The Furthest Runners are Best Friends.
Not a scientific study, just an observation of nature.
What other land mammal can “run” as far as a human?
This question was posed to me by my friend Mike after an evening run over a few beers. It was an intriguing thought experiment that brought forth a great conversation based on knowledge and experience. Mike’s a little bit older than me and this conversation was reminiscent of all conversations before the year 2000, when you had to have knowledge and experience, or at least enough confidence to sound like you knew what you were talking about.
The conversation moves to our human capacity first and the Ultra-Runners we know. We personally know a couple of runners who can run non-stop for 35+ miles, and that’s just people here in our small town.
Next the conversation moved to land mammals. Of course some of the first animals that came to mind were the Horse, Cheetah and Gazelle. All of which could run fast, and the conversation of the horse had to discuss a gallop or a trot, in our estimation a trot would be considered “running” as humans don’t always sprint while running either.
More and more animals were thrown out there, more discussions into what is seen in nature and what is possible. Wolves! I’ve seen video’s of wolves chasing down prey and those chases can last up to or beyond a mile. Surely a wolf could run a long distance if hungry enough.
But wait, not wolves, but sled dogs, those Siberian Huskies run for long periods of time before stopping! Yes, a dog has the capacity to run as far, nay possibly further than a human.
Is it a coincidence that dogs are the only other land mammal, or one of the few that can run as far as a humans? They are after all our companion animal. Dogs and Humans have had a relationship for thousands of years.
Dogs are Man’s Best Friend.
My best friend as a child was my dog “B.A”. He was a German Shepherd-Husky mix and was born on my 6th Birthday. It’s one of my earliest memories, the puppies being born on my birthday back in the early 80’s. One of those puppies would stick around and become part of our family. B.A. was with me all through elementary school, middle school and into High School. I loved that dog. I didn’t have a great home-life and often there was conflict, abuse and drugs in my house. No matter what, B.A was by my side, licking my face and was always there for me. I loved that dog, all the way up to when I turned 16 and his stomach turned. We had no choice but to have him euthanized. I was devastated, heart broken.
Fast Forward 17 years and my life had drastically changed. In those years I’d join the Army and did three separate combat rotations to Iraq. On my second tour we adopted “Fury”, our very own Combat Dog. We broke the rules and disobeyed the orders from Generals whom we’d never see. Fury kept us company in an otherwise shitty situation.
A decade later I was out of the Army, married with two kids. My son was diagnosed as being on the Autism Spectrum at a young age. We’re vey blessed that he is “high functioning” and is “double gifted”. Despite these blessings, much of what we read about kids on the spectrum was that a pet, a dog, could be a great therapy animal for him.
My wife was never a dog person. She grew up in apartment complexes in Miami, FL and only had a bird “Peter” and a few cats. Her youth was far different and removed from the mountains, woods and lakes and dogs I grew up with in Idaho.
However, once we moved back to North Carolina in 2014, we decided to get a family dog. We were excited, we were purchasing our first house and were excited to put down roots in a permanent home. Our kids were going through a massive change again, moving states and schools. I knew a dog would help, and with that my wife was on board.
After much research, we decided on a German Shepherd! I was excited as B.A. was a GSD / Husky mix. We found Queen “Elsa” Von Snow here in North Carolina and decided on this all-white puppy. Nobody else wanted her. An all-white GSD is considered a genetic deficiency that is inferior to all the other types. (Black & Tan, Black, Blue). The military and law enforcement always want the “Blue’s” and “Black & Tans”. Many of the Black GSD’s go on to be service animals or working dogs.
The all-white GSD puppy we were looking at was just 1 of 2 all-whites in the litter. Her litter was full of Blue’s and Black & Tans. All the others were taken, Elsa was unwanted.
Their loss, was our families gain. She was an incredible family dog.
The all-white variant of GSD tends to be less aggressive, almost passive in nature. They are still incredibly smart animals with amazing problem solving abilities and an instinct for herding and protecting their pack.
We were Elsa’s pack. She would “herd” us when she wanted us to go into a specific direction or into a room. She was protective of our family and our property, always alerting us to the squirrel or opossum who dared cross into our yard. She could recognize a strange vehicle driving down the road and alert us. Every delivery driver who ever stepped foot on our property knew her distinct, low bark and also knew that’s all she was. All bark, no bite.
In her 10 years of life, I NEVER and I mean NEVER saw her show aggression. Never heard her growl or show her teeth. She was great around other dogs and especially around kids.
Elsa was always there, for 10 years. She had us trained and could communicate with us through her barks. We learned all of her different tones and could tell the difference between “I’m hungry” and “There’s a squirrel!”. We could tell by her yip if one of the cats were bothering her or she needed to go outside to pee.
She would randomly walk by and lick your leg, a small act showing she loved you. She’d let out large “uuumphs” when laying down on the A/C vent in the summer, letting us know just how miserable she was in this North Carolina heat. This winter dog really preferred the snow, of which was a rarity this far south. Yet, when it did snow, she’d spend all day outside, often just laying or playing in the snow.
She was an incredible dog who kept me company when working in my home-office. She would force her nose into my hands when she wanted pets and would “herd” me to the cupboard when she wanted a treat.
My dog Elsa was ever present in my life for the past 10 years. Always happy to greet me when I arrived home after a work trip. Always running to the side of the car to lick my leg, wag her tail and show me just how excited she was that I was home.
Her presence in our house was just an accepted fact. Her breathing, barking, running and yelping. Her consistent desire for a milk-bone and knew when we had rotisserie chicken in the house.
When the kids rode the school bus, her and I would walk up to the bus stop and wait for them. All the kids on the bus recognized Elsa. The neighborhood kids would want to pet her and all of our neighbors who walked knew Elsa by name and would greet her. She was a fixture in our front yard that everyone loved.
In November of 2023, she was diagnosed with bone cancer. After weighing all the options for treatment we chose pain-management and the Doctors told us we’d have 2-3 months left with her. Elsa, made it another 6 1/2 months! She was tough and never showed weakness to her pack.
The tumor grew on her back right leg, to the point her leg became lame. For 4 months she managed life walking on 3 legs. She was eating fine, still walking, using the bathroom and had high spirits.
Then the tumor grew too large, broke the skin and got infected. She was so uncomfortable, always trying to gnaw at the tumor and remove the pain. She couldn’t lay still. She couldn’t find peace or relaxation. It was constant pain and discomfort.
On June 3rd, 2024 I decided that her quality of life was so low, we couldn’t in good conscience let her continue in constant pain. We had 3 different pain meds the Doctors gave us and at this point they were no longer giving the relief they did a month ago.
Her favorite meal was Rotisserie Chicken, so my daughter fed her as much as she could possibly eat. Elsa ate all she could until she simply walked away from the bowl. She was given all the pets, the love and respect we could. The ride to the hospital was with the top down in the Jeep with the air flowing through her hair. She was smiling at us during the drive. She got milk bones and love.
My daughter and I took her to the 24/hr animal hospital and the staff treated us with respect and were as great as possible. We were with her through the entire process until she crossed that rainbow bridge. She went peaceful and calm. It was heart breaking and painful. I’m still hurting. Yet I know, her pain is gone and she can once again chase those squirrels she dreamt about so many times before.
I miss my dog.
I miss my friend.
Elsa was a pretty dog. She was a compassionate animal who kept her pack safe and provided comfort when we needed it. I couldn’t have asked for a better family dog than Elsa. She was simply incredible and provided the love that only a dog could.
