Why My Dog and I are Alike...

So, after owning a dog for almost a year now, and with the happenings of the weekend, I have realized that ESPY and I are quite similar. Lucky for almost all of you, since you have never met ESPY, just picture me in Dog form and you have the Beast.

SEEEEEEEEEE

First off, the weekend started with a BANG at Hula Bar on Central with my soccer peeps. While this was QUITE fun to have a few Longboard Lagers and some Pork Tacos, a Mill Avenue adventure awaited. Just like ESPY I seem to bounce around from one thing to the next. And, just like ESPY apparently (whose kennel I just found a Beer Cap in - which he had ingested and subsequently thrown up), I like beer. So, that being said, off to Mill Avenue I went. The night consisted of $3 Long Islands and the rest is history. Needless to say, with $3 Long Islands and good friends, there is always a good time to be had. Just like ESPY, I seem to like having fun.

The night on Mill is a great lead in to the next reason I am like ESPY. Apparently, I do not control very well what I ingest. Where I found a beer cap, pieces of a basketball and parts of scented pine cones coming out of ESPY, I tend to ingest things I am "supposed" to. And, much like ESPY, when I do this in excess, I don't feel too well. That being said, I was a bit "under the weather" Saturday and pretty much slept all day. I slept, woke up, prepared for an interview, bought tickets to a Beer Fest, had and interview, and pretty much slept the rest of the day. True story. Another reason I am similar to my dog... I LOVE my sleep.

That brings us to Sunday, where the real similarities came out between my dog and I. I woke up at a decent hour and decided to go for a hike. It was a beautiful day out in Arizona (high sixties) so I trekked off with my pup to Camelback Mountain.

Reason number one of Sunday that I am like ESPY, we are both very competitive. The only

difference is that he is on a leash, and I guess the condition of my right knee is somewhat of a leash for me as well. But, ESPY and i trekked up the mountain jumping off rocks and barreling down the downhill parts.

Our excitement for the outdoors was truly apparent. Then came another one of our similarities, after running... we get tired. ESPY was such a poop. We would be jumping from rock to rock climbing up the side of the mountain then plop... right in the middle of the trail ESPY lies. So, I opened the part of my Camelback (water hydration system, not the actual side of the mountain) and let him drink. I thought I was the only one who spilled when drinking from such an odd contraption, but apparently not... my dog had a problem with it as well. Finally we were nearing the summit of the tallest point in Phoenix when a tall, insurmountable rock awaits.

I shimmied to the top only to find ESPY longingly looking up at me.

Here comes another similarity. He tried and he tried, but he just couldn't get up. Much like me, he would have tried for the next half hour until he succeeded if I let him, but we were holding up people with climbing sticks and safari hats on so I didn't want to be a menace. So, I trotted on down to ESPY's level and we began our descent (so close from the top). If only ESPY weren't a HUGE mongrel, we would have made it, but alas, he was a bit too heavy for me to Fireman carry him up the hill. We had a wonderful time running down the mountain (although I think ESPY's body and my knee were hating us later that evening for our excitement for downhill running).

(note the HUGE tongue)

We proceeded to hop in the car and drive away from the giant rock that people call a mountain. I then picked up 50 Wings from Oreganos, put ESPY in his Kennel, drove to the boys' house, watched the Super Bowl Game, and then went to bed. Good Sunday if you ask me.

Happy Monday.