Re: [pct-l] Umbrella and dogs

Thank you for your concern. Please do not think that because we have not hiked the entire PCT that we are inexperienced hikers. My vet has carefully examined Ceilidh for any hip problems. She is being monitored during her training regimen and if any tenderness results she will be x-rayed. He has advised that she have puppy food on the trail and weighed some on his scale so we could determine how many days she can travel between resupply points The biggest concern my vet has for her is plants and rattlesnakes in sections A & B. We have determined that she will wear boots in the desert to protect from thorns and will be leashed to protect from snakes. She routinely travels many miles over varied terrain carrying a pack. She spends many months each year at 8000 feet and above, adores snow and is as surefooted as they come. The PCT (outside of the desert) will be easy for her as far as distance covered in a day and type of terrain. She, like most dogs, can cover many more miles than me. It is not a question of my bringing her it is a question of she would not be left behind. Ceilidh has made it her mission in life to make sure I never see a lake before she does. Her only worry is to figure out which way I am going to go so that she can get there first. She makes me laugh. If it is determined that she can't go then I don't go. I will add that she knows voice commands in addition to hand signals, has never been punished or had a voice raised in anger and is as well behaved as any dog I have ever met. She will politely step off the trail and sit while you pass.