Murray's Snowstorm Recap

We got about 10 inches of snow in Boston, and I was psyched. Although it was really windy, so it was 2 inches in some places, and 2 feet in others. I was so excited to throw Murray Man into the snow, and we had some good times and some bad times. When we first took him out, he sort of freaked. He started thrashing around and running through the snowbanks. He was Tigger-bouncing around, and he had Michelle and I laughing our asses off.

The he started lifting his legs in the air. First the back legs, then the front legs. It appeared he didn't like the coldness of the snow on his feet. He peed a couple times, and then somehow, ignoring Newton's laws of physics, managed to make a number 2 while standing on one leg. It was a pretty impressive feat. He then lifted all his legs into the air, and fell over into a snowbank like a lumpy mess. It was pathetic and sad. Here he is dropping to the ground.

Later on in the day, I took him to the park with his orange chuck-it ball. He LOVED it. He was running and bouncing and digging, and I was really happy to see he was having so much fun. Please enjoy this video of his adventure. If you're squeamish watching dogs pee on lamp posts, please be warned.

So Michelle, being the excellent dog mother that she is, does her research. It turns out that it's most likely the salt on the sidewalks that is hurting Murray's feet. Which looking back, makes sense, since he curled up in the fetal position while on the sidewalk but ran around on the snow without a problem. Which absolutely breaks my heart, because I really don't have a choice when I take him outside. I have to get him on the sidewalk in one way or another. I'm trying to keep him motivated and moving, but he's limping behind me on three legs. It was so hard to watch.

Michelle's looking for boots. Boots for the dog. It gets worse when I write it and think about it even more. Not only would we look like douche bags, but they would constantly be falling off. And I'd be running through the snow chasing his little booties around as they blow down the street. No boots, please. He'll get over it, right?

Well it didn't get any better. She luckily found another solution. There is a wax or balm that you can put on their paws, and it acts as a buffer and healing solution for their tootsies. It's called Musher's Secret. So now before we take him out, I have lather up his paws with his foot balm. What high maintenance, good Lord. At first he was fighting me when I tried to lather him up. Now, he's like a horse waiting to have his shoes put on. He just stands there, lifting one leg at a time.

And it works. It actually works. I'm shocked and pleasantly surprised. I thought that the little man could tough it out. My thought was that he would get used to it. But if you saw him gimping around like Forrest Gump, you would have bought the foot balm, too. This dog is honestly teaching us a lot about ourselves. I know he's a dog. But I'm definitely finding out what types of parents we are.

Snowface.