Handsome Dan has found a new form of paradise. He finally gets to pull all he wants to on walks! This is one athletic guy we're talking about. Handsome Dan is always looking to burn off energy any way he can. Taking him on walks was always a constant game of who gets to decide where to go. Pull, pull, pull.

Many of the other Vicktory dogs are this way, too. Walks are new to them. In the beginning, they didn't want anything to do with leashes or even the outside world. But it didn't take long for them to get hooked. Some got so hooked, in fact, that they just wanted to pull and pull to see what was around the next bend. Tug, for example, got his name from that very habit. And while the caregivers do want to teach the dogs how to walk on a gentle lead, they also want to give the dogs a chance to go all-out and pull to their heart's content now and again.

The solution? A stylin' new set of wheels. The dog folks ordered a nice big scooter with wheels that are designed to go over rough terrain. The idea is to hook up a dog to the scooter and let him or her pull as long and hard as they want. Great exercise! Oh, those poor caregivers. Must be rough…

I stopped by the other day and saw Handsome Dan go for a walk. So far he's the only dog who's figured out what to do with the scooter. (Others will follow!) It was interesting to watch the process unfold. I saw Dan walk with his caregiver through the building. Dan was nervous, which happens just about every time he starts a walk of any kind. Crossing thresholds and going through doors still aren't easy for him. Also, he wasn't too keen on hooking up to the scooter in the first place. Even though he'd already done this several times, Dan still didn't like the process of hooking up into the harness.

Now, really, Dan wasn't truly afraid. More hesitant. Handsome Dan still doesn't know when to feel nervous and when to let go. Yet when I watched Dan go through the process of hooking up to the harness and then starting on the walk, it was like seeing a complete transformation. Sure, crossing through the building might have been slightly unnerving. And okay, maybe he didn't go for the hooking-up process, but once he was on the trail… holy cow. It's like the weight of the world slipped off his shoulders. He was nothing but happy the whole outing. He was in the zone. If anything, Dan was disappointed once he finally had to stop!

The Vicktory dogs are making progress all the time. Remember, they have a whole lifetime of neglect and abuse to get over. And once they give themselves permission to set the baggage on the ground and just be themselves, it's a joy to watch.