Little 11-pound Scooter has had a hard time this winter. The soft-fallen snow has been too deep to walk through (we’ve shoveled paths for him.) Then, the snow got crusty and scary to walk on. Then it started to melt and his belly got wet and cold. It rained, it snowed, it sleeted. He fell into holes formed by my snowboots and he couldn’t get out. There are times when I’ve had to go out with an umbrella just to get him to do his business. 

But, today it is sunny and above freezing. There’s patches of dirt to sniff. He ran all the way to the back woods to check out the animal tracks. He felt like a real dog again. 

But then Scooter had to come back in and had to face this:

Our back porch stairs are in the shade. The water dripping off of the roof freezes. Lily, the big dog, leaps right over. I can step up. But to Scooter it looks like this:

A treacherous mountain.

I believe in treating even little dogs like dogs. He’s not a fashion accessory. He’s got a brain. It’s important for him to use it. Surmounting challenges are a good thing, whether you are dog or human. It’d be easy to give into Scooter’s big brown, “baby me” eyes. I don’t. I make him scramble up the stairs. 

Scooter was so proud of himself when he made it inside!

And then I gave him a treat. 

Good,brave dog.