Our backyard is elevated slightly, and surrounded by a short rock wall. You can see what I mean here. Instead of taking the stairs up and down, to get to the grassy area, Panda likes to simply leap.
Well, yesterday, Panda misjudged the wall a bit and slammed her front paw very hard on one of the protruding rocks. She stopped dead in her tracks.
I called out, "Panda, are you OK?"
She looked at me, limped over to me, sat, and held her paw up. My heart just sank. She looked so so sad. Of course, I showered her with kisses and coos and scratched her head.
After determining that no bones were broken and that the cuts were largely just surface abrasions, I lead her back out, slowly, to do her business and then brought her in to take a closer look at the damage.
See those red marks? Poor thing. Just breaks my heart.
Leo suggested that this was as good an excuse as any to pack up the girls and take them to the beach. It would take Panda's mind off of any discomfort and they were really getting stir crazy, anyway.
Our first stop was in Manzanita. The wind was intense but that never phases the little ones.
Panda showed no signs of even remembering she had hurt her foot. She didn't limp, didn't shy away from the water and had a great time, so we decided to keep going.
We headed south, following the ocean, and ended up at Manhattan Beach. There was far less wind and we were able to find a nice spot to play fetch with the pups.
It was all fun and games until the little stink pot decided she'd rather run off and play with other people, instead of hanging out with us.
Leo had a talk with her...
But you know how adolescents can be.
After that, we decided to explore a bit more. We ended up at the Blue Heron French Cheese Company, which also boasted a petting zoo, wine tasting, chocolates and other sundries. We bought some cheese, wine and baguette, and headed back north, towards home.
But not before another detour to Manzanita...
As the sun was starting to set, Leo thought it would be fun to put some of our food to good use and suggested a picnic. We headed over to Cannon Beach, picked up a beach blanket, and caught the last few glimmers of daylight, over a couple sips of wine and cheese.
Since we had a bit of a drive, we didn't really have much wine, but we put a nice dent on the bread and cheese. YUM. And unlike So Cal, where you have to pay to use beaches that allow camp fires and late night picnics, Cannon Beach was alight with fires set by families keen to roast marshmallows and make the most of the gorgeous evening.
After it got dark, we reluctantly packed up for the trip home and we listened to Harry Potter XII doh! VII the whole way.
I would say that's a most excellent way to coddle a doggy's boo boo. See more pictures over at Flickr. Leo's already declared that we'll be doing many more beach picnics in the future.
gorgeous - but I DO hope that you meant HP VII??? having never read any of them, but do know my Roman Numerals!
now thats a nice day, man i wish we lived near the ocean like that!
That tactic of distraction works well for my son too! I think most folks and dogs would forget about bumps spending a perfect day at the beach(es) like that!
Aww, poor Panda, that had to have hurt if it slowed her down! Seems like she got a pretty good get-well day though! And I LOVE that third-from-last picture, of Thea and all the reflective water? That's a GREAT shot!
Wow, I don't even need to bother commenting, Alyson pretty much said EXACTLY what I was going to say. So, um, yeah!
sounds like a great day! And to be another voice in the chorus, the 3rd pic from the last is fantastic.
I am so jealous! And happy that Panda got over her booboo quickly!
You guys have such a healthier lifestyle mindset than we do--I look at that first pic and think, 'aw, that poor dog needs a beer in that paw.'
Delurking to say I enjoy reading the Adventures of Panda and Thea and this of course is a great addition to the book =D
Aside from Panda's injury, it sounds like a perfect day!! those beach photos are fabulous.
So sad. Glad she is feeling better. Nothing like the beach to take your mind off your troubles.
Poor baby! Looks like you found the perfect cure! A day at the beach cures everything.
Poor poor Panda. We're dog people here, too, and all the critters send paw licks to her. :O) samm
Your day sounds like so much fun. I've ran along Manhattan Beach before. But in that area, there is beach after beach after beach :)
You're really good pet parents to take care of Panda so well. Poor hurt thing. Hopefully she doesn't even remember the accident.
Poor baby! I'm glad she's feeling better - nothing like a day at the beach to make you feel better. Great photos!!
I know how it feels for us people to SEE a pup injured, I've seen Ropi get wacked foot to cranium, limp around, come in for lovein' before frisking it up just moments later. But I think that day at the beach made all of us readers feel better just hearing about it, and seeing those great pics!
Poor Panda, what a pathetic look on her face!!
And Oh! That shot of the sky reflecting in the water is soooooo nice!
Sorry, photo nerd.
I can't believe how fast the puppy turned huge.
Oh NO! Miss Panda! Her poor little foot. Doogles sends his best. I'm glad she didn't let it stop her from having fun at the beach. Atta girl!
Poor Panda... at least she seems to only have a "flesh wound" and was able to thoroughly enjoy a day at the beach! (great photos!)
Awww, I hope she's feeling better now. I swear that dogs take sadness to a whole new level when they have an owie.
Love the photos! You have such photogenic doggies. Every photo I take of mine looks bad. (Um, now that I write that, I realize that is probably more of a reflection on the skills of the photographer....)
Wow what a lovely day...except for Panda hurting her foot...poor sweetie. You are so blessed to be able to bob over to the beach like that. :)
Poor Panda looks so sad. Until the beach of course. I know mine would run away to play with others, she's just that way. Especially if she could score food. So Miss Thea isn't alone (and mine is older than Thea and should know better).
Oh my gosh, poor Panda! I can imagine how you felt.
Wow. What gorgeous pictures of a beautiful day! It looks like a nice way to make a wounded pup feel better. :)
Poor Panda!! Didn't seem to slow her down much though, did it?
They have some fabulous wine and cheese at the Blue Heron, don't they? Tee-hee!
Ohhhhh, Cannon Beach.....
*sigh*
I was just reading my travel diary last night and found an entry about "Heather's" *sniff-gone but not forgotten*
Looks like a good time was had by all.