MAGGIE: the dog who changed my life

MAGGIE: the dog who changed my life
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Friday, October 1, 2010

The Untold Story: Maggie the Dog Meets the Bull

Maggie among the wildflowers in Rustler's Gulch in Crested Butte
Well, here I am once again in Crested Butte, taking a little personal retreat. Even though I arrived after the fall Aspen trees reached their peak in color, the brilliant yellows, oranges, and greens on Keebler Pass were still  nothing short of awe-inspiring. I love this place.

I took a day off from hiking today -- my legs needed it. As I was planning my hike for tomorrow on the Lower Loop trail closer to town, I suddenly realized this is the hike that contains the untold story about Maggie that never made it into my book. Why? I simply forgot to put it in!

Here it is. Some of the Lower Loop trail crosses over private property. Tom, Maggie, and I were crossing a flat, pasture like area. I could wait no longer. We were by a large tree, so I decided it was a private enough spot to use as a bathroom. Just as I was quite compromised, with drawers down, Maggie suddenly charged forward a few feet away from me, and then promptly hid behind Tom, looking through his legs. Perplexed, I looked over to my right -- and froze for a moment in my squat. For just a few feet away, blending in to the shade of the tree, was a very large bull, slowly getting to his feet to meet our "brave" dogs' challenge.

"Oh my God!" I panicked and hurriedly pulled my clothes back together and stood up, praying it didn't charge Tom and Maggie directly. The dark monster-bull with large horns intact stood there for a moment, deciding what to do with this foolish dog and her people. Without either of us saying a word, Tom leashed Maggie, and we backed away very slowly at first, and then picked up speed as we got further away. He didn't charge -- thank heaven! Of course by this time Maggie wasn't at all concerned. After all, she was counting on us to protect her!

Once we were safe and the adrenalin wore off, we were in stitches about the entire scene -- the way Maggie false-charged the bull and then hid behind Tom for protection! That's our girl, bluffing a bull while I'm half clothed and nearly next to it.

Maggie in Rustler's Gulch in Crested Butte, CO
This seems an appropriate time to share this missing and fun story with you; and to honor Maggie -- October is Maggie's birthday month. Happy Birthday, Girlfriend. I know you're out there somewhere ... and we'll always, always be connected.

Posted by:

Dawn Kairns  

Twitter: themaggiebook

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