A Little Fun Between Strangers

My poor dog Lenny had a miserable night. Her ears are infected, and that necessitated a trip to the vet. Thankfully, she loves, and I mean LOVES going to the vet. That wasn’t going to be the issue.

But Hubby’s car is in the shop, and the van has issues, and so Hubby took my Pathfinder to work this morning, which meant I had to borrow a vehicle, which meant my niece’s Isuzu. My niece is 18, just graduated from high school, and does all the seniors-are-cool stuff to her car.

1. Tassel on rear view mirror: check!
2. “Acquired” Whataburger™ table number*: check!
3. Obligatory “2012” signage: check!
4. Phrase written in shoe polish: check!

Wait, what??

Great….just great. I get to drive all over town with this. The good news is, no one will recognize me while driving around. It’s a big enough area. Anyway, I get to the vet’s and Lenny is beside herself wanting to make several new friends, including two parakeets, a trio of ferrets, a Scottish Terrier, a huge dog probably bred from bears, and a very nasty cat. I say nasty as in mean, not icky. Her own owner doesn’t like her. Moving on, I go outside to wait for them to bring me Lenny, since the place is packed, and the gentleman that arrived at the same time I was parking struck up a conversation.

Gent: I take it you like to dance?

Me: Well, yes… like most people, I guess.

Gent: Country dancing, huh?

Me: No, more along Big Band and Waltzing, why?

Gent: *points to niece’s vehicle*

Me: OMIGAWD!! Sorry, I didn’t write that. It’s my niece’s vehicle, and I had to borrow it today.

Gent: So does that mean you’re a waltzing babe?

Me: No, it means I am taking that car to the nearest car wash.

Gent: *laughs*

I must have turned three different shades of red. But he had a good laugh, and if I helped to make someone happy, then I win, right?

*For those not familiar, Whataburger™ is a Texas chain, and a lot of graduating seniors always feel compelled to abscond with one of their little numbered table signs. It’s a right of passage 😉

Sundays, and Doughnuts, and Dogs

Well, it’s Sunday. We have a houseful of guests, so I suggested to hubby to go get DOUGHNUTS!!

We were triumphant in our endeavors. We returned with many delectable varieties for the masses, including this one for moi:

Raspberry-filled glazed deliciousness. You are drooling, I can tell. But Life has a way of making fun of me when I least expect it. You see, this post was originally going to regale you with the sweet nothings of the aforementioned doughnut. But alas, it is not to be. As I got up to get more coffee, my big dog Lenny took the opportunity to help herself to my slice of heavenly sinful sugary goodness!!!

That. Broke. My. Heart.

So, I shall make do with a kolache. And an additional cup of coffee to quell the desire to yell at my dog for taking the one joy I looked forward to today. But not to worry. I’m sure the Moscato will be flowing this afternoon 🙂

The Butter Incident

I love my dog. She is the sweetest, gentlest, neurotic ball I know. Even more neurotic than I am. But she makes every day funny somehow.

She also likes to test her boundaries.

A while back, I was in the kitchen making something that required fattiness. In this case, it was butter. I love baking with sweet cream unsalted butter. It makes me very happy. Anyway, I had set aside the last stick of butter on the kitchen island and was measuring the rest of the ingredients, when my dog, that loveable fuzzball, decided that HEY!!! THAT’S SWEET BUTTAH!!!

And she promptly leaned up, swiping the rest of it onto her tongue.

Courtesy of CakeSpy

I was not happy, and when Momma ain’t happy….

Needless to say, I did no baking that day. The dog also got no treats that day. She has since learned that the counters are off limits, as is the table. In retrospect, it’s pretty funny how she managed to sneak that, but I really wanted to bake whatever it was I felt like making.

Nowadays I make sure to have at least two packages of butter in the refrigerator at all times 😉

A Bit Nippy

As God is my witness, I am not making this up.

Yesterday, the window on my van was repaired. That required the presence of a “stranger” in my driveway. My neighbor’s dog, an awesome, well-trained Australian Shepherd, was consequently driven nuts by the fact that someone he doesn’t know was in such close proximity to the area he is tasked to guard. I could hear him barking even while I was inside my house. Anyway, my neighbor was also dogsitting for her parents’ Aussie, a much younger, active, less-trained puppy. This puppy has the gift of egging other dogs on about barking and chasing and doing the things dogs normally do, only at a few orders of magnitude. In other words, the puppy is usually the instigator.

Not the actual Aussie, but gorgeous nonetheless!

After the repairman left, I moved the van into the garage, and then proceeded to go move the Pathfinder to the driveway, since I had parked it on the street. My neighbor, blessed woman that she is, was out with both dogs letting them relieve themselves. Her dog wasn’t on a leash, because he is trained to stay on the lawn. Before I go any further, I must underline how much I like this dog. As I walked down my driveway, perilously close to my neighbor’s yard, the dog, still in protective mode, charges at me. As taught, I stand my ground, and as HE was taught, he charges again.

My neighbor is screaming at her dog while frantically holding on to the instigator puppy.

On the second charge, the dog finds something to nip at. Now, my arms were at my sides, and I was standing sideways to him by this time. The only thing he can detect, small as it is, is my *ahem* upper pectoral milk decanting device. As I said, he is well-trained, so he only nipped at it.

But holy cow that was more than enough!!!

In tears, I get in the Pathfinder and move it, while my neighbor is calming and reinforcing training on her dog. I get out to let her know I’m fine, and hilarity ensues.

Neighbor: ARE YOU OK????

Me: Yes, it hurt a bit but..

Neighbor: OMIGAWD!! Did (name redacted to protect the innocent) bite you???

Me: Just a nip, nothing serious, really. (I am trying to calm her down by now)

Neighbor: Where??

Me: Uh…. (pointing).

Neighbor: OMIGAWD!!! Did he break skin???

(Keep in mind if a dog does draw blood, it must be quarantined for 72 hours, and the person treated for it)

Me: Oh no… not at all. I’m fine.

Neighbor: Are you sure? Take a picture of it and send it to me.

Me: (Laughing) No offense, but that is something I would only do for Hubby!!

Luckily, I am married to a doctor who took it upon himself to *ahem* check it over to make sure it was ok. Yes, it’s a bit tender, but it will heal. Suffice it to say, the dog was very contrite, and did snuggle up to me to make up for it. He sure is an awesome dog, but apparently takes that whole “take a bite out of crime” thing to extremes 😉

I Need to Invest in a Rake

I have temporary custody of my sister-in-law’s sheltie. It is a very pretty, very fluffy dog.

It also barks a lot.

Anyway, I usually sit with her and comb her coat before Eldest gives her a bath. One thing about this dog: she LOVES getting a bath. She also LOVES being combed. And finally, she LOVES getting her coat blown dry. I think she was a princess in a former life. But boy, does she ever shed.

I know you can’t tell very well, but that pile was the stuff I combed out. And it didn’t even make a dent, people!! She fluffed herself up again, and I could see little bits of fluff floating down to the ground. If I can’t use a rake, I will start using the vacuum on her coat.

At least she was happy!

Dog Days

I am not the most knowledgeable when it comes to dogs. I feed them, and make sure they are bathed, and give them their heartworm medicine, and whatever else needs to be done. But lately I have noticed that I am no longer doing the training.

About a month ago I noticed my big dog, who is still a puppy, sit over by me and whine to get my attention. So, I would get up to take her outside, thinking that she needed to relieve herself. But no…. she would just lay down by the kitchen doorway and just look at me, and I would close the door, come over to her, and give her a “momma hug”.  Things would be fine for a while after that, and then the cycle would start all over again.

Now, I know I am spoiling her. I know that! But she is so devoted to me! So it came as no surprise for me to notice that she no longer comes to sit near me and whine. She goes straight to her spot, whines, and I automatically go over to her to give her a hug.

My dog has trained me.

But I figure I owe her in some small way, for all the joy she gives me. Besides, I am still mistress of my domain, and she respects that, especially at feeding time 😉

I Love My Dog

I do. She is such a sweet natured thing. She only barks when the door rings, or when she spies a stranger in the front. She never nips at food you give her, but instead she takes gently from your fingers. She loves to get a hug from anyone, and will lay down with you to cuddle. When you hold her, she will give you the sweetest “kiss”, and sigh in contentment.

She is also Destructo.

She has never grasped the “Fetch” concept, seemingly content to go fetch, and keep item to chew. She has even destroyed Kong balls, chewed bits off and swallowed them, only to magically reappear on the carpet among the multitudinous echoes of her stomach leavings. Thankfully, she doesn’t chew on anything in the house. But gift her with any toy, and it’s Goodbye, Charlie:

That’s about 25% of the leftover stuffing in her little chewtoy. Hubby was right: never give a dog a toy that resembles anything YOU may own. Otherwise socks, shoes and dolls will be fair game. And you see how Berber carpet kinda looks like a chewtoy?? Yeah, I do go around clipping the little threads that she seems to find so entertaining.

But I can never be mad at her for long.

Look at those eyes!! Just look at them!!!

She might not be the brightest dog out there, but she lurves her mom 🙂

Early Morning Adoration

It never fails. I get up to tend to the dogs, and as soon as the coffee is done, I feel like I am sitting on a pedestal.

And they called it Puppy Love...

I was never a dog owner, or even had a preference for them. Growing up, I was only allowed to have pets that could fit in small cages. The hamsters were fun because they learned to crawl out of it at night, and find their way back to their “home” in the morning. The iguana…. well, that didn’t last long, after my mom found it. And now that I’m a dog owner, I can’t imagine being without one.

Thanks to reader Aewl for the inspiration 🙂