I pulled into Bear Basin with my trusty bike partner Snickerdoodle aka Snickers. The family cockapoo loved to run while I rode — racing ahead to yell at squirrels who had the temerity to be in his woods, chasing birds who thought it was cool to land on a log nearby, and don’t get me started on chipmunks! Those cocky little creatures loved to taunt Snickers.
Normally, as soon as the car was in park, Snickers would whine and strain to get out of the car and get moving. But today was a bit different. He was excited, but he didn't strain to get out of the car.
I didn’t think much about it. I got out, leaving the door open so he could jump down and start exploring, and went about unloading my bike, putting on my shoes and helmet, and getting ready to ride. At some point, I realized Snickers was still in the car. Weird.
I moved to the front of the car and found him standing on the driver’s seat, looking at the ground, then looking at me, but not jumping down. Weird again.
I placed him on the ground, a little annoyed, and watched as he wandered off to water a nearby bush. He was sluggish and, maybe, limping a teeny bit. As I continued getting ready to ride, I kept an eye on him. Something was off; he didn’t look like he would be able to run with me today.
I chalked it up to him being tired, reloaded my bike, put Snickers in the car, and drove him home. Again, he needed help getting out of the car. Something was wrong.
I went inside, talked with my wife, and she called the vet. They said to bring him in – but couldn’t see him for a couple of days. We made the appointment and went about our business.
As the hours went by, Snickers degraded, quickly. By the time we left the house for McPaws a couple of days later, he was effectively paralyzed from the waist down. He couldn’t control his bowels, he couldn’t walk.
At McPaws, the doc tested his deep pain reflex in his hind legs. She couldn’t find any. Tears rolled down my and my wife’s faces. The vet tech who'd been helping us started crying. The vet looked sad. I asked what our options were. The vet suggested we take Snicks down to West Vet in Boise for an MRI. She suspected a spinal problem, and the MRI would tell us if there was a surgical solution.
Well, one thing led to another, surgery was performed, and slowly but surely, Snicks is getting better and looks to be on the path to full recovery — maybe not mountain biking recovery, but walking, running, and jumping again.
The whole experience got me thinking about all the mountain dogs running around our trails, happily joining their owners on their various adventures. I think we should take a little time to celebrate our four-legged friends. So, if you have a mountain dog you love, please email us a photo of him (info@northstarpubs.com) or her doing their favorite activity. We’ll publish these in the coming weeks via social and email — and maybe create a new column in the magazine.
Have a great holiday weekend — summer is officially over (well, kind of), but the hills are still alive with magic and they’re about to change their colors, which is awesome.
