Doggy 5k and (Not Quite) Air Bud

Today was supposed to be my writing day. My writing day. Not work, not academic. Mine. But here we are at 7:30pm and I am only getting started. Let me tell you ahead of time, this is going to be half-assed. Might as well be honest. But, stick around to the end because Apollo is now a YouTube star!

So remember how we hung out with the nudists in SF for Bay to Breakers? Back in July we ran the K-9 version, oh-so-cleverly titled Bay to Barkers. It's a 5k sponsored by the Berkeley Humane Society. Andy, Apollo and I went along with my friend (and employer!) Beth and her husband Ezra. Ezra won't be featured in any of the pictures because he was the primary photographer for the day. Here's a quick visual glance at our morning:


Everybody and their brother dog lines up to start.


The race took place at Cesar Chavez Park in Berkeley, the center of which is a full-time off-leash area (woo hoo for those!) As you can see, it's located on the bay. The course ran along the outside of the park, and then, poorly signed, zig-zagged through the Berkeley Marina. I am not sure what that guy in the field is doing. Maybe making like a dog and finding a spot off the path to go p-o-t-t-y?


Beth cruised over the finish line, smiling as usual.


I broke my rule of not touching Andy after strenuous activity (my man is a sweater!) to pose for a post-race photo-op. Our first family 5k was reason to celebrate!


Apollo politely greeted a German Shepherd as they waited their turn for a drink.


Eventually, this dog decided everybody needed to get out of the way. A sip or two wasn't going to cut it for him, it was time for a dip!


This is what Apollo would look like with a perm. She's an other Aussie we met as we cooled down. I am not sure why her fur is so different than Apollo, but she and Apollo are the same breed. She was obsessed with the rodent she could sense just inside its hole. Obsessed. Nothing could bring her to look up at my camera. Her human said he could go off for an hour in the park and come back to see her standing there, waiting.


Apollo throughly enjoyed his day at the park, as you can see. What a good boy.

Thanks for the good idea, Beth and Ezra! Let's do it next year!


AND NOW...the hook I used to keep you engaged in this post...

A couple weeks ago I went on a stuff-purging expedition in the room that we haven't fully moved into yet. I ran across Andy's basketball. It no longer maintains inflation, so I put it in the curb/craigslist pile in the living room. Apollo pulled it out of there and began fighting it, growling the whole time. He taught himself to dribble, and kept himself occupied for at least a half an hour before I decided he needed to calm the hell down for a while. So now when we feel like being entertained by our dog, we pull out the basketball (that still hasn't made it to the curb.) So, with no further ado...