Ruby sitting in the shade of the piney trees.

I took Ruby out for a lot of walks around the trial over the weekend. Most of the time, I left all the dogs in the car, sunroof open and windows down, parked in the shade of the trees. It was quiet and cool there, and I know they all like this better than sitting in an xpen with all the world going by outside.

Especially Gustavo. He gets too wound up, watching the border collies parade by, and at shows where they can't stay in the car, spends whole days staring out the xpen, trembling with that freaky look in his eye. Dog shows where they can sit in the car always seem to keep his mind happier. Even though he had a hard time on some of the runs, he was able to happily play with me and his toy every time before going in the ring. Just right there, a major success for him that I think had a lot to do with being able to just chill out in the car.

We used to go to dog shows in San Jose, near a garbage dump and a freeway, with massive cement parking lots a million miles away from blazing hot fields. I love having trials in Prunedale, only 40 minutes from my house, at such a beautiful park with ocean views and breezes, and piney manzanita trails to walk the dogs along for a break.

Every single time I'd take Ruby out, either by herself or with the rest of the team, she thought she was having a turn. She'd come bounding out, ready to go. Instead, we'd take a quiet stroll down one of the paths. I think she was ok with that. Ruby's only 10 years old, but sometimes walks a bit hobbly, and if you look her in the eye, you notice how weird her eyes are. She's a bit thick through the middle, since she can't exercise like the other dogs. In fact, she just came off another period of crate rest, and once again has been staying in the car when we go for long walks. Her mysterious pains come and go, and I am resigned to leaving her on pain meds for all of the time now.

It made me a little sad to have people come and say hi, and upon seeing Ruby say, "Oh, you have three of them?" because Ruby stays so undercover most of the time. The pioneering member of Team Small Dog, dog agility team, she didn't mean to be a grandma dog before her time, it's just how her deck got shuffled. She just likes to be quiet and fly under the radar. We let it stay between her and me, what an amazing dog she is. If Ruby was a person, she'd be the one you could count on, every single time.