We would walk around our cul-de-sac and every time we passed our house he would stop and sit completely still as if saying, "I'm not moving. I've walked enough and I'm not going any further." As you can see in the picture below (manual photoshop credit goes to Carter) he really just wanted to lay down and snuggle. Cutest....puppy....EVER.
Our first dog. As a puppy he wasn't wild and crazy. He's always been fairly tame (unless you count the 28 chocolate cupcakes he ate, or the bannister he chewed off). He was very true to his golden retriever-ness. Noble, happy, loving, and stoic.
As he grew, his stamina did with him. We would walk an hour every morning. Speed walk because the vet said large dogs shouldn't run until they're around 9 to 12 months old. At 10 months old I thought we'd give running a try. The puppy energy in him was very happy to run. We started with a few miles, slowly increasing to five or six. By the time he was 1 and a few months old he was full on marathon training with me. That was 2009 and we haven't stopped since.
Dr. Indiana Jones Herklotz was and is the best companion (in running and in anything else) anyone could ask for. This is a picture of him as I write. On the floor next to me. He's 7 now and has shown some signs of wanting to slow down but pushes through and is always waiting by the front door in the morning, ready for our next adventure. If I had to guess he is hoping for a deer kill, a run in with a fox, a squirrel or raccoon chase, a trail to sprint on off leash, a friend to run into, a river to jump in, a tree branch to grab and chew on (all things have happened in the years we've run, and most likely will happen again). Wherever our feet take us, he remains my constant partner in running...in life.
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