Tuesday, April 17, 2012
No Float Coat for Me
Well, we didn't win the float coat. We weren't really expecting to and Mommy and I aren't upset because the dog who won it was a hind leg amputee so we think she needs it more than me. We are glad that they picked a real dog's photo (and it is a really good shot too!) and not one of the professional photographers who entered. The winner, Rona. Congrats Rona! Mommy says she will evaluate my swimming ability after we go up to Wisconsin for the first time this year and if I have as much trouble swimming then as I did on our river hike, she will spend her quarter jar on a float coat for me. So you might see me modeling one in the future.
Wednesday, April 11, 2012
Help Me Win a Life Jacket
Mommy and I never enter contests, but when we saw one where the prize was a dog life jacket Mommy decided to enter. You see, one thing I didn't mention in my last blog post was that when I fell in, um, took an impromptu swim in the lagoon I actually kind of maybe panicked. I've never panicked in the water before, but this time when I needed to swim my hind end didn't really behave itself and it sank which started dragging me down. Mommy pulled me towards shore with my leash and was ready to haul me out, but I got out on my own. Now, it could be that my legs didn't behave because the water was so cold, but Mommy is worried that this is a sign that I'm not going to be able to swim this summer. So, if I could win a life vest it would be really cool.
The problem is you needed to enter a photo of your dog having fun in the water, and Mommy really doesn't have any good ones of me. She entered an old photo she took with her point and shoot 35mm camera 10 years ago and scanned which is really pathetic if you see all the professional photographers who have entered the contest. One thing they said in the contest is that Facebook likes will count towards the winner along with the judges' opinions. So I'm asking all of y'all out there who have a Facebook account to like Mommy's pathetic photo. It is here: http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10150783702311329&set=a.10150769125841329.451574.119784611328&type=1&theater
Who knows, maybe something will come of it! If the link sends you somewhere weird the contest is at http://www.facebook.com/BackcountryK9 and my photo looks like this:
The problem is you needed to enter a photo of your dog having fun in the water, and Mommy really doesn't have any good ones of me. She entered an old photo she took with her point and shoot 35mm camera 10 years ago and scanned which is really pathetic if you see all the professional photographers who have entered the contest. One thing they said in the contest is that Facebook likes will count towards the winner along with the judges' opinions. So I'm asking all of y'all out there who have a Facebook account to like Mommy's pathetic photo. It is here: http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10150783702311329&set=a.10150769125841329.451574.119784611328&type=1&theater
Who knows, maybe something will come of it! If the link sends you somewhere weird the contest is at http://www.facebook.com/BackcountryK9 and my photo looks like this:
Sunday, April 1, 2012
My Monthly Diary for March, 2012
Well this has been a strange March as far as the weather goes. We had some days when it was in the low 30s which is about 10 degrees too cold for March and some days when it was in the upper 80s which is about 40 degrees too warm. We had a couple days where the temperature dropped 20 degrees in less than an hour. On the nice warm days Mommy did a lot of spring yard work while I supervised and ran squirrel and feral cat patrol. We also took some nice long hikes and walks, which were very tiring, but fun. We did three or four 8 miles or thereabouts walks/hikes. That is quite far for me these days because of my bad back end, but I love taking them even if I need to sleep for a couple days afterward.
I also learned a new trick and can now turn off the bedroom light. See my previous post for details on this.
On one of those walks with no snow or ice or anything that would make my footing unstable Mommy noticed that I was walking a little stranger than usual. My head was down and I was favoring my right front shoulder a bit so Mommy took me to the chiropractor. She did an adjustment but she told Mommy that, while my shoulder was a bit tight, my real problem was that I had "poofy toes" and that was causing me to shift my weight forward which means I have to put my head down to keep my balance. Mommy and I were both confused, so the chiropractor pointed out that my back feet were rather swollen. She explained that that was a sign that I have developed arthritis in my toes. This is probably due to old age and the fact that with my limited feeling back there I sometimes end up foot scuffing which isn't good for my joints. Even though I don't feel much back there I can feel that my toes are sore so I shift my weight forward to take some weight off my toes. She said that Mommy should take me to see my regular vet to see if she can come up with anything that will help my feet. We haven't done that yet, but Mommy says we will in the near future. We aren't sure there is much that we can do since I can't take any NSAIDs and Mommy kind of thinks the regular vet is going to say, "give him a 1/2 a tramadol when his feet look swollen" which is what Mommy has been doing anyway. Now I understand why our old neighbor, Bill, used to tell Mommy and me not to get old, but frankly, old seems better than the alternative.
But enough of being one of those old men who tell you about everything that is hurting. I have to tell you the fun stuff. First off, the chipmunks are awake! On one of my Saturday morning walks I could smell that the little striped guys were awake so I dug up one of their front doors so I could stick my head in and say hi, but he ran out the back and up a tree. It is nice they are awake even if they are antisocial. On that same walk Mommy and I heard the sound of a flying sandhill cranes and when we looked up there were HUNDREDS of them flying overhead in groups of between 25 and 75 birds. Mommy ended up counting 300 birds. Sandhills are some of our favorite birds. If you remember they are the big birds that some city boys thought were woodpeckers because they sound kind of like Woody Woodpecker when they are on the ground yodeling. This isn't our video, but it is a good example of what a whole bunch of flying sandhills look and sound like:
Last weekend we took a long hike along my favorite river trail. Since it was in the high 60s Mommy let me wear my Merlin Cam, but she brought her camera along too, just in case the Merlin Cam decided to shut down early, since we hadn't really used it since Christmas. It behaved itself for most of the hike and I got some good shots. Mommy took some decent pictures too, and I've agreed to let her post some of them since they illustrate the story of the hike.
At the beginning of the hike I had to do a lot of sniffing because there is a coyote den in the area and there is lots of coyote pee mail around the trail. Mommy decided to record the sound of the spring frogs while I was busy sniffing.
It was a bit windy when we started our hike so you can also hear the wind along with the peepers.
On part of the hike we walk by railroad tracks
The river has lagoons coming off of it and I decided to cool my toes and get a drink in one.
Lucky for me Mommy took my Merlin Cam off before I did because I fell in, um, decided to take an impromptu swim.
There were lots of turtles sunning in one of the lagoons
The river
I found one of those things Auntie Naomi doesn't like that starts with the letter "S"
and kind of look like the letter "S" too.
He came out from under that log and squiggled away from me then went into the water.
Water and cookie break (my hiking bowl is next to Mommy's leg)
The trail leads into a great big (100 acre) park. You know you are in the park when you see this monument. It was erected by the man who originally owned the land, in memory of the wife. She was killed in a car accident in France and he became a recluse after that. When he died his sister donated his estate to the town on the condition that it be made into a park. The top of the monument has been broken off and put back on. We don't know when or how that happened.
Taking a lie-down on one of the park's riverside benches.
Although it didn't used to be, the park is now our turn around point. So, after my 20 minute nap on the park bench Mommy and I headed back. I insisted on stopping for a fifteen minute or so lie-down at each trail-side bench on the way back. Mommy suspects this is how I picked up about a dozen ticks (almost all on and IN my ears) and she got four. So, even though it was about two months early for me to get them, I had to have tick drops put on that night when we got home.
When we got to a trailhead where we sometimes park I wanted to go find our car.
Mommy wouldn't do it because our car wasn't parked there.
It was at the trailhead that was about 3 miles farther down.
Me being tired and stubborn.
Too bad the Merlin Cam had conked out by that point or I might have gotten a good picture of Mommy trying to convince me to keep going by throwing treats down the trail in front of us.
It was worth eventually getting up and continuing on because when we got back to the area right before the coyote/frog spot we saw some big bunnies.
I also learned a new trick and can now turn off the bedroom light. See my previous post for details on this.
On one of those walks with no snow or ice or anything that would make my footing unstable Mommy noticed that I was walking a little stranger than usual. My head was down and I was favoring my right front shoulder a bit so Mommy took me to the chiropractor. She did an adjustment but she told Mommy that, while my shoulder was a bit tight, my real problem was that I had "poofy toes" and that was causing me to shift my weight forward which means I have to put my head down to keep my balance. Mommy and I were both confused, so the chiropractor pointed out that my back feet were rather swollen. She explained that that was a sign that I have developed arthritis in my toes. This is probably due to old age and the fact that with my limited feeling back there I sometimes end up foot scuffing which isn't good for my joints. Even though I don't feel much back there I can feel that my toes are sore so I shift my weight forward to take some weight off my toes. She said that Mommy should take me to see my regular vet to see if she can come up with anything that will help my feet. We haven't done that yet, but Mommy says we will in the near future. We aren't sure there is much that we can do since I can't take any NSAIDs and Mommy kind of thinks the regular vet is going to say, "give him a 1/2 a tramadol when his feet look swollen" which is what Mommy has been doing anyway. Now I understand why our old neighbor, Bill, used to tell Mommy and me not to get old, but frankly, old seems better than the alternative.
But enough of being one of those old men who tell you about everything that is hurting. I have to tell you the fun stuff. First off, the chipmunks are awake! On one of my Saturday morning walks I could smell that the little striped guys were awake so I dug up one of their front doors so I could stick my head in and say hi, but he ran out the back and up a tree. It is nice they are awake even if they are antisocial. On that same walk Mommy and I heard the sound of a flying sandhill cranes and when we looked up there were HUNDREDS of them flying overhead in groups of between 25 and 75 birds. Mommy ended up counting 300 birds. Sandhills are some of our favorite birds. If you remember they are the big birds that some city boys thought were woodpeckers because they sound kind of like Woody Woodpecker when they are on the ground yodeling. This isn't our video, but it is a good example of what a whole bunch of flying sandhills look and sound like:
Last weekend we took a long hike along my favorite river trail. Since it was in the high 60s Mommy let me wear my Merlin Cam, but she brought her camera along too, just in case the Merlin Cam decided to shut down early, since we hadn't really used it since Christmas. It behaved itself for most of the hike and I got some good shots. Mommy took some decent pictures too, and I've agreed to let her post some of them since they illustrate the story of the hike.
At the beginning of the hike I had to do a lot of sniffing because there is a coyote den in the area and there is lots of coyote pee mail around the trail. Mommy decided to record the sound of the spring frogs while I was busy sniffing.
It was a bit windy when we started our hike so you can also hear the wind along with the peepers.
On part of the hike we walk by railroad tracks
The river has lagoons coming off of it and I decided to cool my toes and get a drink in one. Lucky for me Mommy took my Merlin Cam off before I did because I fell in, um, decided to take an impromptu swim.
There were lots of turtles sunning in one of the lagoons
The river
I found one of those things Auntie Naomi doesn't like that starts with the letter "S"and kind of look like the letter "S" too.
He came out from under that log and squiggled away from me then went into the water.
Water and cookie break (my hiking bowl is next to Mommy's leg)
The trail leads into a great big (100 acre) park. You know you are in the park when you see this monument. It was erected by the man who originally owned the land, in memory of the wife. She was killed in a car accident in France and he became a recluse after that. When he died his sister donated his estate to the town on the condition that it be made into a park. The top of the monument has been broken off and put back on. We don't know when or how that happened.
Taking a lie-down on one of the park's riverside benches.Although it didn't used to be, the park is now our turn around point. So, after my 20 minute nap on the park bench Mommy and I headed back. I insisted on stopping for a fifteen minute or so lie-down at each trail-side bench on the way back. Mommy suspects this is how I picked up about a dozen ticks (almost all on and IN my ears) and she got four. So, even though it was about two months early for me to get them, I had to have tick drops put on that night when we got home.
When we got to a trailhead where we sometimes park I wanted to go find our car. Mommy wouldn't do it because our car wasn't parked there.
It was at the trailhead that was about 3 miles farther down.
Me being tired and stubborn. Too bad the Merlin Cam had conked out by that point or I might have gotten a good picture of Mommy trying to convince me to keep going by throwing treats down the trail in front of us.
It was worth eventually getting up and continuing on because when we got back to the area right before the coyote/frog spot we saw some big bunnies. The big bunnies are saying "Why is that crazy lady wearing shorts and a t-shirt doesn't she know she is under dressed?" because, about 15 minutes before we saw them a cold front rolled in and the temperatures began to drastically drop. By the time we got back to our car it was in the low 40s (a 25 degree drop in a 1/2 hour) and Mommy had to turn the heat up in the car so she could warm up before driving.
Oh and one final thing, the Tastee Freeze has reopened so I got to go get Pup Cups a couple times this month! The Dog-n-Suds has opened too, but Mommy keeps forgetting to bring money with her on our weekend walks so I haven't gotten any cheese fries yet. She says she will try to remember for our next walk, but she said that after the walk before last too...
Oh and one final thing, the Tastee Freeze has reopened so I got to go get Pup Cups a couple times this month! The Dog-n-Suds has opened too, but Mommy keeps forgetting to bring money with her on our weekend walks so I haven't gotten any cheese fries yet. She says she will try to remember for our next walk, but she said that after the walk before last too...
Saturday, March 24, 2012
Lights Out for Earth Hour
Johann the Dog issued a challenge to all us clever dogs out there that if 100 of us learned to turn off the lights in time for Earth Hour 1000 dogs would get fed. Well, that is the kind of challenge Mommy and I like. I love learning circus tricks, but I haven't learned anything new since my toe was amputated. Mommy thought this sounded like something I could do even with my hind end being all wonky and my left paw being minus one toe. We knew I couldn't do a wall switch since I can't stand on my hind legs anymore and all the pull cord lights are in the basement, and I can't safely do the basement stairs anymore so Mommy decided I should learn to turn off the bedroom light which has a button timer on a long cord so she could put it on the ground.
We started off with Mommy standing over the timer and asking me to touch it. If I hit anywhere on the timer I got cookies! Then she got picky and told me no cookies unless I hit the button in the middle of the timer and the light turned off or on. That took more practice, but eventually I got it. Then we had to work on sending me out to touch the timer so Mommy didn't have to be right by it. We got that down and Mommy thought it was time to set up the camera. Well, when Mommy set the camera up I decided Mommy was changing the target and so I very enthusiastically touched the camera and sent it flying. You should have seen Mommy's amazing camera saving dive! I wish we had recorded that, but Mommy hadn't hit the record button before I whacked the camera. After Mommy explained to me that the camera WAS NOT the target and she wanted me to do the light trick again things went smoothly.
I have to apologize for the crazy whooping being done by Mommy. See, Mommy tried to learn how to use a clicker back when I was three years old, but she is such a klutz she couldn't get the timing down right so she went back to her "voice clicker" method which means when I am learning a trick and I do something right she say, "YES!" or "GOOD!" which works really well when I'm doing steps of a trick, but the first time I do a multi-part trick completely right on command Mommy switches to "street party" mode which means that she whoops and dances and calls me Pants Dog (which is short for Smarty Pants Dog). This makes me so happy and excited I will often repeat the trick over and over again without being asked just to see Mommy act the fool again. Anyway, be happy I edited the above clip to just the beginning of the street party.
After the first success Mommy thought she should try recording me again just in case the first one wasn't good enough so I tried a second time, but this time I didn't hit the timer quite right so the light didn't go out. I solved that problem though.
Mommy was surprised I chose to bump the light off because I'm not a big fan of bump, but it seemed like the logical thing to do. I hope all you smart dogs out there will go and pledge to learn to turn off the lights so that those 1000 dogs can get food.
We started off with Mommy standing over the timer and asking me to touch it. If I hit anywhere on the timer I got cookies! Then she got picky and told me no cookies unless I hit the button in the middle of the timer and the light turned off or on. That took more practice, but eventually I got it. Then we had to work on sending me out to touch the timer so Mommy didn't have to be right by it. We got that down and Mommy thought it was time to set up the camera. Well, when Mommy set the camera up I decided Mommy was changing the target and so I very enthusiastically touched the camera and sent it flying. You should have seen Mommy's amazing camera saving dive! I wish we had recorded that, but Mommy hadn't hit the record button before I whacked the camera. After Mommy explained to me that the camera WAS NOT the target and she wanted me to do the light trick again things went smoothly.
I have to apologize for the crazy whooping being done by Mommy. See, Mommy tried to learn how to use a clicker back when I was three years old, but she is such a klutz she couldn't get the timing down right so she went back to her "voice clicker" method which means when I am learning a trick and I do something right she say, "YES!" or "GOOD!" which works really well when I'm doing steps of a trick, but the first time I do a multi-part trick completely right on command Mommy switches to "street party" mode which means that she whoops and dances and calls me Pants Dog (which is short for Smarty Pants Dog). This makes me so happy and excited I will often repeat the trick over and over again without being asked just to see Mommy act the fool again. Anyway, be happy I edited the above clip to just the beginning of the street party.
After the first success Mommy thought she should try recording me again just in case the first one wasn't good enough so I tried a second time, but this time I didn't hit the timer quite right so the light didn't go out. I solved that problem though.
Mommy was surprised I chose to bump the light off because I'm not a big fan of bump, but it seemed like the logical thing to do. I hope all you smart dogs out there will go and pledge to learn to turn off the lights so that those 1000 dogs can get food.
Saturday, March 3, 2012
My Monthly Diary for February, 2012
Let's see, what happened this month...
I have to say this was a much better February than we usually have because the weather wasn't constantly grey and nasty and so Mommy wasn't constantly grumpy and refusing to do things with me. In fact we went for a hike one day because the weather was so nice. We went to a lake I like a lot, but what we didn't know was that half of the trail was closed because they were doing some construction by the boat launch, so we wound up taking half a hike. We'd gotten a late start so it would have been a push to get the whole hike in in the time we had, but Mommy said she'd have taken us somewhere else if we had known there was construction.
I had some tummy troubles this month, probably because it is dead thing season. I love finding all the dead things that have been frozen at the side of the road all winter. They are extra yummy when they are totally flat and mostly unrecognizable. I grab them and Mommy yells, "SPIT! SPIT!" and I try to swallow as much of them as I can before Mommy gets to me and grabs my collar which means I have to spit it out or she will open my mouth and pull it out. It sure is yummy, but then I end up with tummy troubles and the farts and stuff. So this month I pooped in the house twice. Mommy, knowing tummy troubles come during dead thing season so she put the puppy papers down again and she did such a nice job of it that the first time I pooped in the house I pooped RIGHT NEXT TO the papers so that I wouldn't muss them up. Mommy didn't seem to appreciate it though. The second time I pooped in the house I worked really hard to squeeze myself under the upright piano next to the piano bench and poop on the ONLY carpet in the entire house. It is a small, light colored oriental-style carpet and I not only got the carpet I got its fringe too. That took great skill, but again, Mommy did not appreciate it. She didn't speak to me that whole night and now she has put stuff next to the bench so I can't fit under the piano anymore.
Mommy got sick herself this month and spent a couple days in bed. It is always nice to have her stay home and sleep with me, but when she is done being sick I always demand that we make up for our missed walks. So, a couple days after she was well I took her on a 7.5 mile morning walk. Mommy was a little grumpy about that because she thought we should take a hike that afternoon, and we can't do that if I take a long morning walk, but it ended up that I was the smart one because by afternoon the temperatures had rapidly dropped and it was hailing. Always listen to the dog.
The following Sunday morning the temperatures were in the high 40s so I took Mommy for the 8 mile morning walk to the forest preserve and back that I haven't been able to take for months. It took us 4 1/2 hours and I needed some sit-downs during the last two miles, but it was great fun. It was the day of the Great Backyard Bird Count so Mommy counted birds for the last 1 1/2 hours of our hike. She saw lots of good birds to report including a red-tailed hawk, a coopers hawk and 95 geese all hanging out on and around one pond!
We haven't had much snow this winter, but we finally had a decent 8 inch very wet snow this month and I convinced Mommy to play snowball with me. I had a great time playing, but boy was I tired afterwards. I needed a Tramadol that night and I slept through most of two days, requested a short morning walks for three and refused evening walks. For those of you who don't have snow, here is how you play snowball:
Wait for Mommy to make a snowball
Get ready for her to throw it
Catch it!
Tell Mommy to throw another one
Catch it!
Repeat, repeat, repeat, repeat, repeat, repeat.
As you can see, the fun of playing snowball is well worth the aches and pains later.
Finally this month Mommy and I were sleeping when we were woken up by what sounded like someone very big clearing his throat in our dining room. Mommy knew nobody was there so she couldn't decide if she had dreamed it or if our boiler (which is right below the dining room) had done something weird. She stayed up and listened for awhile, but the sound didn't repeat. Then the next night we woke up to CLANKCLANKBANGBANGBANGCLANKCLANK! then it went quiet. Mommy went down to check the boiler and its pump but everything seemed fine. Then the next night at 1 am CLANKCLANKBANGBANGBANGCLANKCLANK! quiet again. Mommy turned everything off and took the boiler pump apart, but the part that usually made a CLANKBANGCLANK noise when it breaks wasn't broken, but she put a replacement part in anyway and went back to bed. Then at 4 am CLANKCLANKBANGBANGBANGCLANKCLANKCLANKCLANKBANGBANG
BANGCLANKCLANK! Mommy called the emergency number for the heating guys, but when the guy called back 10 minutes later all was quiet. Then at 6 am CLANKCLANKBANGBANGBANGCLANKCLANKCLANKCLANKBANGBANG
BANGCLANKCLANKCLANKCLANKBANGBANGBANGCLANKCLANK! So mommy called the heater guy and left a message that she needed a morning appointment with a repair guy and he should probably bring a new boiler pump. So, at 10 am we got a visit by the heating guy. Mommy put the baby gate up at the top of the stairs so I wouldn't be tempted to try to go down and help him put a new pump onto our boiler. Mommy says it cost a lot of green stuff, but at least we can sleep through the night again and Mommy kind of half wonders if maybe the pump went CLANKCLANKBANGBANGBANGCLANKCLANK! while she was at work the day I decided to poop under the piano. I'm not telling her if it did, but I will tell you that that noise was enough to scare the poop out of anyone.
I have to say this was a much better February than we usually have because the weather wasn't constantly grey and nasty and so Mommy wasn't constantly grumpy and refusing to do things with me. In fact we went for a hike one day because the weather was so nice. We went to a lake I like a lot, but what we didn't know was that half of the trail was closed because they were doing some construction by the boat launch, so we wound up taking half a hike. We'd gotten a late start so it would have been a push to get the whole hike in in the time we had, but Mommy said she'd have taken us somewhere else if we had known there was construction.
I had some tummy troubles this month, probably because it is dead thing season. I love finding all the dead things that have been frozen at the side of the road all winter. They are extra yummy when they are totally flat and mostly unrecognizable. I grab them and Mommy yells, "SPIT! SPIT!" and I try to swallow as much of them as I can before Mommy gets to me and grabs my collar which means I have to spit it out or she will open my mouth and pull it out. It sure is yummy, but then I end up with tummy troubles and the farts and stuff. So this month I pooped in the house twice. Mommy, knowing tummy troubles come during dead thing season so she put the puppy papers down again and she did such a nice job of it that the first time I pooped in the house I pooped RIGHT NEXT TO the papers so that I wouldn't muss them up. Mommy didn't seem to appreciate it though. The second time I pooped in the house I worked really hard to squeeze myself under the upright piano next to the piano bench and poop on the ONLY carpet in the entire house. It is a small, light colored oriental-style carpet and I not only got the carpet I got its fringe too. That took great skill, but again, Mommy did not appreciate it. She didn't speak to me that whole night and now she has put stuff next to the bench so I can't fit under the piano anymore.
Mommy got sick herself this month and spent a couple days in bed. It is always nice to have her stay home and sleep with me, but when she is done being sick I always demand that we make up for our missed walks. So, a couple days after she was well I took her on a 7.5 mile morning walk. Mommy was a little grumpy about that because she thought we should take a hike that afternoon, and we can't do that if I take a long morning walk, but it ended up that I was the smart one because by afternoon the temperatures had rapidly dropped and it was hailing. Always listen to the dog.
The following Sunday morning the temperatures were in the high 40s so I took Mommy for the 8 mile morning walk to the forest preserve and back that I haven't been able to take for months. It took us 4 1/2 hours and I needed some sit-downs during the last two miles, but it was great fun. It was the day of the Great Backyard Bird Count so Mommy counted birds for the last 1 1/2 hours of our hike. She saw lots of good birds to report including a red-tailed hawk, a coopers hawk and 95 geese all hanging out on and around one pond!
We haven't had much snow this winter, but we finally had a decent 8 inch very wet snow this month and I convinced Mommy to play snowball with me. I had a great time playing, but boy was I tired afterwards. I needed a Tramadol that night and I slept through most of two days, requested a short morning walks for three and refused evening walks. For those of you who don't have snow, here is how you play snowball:
Wait for Mommy to make a snowball
Get ready for her to throw it
Catch it!
Tell Mommy to throw another one
Catch it!As you can see, the fun of playing snowball is well worth the aches and pains later.
Finally this month Mommy and I were sleeping when we were woken up by what sounded like someone very big clearing his throat in our dining room. Mommy knew nobody was there so she couldn't decide if she had dreamed it or if our boiler (which is right below the dining room) had done something weird. She stayed up and listened for awhile, but the sound didn't repeat. Then the next night we woke up to CLANKCLANKBANGBANGBANGCLANKCLANK! then it went quiet. Mommy went down to check the boiler and its pump but everything seemed fine. Then the next night at 1 am CLANKCLANKBANGBANGBANGCLANKCLANK! quiet again. Mommy turned everything off and took the boiler pump apart, but the part that usually made a CLANKBANGCLANK noise when it breaks wasn't broken, but she put a replacement part in anyway and went back to bed. Then at 4 am CLANKCLANKBANGBANGBANGCLANKCLANKCLANKCLANKBANGBANG
BANGCLANKCLANK! Mommy called the emergency number for the heating guys, but when the guy called back 10 minutes later all was quiet. Then at 6 am CLANKCLANKBANGBANGBANGCLANKCLANKCLANKCLANKBANGBANG
BANGCLANKCLANKCLANKCLANKBANGBANGBANGCLANKCLANK! So mommy called the heater guy and left a message that she needed a morning appointment with a repair guy and he should probably bring a new boiler pump. So, at 10 am we got a visit by the heating guy. Mommy put the baby gate up at the top of the stairs so I wouldn't be tempted to try to go down and help him put a new pump onto our boiler. Mommy says it cost a lot of green stuff, but at least we can sleep through the night again and Mommy kind of half wonders if maybe the pump went CLANKCLANKBANGBANGBANGCLANKCLANK! while she was at work the day I decided to poop under the piano. I'm not telling her if it did, but I will tell you that that noise was enough to scare the poop out of anyone.
Tuesday, February 14, 2012
Happy Valentine's Day!
On Valentine's Day in 2004 I surprised Mommy by painting this for her:
Mommy puts all the paint jars down on the ground and I choose my 3 colors and then I paint. Mommy thought it was funny when I chose purple, red and white on Valentine's Day and then she was shocked when she saw what I had created. Mommy named it "Puppy Love" and it is framed and hanging in the bedroom.
Mommy puts all the paint jars down on the ground and I choose my 3 colors and then I paint. Mommy thought it was funny when I chose purple, red and white on Valentine's Day and then she was shocked when she saw what I had created. Mommy named it "Puppy Love" and it is framed and hanging in the bedroom.
Saturday, February 4, 2012
My Monthly Diary for January, 2012
Can you believe it is 2012? I've been with Mommy for 11 years now, which is a long time for a dog who was dumped as a puppy, but you can read my Gotcha Day post below if you haven't already done so.
January was a busy month for me. Besides celebrating my Gotcha Day I had to go get my annual checkup and shots and Mommy and I took a bunch of long (over 6 mile) walks and a 5.3 mile hike too because the weather was so nice. Normally around here January is very cold and snowy. Below zero temperatures are not unusual and neither are big snow storms that make Mommy stay home from work. But this year we had some days when the temperatures were in the 50s and we've hardly had any snow! Around this time last year Mommy and I were still digging out from SnOMG and today, after we took a five mile morning walk in upper 40 degree temps and I went WADING IN THE LAKE which has started Breakup already, Mommy noticed that some of her hosta and irises were sending up shoots! Crazy weather.
Anyway, I should tell you that my vet appointment went well. The vet said that I looked very good and was in very good shape even though it was obvious that I have lost almost complete sensation and movement in my left hind leg. She said that normally she would see a lot more muscle loss in a leg like mine, but I still have quite a bit of muscle there. Part of that is due to the fact that I had very powerful hind legs to begin with (after all I could take squirrels off trees when they were 12 feet off the ground in my younger days using my patented Double-Jump method), but it is also because Mommy is still taking me for long walks and hikes and stuff. We still try to do at least 3-5 miles of walking a day and when Mommy was bemoaning the fact that I couldn't do more than about 6 miles of hiking at a time anymore the vet said she should be proud that I still do 6 miles. Timber's daddy told Mommy the other day when she said I didn't do much more than 4 mile walks before I get grumpy that he would be very very grumpy if anyone made HIM walk 4 miles! He is a good ten years younger than Mommy and a hunter to boot so Mommy thought this was very funny. The vet and Mommy were going to take me off the chewable heartworm pills because the beef tallow in them started to really upset my stomach at the end of the year last year, but when Mommy tried to get my perscription for a plain tablet form filled we found out that Merial had stop making the tablets. When I start taking the pill again next month I will have to take some stomach medicine before and after I take the tablet. The alternative chewable is made with pork, which is just as hard on my stomach, and we don't know how I'd react to the medicine so I'm sticking with the ones I've been using.
Also this month I started doing stretching exercises. These are very fun exercises which involve getting cookies at the height of the stretch so it is even more fun. Mommy wishes that someone would give her treats when she exercises, but nobody is ever there with M&Ms when she is doing sit ups. That's why she rarely does them. My chiropractor had sent out a link to the stretches and I was going to share the page, but it is gone. Basically there are 6 stretches. In the first one I do Paws Up on the window seat and then stretch up with my back as long and straight as I can get it to reach the cookie. For the second one Mommy holds a cookie between my front paws and I have to tuck my head under my chest to reach it. Then Mommy holds a cookie by my butt and I have to curl in as tight a circle as possible to reach it. Then I have to step over some poles and walk backward and walk sideways and I get bits of Mommy Cookies each time! It is kind of like when I was learning all my circus tricks, but it is supposed to help my back and hind legs and balance. Mommy and I both think it helps. When I don't do them I get stuck on the couch and bed more often because I can't turn my hips or I'm just afraid to jump down without a spotter. Then I have to bark for Mommy to come help me, but when I do do them I seem to have better control over my hips.
I do sometimes feel like an old dog, especially if the weather shifts from cold to warm or warm to cold which it has done a lot of this month. One day I slept in until 12:30 in the afternoon, ate breakfast and went back to bed. Mommy would have worried about me, but I woke up again at 2:00 p.m. and asked to take a walk and when we went I led Mommy on a 6 1/2 mile long walk around town. The next morning I told Mommy I was too tired to walk the 5 feet from my kitchen bed to where she had put down my Sunday egg, so she brought it to my bed for me to eat, but that afternoon I took another, not quite as long walk.
Talking about walks reminds me of another thing about this weird weather. The coyotes are out during the daytime hunting fat winter squirrels. Mommy and I saw one not 20 feet from us on one of our morning walks. He stopped hunting and looked at us and we looked at him and Mommy said, "Okay, we've seen each other now you get deeper in the woods where you belong." and he turned around and trotted into the woods. After he was gone I barked at him and I wanted to follow him to see where he went, but Mommy said that was a no because he probably had a den in there with a lady coyote and he wouldn't want me near her. She says we are going to have to be extra careful at that spot come April in case they have puppies there.
Finally this month I discovered something that Mommy has kept secret from me for 11 years! There are these things in town called "alleys". We have passed these alleys on our walks for 11 years and Mommy has always walked me by them so I thought they were really long driveways, and you don't walk up someone's driveway if you aren't visiting, but they aren't driveways at all! They are roads that lead BEHIND the stores and they are full of wonderful things like garbage bags and dumpsters and rats' nests. There are smells of cats and rats and mice and squirrels and raccoons and possums and skunks and coyotes and foxes and rotten food and so many other things! The only reason we walked up one was that Mommy and I were heading up to see the feed store guys and up ahead there was a BAD DOG not on a leash with his human nearly a block behind him talking on his cellphone and not paying any attention. Mommy took me into the alley so we could pass them without the BAD DOG seeing us and that is when I learned how wonderful alleys were. I could spend an hour in one sniffing around and not find all the scents. Now that I know what they are I've been insisting on walking through every one of them. Today we were walking in one and a lady came into it from the side not the end and I learned that some alleys have passageways between the buildings that you can walk through. I insisted on taking the one the lady had taken and when we got to the next passageway down the road I made Mommy take it back to the alley. Walks into town have become brand new adventures with this wonderful discovery. Who'd have guessed that there was a whole secret world in town that I knew nothing about?!
January was a busy month for me. Besides celebrating my Gotcha Day I had to go get my annual checkup and shots and Mommy and I took a bunch of long (over 6 mile) walks and a 5.3 mile hike too because the weather was so nice. Normally around here January is very cold and snowy. Below zero temperatures are not unusual and neither are big snow storms that make Mommy stay home from work. But this year we had some days when the temperatures were in the 50s and we've hardly had any snow! Around this time last year Mommy and I were still digging out from SnOMG and today, after we took a five mile morning walk in upper 40 degree temps and I went WADING IN THE LAKE which has started Breakup already, Mommy noticed that some of her hosta and irises were sending up shoots! Crazy weather.
Anyway, I should tell you that my vet appointment went well. The vet said that I looked very good and was in very good shape even though it was obvious that I have lost almost complete sensation and movement in my left hind leg. She said that normally she would see a lot more muscle loss in a leg like mine, but I still have quite a bit of muscle there. Part of that is due to the fact that I had very powerful hind legs to begin with (after all I could take squirrels off trees when they were 12 feet off the ground in my younger days using my patented Double-Jump method), but it is also because Mommy is still taking me for long walks and hikes and stuff. We still try to do at least 3-5 miles of walking a day and when Mommy was bemoaning the fact that I couldn't do more than about 6 miles of hiking at a time anymore the vet said she should be proud that I still do 6 miles. Timber's daddy told Mommy the other day when she said I didn't do much more than 4 mile walks before I get grumpy that he would be very very grumpy if anyone made HIM walk 4 miles! He is a good ten years younger than Mommy and a hunter to boot so Mommy thought this was very funny. The vet and Mommy were going to take me off the chewable heartworm pills because the beef tallow in them started to really upset my stomach at the end of the year last year, but when Mommy tried to get my perscription for a plain tablet form filled we found out that Merial had stop making the tablets. When I start taking the pill again next month I will have to take some stomach medicine before and after I take the tablet. The alternative chewable is made with pork, which is just as hard on my stomach, and we don't know how I'd react to the medicine so I'm sticking with the ones I've been using.
Also this month I started doing stretching exercises. These are very fun exercises which involve getting cookies at the height of the stretch so it is even more fun. Mommy wishes that someone would give her treats when she exercises, but nobody is ever there with M&Ms when she is doing sit ups. That's why she rarely does them. My chiropractor had sent out a link to the stretches and I was going to share the page, but it is gone. Basically there are 6 stretches. In the first one I do Paws Up on the window seat and then stretch up with my back as long and straight as I can get it to reach the cookie. For the second one Mommy holds a cookie between my front paws and I have to tuck my head under my chest to reach it. Then Mommy holds a cookie by my butt and I have to curl in as tight a circle as possible to reach it. Then I have to step over some poles and walk backward and walk sideways and I get bits of Mommy Cookies each time! It is kind of like when I was learning all my circus tricks, but it is supposed to help my back and hind legs and balance. Mommy and I both think it helps. When I don't do them I get stuck on the couch and bed more often because I can't turn my hips or I'm just afraid to jump down without a spotter. Then I have to bark for Mommy to come help me, but when I do do them I seem to have better control over my hips.
I do sometimes feel like an old dog, especially if the weather shifts from cold to warm or warm to cold which it has done a lot of this month. One day I slept in until 12:30 in the afternoon, ate breakfast and went back to bed. Mommy would have worried about me, but I woke up again at 2:00 p.m. and asked to take a walk and when we went I led Mommy on a 6 1/2 mile long walk around town. The next morning I told Mommy I was too tired to walk the 5 feet from my kitchen bed to where she had put down my Sunday egg, so she brought it to my bed for me to eat, but that afternoon I took another, not quite as long walk.
Talking about walks reminds me of another thing about this weird weather. The coyotes are out during the daytime hunting fat winter squirrels. Mommy and I saw one not 20 feet from us on one of our morning walks. He stopped hunting and looked at us and we looked at him and Mommy said, "Okay, we've seen each other now you get deeper in the woods where you belong." and he turned around and trotted into the woods. After he was gone I barked at him and I wanted to follow him to see where he went, but Mommy said that was a no because he probably had a den in there with a lady coyote and he wouldn't want me near her. She says we are going to have to be extra careful at that spot come April in case they have puppies there.
Finally this month I discovered something that Mommy has kept secret from me for 11 years! There are these things in town called "alleys". We have passed these alleys on our walks for 11 years and Mommy has always walked me by them so I thought they were really long driveways, and you don't walk up someone's driveway if you aren't visiting, but they aren't driveways at all! They are roads that lead BEHIND the stores and they are full of wonderful things like garbage bags and dumpsters and rats' nests. There are smells of cats and rats and mice and squirrels and raccoons and possums and skunks and coyotes and foxes and rotten food and so many other things! The only reason we walked up one was that Mommy and I were heading up to see the feed store guys and up ahead there was a BAD DOG not on a leash with his human nearly a block behind him talking on his cellphone and not paying any attention. Mommy took me into the alley so we could pass them without the BAD DOG seeing us and that is when I learned how wonderful alleys were. I could spend an hour in one sniffing around and not find all the scents. Now that I know what they are I've been insisting on walking through every one of them. Today we were walking in one and a lady came into it from the side not the end and I learned that some alleys have passageways between the buildings that you can walk through. I insisted on taking the one the lady had taken and when we got to the next passageway down the road I made Mommy take it back to the alley. Walks into town have become brand new adventures with this wonderful discovery. Who'd have guessed that there was a whole secret world in town that I knew nothing about?!
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