Going to the dogs (and cats)

Biking around Lancaster County means you'll always see lots of farm animals: horses, mules, pigs, chickens, cows, and goats are usually out and about in the fields and in the case of horses, on the roads. We even have an alpaca farm in my town!

I enjoy seeing them-- although I find cows somewhat frightening-- but I really love meeting people's dogs when I'm riding around. Since I haven't ridden my bike since I got my bad sunburn on Tuesday, I thought this would be a great opportunity to share some photos of some of the dogs (and cats) I've met in my travels.

First up, in the picture above, is my neighbor's dog Scooter. I've blogged about her before. She is one of the sweetest dogs I've ever met.

On the left is Annie, who belongs to another neighbor. As you can see she's out for a walk with Scooter.

Annie is an apricot poodle who is somewhat shy, but not fearful. Her poodle friend Oliver died recently and she's just starting to get the hang of being a solitary dog. Dainty little thing, isn't she?

Next is Kona, who belongs to a lady that works as a cashier at a local grocery. I met them while biking on a path in the meadow reclamation area.

Kona wasn't too keen on being photographed but she loved being petted!

When I biked over to my friend Sheree's on Easter Sunday her son Ryan was there from Massachusetts and he had brought his dog Brody. Check out that tongue!

I have a soft spot for Brody and am always happy to see him when he visits. He's one of those once-in-a-lifetime dogs, if you know what I mean. Smart, affectionate, well-behaved, intuitive-- just special. He reminds me of my dog Gabby in that way. And speaking of Gabby, here's a picture of her from about 1983:

Awesome dog and my best friend for years and years!

Finally, here's a picture of two semi-wild cats I saw near the start of the rails-to-trails path. They were interested in watching me, but wouldn't come near when I tried to coax them over.