At the end of June, we said a heartbreaking goodbye to one of the best running buddies we’ve ever known, our fluffy little Border Collie mix named Ardy. We knew Ardy’s body was ailing, we could sense this day coming, we could intellectualize that it was the right thing to do for him, and yet, the grief and sadness hit us both so incredibly hard. We adopted Ardy soon after Sean and I started dating, and his fluffy wagging tail had been a constant presence through so many transitions; he was with us during our engagement, he was the Flower Boy at our wedding, he made numerous moves and cross-country trips, and an eventual cross-country move with us. I still expect to see him wiggling his little butt with happiness at the gate when pull in the driveway. I still see his medicine on the counter and ask myself if I’ve given it to him yet, only to realize that I don’t need to, and yet I can’t bring myself to put it away. I still kneel down to say goodnight to him under the kitchen table, where he always was at my bedtime, before I realize he isn’t there. While these moments bring the inevitable burst of tears, we have also had time in recent days to reflect on all of the joy, dirt and love that Ardy brought into our lives. Ardy spent more time on trails than many humans will get to in their lifetime, and he savored every step.
I have had the joy of being a dog mom to three dogs in my adult life so far. My first was my soulmate dog, the love of my life (sorry, Husband, not your title!), a sweet, loving, loyal Rottweiler mix who I pulled out of a shelter. My Rottie ran further and faster than most dogs his size, though due to that size, I generally didn’t run him for more than 10 miles at a time. He loved to run, and while he certainly found ample joy in the adventure, I also think he did it as a matter of duty as my loyal protector. Our most recent adoption, an adorable low rider mutt from the Navajo Reservation, will run occasionally. When she feels like it. Where she feels like it. On her terms. She will eventually settle in to find joy in the rhythm of running, but the true way to her heart is through her stomach, in the form of both treats and belly rubs. Ardy overlapped with each of these dogs at different times, and of the three of them, Ardy was the one built for running. He was the one who could accompany us for 20+ mile adventures in the mountains and join us for longer races, fully relishing in the adventure of it all.
Sean and I often marveled at how Ardy would start runs with no idea how far or fast the adventure would be. He could be doing a 3-mile shakeout run or a 20-mile mountain adventure, and he was ready for whatever we threw at him. One year for our anniversary, we set off on a loop that tagged four 14,000ft mountains, as we often tried to tag new ones to celebrate another year together. An unexpected dark storm cloud gathered just as we were nearing the first summit, and I called for us to turn around, not wanting to get caught above treeline in a thunderstorm. While we were disappointed that we didn’t reach any summits that day, when we safely made it back to the truck, we looked at Ardy and couldn’t help but smile. In his mind, we had just had a fabulous morning adventure. He didn’t track peaks, pace, mileage, or any of that nonsense that we humans concern ourselves with. He tracked FUN. And that day, he had a ton of fun rolling in summer snow patches, smelling high-alpine wildflowers, and trotting with his two humans along a beautiful mountain trail.
Ardy loved running, and Ardy loved running clubs. While he was very particular about the humans and dogs that he would tolerate having in his inner circle, he seemed to let his guard down at running club group runs. With Durango Running Club in Durango, CO, where he spent most of his life, he enjoyed weekly trail runs that regularly featured some of his best canine buds, with ample opportunities for our little dirt magnet to come home caked in dirt. The Mesa Monument Striders in Fruita, CO is the kind of running club that meets to run for an hour or two on some stunning canyon trails, and then spends another hour or two shooting the breeze around the beer cooler at the trailhead. While Ardy definitely did not like all people, he would spend these MMS post-run gatherings as a little social butterfly, mingling throughout the group and nosing his way under peoples’ hands so they would pet him. It was the most outgoing he would ever be in a group setting, and we think there was just something special about running club vibes for him. Fittingly, Ardy’s last camping trip was in the Whites on the first annual UVRC campout. While we cut our time there short to allow him to rest more comfortably at home on night two, we are thankful that we were able to spend one last night with him curled next to our sleeping bags that weekend.
If you’ve made it this far in reading this, chances are you have a dog, and therefore know just how deep the bonds we forge with our furry companions run. I often wonder what we as humans did to deserve to spend our lives with dogs, and think that one of the best ways to honor them is to learn from them. And so, while pace and mileage goals certainly have their place in our worlds, I would challenge you to spend some of your runs this summer going as far or as fast as you feel like going. Enjoy your surroundings and just find joy in putting one foot in front of the other without an agenda. And if you come home with dirt on you, you’ll know you’re on the right track. In other words – Run Like Ardy. And when you finish your run, please give your dog an extra treat and scratch in honor of our fluffy little running buddy; may he rest in peace knowing he’ll always be loved.
