The land around here is beautiful, but harsh.
This is the campground from the Page Rim Trail that runs behind it. As you can see, unless trees are planted (and watered) everything is red rock and sand with a few scrubby bushes.
There are canyons, mesas and drop offs everywhere.
Whenever I walk Matey near cliffs I am vigilant; ready to grab the leash to keep him from chasing some little animal over the edge. Turns out I was right to be worried.
Today we played disc golf nearby. It was rough, rocky land, but no real cliffs and no roads so we let Matey off the leash. He was following close as he usually does; until we were playing down the side of a wash and he saw a rabbit on the other side. I yelled “Matey, no!” as he took off running…
right over this ledge. He landed right where Bud is standing in this picture. He had disappeared from our sight and I expected him to be a crumpled mass when I got to him. But he was standing upright, looking a bit dazed. I carried him up a bit and Bud suggested I set him down on a level spot to see if he could or would walk. He walked back to the truck!
We took him back to the trailer and he was obviously sore and somewhat stiff. I called he nearest vet’s office and they took the information and called me back after they talked to the doctor. He said we should just monitor Matey and unless he got worse or had trouble breathing he didn’t need to come in.
Besides being sore Matey’s worst injury is the red spot under his nose where he scraped his fur off. Poor dog, and he lost the rabbit!
On the Roam Again 
Poor Matty. He has to love exploring with you guys; new sites all the time—new to him obviously. Take care Matty
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