Love and Joy

Anyone who has ever scoffed at the likes of myself who refer to their k-9 furbabies as children, obviously has never had a house full of Great Danes.
The husband and I got several chuckles last night (as we do on many occasions) watching their antics and observing their interaction with one another. You could see the wheels of their thought process turning in their heads as they tried to out smart one another.
Even though Bootsy is my rough, tough and gruff bitch, with little patience for Olivia's antics, and despite Eliott being much larger than my white child, of late I've come to the conclusion that both are either afraid of Olivia, or else just afraid to stand up to her because their afraid of what I might do to should either of them hurt Liv. As a result of their refusal to stand up to her, Olivia has grown rather brazen with her brother and sister and often will block their path, preventing them from entering the house when I open the back door for them, or blocking their path if they try to go to the kitchen (where the food/water dishes are located). The child is becoming a little witch where they are concerned. She's not aggressive with them, she simply stands there, blocking their path, and they refuse to try and walk past her until I intervene and escort them past her. It's kind of like that game of the annoying younger sibling twirling a finger in the older siblings face and chanting, "I'm not touching you", all the while knowing that the elder kid(s) want to clobber the younger for being a pest. The younger pushes the envelope to see what he/she can get by with.
Last night, John was lying in the floor playing with Eliott while Bootsy laid close by, as is her norm to mind her own business and want to be left alone. John would toss Eliott's favorite squeak-toy and he'd fetch it, bring it back and lay by John, chewing on the toy 'til he was ready to have it tossed again. The jealous one (Olivia) wanted in on the attention and came over and squeezed in between John and Eliott. Next time he tossed the toy for Eliott, Olivia wanted to play too. The dogs were having a good time racing to see who could fetch it first and trying to take it away from one another, but I had to put an end to it as there isn't enough room for that kind of rough housing indoors, least of all while John is lying in the floor. I was afraid he was going to get hurt.
So what does Olivia do? While Eliott went to get a drink, she picks up his toy that ordinarily she has zero interest in, and carries it over to her recliner, curls up in the chair and left the toy sitting right next to her foot. She didn't try to hide it, but placed it out in the open, as if to taunt him upon his return and to dare him to try and take it back.
Sure enough, when Eliott returned, he was looking around the floor for his toy. This toy is an orange dinosaur squeaker. He's had it for years and loves it. It's the most unusual squeak toy I've ever found and I wish I could remember where I got it. Regardless of how much he chews on it and plays with it, it has never lost it's squeak, he's never put a hole in it, and it has thus far proven indestructible. He loves it!! We call this toy "Dino" or "Squiggy". So when Eliott couldn't find Dino lying on the floor, he looked around, perplexed. John and I encouraged him to find Dino and Eliott looked harder. Finally I got his attention and pointed towards Olivia and told him to find Dino. Then he saw it and he came to a complete stand still as he accessed the situation. He took a couple of hesitant steps towards her and stopped, decided against trying to reclaim his beloved Dino, and went and sat by John. We encouraged him some more and again he took a few steps towards her, stretching his neck out, sniffing the air as if to confirm that was indeed his Dino. I kept encouraging him to take what was his. He wasn't brave enough. Eliott came over and stood in front of me, leaned as close as he possibly could and touched his cold, wet nose to mine as if to say "Pleeease momma! Get my toy for me!!"
John and I couldn't contain our giggles at his pitiful face. We kept encouraging him to get Dino. After much hesitation, he finally mustered up the courage and practically tiptoed over and stood as far away as possible from Olivia, but still within range of being able to stretch his mouth out and ever so gently take Dino's arm, grip it in his front teeth, and then quickly step back away from Olivia. He spun away and retreated to the safety of his cushion where he quickly tucked Dino into his blanket to hide it from Olivia, should she come looking for it. His fears were groundless, as she did little more than raise her eyebrows at him when he reclaimed his toy.

Yes, for all the frustrations and annoyances they can sometimes cause like when they make a mess, or the fear and worry when they're sick, all those moments are easily forgotten when they bring so much joy and laughter. Last night wasn't a rare moment of levity, but a rather frequent occurrence. Much like human children, they fill our hearts with love and joy.

Great article!!!

I found a great article in a local magazine over the weekend. I tried emailing it to several people, but the way the magazine email reads and the subject line, it's doubtful too many people would open it, much less read it. I sent it to myself, and even though I knew what it was, I was hesitant to open it. Oh well.
The article was on what to do and what NOT to do when approaching & petting a dog.
The entire article was good, but it was section 3 that most caught my attention and made me sit up straight and say HALLELUJAH!, somebody else that gets it!!
It should be required reading for all children AND adults. I'm seriously considering running off some copies to hand out to some of the morons I encounter while I'm out walking my dog(s), like the strangers that get nose to nose with my dog or pry open their mouths and look inside. Seriously, not a smart thing to do folks, even if you know the dog.
Here is the part of that article:

PETTING A LEASHED DOG WITH OWNER:
ALWAYS ask the owner for permission to pet their dog. This is EXTREMELY important for children to learn and the safest way for them to learn to interact with a dog. Children are full of energy and exhibit quick motion and loud vocals at times. While this may be normal for people to witness, it can be a little confusing to a dog. It's wise to teach children to practice a softer tone of voice when around not only dogs, but all animal.
Some dogs live (and love) to be petted, such as therapy dogs that are trained to visit hospitals and nursing homes. Their presence alone helps to enrich the lives of people, while some dogs prefer NOT being touched at all. So it's always important to ask the owner, "May I pet your dog?"
If the owner agrees, slowly hold your hand out UNDER the dog's head with palms up. Let the dog "touch" you with it's nose first to see that you are not a threat. Too many times, people mistakenly pat the dog on the top of the head which leaves the dog to wonder... "where did the hand go... and why is it over my eyes so I can't see?"
Direct eye contact is seen by a dog as a threat or sign of dominance. Unless you are very familiar with the dog and have given him a belly rub a time or two, quick gazes or looking away while holding your hand out slowly to give the dog a chance to know you first is a great way to meet half-way. Let the dog sniff you out first, and let it introduce itself to you first. "Hi, how do you do? My name is Dog... what's yours?"
With these helpful "to dos " and "what not to dos", the "how do you dos" can be very pawsitive!


To read the full article, click on this link . The article is on pages 66 & 67.

Catching Up

It's 'bout time I did some serious posting. 'Been away much too long. Finally remembered to bring the camera with me as well.

I've been playing with the etch-a-sketch mode again...

Eliott & Bootsy

Olivia

Eliott

Funny how Bootsy's dark areas appear white, and her white parts appear dark in this mode.

Was it only 3 weeks ago we cooked out with the neighbors? Seems like forever ago!

John, chillin' by the fireplace.

Getting hugs from Mimi...

... and more hugs!

Mimi peeking thru the window of her fort(?).

Cutey patootey!

Mimi had big plans to camp-out in her tent all night, but reality was something entirely different.

Etch-a-sketch "Artie & Millie"

Charlotte's Web...

In the very center of this photo is a spider.

Here's a close-up of Charlotte...

... and her web...

... and her zig-zag design she radiates from the center of her web.

While at the farm this past Saturday, I found 2 more just like her, both of them with their webs woven to the welcome sign. It seems I'm suddenly seeing them everywhere I look.

As much as I love my new camera, I'm discovering it's a bit of a pain in the butt to take everywhere with me. It's too big to toss into my purse and go, and I don't like it hanging around my neck at all times, especially when I take Olivia to our walks/runs. **sigh** Perhaps a smaller camera would've been more appropriate, as there have been so many times these past few weeks I wish I'd had my camera with me, but didn't.

This past Saturday at the Arthritis Walk, I'd have given anything to have gotten a picture of Olivia being loved on by the Crums, not that I'm a particular fan (I've no feelings one way or the other), but my husband was a huge fan of Denny's when he was still coaching and I think he'd have liked having it.

Yesterday, I took Olivia out to the Boy Scout camp near Bernheim. We were s'posed to go back in May, but work got in the way and our plans were cancelled. This time I stood my ground, took the time off and we went. The event is called "Adventure Camp" and is for school children that are disabled (physically &/or mentally) or with emotional problems. The camp is run completely by volunteers, and the kids and adults alike seem to really enjoy themselves.

We arrived early and I took some scenery photos...

There was fishing, boating, karaoke, games, etc. etc. Too many things to choose from for only being there 4 or 5 hours. It's a shame it's only a 1-day field trip for these kids. There were the giant rafts, the giant canoes, and pontoon-like boats to choose from. As we're not s'posed to take photos of the children that could identify them, I had to edit the images to blur out their faces, not that you could really see them from that distance, but just to cover my butt.

There were two other dogs and a cat in attendance yesterday as well...

Blitz the cat, whose picture I failed to take.

Willy the toy poodle, sitting on Emma's lap,

and Aubie the golden retriever w/her "mom", Carol.

Olivia did better than I hoped. She hasn't always done very well around children, but she has come a long way baby! She let the masses of children and adults love on her, whether they were able-bodied or not, of sound mind or not, heavy-handed with the petting or gentle, she took it all in stride and then slept soundly on the ride home and for several hours after getting home.

Liv and Willy are well acquainted, as they have been making the nursing home visits together. It took her a while to settle down around Aubie as she wanted to play with her. I think Aubie reminded her of her friend Kya that recently moved away. But she finally settled down and was content to just lie about and be admired.

It was a good day and hopefully we can participate again in the spring. :)

I'm still around

Did you think I'd fallen off the face of the earth? It's been over 2 weeks since I last posted. I think that's the longest stretch I've ever gone before. What can I say? Sometimes life just gets in the way. That and the fact that I've been having a lot of technical difficulties at work.

The good, the bad, and the ugly...

The good things since I last posted:
*Last week the weather was FANTASTIC!! The skies were beautiful, the temperatures even more so, and we were able to sleep with the windows open. Honestly, I wish there was a place where the weather was like that 365/year, we'd never need the furnace or a/c.
*We participated in the following walking-events: the Mayor's Hike & Bike, the Old. Co. Humane Soc. walk, and the Alzheimer's walk. As has become her custom, she did very well at all the events. She's even started getting requests for visits to other nursing homes. I doubt we'll fulfill those requests, at least, not all of them, simply because I don't want to drive to the part of town they're located in, but it's nice to be asked.
*The husband had his first colonoscopy yesterday. Everything went very well. No need to go back for another 5 years.
*The season premier of some of my favorite shows starts tonight, I can hardly wait!!

The bad things since I last posted:
*My iPod seems to have died. I don't know if it's a permanent death or a temporary coma. It's on life-support right now, and I'm waiting to find out if I need to permanently pull the plug on it. **sniff**... I dropped it off to a computer-genius friend to see if he could figure out what's wrong with it. Life sucks without it, I've had to resort to listening to cd's in my car. I tried listening to the radio, but honestly, commercials make me batty. I'd rather have silence than listen to the radio. The husband told me just to go buy a new one, but I told him I'd wait. My cell phone, which is hanging on by a thread, held together with Scotch-tape, when the contract is up in a few months, I may bite the bullet and get an iPhone. I just don't know right now. :(
*The beautiful weather we experienced last week has gone away, and the high temperatures have returned. Ugh! At least it isn't quite as humid as before, but still prett toasty out there. Not to mention, it's so very dry, the lawn is crunchy.
*My tomato plants are dead as well. It was a short growing season for my 'maters this year. **sniff**

The ugly:
*Liv's "grandma" commented that Livvie was getting fat and had bad breath. Fat? I think not!! When she was at the vet 6 weeks ago for her check-up, she weighed the same as the last 2 or 3 years. And as for dog-breath, most dogs do have dog-breath. But has she tried sniffing her own dogs' breath? Some of her dogs (1 in particular) will just about knock you off your feet. And I can think of some of her dogs that are carrying (or were when they were alive) more than a few pounds. Please, don't diss my dog 'til your own are in perfect condition.
*The price of gas has gone up again. Honestly, this sucks!! But I realize it's a fact of life. :(
*It seems I spend less and less time cooking anymore. We're either too busy or I'm too tired. Poor excuses. I really need to get back to cooking more, eating out is just too expensive!!

Other things:
While pulling weeds from the flower bed several days ago, I discovered a very large spider sitting in the middle of a web (I don't know if it's a her or not, but I've named her "Charlotte" just the same). I took pix, if I can just remember to bring my camera so I can download them. Her body is big, her legs very long, and she's very brightly colored. A common garden spider the internet told us, although I've never seen anything like her, so how common can she be? Also called a writing-spider (I think) or a script-spider maybe? Anyway, she's the same kind as in "Charlottes Web". My Charlotte puts a line of heavy zig-zag in her web each time she rebuilds it. I really need to finish pulling weeds in that flower bed, but I don't have the heart to tear her web down, nor do I want to risk her jumping/crawling on me. Blech!! So for now, I just stop by her web whenever I take Livvie for a walk and say "hi". I wonder what will become of her when the weather gets colder??

Am planning on taking Olivia back to the nursing home this Thursday. And next Monday, she's going to the Adventure Camp for disabled children. We were s'posed to attend back in May, but I couldn't get off work for it. This time, I've got the day off, so we'll be there. I'm sure there will be much to blog about next week...