December 02, 2003
Dusty and her new boots
8:30 p.m.
One of the perils of city living in Canada is the salt that covers every conceivable surface during the winter months. After walking outdoors in a brisk wind, you can feel the gritty residue on your coat. The floors and carpet of my apartment building are covered with chalky stains.
This is merely inconvenient for humans, but it's painful for dogs. The salt irritates their feet. A few years ago, a frustrated dog owner designed 'boots' for her beagle to protect his feet from the salt. The boots were so popular, she started her own company and 'MuttLuks' were born. Basically, they are nylon booties with leather bottoms and elastic cuffs. The insides are lined with polar fleece and they are secured with velcro (with reflective tape, no less). Last month, I purchased Dusty's MuttLuks. I'm not going to tell you how much these cost me - suffice to say, I'm beginning to wonder if having a child might not be cheaper! Today, Dusty wore her Muttluks for the first time.
The first time I tried to put them on her, it took me 20 minutes (I'm getting better at it now). The boots are fairly tight and it was difficult to get her little paws all the way inside. Once the boots were on, Dusty stood with her legs cocked out at weird angles and refused to move. I coaxed her to walk and she high-stepped all over the apartment, jumping and skittering across the floor like a crab. She was NOT happy about these boots. Periodically, she would glance up and give me an extremely wounded look.
She settled down a bit after we went outside and she had a chance to walk on the sidewalk, but the fun started all over again once she stepped into the snow. Dusty is excited about snow and she took off at a run. This was fine until she needed to stop - that's when her legs started flying in all directions as she discovered that she couldn't use her claws for traction. She skidded to a stop and stood back up in confusion, then started running in the other direction...
Dusty has a quirk - she likes to poo on a slope. Fortunately, there are many sloping grassy areas near our building. This morning, she climbed up one of her favourite little hills to do her business. But she started sliding...and sliding...and sliding down the slope, leaving a little trail of poo behind her. She had the most horrified look on her face.
By the time we walked to the park in the evening, both Dusty and I were getting the hang of the boots. I could get them on her fairly quickly and she could walk without doing the splits. Novel as all of this is right now, I'm sure it will get old fairly quickly as winter continues to descend. I already miss the days when I could grab the leash and take my dog for a walk without bundling her and bundling myself in 14 layers of nylon and polar fleece.