Inspire Performance Dogs

January 1st, 2026 Destiny and I took the opportunity to make a day trip (for real this time) to Portugal before we would begin daily meetings with Sweet. It felt like a once in a lifetime opportunity to spend New Year's Day in a different country, and everything about it was incredible. Though I seem to have a knack for picking hiking days where the weather is less than ideal, it didn't stop us this time. The view of the hoarfrost that covered the landscape for the majority of our drive was breathtaking, and I wish I had stopped along the way to take some photos of it to share with you, but we had no time to dilly-dally; I was on a mission to get to Portugal at a decent time. Portugal has beauty that I can only describe as otherworldly. Right on the edge of the northern border is the national forest Mata de Albergaria (Gerês), where we stopped to hike. We spent a majority of the day exploring this breathtaking place before heading into a village for dinner, and beginning a late night trip back to Palencia.

December 26-31st, 2025 This holiday week was pretty low key for us as we began regular progesterone testing to determine when Destiny would finally be able to meet her man for the first time. Each time we went for a walk in the park nearby, Destiny left a pee-mail with her number every hundred meters or so for potential suitors. In the evenings, she spent some time complaining to me that her marketing hasn't been fruitful in finding a husband; I assured her that while her efforts have been admirable, they're also unnecessary as I've found the perfect man for her, and she just needs to be a little more patient.

December 23rd, 2025 I finally resigned myself to the fact that the weather was simply not going to allow me to hike in the Pyrenees mountains. Between driving a rental car and not being equipped to hike a mountain in what was apparently going to be freezing rain and snow, I decided it wasn't worth the risk. I'm disappointed, but perhaps we'll leave that goal for a return trip in the future. Our day trip to the French border had become a three day side quest, which I would wrap up with a hike on this lovely village trail nestled in the Cantabrian mountains. I was determined to see a waterfall even if it wasn't in the Pyrenees! It was a fairly quick and easy hike to these gorgeous waterfalls, and we spent maybe an hour or two there. I snapped a few pictures, took a little bit of video, and then we were on our way back to Palencia.

December 22nd, 2025 Our hike to the Bay yesterday wasn't entirely without incident. Because it had rained much of the day, the ground was saturated and the mud was slick. The first half of our hike was downhill, and on two occasions I found myself in a fight with gravity, which isn't ideal when you're trekking through a horse pasture equivalent to a minesweeper board. The second time I nearly went down on a slick patch of mud. In my attempt to save my camera from hitting the ground, I managed to smash it into my own face instead - splitting my lip open. My glasses flew off my face and landed in a pile of horse manure that thankfully both I and my camera managed to avoid. All things considered, it could've been worse! With blood everywhere, a split lip, bits of stowaway poo on my glasses, and somehow only one dirty knee, we completed our hike to the Bay of Biscay! Our side quest had taken the rest of the day, so I ended up staying the night in Basque Country. I discovered an absolute gem of a bed and breakfast right on the French border where the view from the hilltop was spectacular, and the breakfast was beyond expectation. With heavy rain scattered across the radar all day, weather was still not ideal for hiking in the Pyrenees, so I decided we would drive into France where we would do a little exploring and finally acquired a rain coat for Destiny (and better hiking shoes for myself)!

December 21st, 2025 When I travel with my dogs, one of my favorite ways to explore new places and memorialize my experiences is by capturing our travels from behind the lens of a camera. If you're into any sort of astrology (whether you're someone who truly believes it or just gets some simple amusement out of it), it will come as no surprise that as a cancer I'm always drawn to the water. Wherever I go, I always find myself seeking out lakes, rivers, hot springs, waterfalls, etc. I want to be near the water. It's healing. One goal I had in mind for this trip was to hike in the Pyrenees mountains to a breathtaking waterfall. I planned a little day trip to head northeast towards my destination. However, the weather was not doing us any favors. It rained nearly the entire four hour drive - and while I was determined to hike rain or shine, the last thing I wanted was for Destiny to get soaked and become chilled. A rain coat for her seemed like the best solution, which brought us to the resort town San Sebastián on the Bay. I eventually realized we would not be making it to our destination that day, and picked what I thought would be a nice scenic route and found another hiking goal instead: Hike to the Bay of Biscay! I found a privately owned pasture on a very remote Basque country mountain road that was listed on Google Maps. The owner's words were clear: Respect the land and the animals who call it home, and visitors are welcome to use the pasture to access the Bay. Rain, cold, mud, and poor hiking shoes be damned, I was going to hike to the Bay of Biscay! This hike was beautiful, wet, slippery, quiet, muddy, peaceful, and absolutely unforgettable. There were a few beautiful horses in the pasture who seemed entirely unbothered by our presence in their land. As docile as they were, I still leashed Destiny up whenever they came into sight and we kept a respectable distance. This was their home. I'm thankful the rain let up for most of our hike, as I had not yet been able to find a rain coat for Destiny. We spent three hours or so on this hike. I took some of my favorite photos I've ever taken, and we enjoyed our time together. It was utterly breathtaking.

December 20th, 3025 I finally got the opportunity to meet Sweet in person for the first time. I met with his owners in the evening, it was dark, cold, and a bit foggy so I did not take as many pictures of him as I would have liked to. I couldn't possibly love this dog more. He is exactly what I was hoping for in a partner for Destiny. Beautifully put together, really lovely temperament, watchful and thoughtful. He's a bit silly, too, which I enjoy greatly. He actually reminds me a lot of my own boy Exquisite. We went to the only well lit area nearby for a photo of him and I together. For the sake of of transparency, I want to disclose that the image of he and I was altered by Al because of some very vulgar symbols in graffiti that was in the background of the photo, which I hadn't noticed at the time we were taking the photos. Sweet, however, remains unchanged and is depicted just as he was in the original photo, right down to the subtle dirt smudge he had on his forehead from rolling around like an absolute goober a few minutes prior. I'm thankful to have had the opportunity to meet this wonderful boy and also to have such a sweet photo with him (pun intended)

December 19th, 2025 Destiny finally began to show signs that she was coming into season (only two weeks late, no big deal 🫠). We made oue first trip to our new Spanish reproductive specialist vet at Ruralvet in Palencia (10/10 if you're ever in that area – I couldn't recommend them more highly)! While there, we did the first cytology swab to estimate when we would do the first progesterone test. Based on that, we determined that we were muy, muy temprano. Way too early on in her cycle to begin progesterone testing yet. And so, as much of breeding is, there would be more "hurry up and wait" for us. But thankfully there was much exploring to be done! There was a really lovely park only a few blocks from our apartment building where we would go almost daily to fit in a 6km off leash walk. One of the things that delighted me about being in Spain was how well mannered most of the dogs are there. Of course, there will always be a fool in a crowd if the crowd is large enough, but I can't say I've ever been quite so comfortable bringing my dog to what essentially was an off-leash dog park. We were seldom bothered or even approached by other dogs. When other dog owners noticed my very obvious diversions away from them or leashing Destiny up, I found that they quickly understood that I didn't want interactions and they would leash or recall their dogs. To my absolute delight, the dogs almost always listened to their owners without difficulty. Spain is quite dog friendly though, and it makes me wonder if their culture with regard to raising their dogs is more conducive to well-rounded, environmentally neutral dogs than in the US, where there is as much an issue with over-socializing as there is under-socializing. It was strange and unusual compared to the generally semi-feral behavior of many American dogs, but I kept finding myself thinking, "I could get used to this".