A Mysterious Trail Companion Made My Day

The hill behind my home is always lush and green in the rain. It has a lovely tree canopy and is home to birds, hares, and peacocks.

I usually do my hill repeats workouts on the trail here later in the day.

That means lesser people and the noise that comes with conversations. The hill trail becomes a meditative environment, and I can focus on my workout.

I was almost through my repeats, and began my descent to start the last round. Suddenly, a hare rushed across my path, breaking my focus, and disappeared downhill. I stopped to see if I could sight the hare again but in vain.

I had almost reached the base when a furry tail bobbed between the tall grass to my right.

Now, who could this be?

The owner of the tail revealed himself shortly — a friendly Siberian Husky.

I looked around for his human but saw no one up or down the trail. Perhaps he had scared the hare into making a hasty retreat.

As soon as I called to the dog, he came alongside, eager for a good petting.

The furry one seemed to accept my company as we headed up the trail.
Every few meters or so, he would stop to check if I was following.

Soon we reached a fork, I continued up my usual track, but the dog seemed to want to go in a different direction.

He returned to my track when he realized I was not following and trotted behind me.

Soon enough, though, some very audible heavy panting followed. Being a Husky, he had to lead naturally, so I made way for him to skip ahead.

He sniffed for scents, left some of his own, and continued checking on me. We continued to go up for a good 8 minutes or so.

Shortly, we reached the top. We stopped briefly, looking at each other. What was he thinking, I wondered.

I made a move to go down to see if he would follow. But he decided to walk further on the trail. Perhaps he had friends waiting for him or intriguing scents to chase.

There began and ended our short friendship.

I never did see another human for that entire time. And no one seemed to be looking for a furry dog fitting his description when I got to the base.

Stay well, my furry friend and au revoir.