Not long after Ray moved in with us, we took him on a trail walk. We thought that, as he had spent some time as a stray, he would probably be very happy a little closer to nature. I think that we were right and, to this day, he seems to love trail walks and spends a lot of time just checking out all the scents; the shrubs, bushes, trees, and the wild grasses.
For the first trail walk with him, we took him on one which is a 15 minute walk from our home. It is a relatively short trail, but its attraction is the scenery that it offers. As the trail is probably well over 100ft above a river, there are some lookout platforms so one can admire the view.
Below are two pics (taken yesterday) of the platform which we stopped on with Ray in 2013. We have recently had a fair bit of rain so the river is carrying a lot of sediment and is a brown color which makes it blend somewhat with the brown surrounding area however, the pic below should give you a sense of our platform height. The river is way down and over to the right!
This next pic shows the river a little better, and shows the sheer drop (and the tops of some trees) at the end of the platform.
With those two pics in mind… that is the platform on which Ray, on his first trail walk with us, decided he would jump through the wood rails! All the details, including why he is still alive, are in his book “Who Said I was up for Adoption?”
Ray…in his daredevil teen years!
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Yes. He certainly didn’t think it through very well…. teen years! 🙂
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I was really anxious as I read this part in the book. It was especially well-written from his point of view of what had taken place.
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It was certainly a heart-stopping moment! 🙂
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I’d say I can imagine, but I can’t, and wouldn’t WANT to!
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He was a very lucky dog. Without his harness, he would either have slipped his collar and gone down, or hung himself on his collar. I have no doubts that he would not have survived the fall.
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I can’t say I “Like” this reply. I can just say, “Thank goodness!”
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Yes… we must focus on what DID happen, and not on what could have happened! 🙂
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I, too, vividly remember this story. I share all the above sentiments!
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Hi Amy. As noted earlier, it was most certainly a heart-stopping moment and I am pretty sure that Ray would agree! 🙂
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Thank goodness you didn’t make the jump, R. I tried jumping over a cement wall on a bridge once. I was on my leash, so I didn’t get to follow through.
Love and licks,
Cupcake
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Hi Cupcake – Actually, I did make the jump! My Dad says I shouldn’t tell you anymore than that. Woof! Ray.
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What a great blog and Ray is so amazing! Great pics too 😊
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Thank you Jennifer, and Ray is amazing. He just has no sense of hazardous/dangerous situations… unless they are animal or human! 🙂
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Wow! That’s crazy! So glad he didn’t get hurt. Don’t do that again okay, Ray?? 😲
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You’re kidding right? It really scared me! Woof! Ray.
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That is quite a drop (though quite pretty as well!).
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It’s a lovely area when all the plant life has woken up from Winter. Ideal for looking at, but not so good for jumping into!:)
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Most definitely not the best way to experience it!
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🙂
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So glad he survived to tell the tale!
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As are we, and without any doubt… him! 🙂
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Daredevil Ray.😱
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Not really! Even a “dare-devil” has rationalized how the stunt will hopefully end! Unless Ray was responding to a death wish, I cannot see how he could conclude that jumping into space (literally) could turn out good! We could assume that he was testing us…. seeing how far we would go for him, but not likely! 🙂
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I think he just did it on a whim!
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That whim could have cost him his life! He has absolutely no road sense either so perhaps that’s just the way he is. 🙂
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I remember that story. I think you posted it as an excerpt of you book once, didn’t you?
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What sort of memory do you think I have? 🙂 🙂
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😉
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Nice BLOG!!! ADD my BLOG too!!! Kisses!!!
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Thank you. Please feel free to drop by again when you have a few moments; kick off your shoes; relax, and just browse! 🙂
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You wonder what goes through their heads when they take a leap of faith like that! Glad you all survived it. 🙂
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I really don’t think that there was anything (literally nothing!) going through Ray’s head at that time. We really were lucky that we all survived.
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Wow…Ray is very brave ! You must have been so fearful at the time.
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Brave is not the word I would use to describe a dog who jumps over a piece of wood when there is no place to land on the other side! Fearful? Not really because adrenaline kicked in. There was a job which had to be done, and very little time to do it. The emotions relating to the event came later!
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I would have just had a coronary when he jumped. That is quite a trip downwards.
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Well it certainly was a heart stopping moment! 🙂
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I remember it too. Hard to rescue an 80 lb. wiggly dog!
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Given my overall “slight” build, and a life time of office work, my upper body strength is questionable so I am still amazed at how we got him back onto the platform! 🙂
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It’s one of those stories like when a skinny woman lifts a car to save her child. Adrenolin.
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That is my theory. Desperation can provide remarkable short-term resources! 🙂
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hehehe we like to keep our peeps on their toes don’t we Ray?xx Speedy
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Hi Speedy.. yes of course we do, but when I jumped through those railings, I think I got a bigger shock than they did!
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Way to stir up suspense! 🙂
I remember that chapter for my heart jumped while reading. Good pictures, it really is a sheer drop!
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As did mine (heart jumped) when he did it! 🙂
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