… and I’ve had a few doggos in my day too.
There was Fritzy, the German Shepherd …
… and Co-co, the Cocker Spaniel …
… and last, but not least, Peppy, the poodle.
Eventually my parents switched to birds for pets as they were more trainable … we never did know if it was them or us that was the problem as to puddles of piddle.
But I digress.
Today’s post is about the second virtual 5K Walk I did this year … this was the “Mutt Strut” to benefit FAMD, the acronym for the “Friends for Animals of Metro Detroit” which is a state-of-the-art, no-kill animal shelter located in Dearborn, Michigan used to provide temporary homes for dogs from the neighboring communities, including Detroit. If you’d care to see the photos from the 2019 event, just click here.
That was a fun event, geared for people and pooches to walk or run together and all funds raised benefited this worthwhile charity. Though I had no dog in the race/walk, I left thinking “ this was fun – I’ll do it again in 2020.” Well, as you might have guessed, the pandemic quashed that idea. But in mid-August I got an e-mail invitation to participate in the VIRTUAL Mutt Strut 2020.
Well “doggone it” I decided I’d do this 5K event.
I planned to take my walk in the same locale as last year, where we began at Ford Field Park in Dearborn, then trekked en masse through a neighborhood, along a busy shopping area of West Downtown Dearborn, over a wooden bridge that crossed the Rouge River and continued on the River Rouge Path all the way to Hines Park. Whew – it was a hot day and I’d have explored more of that Rouge Gateway Trail had I not already walked three miles at the duck pond with the mischievous Mallards and scenic covered bridge before embarking on this trek.
I did not pick up my tee-shirt in advance, since it was not a group event and also because it necessitated a visit to the shelter and nope, nope, nope – I was not going to do that and see or hear all those sweet animals looking for their “furever” home. I’m a bleeding heart and it’s just too tough on me to lose pets. I won’t make that mistake again of loving an animal so deeply that it tears a hole in my heart once they are gone. I know people say that my mindset is wrong and I am 100% sure I could open up my heart and home to a shelter pet … but for now, I have the squirrels.
Here we go … happy trails for happy tails!
I began my solo virtual trek at Ford Field Park, then, after a short hop through the ‘hood, this overlook behind Andiamo’s Restaurant offered a great vantage point to peer down into the Rouge River.
Well, I may have laid out that trek in my mind, but once I began walking, I realized the original plan was not going to work. There was construction, so I had to walk a few blocks out of my way, which gave me a chance to see the Dearborn Historical Society/Museum (the outside anyway).
At the side of the Museum was the Rosie the Riveter Memorial Rose Garden and a few of their prized specimens.
The roses were fragrant in the humid air. Behind the Museum was a herb garden.
Next, I headed up to Michigan Avenue and through the business district which yielded to another overlook which put me onto the Rouge River Gateway Trail.
Well, still another obstacle in this course presented itself – so much for heading over this footbridge and walking past Henry and Clara Ford’s extensive estate. While I was game, there was caution tape just beyond the bridge since there was construction being done on the trail.
No worries … I took another path and was treated to a woodsy paved walking/bike trail.
I ended up walking about seven miles that day, far exceeding the required 3.2 miles/5 kms in the Virtual Mutt Strut. I am including the photo of my tee-shirt; there was no finishing medal offered for the virtual gig.
Linda Schaub
WALKIN', WRITIN', WIT & WHIMSY 
Hi Linda.
Wonderful photos with great variety. Your dogs are cute! I have had two dogs. From the second I dog, I have no photos, but the first one, I have couple of photos in my about-me-page.
Have a great day!
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Glad you liked the photos Matti. They were cute dogs and there were no more after Peppy. My parents said we did not have luck training them – birds were easier to have as pet and we had two parakeets and two canaries. I just went to your About-Me page and I looked through, but I remembered as I scrolled through that I must come back because I was overwhelmed just how many photos you had. I will go back, I promise, and I did see “Hunter and his dog” which was interesting as they were wooden and carved by a chainsaw.
Have a great day Matti.
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I love those older photos, Fritzy looked way bigger than you. And I still love that silver Christmas tree in the one photo. And what you do for all the animals in the park is a passion of love for animals. They are lucky to have you bringing them food. It is always so hard to loose a pet.
I had a successful herb garden, be it a small one a couple years ago. I will have to try that again next summer. I love the smell of basil and sage.
They made very nice shirts for the walkers. Wonderful post today as always.
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Glad you liked the post Sandra … I thought I would put my own dogs in this post since there were no dogs to spotlight like I did in last year’s event. Fritzy was a puppy when we got him and he grew very quickly to that size … I think he was like having a small pony around. 🙂
Thank you – I get a lot of enjoyment from my furry friends at the Park. Today was not so great though, because I went around one loop and the second time around that loop, a huge hawk was honing in on a black squirrel who was munching peanuts and oblivious to the hawk. He swooped down as another squirrel made a screechy noise and the black squirrel saw the hawk and just made it up the tree and the hawk did a fast turn away from the area. I felt sick. The hawk, with its big wingspan, zoomed over to the fence and sat there like it was pouting and kept staring at the tree. Squirrel was up in the tree, shaking like a leaf.
They’ve taken the picnic tables away from the pavilion for the first time in years … they used to put them in a fenced-in area all Winter. I hope they just took them away to be repainted (but they could have done that there) … I used to put peanuts and treats on the table in advance of when I knew I would be gone due to snowy/icy/rainy days. I knew the hawk would not go there and the squirrels hid underneath the tables if they saw it. The episode made me uneasy.
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I have never seen a hawk go after a squirrel, I have seen them catching mice out in the fields.. Maybe putting the treats right at the bottom of the trees, that way they can scurry around it or up it quickly.
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It happened pretty quickly Sandra and I have been doing that especially now that it is so dark in the morning – I don’t get down there so early. When I’m early like in the Summer months or on a weekend, I often hang out near them when I put down peanuts and I’ll take photos of them, so the hawk(s) won’t come near. The hawks disappeared for awhile, but are back. I put the peanuts near shrubs or a tree – sometimes the squirrels drag them away to go hide them. I felt horrible watching that hawk, but the squirrel escaped. It happened a few years ago too … I had just fed Stubby, the squirrel with half a tail. And I turned away and the hawk swooped down – Stuffy ran under the pavilion roof and a picnic table. The hawk took off and landed on the fence, just like it did yesterday. Waiting and watching for the squirrel to appear on the path again for an easy grab. Big wing span – they flap their wings quite fast while swooping, then flying away. I was uneasy after being there.
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We never had a dog, My youngest son always wanted one. At one time he had a rock with a hole in it and a bit of string on it which he walked! Due to the nature of our employment, it would not been fair to have a dog which would be alone all day. I do wonder what it may be like now we have retired having a dog, Love your memory god photos.
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After the poodle, that was it for dogs – my parents were not successful training those dogs. My aunt had two dogs, housebroken days after she got them. You are correct – it is not good to leave the dog alone all day – they pine for companionship and begin to chew things in boredom – their paws, the furniture. When you travel, you can take the dog in your camper van, but not on daily trips to the shore as the birds may be scared. Thank you Andy – my parents took a lot of pics of me growing up as I was an only child.
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Congratulations on completeing the virtual Mutt Strut! It was nice that your detours turned up some great photo opportunities. My favorite is the tree trunk with the patch of missing bark and the small red leaf accents — lovely composition. I’ve only had one dog in my life, our family pet, besides all the cats, was a Shetland Sheepdog named Skipper. ♡ It’s interesting your family had three different kinds of dogs. A lot of people I know keep getting their favorite breed over and over again. I have a fear of large dogs.
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Thank you Barbara – it was a nice walk the first time, so I tried to recreate it. It was a lot quieter with no dogs along the route this year. I did like that Rouge River Gateway Trail and explored it thanks to the detour on that footbridge. That one tree with the missing bark and red leaves in the background, with one laying on the path, were nice finds in the woods – otherwise everything was green and rather nondescript and not a single bird or squirrel.
The Shetland Sheepdogs are beautiful – they remind me of Lassie, the collie, which TV show I never missed when I was a youngster. A friend of mine has had Golden Retrievers all her life. She has raised them and tracks with them … she does not attend as many competitions now, as a competitor or as a judge, since she is older, but at one time had 12 or 14 dogs at her house. A friend of hers passed away and everyone in the “tracking world” who knew that woman took a few dogs of hers to live with them, so they didn’t go to shelters. My friend took four of those dogs as she lives in a rural area in Canada so has plenty of space in and around her home. I have a fear of pit bulls. We have a lot of them that people keep as watch dogs – I am afraid they will get away from their property, jump/climb the fence and attack me, especially when walking through the neighborhoods.
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Shetland sheepdogs are also known as miniature collies. My husband had golden retrievers while growing up, many fond memories there. That was so good of your friend to take some of her friend’s dogs in after she died.
Sadly, your fear of pit bulls is justified. A year doesn’t go by in this area where one doesn’t escape and harm a passerby. Very scary. And there was one case where a pit bull attacked a woman’s grandchildren while they were asleep in her house. I know some of them are well-trained and good-natured but how are we to know? I had a friend who was a mail carrier and she carried pepper spray with her on her route. Fortunately she never had to use it but it was unnerving dropping mail into slots with a pit bull snarling and growling on the other side of the door, or lunging at the glass alongside the door.
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I didn’t know they were miniature collies Barbara – they sure are beautiful and I am sure I saw some at last year’s event. I saw many breeds at the Mutt Strut last year, some which I’d only seen photos of only, like the Giant Alaskan Malamutes, or the Bull Mastiff. I asked what type of dogs they were as I took pictures of them.
I’ve attended a Butterfly Garden Walk the past few years and the event is organized by a woman who is active with various animal shelters. It is held in her backyard which is full of perennials and annuals, a pond and is an official Monarch Way ‘Station. One of her pet projects is collie rescue. She did not have the event this year due to the pandemic which is unfortunate – you don’t pay money to take the tour, just “pay” in donations like dog/cat food, treats or paper towels, paper plates, items which she puts out as “want items” on her Facebook page and they usually do a story in the local online newspaper. All items go to various local shelters.
I carry pepper spray and gel but don’t know how much good it will do. In the Neighborhood Forum I do read of attacks on small dogs, children and people fighting off those attacks are often severely injured. We had a brutal attack of three pit bulls on a teenager riding her bike last year … her younger brother was with her and witnessed the brutal attack. I walk through the neighborhoods for extra steps – I could drive too and just walk more there at the Park, but on a weekday, it takes time to pull the car in/out of the garage and my car is hooked up to a trickle charger so I have to undo the cords, etc. In the Summer, it’s not too bad as I have lots of time to spare – this time of year, the sun takes too long to rise. I always scan the Forum to see if any are on the loose, then I drive.
I feel badly for your friend. Suggest she carry pepper gel. It will not blow back into her eyes if there is any wind … the same company (Sabre) makes the gel. You can go on http://www.sabrered.com to see where you may buy it in her area, or I just checked and it is available on Amazon.
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What a wonderful trek you had. I loved the pictures, and the cause was a great one. I’m 68 and cried like a baby, when my pet rat passed away a couple of months ago. She was my buddy.
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Yes, it was nice there and very woodsy, so the colors should be beautiful right now. This shelter only used to take in dogs from the City of Dearborn (which is very large), but they saw the need to expand as there are so many strays and people giving pets up, especially now as times are tough. I felt for you when I read that post Ron. I had my canary Buddy euthanized in December 2016 after he had a stroke. I was just beside myself and he was my companion, sitting just six feet away in his cage, as I have worked from home since 2011. The loss is great and despite the joy from pets, I won’t go down that sad road again.
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Your t-shirt is cute. The photos of the roses are lovely. You do get around when you go out for a walk, I’ll say that. It’s fun to go along with you.
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I liked the logo for this t-shirt too Ally. A similar design as last year, but last year’s was bright yellow. I have to say I did not deny myself any long treks on the weekends and between walks and taking pictures, I did not get a whole lot of work done around the house. Glad you enjoyed tagging along … I am switching to Fall walks now. I still have a few Summer photos to use, maybe over the Winter.
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As much as dogs need furever families they also need people like you, Linda, who give financial support to the rescues and shelters. The three dogs that we’ve had that have been adopted from the shelter have been such good and loving pets. I always recommend rescue pets to those looking for a new family member. Your beautiful photos were the icing on the cake that day.
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Thank you for saying that Ruth. This is a good cause and it was originally a shelter just for Dearborn dogs, but they saw the need to take in dogs from local cities including Detroit. The need is worse right now with so many people losing jobs, or even their homes. I know that if I wanted to get a dog, I’d choose a shelter first like you have – I know a few other people who have gone that route and received unconditional love from the dogs they adopted. Glad you liked the photos too. This was a long and winding trail and I spoke to a few bicyclists who told me they went all along Hines Drive and took a round trip and it was beautiful.
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It was a good charity to walk for and you did walk a lot!
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Yes, I did a little walk beforehand and it was still another hotter-than-blazes day.
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I am a bit jealous of your lovely walking location. It is snowing here… I walked the daughter’s dog today, but the temp was barely above freezing. The dog loved it, but dog has a really long fur coat.
Dog comes to visit us about once a week (with the daughter, of course). It is a perfect way to have a dog.
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We have had a nice October so far – a little cold the first week, but nice and clear, so I just bundle up. I took the bus to downtown Detroit for almost 30 years so have accumulated a lot of warm outerwear, so I don’t mind … it is the snow and ice that I do mind. I don’t like driving in it, and once it is icy, I only walk if the pavement is clear and dry. Sometimes the path at Council Point Park is plowed, not always, so I walk on the grassy parts if that is the case. A fellow blogger is enjoying her “grand dog” who has been visiting with her son … I agree, that is the best way to have a dog.
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A wonderful walk Linda! You have such scenic parks. And I enjoyed seeing the old photos too and your pretty wardrobe!
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Glad you liked this walk Joni. It would have been a gorgeous walk today as we are at peak colors here in the area. Unfortunately that park is right near a major construction area and today they closed the main artery to get there until Sunday night. Next year I’m going to go there during peak colors – it was dense, but a paved trail … can’t get lost that way! We are lucky to have so many parks – this bike/walking trail goes through Hines Park which encompasses several cities.
I am surprised there weren’t more pictures taken with these dogs and Skippy … I should have put his name. He was a fun parakeet, talked a blue streak. In the first picture I had a pony tail and my mom said if I kept squirming, she would cut it off … I squirmed and she took me with her next time she went for a haircut. I am betting you had similar clothes since we are the same age. Those were the days … sigh. I am really behind here and not in Reader for three days – hopefully will catch up some tomorrow. I hate being so behind.
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What a great walk for a wonderful cause. And you got a pretty T-shirt too.I know exactly what you mean about having a hole torn in your heart when a beloved pet dies. Right now, I can’t imagine getting another dog, although I do miss having one around. They are such good companions. I loved seeing photos of you with your assortment of dogs as you grew up. As I waas reading the post, I was wondering if you walked more than 3.1 miles that day. & miles?!?! You are an overachiever! 😉
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Laurie, I know your heart was torn apart with the loss of your beloved Benji a few months ago. I felt like that when I lost Buddy in 2016. Pets have such an impact on our lives and leave such a void when they depart. I know the house is too quiet and I have no one to fuss over like I did with him, so now I have the squirrels who don’t mind being adopted.
We did have an assortment of dogs … Frizy had hip dysplasia which is common with Shepherds and was euthanized. Co-co the Cocker Spaniel did not last more than a year as he could not be housebroken – my mom got frustrated with him. Peppy ran away, dug a hole under the fence and escaped and ate some rat poison. It was a fairly new subdivision and not all houses had fences and there were a few dogs roaming around and going in people’s yards – someone put out rat poison, Peppy got into it. He came home foaming at the mouth and had to be euthanized … this after it took a very very long time to get him housebroken. My parents said “we’re done with dogs.” I did go above and beyond the regular 5K amount as I walked around Ford Field Park (with those mallards at the pond) then went through Hines Park afterward. I deserved two finishing medals! They gave out medals at the Fish & Loaves 5K likely because it was held at the same time frame if it had been “live” and they had already ordered them with 2020 on the medal. This 5K was four months later than the usual date, so I guess they just decided to forego them. I liked the shirt too – last year’s was bright yellow.
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More miles for your annual goal combined with a good cause and beautiful scenery make for a picture perfect post! Loosing a pet is always difficult. I still get sad when I think of our last dog who died over 16 years ago. Some day I’d like to get another one, but the time has to be right. They need to be part of the family and hate being kenneled when one travels. Once we figure out what’s next in our future we might start to think about it. Until then I’ll enjoy seeing our “granddogter” Dingo. 🙂
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Yes, we had a good Summer weather-wise Sabine, though it was hot, but not a lot of rain. I racked up a lot of miles that way.
Today, the weather folks were wrong and it rained all day. I went through all the local pictures I took over the last three weeks to spin into posts and should be good through November. Did one for tomorrow and Wednesday. That took me most of today and I tried to get caught up in Reader – now only one day behind thankfully. I know dogs are such good companions and it is heartbreaking to lose any pet so I avoid that heartache by not getting another one. A fellow blogger has a missing cat … been missing 10 days and somehow escaped out the door. He’s upset about it and it’s not chipped unfortunately. I like that word “granddogter” – very clever. What kind of dog is Dingo?
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Dingo is a German Shepard and Shar Pei mix. She was a rescue! Pets of any variety become members of the family. Our neighbors third cat went missing too. Probably coyotes. They left them outside much of the time. We are supposed to get more rain here as well. I’ve got a few more outside chores to do this week and I’ve been working very slowly on my photographs. It sure is time consuming!
Stay safe and happy continued walking, Linda!
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Is Dingo tall like a German Shepherd or shorter like a Shar Pei? That is an interesting mix. Pets bring a lot of love – it is always better to go to a shelter to give them a chance at a loving home. It’s so sad reading about abandoned pets, but often there are pets whose owners must move to a nursing home, or pass away and they’re taken to a shelter. I feel for them all. The coyotes are problematic in our rural areas in another county about 25 miles from here. Small dogs and cats are prey for coyotes who largely ignore humans. The photographs are very time consuming. I thought I would never finish the photos on the card, all from the compact camera. You stay safe too Sabine – I lost a walk today to a steady rain, second day in a row unfortunately.
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Dingo is kind of in between. I’ll post some pictures of her sometime. The neighbors were aware of the coyote threats but didn’t seem to care. Kind of sad, but at least they won’t be over here killing birds in my garden. I’m kind of looking forward to some rain so I can take some long days to work through my photo library. It’s getting too big! 🙋♀️
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Yes, it’s better not having them around the birds as you know they’re hunting them if they are not strictly house cats. The fellow blogger’s cat never came home … I feel badly, but he said it’s the third time, the other two times the cat returned, but it was not chipped. I personally would have had my pet chipped, especially if it had a habit of escaping. Okay, I’d like to see that mix for Dingo – it sounds interesting. I went through so many pictures and got them under control, but I have a lot of “loose photos” that I have not used and will need to organize them for Wordless Wednesday posts. This weekend does not sound great weather-wise, gray and dismal, but I’m going to try and visit the new wildlife refuge on the Detroit River. I have seen photos – if it’s too crowded I’ll leave and go somewhere else. We’ve had rain every day since last Sunday and a lot of rain/storm tomorrow evening … that limits where I can go because the shoreline parks will likely be soggy.
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What a nice 5K walk Linda. I’m with you on losing pets. My last dog I had to put to sleep about ripped my heart out. Why is it so much harder to lose them as we get older? It looks like you had some amazing pets growing up!
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I know Diane – maybe the answer is because we grow old with those pets and it seems like they are always going to be around, then the stark realization they won’t be. I won’t do it again with any type of pet – it’s just too painful. After Peppy the poodle died, my parents said “no more dogs – if you want a dog, when you have your own place, we’ll get you one for a house warming present, or, if you get married first, then for a wedding present.” They were that adamant about no more dogs. My aunt had two dogs and it had to be us that could not train dogs, as her dogs were housebroken in record time and listened to any command she told them. So, it couldn’t be that three Schaub dogs were either dumb or obstinate could it? 🙂
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🤣😂🤣
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found a place where you can get your next Buddy! They rescued a 100 Parrots and are trying to find them homes.
https://globalnews.ca/video/7406052/b-c-bird-sanctuary-that-rescued-100s-of-parrots-struggling
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This was such a sweet story Wayne! These parrots did make me laugh – such personality. Ann Marie has an Amazon Grey parrot and it picks up phrases easily – a TV show character or movie character repeats a phrase, her parrot says it soon afterward. Ann Marie and her husband watched a movie about pirates once and soon Digger was saying “Ho, ho, ho and a bottle of rum.” 🙂
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they are the most intelligent domesticated creatures we can have as a pet friend!
Having said that that Raven is still number one in intelligence but it is illegal to keep them as pets.
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We have a small pet shop about five blocks away and this is where Sugar and Buddy came from. When I went to junior high and high school, I would walk past the pet shop twice a day – I’d stop in many times on the way home as they had two beautiful macaws. They had perches in the corner of the shop and talked a blue streak. People went in to talk to them and hear them talk back. When the owners retired, they took the birds home with them, as they were their pets. The store was open seven days a week so they stayed there all year around. People missed them alot. They were very smart.
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I’ve heard Macaws are smart. Hearing them talking all the time would wear thin fast I think. I guess If you put a cover over the cage they shut up…..or so I’ve heard?
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Yes, once it is dark, they will go to sleep. Funny you say that because our first parakeet was named “Skippy” and my mom trained him to say several phrases, among them “I’m Skippy Schaub.” My mom was so proud of him saying that and it took a lot of patience and repeating the phrase over and over. But once he got that phrase down pat, he liked it better than anything else she taught him … all day long she’d hear “I’m Skippy Schaub.” I was just a kid – this was in Canada and I can still hear her saying under her breath “I wish he’d say something else or have a nap.” Another parakeet was named “Joey” and he couldn’t pronounce the “J” so he’d say “Hi Yoey” all the time. My mom had the patience of a saint.
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you’ve been around birds all your life Linda. You need something like this
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You know what – I remember a couple of years ago one of the local TV news stations I follow online, had a review of life-like pets for Christmas gifts. There was this parrot, a dog and a cat. They were eerily lifelike – the cat they had sitting on a couch and a grandmother was sitting knitting and talking to it and it purred back. Another reason I am concerned about getting another bird, besides the #1 reason (the grief factor) is our erratic weather anymore. I worried when we had volatile Summer storms – would it be a volatile storm and we’d lose power and Buddy would be too hot? Or would we lose power in the Winter and he would be too cold? I had emergency measures for every season for weather emergencies. So, you are right … this birdie fits the bill. 🙂
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There must be thousands of other folks with Parrots. I wonder how they manage?
You get a Parrot and It’ll out live you.
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Well Ann Marie told me she had no worries about the Winter as she had a gas stove and then she moved to an apartment with an electric, not gas, stove. Parrots are hardier though as they are bigger. Ann Marie and her husband used to go camping up in northern Michigan all the time and they took their first parrot with them and he slept in the car overnight in its big cage – they took his big cage not a travel cage so it had plenty of room to move around. Cookie died after they had a kitchen fire and the black smoke got into its lungs – they had had Cookie for 25 years. This parrot is about five years old. I have no doubt a parrot could outlive me. When I took Buddy to the vet, one of the vet techs had a parrotlet, which is a small parrot. I had never heard of that breed of parrot before.
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I remember you talking about Cookie. Poor little guy. They must of felt terrible I bet!
Did they get another?
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Yes, they did feel terrible. Her husband was taking loaves of bread out of the oven and the ceramic loaf pan slid off somehow, rack tilted and caught on fire. And it was Winter so they couldn’t take Cookie outdoors. He got asphyxiated, fell off his perch and broke his neck. Awful. They contacted the breeder where they got Cookie to get a baby Amazon Grey once it was old enough to take home. They named the new one “Digger”. It was interesting that it was so small and she had to heat around the bottom of the cage to keep it warm enough because this bird was too young to perch, so it stayed on the bottom of the cage, until it got a little older/bigger. They did that with their first bird too – they took it back to the breeder for checkups until it was older, then could go to the avian specialist (same vet where I took Buddy).
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poor Cookie,I hope Digger is still around and talking up a storm!
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Yes, Digger is okay and smart as a whip. Ann Marie says he picks up phrases like the pirates say “ho, ho, ho and a barrel of rum!” Also, other things from TV if the program repeats them enough, even simple phrases like telling her husband she’s going to Meijer (grocery store).” They are smart. A fellow blogger has two parrots, Tweety and Scarlet. They sound very intelligent – he plays them music and television programs in their room and they repeat things they hear and will carry on a whole conversation with Tom. I don’t think he has written about them, just mentioned them when responding to a post I’ve done about birds.
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have you got a picture of Digger?
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No, Ann Marie has never sent me a picture of him. I will ask her if she will … she texts me pictures of various things she sees on her walk.
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