We made it!

Four months ago, K suddenly pulled up completely lame near the top of Hug Hill. She was in surgery within 2 days to reattach a ruptured tendon. The first surgery didn't fix things, a nasty bone infection followed, and her toe was amputated.

We've spent those long months carefully resting and then rebuilding K's strength. Her left paw has become so strong that it looks almost normal, despite a missing toe.

This morning, I donned my cycling gear and made my last preparations for a ride. K hovered near the freezer, expecting that I'd hand her a frozen kong and then disappear into the basement by myself. Instead, I called to her to go with me. She looked at me quizzically. But, she tentatively followed me down to the basement where my bikes live.

We headed out. I pedaled my Fatback snowbike, and K trotted along side me. At first, K didn't waver from her post right next to me. I started worrying that the pace was too hard for her. Then, all of a sudden, she took off ahead of me in a spray of snow crystals. My girl was BACK!

We headed up to Hug Hill, and K continued her ecstatic play. She galloped over the summit.

 

The only obvious sign of her time away from biking was that she was afraid of my bike, just like when she was a puppy. I had to play some easy and fun games with her next to my bike before she'd pose with it.

After a few minutes, the triumphant pose! But, I have to admit that it appears that K was monitoring the bike out of the corner of her eye.

On our way home, K started running even faster, and clambered onto boulders even when she had the choice of trotting along an easy trail.

It was a fabulous day! Over the past four months, I doubted many times that K and I would ride together again. I was wrong to doubt that this day would come.