Every working dog deserves adventure too!

Just as it is important to our mental health to have downtime it is the same for a hard working service dog (SD)! While a SD is dedicated to their job they relish their playtime!

I try to make sure that Bello has playtime every day as well as enjoy big adventures with me! This is something I always did in the past with my previous SDs

and plan to continue with Bello!

A couple of weekends ago Bello and I loaded up our hiking gear and headed North to Palo Duro Canyon for the weekend!

This was going to be Bello's first time to stay in a hotel and I have to admit I was a little worried what his reaction would be to noises, an elevator, staying in an unfamiliar environment but I am happy to say Bello did extremely well! 

Bello went into the hotel room and made himself right at home! 

Our first night we just walked around the downtown Canyon Tx area and enjoyed not being in the truck any longer (5.5 hr drive)! While Bello was energetic and excited he still was on his best behavior as we went into some local shops. 

Saturday morning though we were ready! So we headed to Palo Duro Canyon State Park to spend the day just hiking and exploring the trails! 

The view was breath taking from the moment we arrived at the top of the canyon! It's amazing to see something like this. It really makes the mind wonder about our own place in this beautiful world! The natural beauty of a place like this also makes me wonder why humans are so intent in making a concrete jungle spread out like tendrils of a vine choking the magnificent natural creations of our world. 

Bello truly seemed to be enjoying the walk. It was peaceful and beautiful and for the most part it was just me and Bello enjoying the majestic scenery of God's creation! It truly made me thankful for being there. 

One thing is for sure, Bello is definitely my climber! 

Without Bello's enjoyment of climbing the rocks I am not sure I would have made it all the way to thee caves or lighthouse tower! 

Lighthouse formation

Words really cannot describe how majestic the scenery was so I will just let the pictures speak for themselves!


Needless to say by the time we returned to the hotel Saturday evening Bello was exhausted!

I am so glad we made the trip when we did for multiple reasons! As you can see, other than the lighthouse trail (which is the most popular trail in the park) Bello and I were pretty much by ourselves the entire day allowing us to take our time and truly enjoy our adventure. 

The other reason I am glad we went when we did is upon returning to our home we learned that fires were ravaging the area we had just left causing much damage in it's wake. We will pray for those effected in the area as well as all the animals who are being injured or dying.