River Walk with the Puppies

My dogs are always so eager to get out of the house;
Which is odd in this heat––I’m doing everything I can to stay in the arctic confine of my sixty-eight degree climate-controlled house.
If I even walk past the puppy drawer my Shih-Tzu, Lily, goes crazy––she knows where the harness is stored and she is ready!
After sleeping in until 7:30AM, I decided it was still early enough to go for a short walk along the Los Angeles river.
Once I was dressed and lathered from head-to-toe with SPF 100 with zinc, I gathered the puppies and we embarked on our journey.

Within three blocks of our house, my Yorkie, Ginger, had given up: she made her business and then demanded––via digging all four feet firmly into the scorching sand beneath her––that she received princess status in my arms.
Lily, on the other hand, was ready to trek the miles of California foliage that lined the riverbed; in search of a scent that was yet to be discovered.

Finally, after thirty minutes in the heat, Lily laid down in defeat.  Eager to get home, but not thrilled about carrying two furry creatures in the blazing sun, I found the shadiest path possible and laboriously made my way home.

Now inside the freezer box, I see Lily eyeing me, “Daddy, don’t ever make us do that again.”  My thoughts exactly.