Lesson 1 - Accountability

Whatever my excuse is, Penelope doesn't care. She doesn't care if it's raining or snowing, she doesn't care if it's pitch black out, she doesn't care if I had one too many glasses of wine last night, when the alarm goes off each morning she is ready to run. And because she doesn't care, neither do I.

Granted Penny (and now our new addition Lela) grant me one, maybe two, taps of the snooze button, but if I even begin to reach for the third time, I have a snout in my face and kisses hitting my cheeks. Penny and Lela have learned quickly what the alarm clock means and they hold me accountable. On the pre-Lela days that I have shrugged Penny off and continued to snooze forgoing our morning jog, I feel guilty all day. I feel guilty when she leaps down the stairs and sits patiently staring at her leash. I feel guilty when I leave her behind to go to work or wherever, knowing that because I didn't feel like waking up, she didn't get to do the thing she loves most. She holds me accountable and I love her for it.

Just for the record, Penelope isn't some slave driver and can be quite compassionate. On a day where I am sick or on (rare) occasion brutally hungover, Penny can be equally as willing to jump up into my bed, quickly taking the spot Justin just vacated, to spoon for hours. However, if I'm second guessing my run because it's rainy or windy, well she lets me know it's time to suck it up. I'm sorry, call me crazy, but that dog understands me.

People often say dogs aren't particularly smart or don't truly understand human words, but try coming into my house and saying the word "RUN" or the word "WALK". Sure you can argue they simply recognize the command, but even said in a conversational way, you will watch Penny (and I'm sure Lela will soon join her) whip into a frenzy and run/leap to where we hang her leash and harness.

But I digress... Penelope has held me accountable in the way no other running partner ever has, teammate, friend, boyfriend or otherwise. All humans are prone to falling victim to the myriad excuses one can devise to NOT do something. Well not dogs. Here's my favorite.

It was a Saturday morning and Justin had left at 7:40 for work. It was a nasty March day when the weather is seemingly conflicted between the chill of winter and the rains of spring. One of those mornings when you can hear the wind howling and the rain pelting your windows and there's no need to look at your window to know that it is terrible out and don't need to go outside to know you'll freeze your ass off. The type of day that is best observed snuggled tight under blankets. My alarm went off and I did just that.... hit the snooze and tried to hunker down. Penny gave me one snooze cycle. Then as I went to hit the button again, a whimper and an eager face attached to a wagging tail was at my bedside.

The day, being particularly inhospitable, caused me to be particularly stubborn. To Penny's dismay, I hit the snooze again. She plopped down next to the bed with a sigh and waited it out. The next 10 minute interval passed and when the radio clicked on again she was up. While I contemplated a 3rd snooze, I rolled over to discover that in her mouth, Penelope was tenderly holding one Asic running shoe. While I snoozed she retrieved my running shoe from my closet as if to remind me that I promised we'd go for a run. How can you say no to that!?!?

Victory, Penelope. I got up, layered up and we headed out. The weather was terrible, but as is often the case- the run was not nearly as bad as I'd made it to be in my head. In fact, I rediscovered that I actually love running in the rain. Makes you feel pretty hardcore. My shoes were soaked and her paws and belly were covered in mud, but we had a blast. She yipped in the face of the wind and defiantly picked up her pace....I dutifully followed.

At the end of the day, it may be my favorite run with Penelope thus far. She refused to let me let her or myself down. She held me accountable and somehow with that cute face and wagging tail convinced me to do something I could have easily done without, but was so much better for doing. Gotta love running with Penelope!!

Turns out, I'm not the only person who has learned this lesson and reaped the benefits from our canine friends.... see this New York Times article where when elderly nursing home residents were asked to choose between another resident and a dog as a walking partner, those who chose dogs had dramatically better outcomes. Despite the fact that they had to board a bus and leave the premise to get to their dog partners, they showed up and walked with greater regularity and improved their strength, stability and stamina far more than those who chose human partners.

Read the full article here.... http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/12/14/the-best-walking-partner-man-vs-dog/

More pictures to come in the upcoming posts!!