Manitobah Story
"A snowball in the face is surely the perfect beginning to a lasting friendship."
-Markus Zusak
Big thanks to my friends, Addie and Chris, for letting their golden, Callie, play in the snow with me under very short notice! We had a huge snow storm and a beautiful snow day during the first week of March, so it was the perfect time to see how much my new waterproof Manitobah mukluks could handle. So grateful Callie was able to help me put them to the test!
I first met Callie last year, and hung out with her and her parents a few times over the fall and winter. Still, I was worried, as I am with every dog I shoot with, that she would be nervous or shy. When Chris handed her off with a bag of treats, Callie was definitely confused about what was going on at first. But I knew we were going to have a great time when I let Callie into the backseat of our car, and before we had made it out of the parking lot, she was in my lap.
We headed down the street to Brown in search of an open area on campus where we could play without much interruption. The main green was perfect! Almost no one was outside, the snow was untouched, and the wrought-iron fence around the green allowed me to take Callie off her leash and keep her away from the street.
As soon as the leash was off, I was afraid Callie would try to run away, but she immediately started digging for sticks. This girl is a retriever through and through. We played with a stick she found for a while until she stopped to chew it into tiny little pieces.
And then I discovered Callie's love for snowballs. Oh my gosh! I threw snowballs until my arm felt like it was going to fall off and it was SO MUCH FUN. We had a blast running around the green for nearly an hour.
We occasionally took a break to catch our breath and make some snow angels.
And there was only one time when Callie ran off to say hello to some students on their way to class. But a little bit of cheddar got her attention.
And then we were back to snowballs!
I've never seen someone so happy to take a bunch of snowballs to the face.
My time with Callie was the most enjoyable time I've ever had in snow, and the longest I've lasted out in the cold without being miserable. We were outside for over an hour, running and rolling around in the snow, and guess what y'all!
MY FEET WERE WARM AND DRY.
My hands, however... let's just say it's a good thing Manitobah makes mittens now.
Never thought I'd throw snowballs for over an hour or lay down in the snow, but here I am, in the cold and happy. Manitobah is magical!
