Scootering with Selah
I love scootering and I love hanging out with my dog, so why not combine them both!? It was a beautiful, classic, Southern California, San Diego weather day. My scooter of choice on this excursion was my Razor A5 Air. It's nimble, reliable and has nice rough-road smoothing pneumatic tires.
Selah is a good dog. She's a 3 year old Chihuahua / Corgi mix. She's very smart and loyal. I'm her favorite human. This day, I got a breakfast burrito (a very California thing to do) and found an isolated, quiet spot on a large grass field in Balboa Park. You might remember that I came here one night for a scooter - photo shoot.
It was a VERY lazy morning. My belly was satisfyingly full and the weather was PERFECT. Laying on my blanket, warm air, underneath the shade of a tree I felt the familiar drowsiness urging me to nod off for a few.
At 11 pounds, Selah is tiny but mighty. She's VERY protective of our claimed "space". As I dozed, I rested easy knowing there is NO WAY that anyone could even get remotely close to us without her alerting me about any "clear and present danger". Seriously, as I began to drift off, I could see that she was staying quiet, but alert. Near the end of my nap, I was about to get up anyway, a family was maybe 100 yards away, minding their own business. Above you can see Selah snapping into action. Hackles up, tail pointed, she's comically growling a warning to "stay back!" If they had moved closer, I'm sure Selah's growl would have turned to barks: "Alpha, Alpha! Wake up Alpha! Alpha, you should wake up and see what is going on. Questionable, maybe dangerous people are coming towards us Alpha!!!"
Although I've let Selah run free at a HUGE off leash dog park while I scootered on my Boardy, scootering a LONG distance or in crowded areas with your dog running free is not a good idea. A while back we got a K9 Sport Sack for Selah. It's a backpack that carries a dog. It's IDEAL for those times that I want to scooter with Selah, in crowded conditions or with distances that she might not be able to run.
When we first got the Sport Sack, Selah was not a fan. Slowly, as with any intentional training, I gradually got her comfortable with being carried inside the backpack. Now, it's simply not an issue. I put the backpack on the ground, set her inside, zip the pack up and snug her inside. She doesn't fuss AT ALL and is very trusting that I'm not going to do her any wrong. She's pretty settled back there as I scoot. I look over my shoulder and see her peering one way or another watching the scenery whiz by.
For walking times, I got her a new harness. It's more comfortable and fits better than her old one and it's stylish (I think so)!
"Well they're out there a-havin' fun in that warm California sun"
- The Rivieras
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