Last kick at summer.

My pup.

Two days left of the long weekend before heading back to work. Sunday I was back on the bike for a ride with Suz, Sante, and Toby. We did the Prairie Link loop but in reverse from the usual direction. The top portion of the loop is in the Bow 80 in this direction so we thought we'd pre-ride it that way. It's a little tougher going that way with longer steadier climbing. We had a good ride on a windy cool September morning. Who flipped the switch to fall?

Today was a day off the bike. I met Beth for a hike this morning. We decided to head out to Banff and hike up C Level Cirque with four doggie friends. Things started off fantastic. Another cool day, overcast, only a few rain drops here and there. We climbed up to the cirque and then carried on up another trail to the views above the cirque and beyond. Spectacular views and a good steady incline to get the heart rate up. I was a little tired after all the activity the last several days but I took it slow and enjoyed the scenery and the company.

Lake Minnewanka

After we climbed back down to the edge of the cirque I noticed Sante acting a little funny. She was standing with her two front paws on a fallen tree (avalanche debris field) staring at me and swaying from side to side. Uh oh. I thought she was going to hurl. She'd gotten into something nasty smelling (though evidently tasty?) near the start of the hike. I called her to join me back on the trail and she did so with grace but then sat down on the trail and kept swaying. Still I was hoping for some barfing. Nope. We encouraged her to keep going. We were a long way from the trailhead. The rest of the way down she was tipsy every time she stopped moving, walking unsteadily, and ... peeing while she walked. Not good. At the car she fell to the side and laid down. Peed on herself some more. She wouldn't drink. She did take a cookie though, and nearly my hand. I had to pry her jaw open to get my hand back Off to the emerg in Calgary. Beth was driving thankfully. I called ahead and they were expecting us.

Snack at the top.

The vet had things assessed quickly but I don't think she was at first convinced of my story. She immediately thought Sante had eaten some pot or hash. I can only imagine what she was thinking of our elaborate hiking story at first. But she came around after I'd remembered Sante had eaten the poop. I had started to think on the trail she was actually injured and not sick. So the guess from the vet is that Sante ate human poop that contained hash or pot. Nice. Hoodlums partying at the old coal mine above Banff? Anyway, they kept her there and got some charcoal in her system to suck up the toxins and run some tests and put her on an IV.

Canmore in the distance.

It's been a few hours and the vet called and Sante's heart rate is climbing back up and she has no kidney damage. Her heart rate has to come up some more and they'll keep her overnight. Back home in the morning. Hopefully back on the trail very soon.

Beth and Kai