She is a two and a half year old Australian Shepherd and Catahoula Cattle Dog mix named Scooter (sometimes she is "Scoot," "Scooty," or "Scootsies" even!). She was bred specifically to herd cattle, but an unfortunate contact with an electric fence when she was a puppy pretty much rendered her useless in the pasture... she won't leave your side and she just shakes because she is utterly (no pun intended) terrified!
Though she won't herd the cows on the farm, she still tries to herd, well, EVERYTHING. Dogs like her need a job! And for a long time, she figured her job was to herd shoes, the neighbors' garbage, sticks, and whatever else she could find to put in a pile!
Fast-forward to March of this year. My beautiful friend Keila Orr, talked me into running my first 5k and Scooter and I have put on quite a few miles together since then! This was a dog that was bred to RUN and she has taken extremely well to running with me on the road, on trails, WHEREVER! She comes right to me when I get my running shoes on or if she hears me picking up her leash!
It was relatively cool outside when we started running together, but as the weather became increasingly warm here in Pennsylvania and in New York state, where we spend our weekends, I was getting concerned about her running in the heat. According to an article from Pooch and Claws, who used data from a study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association, if the air temperature is 77 degrees Fahrenheit, the asphalt temperature can be as hot as 125! OUCH!
So what does any logical dog owner do? Go buy your four-footed running partner some new kicks! I found a set of booties for Scootie made by Good2Go from Petco. She also got a Baxter Backpack made by Kurgo and a collapsible water dish for longer runs!
Scootie's Booties were difficult for her to get used to at first... She looked more like a Clydesdale than a dog.
BUT! After a scant quarter mile at the most, she adapted to them! She didn't miss a beat! That first week we put about 17 miles on her new shoes! I am mindful of the temperature, humidity, and terrain when deciding on taking Scooter on a run. We do long trail runs on Wednesdays that Scooter and I absolutely LOVE because of the shade and the nice, soft terrain being easy on our joints!
I am hoping for some cooler days this summer so that Scooter can continue to run with me! I have a half-marathon in the Pennsylvania Grand Canyon at the end of July, so we have a lot of training to do before then!
Happy trails from myself and Scootsies!
