Neglected gear and equipment

It's really odd, but I found myself thinking about the hodge podge of Dante-related gear and equipment that I have accumulated over the years.

It all started with me thinking to myself on our walk today, that given the really WARM winter we've had so far (and judging from various posts all over the world that I've been reading, we're not the only one griping/rejoicing about the whacky winter this year), I've only had to replace Dante's winter boots ONCE this year instead of twice last year -- ka-ching! Instant $50 savings! Actually, since Dante's second set of boots from last winter were so worn out that they only had a gasp of life left in them, I really consider only having to replace Dante's boots 0.25 times this year. With it now being February, I don't really foresee having to buy Dante another set of winter boots this year, especially since he's only had to wear his boots for about 4-5 times this year.

Somehow all this mulling led me to thinking about the rest of Dante's (or Dante-related) gear and equipment that haven't really been used for quite a while. Sadly, it wouldn't be too far off to say that some of them haven't seen the light of the day for a long time.

Just off the top of my head:

There's the 3-feet braided leather leash designated as Dante's "obedience leash" -- the leash that Dante is on when I'm moving amongst crowds and other dogs while at an obedience trial/match venue. It's silly, but it always gives me a secret thrill, walking around a hub-bub of dogs and people with a large, powerful-looking dog trotting alongside connected to me only by this thin short leash.

There's Dante's more utilitarian obedience leash. Narrower than his regular inch-wide leather leash but just as strong and more flexible and maneuverable for precision obedience work.

There's the wooden peg board leaning against a basement wall, used for teaching Dante articles.

There's the articles themselves of course, neatly stacked against each other and packed away in a box.

There's Dante's portable obedience jump sets that I purchased from the states and had it specially shipped over at a premium price; all also tightly packed away in a gigantic box, stowed away in a lonely corner in the basement.

There's Dante's gritty-looking plastic dumbbell, keeping the rest of his training tugs of a myriad of materials -- leather, jute, firehose -- company in a large fabric bag on a shelf.

There's my training vests, the dirty one for training and the "clean" one with a shiny Doberman pin attached to it that makes it appearance at formal trials and shows. They are both languishing at the end of the rack in the hallway closet amongst other coats and jackets that are making fun of them for being no longer in the popular crowd.

There's Dante's obedience metal slip collars, which seem to have lost much of their gleam and sparkle not having Dante's dark glistening coat as their backdrop.

There's Dante's mesh cooling coat that hasn't seen the heat of competition for far too long.

There's the "sunbrella" portable umbrella and the nifty tent-shade hybrid setup, both which I hate setting up at agility trials but love when they are finally set up and keeps us all cool and contained for day-long agility excursions.

There's that ill-fitting baseball cap which I whip out and plonk on top of my head (or attempt to anyways, given its ill-fitting nature and my tight-fisted reluctance to get a better-fitting one when this one hasn't completely disintegrated from use yet) on sunny obedience and agility days. Actually, I've forgotten how ill-fitting it is, simply because it's been I can't remember the last time it hung off my head and not a hook at the back of a door.

Since I'm not actually attempting to complete a comprehensive catalogue of sorts, I'll just stop here for now. I'm sure there's a whole bunch more of stuff that I've forgotten and left off the "list" above.

Reflecting on all this "neglected" gear and equipment really brings into sharp relief how much my (and by extension, Dante's) life has changed in terms of routine, regiment and priorities. Not that long ago, it seemed that I was living a completely different life. Some parts of that life I still yearn and ache for, and others ... well, let's just say I'm having second thoughts about.

We're now heading into the second month of the new year and I still have not come any closer to deciding or knowing whether all this "stuff" will soon to be dusted off and put into good use again, like they should be.

The thoughts are still churning in my head, emotions still reeling. I'm getting closer, but not quite there yet. Hopefully I'll be arriving at some kind of decision in the next little while.

Till then, I'm still happy about socking that $50 away instead of spending it on a second set of winter boots this year!