The Labraduo Romps!

I took this photo last winter before R had his elbow surgery. You can actually see how wide his left elbow was compared to a normal elbow. Now, post-surgery, it looks almost normal.

As I've mentioned in the past, it's been a long journey back from R's CUE surgery. I'll soon have another video of his exercises - we're now on a schedule where we do the same exercises for about 2 months before the vet ramps them up again. We still spend about 30 minutes each day doing strengthening exercises for his left forelimb.

After his surgery, there was a time period when, although we didn't say it out loud to each other, both the Runner and I feared that R wouldn't ever run at full speed again. He seemed so weak that we couldn't imagine how he'd get back to his normal rambunctious lifestyle.

Alas, we were wrong. Today, I had the honor of taking a mountain bike ride with both halves of the Labraduo. We headed up to Hug Hill first, where the dogs posed on their favorite rock.

I see that colorful "I have epilepsy" tag on Shyla in the above photo, and I realize that both of these dogs have been through tough times this past year.

Despite all they've coped with, they can romp with as much, if not more, abandon than last year. Shyla has gained a lot of gray fur but she's actually challenging R for "top dog" honors when they're racing around outdoors.

The Duo is a handful when I bike with them both. I have to make frequent stops to remind them of the rules by practicing recalls and impulse control exercises. But, my little obedience routine works - and that makes me smile because it means that I can safely ride with both of them.

During one of those breaks, they propped their front paws on Angel K's favorite stump. Some of you might remember the story from that stump. When K's health was fading due to bone cancer, our big goal was to hike to the stump each day. It became a celebration of each precious day that we had together. I'd put a small rock in the crevices on top of the stump each time we made there after the vets told us that time was short. You can see the crevices below Shyla's paws in the photo - that's where the little rocks were.

After K died, I went and collected all the little rocks - and they sit in a jar on my dresser as a reminder that every single day is precious.

That is true with this Duo too. I am so happy that I had this day on the trails with them!