Damsel in scooter distress rescues self
Mobility scooters are not snowmobiles.
I found that out the hard way the other night. My faithful canine companion and I were out on our evening scooter patrol on roads that were not yet plowed.
Undaunted, we were desperate to get out of the house after the long, cold, snowy spell.
Come hell or high snow drift, we were ready to take on the elements. The scooter did quite well until that infamous home stretch hill, once again.
Prior to that, while it slipped and slid on some thick slushy spots, it putted and bounced along quite nicely.
Also on that fateful night, I tried out a new dollar-store retractable leash on my mini Aussie with dubious results.
Whereas it’s advertised as being reflective,, that was its only perk.
The retraction wouldn’t retract, something like my foot in mouth syndrome I have been afflicted with since I could speak.
Anyways, the dog had run happily in front of the scooter, with her leash let out to the max, when suddenly two cars appeared in front of us.
Try as I might, I could not reel in her leash and she ran gleefully up to the SUV, trying to greet the new friends inside it.
Thankfully, they and the people in the car behind them, stopped and waited for me to pull her in by hand.
Later, we stopped in an open area where she decided to race back and forth. Poor dog ended up hog tied from that loose leash and had to be carefully disentangled.
Continuing homeward bound, we then were serenaded by nearby coyotes. We soon came upon that dreaded hill which the scooter died on before, and the wheels started to spin and it slid around, fishtailing.
I thought if someone comes along in a car now, we will be goners.
As there were no seniors in shining armour to assist, I had to get off and push it myself, after unsuccessfully trying a Flintstone’s foot push manoeuvre.
Eventually we got around the corner and found my husband out shovelling snow, totally oblivious to my groaning, gasping and cries for help. Hence this old damsel found out she could rescue herself. Doreen Zyderveld-Hagel, Kelowna