Happy Holidays!

I hope everyone is enjoying my favorite season -- winter! It's been an incredible week, with a winter solstice bonfire in Smugglers' Notch (here's a shout out to my buddy Berkeley and my new dog-friend Moxie), an awesome hike in the Bahrenburg woods during the 2010 Boot League tradition, and a VERY exciting visit from my old pal Santa.

So Happy Holidays everyone, and get ready for the best winter ever!

Dear Oscar, Why haven't you posted in two months? And, while you're answering that, why hasn't your human posted either? -- Lost Without Your Wisdom

Dear Lost, I don't know what these people have been doing, but it certainly isn't blogging! And I don't know who picked out those sunglasses, but I hope they didn't pay more than a couple dollars (or pesos).

But seriously, my human calls himself a writer, and he has his own blog (click here to see the blog). And you're right, not a single post in two months! What is up with that? Here he is -- a professional writer, published in magazines and newspapers all over the country. But not a post since early October. Pathetic, if you ask me.

What, you say? Why haven't I posted in the same amount of time? People, please. I am a dog, for goodness sakes! A labrador retriever! What did you expect? Aren't you just impressed that I taught myself to log onto a computer and type?

For those of you that do follow my running log, I did run in the months of November and December -- a fair amount, in fact. I will try to get those distances up there this week. And, fine, I'll get some posts up too. But remember, it's the rare dog that writes. If anyone should be referred to as "slacking" for the lack of recent posts on his blog, it's not me. It's my human.

Dear Oscar, Thanks for the insightful post about always being ready to go. I think Woody Allen said "90 percent of success is showing up." Hope you

can come over soon, except my human says I can't chase you because of my sore wrist. Your friend, Gus


Dear Gus,

What is it with humans? Do they think we want to sit around on our rear ends just because of a little boo-boo? One time I stepped on a thorn, and it got infected. The vet and my people kept saying, "Rest, Oscar, rest!" Rest? All I wanted to do was play, even though I only had three good legs. There is, however, another way for you to spin this... You know what really helps dogs heal? Yep, that's right: dog treats. Lots of dog treats. You can tell your human I said so.

Thanks for the feedback about the post. Just a clarification: Allen didn't place that much emphasis on showing up; he actually said only 80 percent, not 90. He also said he's not trying to achieve immortality through his work (rather, he is trying to achieve it by "not dying"); he referred to himself as "at two with Nature"; and he said that money is better than poverty -- but only for financial reasons.

Hope your wrist feels better soon; I can't wait to go running around the yard! Best, Oscar

Downtown Dog Rescue

Anyone in downtown Burlington on Sunday saw me racing in the city's prestigious Downtown 10K. Yes, that's right -- me... racing in an official, sanctioned event!

There are two reasons why you are unlikely to see me in events like this. For one, often dogs aren't allowed. Even if they are, there is great potential for entanglements and mishaps when you combine lots of people, a yellow dog, and a leash all in one place. Reason number two is that my human seems to think he races faster without me.

Well, I proved everyone wrong on both counts. First off, I was perfectly behaved, particularly at the start of the race. And I ran fast for pretty much the whole race -- which I ran in about 43 minutes: under a 7-minute-per-mile pace! I will note that I said "pretty much the whole race." That is because I did make one pee stop and one sniff stop at bushes. I also stopped twice to slurp water in puddles, and, on two occasions, I tugged my human strongly in the direction of squirrels.

And there was one other delay. At the intersection of North Avenue and Haswell Street, a brown puppy -- I assume a spectator -- got over-excited, and decided to join me in the race. His legs were going a mile a minute (they were about a fifth the length of mine, and he swerved right into the street and into traffic. I didn't catch his name, but I tell you what: that puppy would surely have been hit out there. Although we were competing, my human and I looked both ways, scooped up the puppy (who by this time was on his back totally freaked) and returned to the sidewalk.

Some kids walked towards us, until my human yelled for them to hurry up. (We were on the clock, you know?) He started to tell them to watch their dog more closely, but the girl said it wasn't her dog. "Well, someone should watch him!" Mark said, and turned back to the task at hand.

I am a little dismayed that someone wasn't paying closer attention to such a small puppy. But I hope all goes well and that he grows up to be a great runner... just like me.

State of Readiness

I am always ready. For example, this morning I was sound asleep. Then my humans got up and the next thing you know, we were running 6 miles! And who was right there, leading the way? That's right, me. And on another day, I'll be sleeping and next thing you know they'll rouse me and shortly thereafter, we'll be hiking a mountain someplace. And is there any hesitation on my part? Any "Oh, not today, I'm too tired?" I think not!

Yesterday I was napping on my couch (notice the possessive "my" and not the article "the"? That's because, yes, the furniture here belongs to me.) Also, do you notice the common thread of me napping or sleeping leading up to all my adventures? That's because I always want to be well-rested; I'll never turn down the opportunity for a good nap (or run or snack or meal or belly-rub). Anyway, I was napping on the couch, when my human stood. You better believe I snapped to! Next thing you know, he was on his bike and I was running alongside... all the way down to the river! What a time!

Moral of the story: always be ready. Even if you don't feel like doing something, do it anyway. Take it from a yellow dog: you'll be glad you did.

Litter Bugs

I do a lot of running on beautiful, dirt roads in my town. And I'm not going to lie; when I see a pile of trash on the side of the road, I am the first to check it out. This morning, for example, I was able to root through a Subway bag that someone tossed out their car window (got the last couple bites of a moldy turkey sandwich), lick the remains of a McDonald's take-out dinner, and eat two pizza crusts. Not bad for a morning run!

Still, I must say, there's something not right -- even to me -- with this picture. I have to wonder who is trashing their own planet like this? Don't get me wrong, I love the treats. But do these people not have trash cans? Are they just lazy? Who throws litter out their car windows in 2010? Apparently lots of people.

For my part, I just sort of scratch my head. My human, on the other hand, is more adamant. Here's what he says about it (and this is a quote from him -- a pup like me would never use this sort of language): "Hey litter bugs! Throw your !@#$%^ trash in a #$%^& garbage can!"

My snacks this morning were pretty tasty. But I guess everyone is entitled to his or her own opinion.

Oscar, Which do you prefer... running or hiking? Just curious, Foot Traveler

Dear Traveler,

(Click on photos to enlarge)

This is a difficult question. Because I like both pursuits so much! You will notice, both running and hiking, the huge grin on my face. I'm not faking it; these are two activities that I love.

Take hiking. There I am, out in the woods, climbing mountains, scrambling over rocks. Unless we are up near a summit and there is fragile vegetation or the like, I am off the leash, prancing around, greeting other hikers, sniffing the smells, and wagging my tail. I stay mostly on the trail, but I'm free to wander wherever I want. So great!

Then there's running. How can you beat jogging along next to my people, out in the fresh air, along dirt roads, streets, trails, whatever? Sometimes, if it is a trail, I run off-leash, but I have to hand it to those people: they don't give a dog much time to be distracted. If you don't keep at it, they'll leave you behind. It's great fun.

On my running log, I do list the mileages of all my runs. I don't list nearly all the hikes, because we do so many. I try to note the most significant ones though.

But back to your question, the answer is yes. I love hiking and running. Equally. I'm an outdoor dog, and those are two very worthy outdoor pursuits.

Thanks for the question!
Oscar