The wind creates such wild patterns in the snow.
On the radio they're saying not to take your dog for even a 15-minute walk today, because the minus-40s wind may freeze their tender parts, like ears and noses.
I wonder if this can be true about farm dogs that are accustomed to living outdoors. I guess even they wisely seek shelter from the wind when there isn't some two-legged creature to accompany down the road.
In the cities, they are rescuing (i.e. taking, and then fining owners before they can get their pets back) dogs left out in people's yards for more than 15 minutes.
It makes sense that dogs living inside the house can't cope with this weather and shouldn't be left outside for any length of time.
But the outside dog? We let her into the porch on very cold nights, and turn the heater right down so it's not too warm in there, but the consequence still is that her fur starts falling out in clumps. The result is that she's less able to stay warm in the cold weather.
We seem to screw her up when we try to be kind.
A lot of what I hear on the radio is what I call "half" knowledge. It's half the story, told as if it's the whole story.
Jenna, the border collie that is some 12 years old, came with me yesterday afternoon. She is, as Scott says, "fat as a tick" and as hairy as a woolly mammoth:
Little Ducky the Deerfaced Chihuahua got to the end of the driveway and then hunkered down in the snow to keep his legs and belly warm, like wild deer do to conserve heat. I picked him up and carried him back to the house. Sucky Ducky.
