Last fall, I hiked up Ampersand Mountain with Otis while Sarah was working. Kid had the best seat in the house, what with getting carried up the mountain on Dad’s back and all!

Well, there’s a point near the top where you literally have to climb up a big vertical boulder face, aided only by a couple of dubious roots that have grown down the side. As if things weren’t difficult enough with a backpack full of kid, I encountered a lady and her daughter and their German shepherd when I got there. The lady and her daughter had made it up OK, but the dog was frantically pacing back and forth at the bottom, jumping occasionally and scratching at the rocks and roots as she fell back down. The dog wasn’t going to make it up. So I offered to lift the pooch up. The lady thought it was crazy that I’d offer to get involved with a shepherd, but in my experience they’re always very sweet dogs. As you can see, it worked.