Why I didn't always want my running partner

I know that the title of this post might sound cruel, but let me explain. It's true, I didn't always want my running partner. In fact, in the beginning, I didn't want her at all. She was always eager to go for a run but we rarely ran at the same pace, she was always making detours, and at times I thought she was going to cause an accident ( for both of us). To tell you the truth, she's really more of a swimmer anyway, but that's NOT why I didn't want her.


I'm sure by now, you know I am not talking about 
mom, my sister, or my bff. I'm talking about my sweet girl Baylee, my beautiful bundle of yellow fur. And yes, there was a time when I didn't want her ( Gasp) and my husband reminds me of this all the time.

1.You see, when my sister and I lived at home with our parents, we had the BEST Yellow lab in the world. Her name was Reed.  We loved this dog so much. When I married Scott, he wanted to give me my own yellow lab (because he knew how much I loved Reed and he wanted us to be able to have a lab at our house
 too). I refused the gesture for several years. It just
didn't seem right. How could I love another dog? It would feel like I was cheating on my sweetie Reedy. I know this sounds silly now, but back then it all seemed logical in my mind. I couldn't dare have another dog!

2.Until the day came. I remember it so clearly. It was Friday January 20th and I was at an in-service with some other teachers. While at lunch, I got a call from Scott saying that we were going to go "look" at some lab puppies that one of his co-workers had.  I actually
 was so excited that for the rest of the day my co-
workers and I were thinking up names (and probably not paying attention to whatever it was that we were suppose to be doing).

3.Later that evening we pulled into a farm house. When we walked in,  a yellow lab with a red collar came bolting over to me and wanted to play. I thought "this is the one", except I was promptly informed that that pup was already promised to someone else. Then sitting over in the corner was a little pup that had a leopard print collar on. That was the one we took home. Seeing that I love leopard print, Scott said it was fate.
lab puppy

4.We brought her home and introduced her to our weimaraner. We actually went a few days with out naming her. We didn't know what to call her and her name had to pass the "Holler test". Would we feel comfortable standing on our back porch hollering this name?   So we named her Baylee and the rest is pretty much history.  As you probably can tell from this blog, I am SO in love with this dog! I can't believe there was ever a time where I didn't want her. She has enriched our lives in so many ways. 

5.There are so many reasons that I am thankful for Baylee but one of them is the company that she provides for me when I'm out on the trail.  Since I have been injured I haven't been running, but she doesn't care. She is just as happy to be by my side as we "only" walk, like we did on National Running day! In fact, she looks forward to it. I also like that I feel safer when she's with me.  I can't believe there was ever a time that I did not want her because now I never want to walk without her.

Tell me, who is your favorite running or walking partner? -M

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45 comments:

  1. Aw, I took my dog out on a few test runs when we first adopted her, and she did great, but then she decided that she's not a runner. She will just STOP -- all 65 lbs of her -- but she's a great walker!

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    1. Our girl is a good walker when we are on the trail but take her in public and it's a different story!

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  2. I had two labs/golden retriever mix dogs (littermates/brother&sister) who i took running over the past 15 years or so.. Both are gone now and i still miss seeing their tails go crazy as soon as i reached for the leashes..

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    1. Oh, i'm so sorry you are missing them. Labs are the best!

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  3. Labs are one of the best kinds of dogs! I know what you mean though about cheating on Reedy. When I first moved to Dallas, I missed my parents cats so much but I didn't want a cat of my own but that slowly changed and last year, I got my Allie. I'm so happy I did.

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    1. I bet now you can't even imagine not having Allie!
      It was nice that Reed and Baylee actually became friends!

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  4. That photo of Baylee is so adorable! It's good that your husband was persistent :)

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    1. That photo is one of my favorites! Yes, it is all because of him that we have her. I always tell him she was the best gift ever!

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  5. I have a black lab now and can't imagine my life without her! I feel like the quality of my life went up tenfold ever since I brought her home. She's not the best runner but we always have fun!

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    1. Exactly! Labs are the best. I couldn't imagine my life without mine too!

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  6. Aww, I love this story! I sometimes wish I had a furry running partner; Scooter (my dachshund) just can't make those long runs on his little, short legs - ha! I'm so glad you have Baylee to keep you company! Hope you have a great weekend.

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    1. Thank you! I bet your little dachshund is good at snuggling on the couch though!

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  7. I've always said that one day I'll have a lab or golden because I really, really want to run with a pup! I can imagine it's annoying at times but for others, it's just another form of motivation. This was so sweet!

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    1. Sometimes Baylee doesn't always walk as good as I would like but I would never say it's annoying.

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  8. awww so sweet! i love my mini doxie but like tara, sasha ain't made for running :) she does do well on long walks, though! :)

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    1. I bet with those little legs she probably tires out pretty easily..lol :)

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  9. I so love this post... & look at baby Baylee!!!! ahhhhhhh!!!!!

    I get what you mean too - Ricky had the hardest time loving Harvey when Sydney first passed away - he felt like he was betraying her. I'm happy to say Harvey ready to push me out of the #1 spot with Ricky :)

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    1. It was nice having both dogs around for a few years. Having already had Baylee made saying good bye to Reed a little bit easier when it was time. I mean it was still terribly hard but it was nice to know I still had Baylee.

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  10. This is such a sweet post.
    I'm not normal obsessed with my husband and I love running with him. We're not big pet people, but if we were to ever get one, I'd choose a lab hands down. <3 Baylee is beautiful!

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  11. I adore this post! There is nothing sweeter than a yellow lab puppy! I love Baylee!

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  12. What a sweet story and sweet relationship you have with that very cool running partner of yours! Thanks for sharing :)

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    1. I feel bad I haven't run with her lately but she enjoys walking just as much!

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  13. This is the sweetest post!! She is such a beautiful girl and so lucky to have you as her running partner. <3

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  14. awh, love this post. I am pretty much a solo runner except when I get find a friend or two to join me!

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    1. I enjoy running solo at times too. I never take Baylee on long runs or when it's real hot out.

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  15. What a great post about your dog! She's lucky to have you!

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  16. Aw. What a sweet girl!

    Obviously, pugs are kind of less than interested in running, but there is always room in my heart for more pups. I am so lost without our Oscar, and we are going to start going to pug adoption events to see if we can rescue another sweet smush. I also fail the holler test. I love pretentious dog names,so I am all for the Percivals and Mildreds and the like :)

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  17. That puppy pic is so cute! I am so not a dog person but sometimes I get jealous when I see people running with theirs. Sweet post

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    1. You would fall in love with a lab puppy for sure!!!!

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  18. What a cutie! I was just thinking on my run today that I really want to get a dog in a few years, and how fun it would be to go running with him/her.

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  19. Oh man! How can you say no to that face? I'd love to have a dog along on my runs! My little cocker spaniel would probably keel over tho...

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  20. I have Mini & Mojo. Mini is a GREAT runner and I used to run with her a lot. But, then we added Mojo and I can't run with both of them. They love their nightly evening walks. I can't imagine life without them.

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  21. Aww, so sweet! I don't have a dog now, but I did when I grew up!

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  22. This is great. I love my dog but don't often run with her. She's a great dane and we had labs growing up. Daisy is okay to run with but sometimes just goes right in front of me while running, which when the dog is 140 pounds, is kind of a problem. I need to go with her more so she gets the hang of it!

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  23. Aw, yeah I find you have to be ready for a new dog. I'm glad y'all worked it out though :-) I find it hard to resist a puppy!

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  24. Love this post!
    I had a dog for many years loved him, he was a great running partner on the times I took him. Of course we occasionally had our difficulties one being sometimes he wanted to go his way, and I wanted to go mine, LOL Great times!

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  25. Baylee is adorable. I don't have a dog, but it is nice walking with friends who have dogs.

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  26. Awww, this is SO sweet! I know exactly how you feel now! I've only had Miles for a couple of weeks -- and we're working on training him so he can definitely test our patience sometimes! -- but there is NOTHING like having him by my side as we take a walk in the park, or when he picks up the pace and actually seems to be asking ME to run! ;) My family has a Shih Tzu that I love to pieces, so I also worried about welcoming another dog into my heart...but I quickly discovered that I could love and appreciate them both, and to me, they are both still "my" dogs! :)

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  27. Aw, I totally understand your feelings about getting another pet. I'm so glad you found such a wonderful ball of fur to love and go on walks with though!

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Fairytales and Fitness is a personal blog authored and edited by us, Meranda and Lacey. The thoughts expressed here represent only our own and are not meant to be taken as professional advice. Please note that our thoughts and opinions change from time to time. We consider this a necessary consequence of having an open mind in an ever changing society. Any thoughts and opinions expressed within our out-of-date posts may not be the same, nor even similar, to those we may express today. Some links may contain affiliate links. Some links are just to pages we'd like to share.