As one of my CAS Goals is to start taking Sammy on daily walks, I have decided to document some of the days we have had, and to talk about it in general 🙂

 

 

 

Every day after school ends, I try to be active and go outside (for my ASA’s), and to take my dog, Sammy on a short walk. Sometimes I do not have much time, and I open the gate for her and take her on an “informal” walk, around the block once or twice without her lead. However, if I have a little bit more time, we will get a “formal” walk together, and I will take her for as many rounds around our little block as we can. Often, we can manage around 4 to 6 rounds before Sammy is breathing so hard that I get scared that she cannot continue or might pass out (However, whenever we do come back inside, I always get her a fresh bowl of water that she always ignores). 

  Sammy’s favourite days for walks are when I have quite a bit of time (From 30 minutes to 1 hour) to spend with her. If we do have lots of time, we go on walks down my long road and to the Paddy fields. There is a small alleyway we creep through, and a coconut palm over a river that we have to cross to get there. Sometimes, my brothers (Ethan and Isaac), or my Mom (Kelly) companies us. Once, I even had some friends over, last minute, and we also decided to take Sammy on a walk too.

Anyone with eyes would be able to tell that Sammy absolutely adores her walks. As soon as anyone asks her “Sammy, walkie-walkie!” (Our little name for them), she perks up excitedly and starts prancing around and following whoever asked her to walk until they are outside with her. Often, she runs off without her leash in so much excitement! I truly think it is one of her favourite parts of the day (as well as treat-time).

 

I have never seen Sammy as alive as she acts when she is in the Paddy Feilds. Of course, we always let her off the lead and leave her to her own devices. Thrilled with her freedom, she sprints off sniffing and prancing about on the pathways. She could spend hours sniffing around and exploring. Occasionally, she gets a little too far away from me for her liking, and sprints back as fast as she can. 

 

Sometimes, our little expeditions get pretty exciting, as there is always some sort of street dog we have to avoid, and we always see lots of wildlife by the paddies, with lots of insects, birds and even snakes (more often than you would think).

 

After she works up a sweat, there is a little river underneath a bridge that I sit on, and she adores swimming. With a small prompt, Sammy walks down the steep cement slope and swims in the (clean), paddy field river. She slowly (with her old little legs) makes her way down the ramp, and plops down in the stream. After paddling about for a few seconds, she gathers enough courage to go to the deeper side of the stream, and swims with her little doggy paddle. Then, she takes a mini U-Turn and heads back to us. Often, she is slower on the way back (from the current), but she still loves it! With her little head poking out of the water, she struggles up the ramp to shake herself off. It is her favourite thing! Often times she swims twice or even thrice before we leave. 

Heres a short video of Sammy Swimming!

Meanwhile, I find that the trips to the Paddy fields are a great opportunity for me to sit (on a little cement bridge in the middle of the paddies), and watch Sammy, reflect on life, and just appreciate being alive and having so many opportunities. I love watching the sunset from there. I also take the chance to practice my photography and try to take some aesthetic photographs, from unique angles and viewpoints.

 

I try to consider the ethics of my actions and reflect on ways that I can do the right thing when reflecting. I am making sure that I walk to the Paddies and take a non-harmful transport method (walking), as I am aware of the environmental impact of my actions. I am always respectful of any and all wildlife that I see, and I make sure that I am being ethical and respectful to the farmers and paddy field workers, making sure that I (and Sammy) never step on the crops that they took so much time and effort to plant, and I always stay well out of their way to not disturb them. I also am respectful of my community and take COVID measures, such as wearing my facemask.

Update: (11th January 2021) Today (Monday) we had CAS on our first block in the morning. Mr. Lockwood, our teacher supervisor decided that we should spend this time doing something active, and write a CAS blog about it. I decided to spend this time with my dog, Sammy and to take her on a daily walk. We went all the way down our hill, and we walked on the main road for a little while. It was such a lovely day with a breeze in the air, and it was really refreshing to just get out of the house (As we spend so much time inside our house during the Distance Learning Program (DLP)/Online School). Sammy, as always was exhilarated to go, and she absolutely loved it. Since there is usually a mean pack of street dogs on the main road (which usually try to attack Sammy and me on our walks), we did not go very far or wander near the paddy fields (as that is where they usually stay). However, we did thoroughly enjoy our short little walk down the road. Since Sammy is quite chubby, it is very nice for her to go out and exercise every day. However, it also is a little short-lived as she runs out of breath very quickly, and I don’t want to over – exert her. After our walk on the main road, we turned back onto our very long hill and walked back up to our house. (Passing our neighbours, dogs; “Bear Dog” (who literally looks like he is a bear), “Flippie” (who does real backflips on the wall when we pass her), and “The Pug” (who always tries to bark at us viciously, despite his cute demeanour), as we call them. Then, we walked around the block near my house 2 times, and I let Sammy explore the grassy area and go sniffing around. I think that Sammy’s daily walks are definitely one of her favourite times of the day (next to treat time!).

Here is a short video I made of places we went on our walk today:

Filming and Editing: Me (on an iPhone and Mac)

Music: Alec Benjamin- “My old bicycle”

Learning Outcomes:

LO4 Show commitment to and perseverance in CAS experiences Students demonstrate regular involvement and active engagement in CAS.

LO6 Demonstrate engagement with issues of global significance Students are able to identify and demonstrate their understanding of global issues, make responsible decisions, and take appropriate action in response to the issue either locally, nationally or internationally.

LO7 Recognize and consider the ethics of choices and actions Students show awareness of the consequences of choices and actions in planning and carrying out CAS experiences.