,Who has a dog who gets carsick? Gross right? How about a dog who eats poop? Even worse.. bleh.. Well I’ve got one up on all of you with a dog who eats poop and then gets car sick! Yep. You read that right.
As a general rule we like to hike, often with our dogs, at Matthiessen Park up by Oglesby. It has great trails, a really pretty waterfall, lots of shade and the canyon is gorgeous. Add in some overly friendly dragonflies, the fact that its dog friendly and we have a winner for a nice summer hike. Plus, it’s not such a tough or long hike that anyone really whines or gets exhausted, humans or dogs. On the way home we usually stop at the Rootbeer Shack and grab some homemade rootbeer and ice cream or a sandwich. It makes for some great family time and a nice afternoon.
We usually take one or two of our adult dogs on these little treks. They love to get out and see new places, the exercise and socialization are good for them and most of them like the water too. On this particular occasion we decided to take Ellie, one of our labradoodles, who was around 5 months old at the time. She had been on car rides before and had never had an issue. Mattheissen is only about an hour and a half from home so we figured…why not? It was a beautiful day, we took the top off the Jeep and everyone piled in for the ride up. All of the dogs had been out running in the yard that morning and those who were staying home were crated or kenneled while we were gone. Miss Ellie was happily riding along in the backseat with the kids for most of the ride. At some point, about 15 minutes or so away from the park, she decided to get down on the floor and ride there. We figured maybe the wind from the top being off was bothering her and she felt more sheltered on the floor near Riley’s feet. A couple minutes later I hear Riley yell “EWWW…gross Ellie!!” Followed but gagging sounds from the backseat. Then we catch a whiff of the smell in the front seat and it IS gross to say the least. We pull over on a side road to survey the damage and Miss Ellie has barfed what appears to be dog poop that she must have eaten during her morning playtime, on the floorboards of the jeep and the side of Riley’s shoe. She also managed to get some on her feet. The kids and dog all pile out of the jeep into the field that we have parked by while I figure out how best to clean this mess. Thankfully we always pack some water bottles and towels when we go to Matthiessen because it is often muddy. We were able to pick up the rubber floor mat, toss the offensive sludge and rinse it with a water bottle, as well as get Riley’s shoe pretty clean and the pup’s feet. Thank goodness for rubber floor mats in Jeeps though. The rest of the day went off without a hitch. Ellie got her first taste of waterfalls and hiking, kids got some exercise and homemade rooter and the Jeep was none the worse for it.
.