And we were off- LITERALLY!

uly 19, 2015-

The TRUE DOG DAYS of SUMMER

Scout and Pam at the 2015 NYC AMC Doggy Dash

Skyler and Pam at the 2009 NYC IAMS Doggy Dash

On the hot and humid summer morning of July 19, 2015, Scout and Pam took to the streets of Central Park for the AMC NYC Doggy Dash. The temperature was over 90 degrees, but Scout took off to follow the other dogs ahead of him. Alright here’s the first lesson Pam learned, ya ready??!?!?......Pam learned to test her buckle on her leash so that Scout doesn’t get away. Within the first ½ mile Scout was truly off and running sans Pam. He ran over to the bushes along the side of the road as we made a sharp right off of the 72^nd Transverse. Pam followed him and found he had broke into someone’s home. He ran passed him and said hello and up through the bushes, then came back to have a little breakfast with him. Yes, he found a homeless person before coming back to Pam and continuing on. (This made Pam think the rest of the day! I mean who was this, why was he homeless, was it by choice or was it something brought on by circumstances…..and how could those mor fortunate help him? Would buying him one meal truly be helping him or would it hurt him further, how could she help him, her money was locked up tight in the truck. Maybe we will go back and offer him a bagel or something this coming week…..we shall see…..We obviously know where he lives! To quote a card Pam received from Eliana Themistocleous…..”Thanks again, and may your kindness and good deeds always come back to you.” Scout and Pam wish this for our homeless friend whether we get back to the city or something good to come his way! I have to mention we ran with heavy hearts, as we were not alone but our hearts filled with my late girlfriend Skyler, who ran this race in 2009 and 2010.

Scout and Dukey running together

Just a note, Pam thinks that Scout was just trying to keep up with the dachshund, Cooper that was running because he thought it was Dukey- our fellow GLIRC runner! Since he couldn’t catch him he scouted out a new friend and some chow!

 

Ok, so moving right along Scout and Pam continued to the halfway point. Which was at the very top of Central Park. Staying close to one another having Pam keep Scout either directly in front of her or close to her left side to respect the other athletes and their space. When we got to the 2.5 mile point, Scout had his own volunteer who made sure he had his paws checked and temp taken (Scout did NOT like this, then again what dog would like something poked up his bum?!?!?!?) The volunteers were awesome and brought Scout and Pam water and really took care of them. We met a familiar face at the checkpoint, Robert Barnes from GLIRC. It was really nice to see him there!

After a cooling 5 minute rest break, Scout and Pam continued to the end! We ran down the east side of the park back to the 72^nd Transverse and around the dirt loop (we really wish the whole course was dirt BUT we managed just find!) We ran through the finishing chutes together staying to one side, really close to one another, with everyone cheering “Go Scout Go!” as Pam wore the racing bib with my name on it! HA!

We were honored to share the last 5.25 miles of the NYC TRI course with such athletes as Dr. Robert Monaco, DVM, his son Michael Monaco, and Ira Kaplan.

The GLIRC NYC Tri guys!

We crossed the finish line, got our medals and were escorted by the volunteers to the Doggy Recovery Area to have Scout’s paws checked again, and one last temp taken…..I REALLY didn’t like this so even though my temp was a little high, the wonderful veternarians there let him cool off in the ice bath and all without retaking my temp and rise getting bitten. I was ready to run off if they tried that again or possibly hurt them unknowingly!

On the way home, we came across an accident on the LIE, and so many emergency vehicles, as we were a mile from home following an emergency vehicle Pam had mentioned  to me I hope they aren’t going to our road. When we got to our driveway, we saw the police, ambulance, and fire dept across the street. And they took our neighbor to the hospital! We hope he is okay.

What a day I’ve had……I had a blast and felt really in control while repecting other athletes on the course! I highly recommend the NYC AMC Doggy Dash for all my fellow canine athletes.

Here I am crossing the finish line:
 

 

Oh yeah and it took three well bodied vets to take my temperature at the end!

 

 

After my temperature was taken, uugghh.....I jumped on into the ice bath to cool my body down fast so that I didn't have to go through that again!

 

 

Ok, I'm going to go to sleep now I'll catch up with you another day, it's been an adventure though,

Have a happy tail waggin' week ahead,

Scout

 

 

 

We were briefed........

July 18, 2015-

 The days have come and gone and my training is behind me, so today Pam and I took a trip into the Big Apple for our mandatory briefing and first of three vet checks! But not before we took a little walk into Times Square, following in Skylers footsteps that is, she and Pam also walked into Times Square and stopped for a photo op back in 2009 and 10......So I had to do the same with Skyler in our hearts!

On the way back to the hotel we had to stop at this outdoor eatery and take it all in, afterall it is legal to dine outside with your human, I mean your canine companion now! So even though the place wasn't open we sat and used the chairs outside.





 Of course I saw a few other dogs walking by and I had to say hello and make sure they saw me so I let out my HOWL of howls! I think Manhattan is now awake!

A few short minutes after we sat down we headed back to the hotel and up to the room where we were to be briefed. What did we see but all the goodies and bibs all lined up ready for us to pickup!How exciting! Each one of us got our own collar and leash with our names on them! Some poop bags (environmentally friendly ones at that). And a bowl of our own with our name on them! And a bag full of goodies for our humans!

Imagine that our humans have to wear our bibs with our names on them, we get the cheers and all........How exciting!

We are big on cleaning up/ picking up after your dog here,
 so pickup and be RESPONSIBLE!

 

Until tomorrow when I wake up NYC with the Hound Dog Howl,

have a happy tail waggin' day like myself,

Scout

Our final training run......

July 17, 2015-

For our last training run we had Dukey along with us.......man can he go! His legs might be 1/4 of the size of mine but he was holding his own! As you can see we ran the soft trails at Blydenburgh County Park, Skyler's favorite trails! And now mine, there are foxes in these woods and I picked up on the scent of them and was off, Pam had to hold me back! Once a hound dog picks up on a scent, particularly an American Foxhound (which I am partly) there is no stopping us. SO  keeping us on a leash would be a good thing unless you don't want to see us again or are in really good shape, like 4 min mile in the woods (trails) to catch us!

 So halfway through we stopped so I could take a dip, and as you can plainly see I had my head in the clouds......with my feet in the water. Can you get any better than that?!?!??!?! I am guessing not!







There I am bathing in the water, cooling off for the return back to the truck.........As you can see in the photo below Dukey opted not to come in the water........But I knew this is the pond that Skyler liked to take her dip in so I was going to do the same!








Maybe next time I see Dukey he'll take a dip with me, ya never know!






In closing, I will show you the video Pam took of me splashing around in the water, which was fun!
Love you Skyler, I dedicate it to you! You are always with me in my heart!

 

On that note,

I will leave you for the day until tomorrow,

I will have a happy tail waggin' day and I hope you do the same,

Scout

Last day of training.......

July 17, 2015-

Alright so here we are, the last official day of training before the big day! So today, we will run 2-3 miles at a nice easy pace just to keep loose.......and make sure we're ready.....nice and easy as we said! Today is also the last FULL day of having our visiting pack member staying with us, Dukey!





Dukey will be missed BUT this weekend, I will be meeting so many new friends and running alongside the pack! And when I get home I will have my pack together again. I cannot wait for this weekend, as it proves to be a great experience of my lifetime. Skyler loved it and so will I! In fact, as we take each stride through the park, our hearts will be filled with Skyler, so she will be running along with us.





Although Pam will not be running with her headphones so that she can be paying attention to me completely. There will be one song in our heads be played for our Skyler.....Here it is now, in fact-
we will share the video with you too: it is "See You Again" by Carrie Underwood. We love this song and it helps a lot of people who lost their pets and others all over. So Carrie THANK YOU for having the compassion in your songs to know what others are going through!
 
 

 

Ok, so tomorrow starts the big weekend....we will be taking a trip into the city for a 9am mandatory briefing.....and vet check....then making our way back home to rest up for an early day on Sunday! We already know where we will be parking on both days and the details of the weekend. Now it is up to us to just have a great race and go to the briefing and checks. Hey Dr Robert Monaco, DVM.....plan your race so that you can run with us, if you can- we start on your last 5 miles at 7:30am and we hope to finish within 45-55 minutes......oh yeah, remember we have to stop for 5 minutes halfway through for a vet check! Hey they care for us, you know your canine friends, I think Jake would approve of a vet checking him out halfway!

 

 

So let's get going Pam, I'm ready to roll.......

Ok, until tomorrow,

I will go and have a happy tail waggin' run and day, so you do the same,

Scout

Almost to counting down the hours........

 

July 16, 2015-

As we get closer and closer to the big day......yesterday Pam and I ran for 20 minutes....covering a mere two miles, we were joined by our new friend Dukey (you can see him in the photo below).

As you can see his legs are a little shorter than mine, but let me tell you do not let that fool you. He can give you a run for your money! If he knew the course we were running he would have been leading me- also if I didn't keep cutting him off and almost stepping on him. Hey, what can I say I want to be in the front! You know the leader of the pack!





Look at that powerful little guy next to me,
we call him the Duke of Melville!

 

Ok, so today we have another rest day then tomorrow we train one last time before the big day.....I think Pam enjoys these rest days more than I do even though at the same time they drive her crazy too! But it's the training schedule we chose!

 

I am so excited to meet and greet my fellow canine athletes.......all of their bios can be found at www.nyctri.com/doggydash

and to find out what goodies they have in store for us! Oh yeah to be running alongside all of my fellow canine athletes and Pam as well as triathletes!

 

Until tomorrow's blog,

have a happy tail waggin' day,

Scout

 

Waiting patiently......yet anxiously.......

July 14, 2015-


As I wait patiently for my big day to come this weekend, today we have the day off training wise, I am looking here to head outside with my new friend Dukey AKA "the Duke of Melville".  As you can see Candycane is already outside. It rained last night and you can see that on the window, along with all our dog slobber.

Anyway, we have 5 days including today until the Doggy Dash, we got our info packet yesterday via email. The crew in charge really cares for the athletes, and as far as the Doggy Dash goes they care more about the dogs than the humans running with us!Thank goodness. There are not one BUT THREE MANDATORY vet checks one being on Saturday! and two on Sunday.....so before, halfway through the race and one after the race......the AMC is there for us all the way. We get the bling, and the goodies, our humans get to carry it though! HAHAHA......

It is LITERALLY all about us! And rightfully so!......Afterall we get our two legged companions out everyday for some kind of outdoor activity!

Here is a rundown on the whole Doggy Dash weekend:

On Saturday, July 18^th at 9AM, there will be a mandatory vet check and race briefing at the Hilton in Midtown (1335 Avenue of the Americas, New York, NY 10019). You will pick up your race packet, goodie bag, and have the first of three mandatory vet checks at this time.

 

Here is the first meet and greet with my new canine friends, rippee!

Then on Sunday, July 19th:

·         6:45 AM – Meet @ Tavern on the Green (67^th St Central Park West).

·         Race will begin around 7:30 (72^nd St Transverse).

·         Humans wear the bibs.

·         Dogs must always be on leashes. Leashes CAN NOT be any longer than 6 feet.

·         You MUST stop for a mandatory 5 minute rest break at the halfway point.

·         There are THREE mandatory vet checks. One today, one at the midpoint of the race, and one following the race.

·         Please clean up after your pups! We provide the bags, so there are no excuses.

·         Be cautious of triathlon athletes on the course.

·         There will be an AmbuVet ambulance located on the course. Please notify a volunteer or staff member for assistance.

·         Award presentation is @ 10 AM.

 

I hope no one calls Pam by name, SCOUT! as she we be wearing our bib with my name on it!  How funny would that be! I'd be howling on the ground!

Having a leash no longer than 6 feet is so important, the longer the leash the more trouble one can get into!

I would like to suggest to my fellow runners, not to use headphones in this race, as we should be paying close attention to our team members. Yes that means YOU HUMANS! Let's enjoy the sites and sounds of Central Park together, as well as be paying attention to each other and enjoying every step along. And most importantly paying attention to all those around me and any distractions our canine pals may come across- SQUIRREL!.....See......Oh, also as I saw this past weekend, CHIPMUNK!........

Can I also suggest keeping your dog either in front of you or close to your side?!?!?!? So as not to take up the WHOLE running path! Let's be considerate and respectful of those running with us! Afterall it is a priviledge and an honor to be running alongside these athletes and they are sharing the course with us as well. And if our dog, ourselves, or someone else happens to collide paths temporarily BE RESPECTFUL and do not use the "potty" mouth or anything but say excuse me or I'm sorry, and step aside temporarily so that we can ALL make the most out of the experience!

Ok, picking up the poop, yes- this very important! Think of it this way- we all like to be out there with our dogs and not have to worry about step in a well LOAD of ----......and going back to the movie Forrest Gump for a second, where he says .....-- IT  Happens!, Let's face it the bumper sticker has already made it's way all around the globe in different languages at that so, there is nothing to be gained from the phrase! So use the provided bags!

With all that being said.....RUN Forrest RUN! Or in this case, RUN ROVER RUN!

Have a great race, or enjoy watching the race overall!

 

Until tomorrow,

Have a happy tail waggin' day,

Scout

 

 

Calm before the Storm......

July 13, 2015-

It's the Monday before the big day....and we are resting today, that means no training, wait, I stand corrected- we are mentally preparing for the event.
We are telling friends to join us if they can to come cheer us on, planning our course of action, etc.

I am carbloading all week- hey, Pam where is my bagel?!?!?!?, get me my bagel! I know I've done a marathon before but this is a race, a 5 mile race with fellow canines!

Oh yeah as a friend of ours pointed out on her facebook page, thank you Sheba and Randi by the way!

Your dog deserves to celebrate National Ice Cream Day too! July 19 Unleashed by PETCO, sign up for email to get coupon for a free Yoghund: Frozen Dog Treats
 

 

So we will either be bringing our own ice cream with us in a cooler or we will be checking out the local places in the city to indulge in some cooling ice cream treats, vegan of course my dear. I mean dairy is really not good for dogs either! Pam makes an awesome ice cream for us to share of course!
You can see the recipe in our book Get Your Leash On! available on amazon.com!

Ok, so we just wanted to mention a treat for Sunday today, please make sure you keep your dog cool with some Ice Cream on Sunday!

Until tomorrow,
Have a happy tail waggin' day,
Scout

One week until the Doggy Dash!

July 12, 2015-


Ok folks, there is the official meeting spot for that all the participants meetup at before heading over to the start line of the doggy dash, just imagine- Skyler was in that very spot!
Yes, that is the Tavern on the Green in Central Park, NYC! (Is that a really big fire hydrant that I could lift my leg on in the background, hhhmmmm?!?!?!?)

Ok, so anyway.....we actually ran the course a little backwards today. But that was ok, because we had to get used to the roads there anyway, and the crowds and all the dogs off leash. As Pam drove into the city not long after going through the midtown tunnel, I saw people all around and I made her laugh uncontrollably in the truck! I just wanted everyone to know SCOUT is in town! And when we parked the car and went into the park, hhmmmm......ok, anyway......oh all the great new smells of the city- and all the bits of pizza and all along the sidewalks! A FREE smogasboard for a dog like me! WOW, I smelled the wonderful foods from NYC, I smelled so many dogs running about.....I had to leave my scent behind.....I met a few dogs along the way as well!.....Then we hit the road running, of course for the first mile I had to HOWL and make sure everyone knew I was in the park, I think I literally woke everyone up on the whole island of Manhattan!

Anyway I heard through Skyler and Pam that the Doggy Dash has an AWESOME bag of goodies for all of us participating! I am wondering why Pam had to measure my neck a few weeks ago and give them my measurement?!?!??! I cannot wait to find out! Maybe we're getting out our monogrammed collars or something! Ok, I will let the surprise come next Sunday! Trip in was awesome though, I am not a city dog so going through the midtown tunnel was awesome, Pam said Skyler and I both just sat quietly and patiently anticipated the end of the tunnel!

Here we will be running downhill before
running up a twisty long hill! (Guess I'll be pulling Pam
 up it, so I'll start carbing up NOW!)

I do like the marked lanes and the
roadways being closed to traffic here!

 We had a few moments when we got to run alone or rather together with each other in such a crowded city, which Pam said Skyler and she had during the race as well- or with just a few people around us! Then we had others all around us, Pam would reel me in and keep me close, and told me RESPECT the other runners and tell me to stay out of the bike lane and I did. There was a dog that was off leash however that came up to me to say Hi, and Pam had to call him out of the bike lane, and the cyclist was rude by not wanting to share the park of course, then again at that point the dog should have maybe been on leash and the owner should not have been on his skateboard. DANGEROUS situation for all......Pam called him over out of the bike lane but it was the owners responsibility! And Pam told him that she was just trying to keep him safe and all!

 As this was my first trip into the city, I saw open fields of grass, who would have thought! I mean right in the middle of the concrete city. WOW, I wanted to run and play with my doggy friends! Maybe next Sunday after the race Pam will let me run and play! Since it will be after 9am, maybe if she brings a long leash with us I can have a little more running room in these open fields. And we can play ball or something!

 Hey look, there is a fountain that all the dogs were splashing around in, right here in Central Park! Pam said I could go in but I told her I would rather go to the beach in town afterwards, besides if I got all wet I would have to ride in the back of the truck, and I would much rather ride up front unless all of my pack was in the back with me!

Can you see the gates along the side of the road, Pam said that is for the race, the triathletes and us! Hey I can do this I ran a race that had smaller walkways to run on with a much more of a crowd around me and I RESPECTED those and Pam around me......I even offered to help them up the hills by letting them grab onto my leash! Pam better not hold me back to much!


This is a big race as you can see, I hope my new friends I met in the park today come to cheer me on and check me out at the end! I'm excited, I cannot wait!.....I'll share my videos with you during the week as well maybe one right now of me running in Central Park! Here it is:

Okay so that was my first time in the big city,
Until tomorrow,
Have a happy tail waggin' day,
Scout

One week and counting.......

July 11, 2015-

Ok, so to the right is a shot of one of my new pack members, Dukey or as Pam calls him the Duke of it ALL! As you can see I am like 4X his size BUT never judge anyone on their size. As a fellow GLIRC dog of mine Dukey can really give you a run for your money! (he must run the hills a lot)

So after our easy 3 mile run today (we switched out long run and easy run days to allow us to do a sample run of next week......although we will be running a little earlier than the start time for next week, we will be running the course tomorrow....a nice 5 mile run.....so we will be hitting the hills of Central Park tomorrow morning, and if we do in fact get back in time we will be checking out our fellow runners at the Thunder Run 5k in Hauppauge, NY! It will be a trial run tomorrow for next weekend.......but it has to be done- at least that's what Skyler told me and Pam keeps telling me!

 Pam and I have been hitting the hills for the past two weeks of our training again to get used to the hills we will be faced with in Central Park. I hope we can hold our heads up high as we run the course now! And all the way through the chutes at the end! (I may have to drag Pam across the finish line- just kidding Pam!)

As you can see Dukey, wanted to go with us on our run today but as we are running alone and are used to our way of running, Dukey's speed may just tire us out to soon so that we will not be able to continue!

Pam will have her mini camera tomorrow so we can make sure we can take videos and stills once again of our training and on race day!





Until tomorrow,
with one more week to go,
have a happy tail waggin' day,
Scout

 
 

As time draws near.......

July 7,2015-


As time draws nearer and nearer to the Doggy Dash, Pam and I are still training for our race. Today we are going out for a nice 25 min tempo run, and some hill repeats.

We will then continue our training on Thursday with a 12 min run at a "race" pace.  Then this weekend we will be switching around our long run and easy run to stimulate our race weekend schedule.
In other words we will be running 3 miles on Saturday, then run the 5 mile course in Central Park on Sunday, preceded by a drive into the city for the run. We may be sure we know where the hotel is for packet pickup and our briefing as well, it's been awhile since Pam and Skyler have been there! Hey, I'm not worried though, I know I can always sniff and "scout" it out!

We have changed the challenged I mentioned in my last blog we will be doing a SPECIAL 7 day challenge, and it will be starting on Sunday! We are revamping the challenges and changing the facebook page in the meantime to make sure everyone can truly participate with their beloved best friend(s).

Ok, during this week we will be talking about the challenge and getting ready and set to really make a go for the health of ALL team members who join along! Ya ready, ya getting ready?!?!?!? We are getting ready for it all!

On that note, Pam and I need to literally get running,
Until tomorrow have a happy tail waggin' day,
Challenge up,
Scout

Independence!

July 4, 2015-

As we watch the days go by....time grows closer to the NYC AMC Doggy Dash! The anticipation grows.....the excitement is in the air! The hopes build of seeing our friend and fellow dog runner Dr. Robert Monaco, DVM along the NYC TRI last 5 miles! Please let us run together for awhile- how awesome would that be!?!?!??! I think after these awful fireworks today I deserve another running partner on the 19th!

Ok so today we ran the Nissequoque Hills in our town, we ran 7 miles of hills. There were a lot of chipmunks running around today, I went to chase some of them, man are they quick- I guess being that small you gotta be to run from danger! Pam kept pulling me back to train me to run along side her or within a certain distance when we run.  I have to keep in mind what Skyler told me about running with her!

There were a lot of great smells along the course today. We stopped briefly at Corwood Beach and Pam let me dip my paws in the water. I saw a egret along the shoreline but Pam told me I wasn't going to run after it so put it out of my mind! So after I cooled off my paws quickly we continued up the hill! Corwood is a road that is twisty and UPHILL for a good 1/2 mile! I think making it to the top means we are ready for the hills of Central Park. Pam promised we can check out the race course next weekend.....I hope all goes well. I haven't been to the city yet, how exciting!

Tomorrow we have a easy 3 mile run......not sure where we'll be running yet but it will be a nice easy run! Maybe we can hit some trails or something! Hhhhmmmm......

I want to start a 14 Day Healthy Dog and Me Challenge (this is for both you and your human because let's face it we're teams and heck it's more fun to do these things together!).....for those that are interested we are making a facebook group where we will be making videos with the rest of our pack and posting daily challenges, simple and easy tips things to do with your dog and FUN! Here is the link to the group: sit starts tomorrow BUT you can start at anytime, you can do part or all of the challenge!

https://www.facebook.com/groups/14dayhealthydogandmechallenge/

 

Ok, so let me go work on our first video for our first challenge......

Until tomorrow,

when the fireworks are over,

have a happy tail waggin' day,

Scout