All of these unfortunate deaths came to my attention while I was out on my usual week-day morning run with Cali in early May. There we were, trotting along and in the distance in the middle of the street, I saw a squirrel hunched over eating something. It was only seconds later when I saw two cars speeding down the street, quickly closing the distance between car and squirrel. Cali and I were both looking at the squirrel as we got closer, but the cars got there first and before I could shout out to warn the creature that its death was swiftly approaching – the squirrel looked at the car and – SQUISH.

The tail fluttered for a second and then the body lay still.

Both cars drove away, it was an unfortunate hit-and-run.

A lonely tear fell from the corner of my eye.

Cali seemed confused by these events and being the young thing that she is, she does not quite understand death so she was pulling on her leash to go chase the squirrel that was now lying dead. I tried to explain, but to no avail.

As we passed by the carcass then crossed the street and started back towards the house, we had to pass the dead squirrel again. And as we approached in slow motion, the sister squirrel of the recently deceased was on the sidewalk, right in front of us, staring at the lifeless body with her mouth wide open in shock. She did not see us coming and I did not see her until Cali was within inches of stepping on her tail. She scurried away from the carcass in the street and up a tree.

Cali thought this was all a game, but I could see the scene for what it really was–an animal mourning the loss of its kin.

The very next morning on the very same run, we got closer and closer to the scene of the crime and low and behold, the squirrel’s carcass was no where to be seen. There was also no sign of a hit and no blood or bodily fluids. Then as we continued on down the sidewalk, I heard an incessant “Deh! Deh! Deh!” coming from a tree branch at my eye level. It was what I believe to be the same sister squirrel from the day before, calling out to me. She was clearly emotionally distraught about the death of her kin and I think she was telling me that she dragged the body out of the street, out of respect.

Thinking back on the hit-and-run, the way the squirrel looked right at the cars barreling down on him, I have a feeling he wanted to die. Maybe his life insurance policy would provide for his sister for the rest of her life if he was the victim of accidental death? Or maybe it was one of many Squirrely Suicides disguised as accidental death. We will never know.

• Monday – Run 1.5 Miles in the AM only
• Tuesday – Run 1.5 Miles in the AM & PM
• Wednesday – Run 1.5 Miles in the AM & PM
• Thursday – Run 1.5 Miles in the AM & PM
• Friday – Run 1.5 Miles in the AM only
• Saturday/Sunday – Long Walks, whatever I feel up to

But recently, I have been switching the afternoon runs for a 2 – 2.5 mile walk. Now that the sun is out an extra hour longer after I get home from work, there’s plenty of time for a long walk. Cali keeps me at a steady pace so while I speed walk, she has time to take in the surroundings and work on her tan.

It has been a bit chilly and windy the past few days, but I am actually looking forward to these afternoon walks, instead of dreading the short runs that I was making myself do. My body is in less pain since shaking up my routine and I am certainly less creaky by the time Thursday rolls around. I used to be popping pain relieving pills by Friday, but now my morning run seems so quick and my afternoon walk so relaxing.

Cali’s sporting muscular hind quarters these days and I know that she is thankful for the less demanding exercise routing as well. Too many miles on her puppy paws and she is groany and achy come Sunday night.

I also do not beat myself up as much about exercising. If I feel like getting an extra 15 minutes of sleep in the morning will make for a more productive day, then I skip the morning run. But I love that it is the only run of the day so I do not dread it that much. Cali has been running with me on weekday mornings for the past few weeks so she has been accustomed to getting up with me (not like in the past). Once she hears the bells chime on my alarm, she is up and out the bedroom door, waiting for me at the top of the stairs to get dressed and tie my shoes so we can go for a run. While I stretch and get my hat & gloves situated, she’s rolling on the carpet scratching her back with her mouth wide open and her body wriggling on the floor. She’s definitely a morning person.

We had a few good stretches on the trail without anyone else in sight where we could take Cali off her leash and let her roam the trails like a wild beast. She loved it! The lagoon and waterfall were incredible.

Although swimming in the lagoon was not allowed, everyone was wading in the water or lounging in the shade on the side of the river. It was super relaxing. Cali had a blast jumping and splashing in the shallow river water. You could tell that she didn’t know if she should run, jump or lie down in the water because she was enjoying herself so much. After a few minutes at the lagoon, we headed further down the river, following the trail to a large picnic area. There were barbecues, picnic tables and even public restrooms, it was incredible that all of that was back there, hidden away. It was something you would find in the lovely state of New Hampshire, not California!

Cali was running and stopping, rolling in the grass–all with the biggest smile on her face. Last time Ryan took this trail, he said that it was late afternoon and he had to turn back early in order to make it to the car before sunset. Believe me when I tell you that the trail is no place to be in the dark. But since we started on the trail at noon-time, we had plenty of sunlight and decided to go to the very top of the mountain.

As the climb got steeper and the trail narrowed, I kept my eyes peeled for s****s that might be hiding in the bushes, waiting to wrap around my body and strangle me to death. Although we didn’t see any of those creatures, Ryan did step on the head of a black and white spotted lizard that was HUGE! I screamed and just about hit the sky from jumping so high, but then I got in trouble because apparently, the noise I made is supposed to be reserved for s****s and not lizards.

The trail along the way was steep at times and hard to climb up; for me it was even harder to walk down at such a sharp angle without slipping. Cali was a real trooper though; throughout all six miles of the trail she didn’t stop once to sit down and rest until the last half mile when she finally laid down, panting fiercely. We were able to talk her into walking the rest of the way and then we drove home and everyone got in line to shower off the dirt and mud from the day.

I am hesitant to say I would be willing to do the hike again, I prefer walking in a straight line without so many steep hills. But it was definitely an adventure!

That day, Ryan and I had wanted to take Cali for a hike because the weather was perfect for such an outing, but I was quickly passed out so the two of them went without me. I woke up a few hours later to an empty house and used the time alone to take some pain meds and nurse myself back to normalcy. Then Ryan returned from the hike with a super excited basenji. I had never seen her so happy!

Apparently there was a laguna and small water fall at the end of the hiking trail called Wildwood. In addition to a big smile, Cali was also sporting patches of mud on her stomach and in between her toes, but she had so much fun jumping and splashing in the shallow water that she did not mind me dragging her into the shower to get cleaned off.

I look forward to Wildwood this weekend if the weather improves so that I can see our dog enjoying herself firsthand. If I remember a camera or flip, I’ll share the festivities online.

I get up at 5:50am and blindly shuffle from my alarm to the hallway and silently close the bedroom door behind me, leaving Ryan and Cali cuddling in the warm covers of a very warm bed.

I change into my workout clothes I have waiting for me in the guest bathroom and plod downstairs, slip on my sneakers, hoodie, ipod and headphones, beanie and gloves (it’s THAT cold). I do some basic stretches to loosen up the usual tight spots: legs, back, hamstrings. Then I open the front door, click on the outside light and start to jog, eyes still half closed. The cool air has woken me up by the time I exit our complex and head towards to streets surrounding Cal Lutheran University, which are always lit.

The quick loop I have my body trained to do with as little brain function as possible is 1.5 miles. It is just enough to wake me up and loosen up my achy muscles from the run the day before. I end the run back at my front door and after entering the warm house and removing my shoes, hoodie, ipod and headphones, beanie and gloves, I get a glass of water and do more stretching.

I tiptoe upstairs, strip down in the guest bathroom and quietly make my way into the bedroom where the boy and dog are still sound asleep. I brush my teeth and shower in our bedroom’s bathroom, but being the good wife that I am, I tiptoe back to the guest bathroom to blow dry my hair and apply makeup. Then it’s back to the bedroom where I get dressed for work in the dark and then go into our bedroom’s bathroom one more time to apply deodorant, and then I leave for work.

When running late, I am still at the house when Ryan finally rolls out of bed and he takes Cali for the same 1.5 mile run with his eyes half closed and Cali bouncing off the walls she’s so awake. She always seems surprised to see me in the mornings on the weekdays because I’m usually gone by the time she gets up.

But this morning, I was taking Cali on my run with me because my husband insists on playing soccer three times a week so that his body is too broken and bruised for any additional exercise.

When I leaned down and whispered in Cali’s droopy ear, “Hey baby, do you want to go for a run?” She perked right up and hopped off the bed before I could say the word “run.” I think she’s learned the sound of “do you want to” and knows right away it means something fun is going to happen. When you’re an active basenji, doing anything, no matter what it is, will always be fun.

Cali was at a full on gallop the minute the front door opened. I was talking to her throughout the run and leaning down to pat her head and it seemed to make her more excited. Her tail was constantly wagging, ears perked and a huge smile didn’t leave her face. She had a couple instances where she fought the urge to yawn, but when she did, she brushed it off as if willing herself awake. It was like she was saying, “I am NOT tired, I just LOVE to run too much to be tired!”

Okay, the basenji is allowed in the house, but only in certain rooms.

The basenji is allowed in all rooms, but has to stay off the furniture.

The basenji can get on the old furniture only.

Fine, the basenji is allowed on all the furniture, but is not allowed to sleep with the humans on the bed.

Okay, the basenji is allowed on the bed, but only by invitation.

The basenji can sleep on the bed whenever she wants, but not under the covers.

The basenji can sleep under the covers by invitation only.

The basenji can sleep under the covers every night.

Humans must ask permission to sleep under the covers with the basenji.

The cake is always moist and lasts about a week (between me, Ryan and Cali all enjoying a piece nightly) and the gifts last forever. She still has some of her 2nd birthday gifts from last year. I always take pictures, but I am planning on taking a video this year with my flip. I want to capture her devouring her cake at the kitchen table and see her big smile and wagging tail while we help her open gifts.

Can’t wait!

Two hours and $375 later, the vet determined that it wasn’t a break, but a soft tissue tear, which was causing the toe to easily dislocate. She needed to be on a strict regiment of no jumping, no running and no wrestling for at least a week. Cali was not happy about this or the thermometer they shoved up her butt.

It has been one week and two days since the incident and the swelling that filled her toe the day after it happened has finally gone down. She lets us touch her foot and even squeeze the toes slightly, but the knuckle on the boo-boo toe is still a little tender.

Every time that Ryan or I leave Cali behind to go for our run, we get the sad eyes as she sits next to her leash that we leave hanging on a dining room chair. We can not wait until she has fully recovered so that we can bring her for a run and even to her cousin’s house so she can visit Buddy, Zoe and Lola. But until then, she is house bound, with no long walks or jumping games. I read online that it can take as long as six weeks for this kind of injury to completely heal. But the longer we wait, the better off she will be in the long run.

This past weekend, a football player got the same injury and Clark called it a “Cali-toe” during casual conversation, which was funny but also endearing.