One concern I have had with Earl is he seems to have developed a limp. I don't know if it is a pulled muscle or what... he seems to walk fine on grass or dirt, and walks on cement sidewalks without any noticeable limp, but the moment we cross the street and have to walk on asphalt or pavement... he starts to limp, sometimes quite severely. It does not seem to be a pad problem as he has no problem putting his paw down. A girl I work with who has raised dalmatians and is quite dog savvy checked him out, from paw to shoulder, gently squeezing and prodding and got no negative reaction from the big boy... go figure.
I chose to leave Earl at home one morning last week as I had an out-of-office meeting to attend. My wife trotted-jogged with Earl around our crescent when she spotted her old highschool P.E. teacher, also jogging, with a dog (German Shephard).
Before my wife had a chance to say "hi", Mrs. Takahashi blurted "Is that...."
My wife was waiting for the usual "...a greyhound?"... but instead heard "Is that... Earl?"
It seems that shortly after I adopted Earl (almost five months ago), our paths had crossed and we had a brief conversation... and Earl made a lasting impression.
A two-minute walk is a recreation centre with a football/soccer field, baseball diamond... but in the winter the local parks and rec department puts up the boards for hockey and broomball. These boards provide a perfect little arena for Earl to run around until the snow flies and the ice forms... check out the video below.
