I took my dog ice skating and somehow he still loves me

Ormond Beach Observer
Opinion

The idea of taking my 120-pound Rottweiler ice skating sounds like a difficult task in itself. What I did not anticipate was how much blood, sweat, and tears I'd have to shed just to get him to the rink.

While waiting in line with Jac, Hayley, and their Shiba Inu, Reese, (who is basically a marshmallow with legs), Bear made it his personal mission to sniff the behind of every dog and person within a 100-foot radius. I must have said the word "sorry" at least four dozen times.

After 20 minutes trying to figure out how to hold Bear and sign a waiver at the same time, we finally made it to the front of the registration line. Then Bear decided it was a good time to lay down. A crowd formed in front of the door he was blocking with his massive body, and the woman in charge of the line peered at me over her glasses.

"Now is not the time for a nap buddy," I said, laughing nervously. Finally, he got up, and we went inside. More butts were sniffed.

We got into another line inside the Daytona Ice Arena where hundreds of pups and people were there for the Halifax Humane Society's Dog Park on Ice. Canines were decked out Hawaiin shirts, sunglasses, and grass skirts. One even had a palm tree balloon tied to his collar.

Bear and Reese were embarrassingly underdressed until Hayley spotted a bin full of leis and decorated them both.

It turns out the line we were in was for dogs to get sized on what booties they would wear to protect their feet from the ice. This was a problem because Bear has very, very sensitive toesies.

Without hesitation, I grabbed the biggest size available and made Bear sit down. I gently lifted up his back left paw to put on a green bootie, when he shot me "the look." I got it about half way up his foot before he flipped himself onto his back and shook it off. Then I shot him "the look."

After a few more failed attempts, I asked one of the event volunteers if the booties were necessary. Thankfully, they were not.

I'm happy to report that only the beginning of our evening was a struggle. The ice skating itself was smooth in that no one fell (though I had a couple of close calls), and Bear only relieved himself twice.

All in all, a successful evening.