Courage

When I was agonizing over whether to get a pup, my brother Dave, a fellow Lab owner, gave me some pros and cons. As an afterthought, he added, “Plus, they make you laugh.”

Yesterday we set out down the Big Tree Trail and she went into bear mode, barking, hackles up, charging into the woods and then retreating. It was dramatic enough that we turned around quickly. I had no interest in seeing “the bear” up close. When she began acting similarly today, I got suspicious and pressed on. The clip below is poorly recorded, but the two scenes take place within about a minute of each other.

Cedar had a tough walk today.

When we left the “bear tree,” we took about 20 steps or so and she darted into the woods on the edge of the neighbor’s lawn, disappearing completely. In a matter of seconds, she came hightailing out of those woods with an animal chasing her. I was sure it was going to be “the bear.”

Well, Cedar, you may not have an abundance of courage, but you earned your keep today. And tomorrow’s another day, another opportunity to find courage on the perilous frontier of suburbia.