Well, it's about time I shared with you how I became a Dog Adventure Guide. Like all good things in life, it sort of found me when I least expected it. I live in Littleton, Colorado, right at the base of the explosion of Rocky Mountains, which is to say on the edge of 1000's of acres of the most beautiful open space in the world. Unfortunately so do the overly zealous rangers who patrol this area with pure Barney Fife devotion to melodrama over the most miniscule offenses. My dog, Koda, is a Border Collie mix, a rescue pup born of the Katrina disaster (another great story for another time!), who, like all true herding dogs, needs to run and run and run. And I believe he should be able to exercise this God-given need. (Read tension rising). Not a good match for the Fife squad. (Read tickets, summons, animal control house visits , fines and threats).

In my desperation I began to develop a criminal mind, devising all kinds of ways to sabotage the Fife patrol so that Koda could get his runs. (Read mad-hatter mother). Beat them out in the dark of dawn, flatten the tires on their ranger batmobiles, attach GPS trackers to their trucks to hone in on their location, make fake calls reporting off-leash activities in other areas, and dismantle their remote controlled gate so they couldn't leave the station. I was shocked at my own deviousness and potential for crime. (It's all my high school teacher's fault for making me read Thoreau's Civil Disobedience). I had to change my ways before I actually implemented these crimes! I cried out to God for a solution that I couldn't see in front of me.

So, I caved and began to make the 36 minute round trip in my car to transport Koda to the closest off-leash dog park...in this case at Chatfield State Park. It irked me to have to leave perfectly good open space at my backdoor to drive elsewhere to find some, but I decided it beat eventually ending up behind bars...where I couldn't take Koda out at all! So drive we did. And to my surprise it was worth it! No rushes of adrenalin at the sight of khaki-clad figures stalking me, no tickets to pay, no criminal thoughts racing through my head. As I loaded Koda in the car, it dawned on me that there was plenty of room for other off-leash offenders who were desperate for running room. So I took out an ad in the local paper and "Happy Dog Off-Leash Adventures" was born! "Necessity is the mother of invention" and it re-invented me as a Dog Adventure Guide. Now, 2 years later I can thank God for the Fife faceoff and the unexpected way that He not only met Koda and my needs, but the needs of another 20 dogs that I have the privilege of transporting to their favorite adventureland. Deadends can become new beginnings! Don't give up when you hit one.