Another canine patient and his owner told us about walking inside the stables at Spruce Meadows when it's cold outside. I heard that Spruce Meadows was a pretty dog-friendly place, but I didn't realize that we could take our dogs inside the buildings as well!
Jigs' owner said that the stables are nice, warm and clean; a perfect place to walk an elderly dog on a cold winter's day. One day when it was below minus 20 degrees Celsius, I took Maestro to Spruce Meadows.
It was a bit of an adventure. Maestro was frightened by the horse's size. In turn, the horses didn't like it when Maestro hugged the stable doors. Kudos to the horses for staying calm while they kept a wary eye on Maestro's progress. As frightened as he was, Maestro did manage to walk further than he usually does outside.
So long as you don't interrupt the horses and staff from their training, you can travel all over the grounds. Spruce Meadows is open to the public every day from 9:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m.
Here are some photos from our second visit to Spruce Meadows:
Many thanks to the owners of Spruce Meadows for opening up the grounds not just to Calgarians, but for making it a dog-friendly place in Calgary. Dog walks at Spruce Meadows is going to be a regular thing for us now!