Dear Isaac, Maia and Virtual Wanderers 

Tonight’s blog will be short because it’s been a day of dealing with an injured dog. But, I’ll get to that.

The day started pretty normal for a travel day. Woke uo in this huge motel 6 room. Everything is normal except little Cimarron isn’t hungry. If she is anxious, she won’t eat even if she is hungry. That means I had to “pill” her. Italian Greyhounds are extremely sensative dogs. While 6 pound Cimarron is mostly chihuahua, her build and personality are sight hound.

After checking out, we went to Besh ba Gowah. These archeological ruins are a favorite annual stop. It took us a few years to discover them, but they are now on our annual visit list. The gift shop, museum and ruins are 100% dog friendly. We got a few goodies, watched the video and toured the ruins. We even had Shiprock Twinkle in tow.

After that, the plan was a peaceful picnic in the adjacent park. Out of nowhere, Cimarron starts screaming and jumping around in pain. I tried to reassure her, but she was inconsolable. So, I buckled her into her booster so she wouldn’t hurt her neck – she has disc disease there and she was fighting me. She gets panic attacks with pain, so that made it worse. We quickly finished lunch and, after assuring Cimarron was stable, headed up the road.

The only thing I can figure is an insect bite. I saw ants earlier. Unfortunately, these ant are likely fire ants of Maricopa ants – both have painful stings. Especially the Maricopa Ant.

I figured the car would ease her. I watched her in the rear mirror panting so hard, but she did start to settle. Let me inject here that as a retired human healthcare provider, I saw no signs of anaphylaxis before we started and she has had a panic reaction to ant bites before.

We slowly climbed back up on the Colorado Plateau through the Salt River Canyon. It’s an awesome canyon that reminds me on the Black Canyon of the Gunnison. Both are deep layers of rock on the outer boundaries of the Plateau.

By the time we arrived at the Salt River Canyon rest stop, Cimarron was a bit more settled. She let me carry her around and seemed to enjoy the diversion. But, she wouldn’t put weight on the leg.

The Canyon is gorgeous and full of the most interesting array of flora. Yucca trees and prickly pear cling to the canyon walls. The first time I saw this, I was absolutely awestruck. But, those switchbacks are no joke.

After the walk, Cimarron finally slept as I drove another 100 miles. She is still lame, but very much acting like herself otherwise. She gobbled dinner and guzzled water. She sleeps peaceful. I talked to her vet and carry emergency anti-inflammatory meds for her that she took.

Ideally, we would have an ER vet down the road. But, this is the reality of a rural road trip. Dog emergencies happen. We have a plan if she doesn’t continue to improve.

This blog was going to be about history and geology. But, the reality is that a sick pup was our main focus today. In fact, you would laugh if you saw me carrying 14 year old Cimarron and trying to take canyon photos with my cell phone.  Tomorrow is hopefully smooth sailing.

Happy Tails, GM Cathy Hartt