Baby its cold outside!!!

Ok, I am all for changes in season, and snow and understand that it is February and is supposed to be COLD. But we haven’t had any real snow, and now New York is experiencing a frigid cold snap, along with other states. But last night I have decided enough is enough.

Blaze the wonder-pup needs to do her puppy homework, ever night. This includes loose leash walking, which INCLUDES yours truly walking with her. I have now branched our daily walks to: going up our block, turning on to a main road to go around the corner, where stores are, looping around to a side street to come back to our block and home. This is so she can experience traffic and, smells, and learn the proper way to walk on the leash.

Last night, I get home from work, and decide to take her out right away, as opposed to feeding her and then going. Because I know me, and once I got comfy in the warm house, wouldn’t want to venture out again. So grabbing the clicker and her baggie of treats, Blaze the wonder-pup and I venture out in the winter cold…trying not to think of how cold it is. Up our block we get, with a few pauses to reward her for walking. Turn on to the busy street and switch her side to walk as she still is freaked by the traffic noises. Ok, my nose is starting to sniffle, and my hands are feeling the cold quite sharply. Another treat or two, and I notice Blaze is shivering too. Another turn, and now we’re walking past the store fronts, and I notice my pace is picking up as my hands are experiencing SHARP pains, and I can barely flex my fingers. Blaze is walking like a trooper now, and I can’t help but wonder if she is just as anxious to get home, so isn’t going to screw up and try to go between my legs.
Turn the corner again, and we meet a tow truck, which noise startles Blaze, and she switches her walking side again, and decides to pee on the corner. I think she would have done something else, but by this time my eyes were watering as the pain in my fingers were so sharp; it actually felt like someone was sawing thru the bone. Back on to our block THANK GOD, and I can tell the two of us had had enough of this. She was straining at the leash, walking on one side, and I didn’t care. (Bad training skills?) Because I needed to get home. By the time we got to the front door, Ida had been in the hallway, and I had needed her to open the door, and take my gloves off. My hands we whitish, with flaming red patches, and as I put the under water to warm, screamed in pain. I have never felt anything like this. Ida poured me a sherry to warm up and I wrapped my hands in towels to try and warm them.

So THAT’S how cold it is here. And this is what I probably have to look forward to tonight as well. But not only do I cringe about that…but I cringe thinking of all the homeless people New York and other states have who are sleeping out in this weather. I know how many must be freezing to death, or freeze to death, literally during the night because they refuse to go to shelters.