We all know our furry friends get crazy in the snow! I look at Riley when the snow falls and am just filled with joy from his little face. To be that free and filled with happy in that moment must feel amazing. He sure makes it look like its amazing!
We started this particular day with rain. Then it turned to snow. My brother and I bundled up and were so excited to go frolic it was madness trying to get out of the house. We snuggled Riley into his winter coat (now long dead winter coat!) and ran our to the little play park around the corner. Riley had no idea what was happening. He went outside and stopped dead in his tracks….what is this white stuff falling from the sky?
He got really curious and starting snapping at all the sky fluff! It was too cute.
We stopped a couple places along the way to throw a snow ball and take some pics but we were dying to get to the park! We stopped by the rock that I took our first picture of Riley on, it was at the entry of the park and my goodness did he get big in 7 months! Super-dog here climbed right up and posed like the ham he was.
When we got to the park, Riley didn’t know what to think. It was the first time we actually encouraged him to get on these play pieces.
My brother (Ry) hopped up on the spinner and Riley started to try and pull him around and around. Not sure he quite figured out how to get on and spin but he figured it spun so that was good enough! He was a little unsure about the movement under his feet so Ry had to coax Riley up onto the platform a bit.
When we had enough of the spinning we moved to the field to throw a few snowballs and boy did Riley jump for them! He tried to catch a few…only succeeded on a couple. In the meantime, he got covered in snow! That coat was a blessing to not have a soaking wet dog after this adventure.
Then we moved to the slide. Try as we might, Riley was not having the stairs. We tried treats, we climbed to the top and we tried to pass him up to each other when one of us climbed up. He was not having any of it. The slide was just too tall for this little pup to climb the steps for apparently.
But he did let us sit on the end of the slide with him. As long as we didn’t try to slide down with the little bugger he settled into our laps okay on this play piece.
The Swing we did a bit before Riley decided enough was enough. Moving when he had no paws on the ground seemed to be a bit unsettling for his little mind so we kept this activity short.
Our park adventure was definitely fun, and definitely had some cold butts coming home. The three of us made our way back to the house where Riley crashed on the couch pretty quickly while Ry and I downed a hot cocoa.
We get lost in our day to day lives and I think we lose a piece of that inner joy that is so innate in the animal world. So expressive, so pure, so filled with love for life. Take a moment this season to get back to that. Return to the child you used to be for just a moment. Throw that snowball. Jump into the snowbank, just because you can. Roll down the snow pile in your neighbourhood, just like you used to do when you were 5 or 6 years old. Watch what your dog does when you do.
When I feel like returning to my childish freedom, Riley joins in. He runs after me, he rolls with me, he jumps at that snowball and he plays with such purity that it’s infectious. Take that moment to be free from all your worries and day to day stresses this holiday season. Take that moment, just to be…free.
Happy Tails!
Do you have a first sky fluff story to share from your furry pals? We would love to hear from you! Send us an email or leave a comment below.
ASR Adventures 