Just when I thought it was safe to go out...

...I get knocked over by a big red dog.

Maddie and I went on another walk yesterday sponsored by the Western Massachusetts Dogs group.

 It was a beautiful walk on one of the paths at Mt. Toby in Sunderland. I was holding up the rear with a new friend, Kirsten, who traded war stories with me. Her golden and Maddie were running around, when along came an Irish setter that was not part of our group. The dog began dashing around...and dashed right into me, knocking me to the ground. I fell hard on my rear.

The owners each took a hand and pulled me up, and after I assured them that I was OK, they went on their way. Kirsten and I continued to climb the hill, but I realized that I was a little lightheaded, so I decided to not go all the way.

Kirsten was going to walk back down with me, but her dog had disappeared up ahead, so she went to get the dog, and I sat down on a rock to wait. Maddie had been going ahead with the pack, but she always turned around to check in with me. When she saw I had stopped walking, she came all the way back and sat with me. Good dog.

She wandered around the woods a little and at one point got bored enough that she played with a big stick, one of her favorite things to do. Like so:

Kirsten returned with her dog, and we headed down, joined by Michelle, one of the group's organizers, who had come to check on us.

It's a nice group, and as you walk you touch on all kinds of topics. Kirsten and I talked about how we each had been through a lot and were both just glad to be there.