Wags n’ Words

The Day in Smiling Photographs

This is Jasper. We saw him at the very end of a very long day.  And I mean a very long day, but when I saw him smile, I mustered up enough energy to go on a walk with him and in the end, he made me smile, too!

I’m tired tonight. Really tired. Because we’re going out of town tomorrow, we moved our Friday clients to today making that 6 dogs to walk AND my agility class this afternoon. Wow.  I guess I have reason to be tired.

In fact, I am so tired, I’m simply going to share the day in photographs with minimal commentary.  I hope everyone understands…

Goodnight everyone! Sweet dreams,

Rubin

Better Late Than Never

(Gretchen left her camera at the house of Jasper so this post is a bit late.  Forgetful woman! Our apologies to all our readers. Rubin)

Hey Rubin?

Yeah, Monty, what’s up?

So, I’m like your best friend, right?

Not like, you are. Are you worried?

No, I was just wondering why everybody else got to post on your blog before me while you were out of commission?

Well, I figured it this way — you ARE my best friend so you wouldn’t mind waiting while I gave all the other clients a chance to chime in. Besides, I really saved the best for last, didn’t I?

You’re cool, dude. I guess when you put it that way it makes perfect sense. I’m happy now…

I can tell you’re really happy!  Hope I didn’t hurt your feelings!

No, dude, I was just wondering. Thanks for clearing it up.

No worries. So go ahead…have your say…

The best thing I like about your visits in the week is that I’m certain we’ll always have fun.

Yeah, the walks are nice and the games of fetch, too, but nothing beats a good wrestling and chase romp does it?

That’s the truth. We know how to rough house don’t we?

Champs. We’re champs.

Unfortunately, I’m getting a bit older so flying off the deck isn’t good for me anymore.

That’s why Gretchen put all my agility toys around the deck. She wanted to block our flying leaps off it.

I appreciated that because when I’m playing, well, I kind of get carried away.

Is that a pun? Flying leap — carried away?

Ha! Funny.  I didn’t even realize I was so funny!

You’re both fun and funny, Monty! And really fun to chase!

Well, you’re kind of persistent.

Am I?

Yeah, dude!  You come at me and at me again and again pestering me by poking me in my neck, throwing yourself against me, and barking at me. What am I supposed to do, ignore you?

Sorry, I didn’t realize what a pest I was.  I thought you liked it.

Don’t get me wrong, it’s fun, really fun, but sometimes it gets annoying and I have to show you who’s boss.

In this picture it looks like I’m the one in charge.

That’s only because I make you think you are. Most of the time, I’ve got you flat on your back and I’m telling you to settle down.

That’s true.

Poor Oshi. He hung out with us after our walk and watched from the porch, worried that we’d hurt each other.

Oshi is kind of shy and though he can wrestle with Perrito, he doesn’t like wrestling with big dogs.

I tried to be gentle, but I guess he thought I was going to crush him.

We are kind of scary I suppose.

Yeah, I guess we’re both kind of big compared to him, aren’t we?

Take a look, dude? Your head is as big as his whole body!

Would you look at that?  I don’t feel that big.

You’re a giant among dogs, buddy, but that’s what I love about you.

You do?

Yeah, you’re a gentle giant.

Oh shucks.  Thanks.

But Oshi likes us and he liked hanging out with us yesterday afternoon.

Yeah, though he’s really worried about his buddy, Perrito who just had eye surgery.

I know. It’s hard to get Oshi to come out of his house when he knows his buddy can’t come with him.

Is it hard on you when you know I can’t come with you?

If only you knew, dude, if only you knew. When we head out for a walk, I always pull toward your house, but sometimes we don’t go that way or sometimes we go that way, but never stop at your house. That’s like torture.

I know, sometimes I hear you down on the street and I bark a hello.  Do you hear me?

Yeah, and then I feel really excited because I think for sure we’ll go pick you up, but sometimes we don’t and that’s kind of a bummer.

Well, I suppose we’re lucky to live so close and that we get to see each other just about every day.

I like it when you and your mom come over at night and we get to go play fetch in the dark with our blinking yellow balls.

Yep, that’s killer fun!

And then Quillette and Jessica came over.

We have such nice friends!

And how about our new friend, Jasper?  He’s pretty cool, eh?

Very cool.  He’s so mellow and he loves all the same things I love like the water!

Dude, you two were so funny on that dock!  I thought for sure you were both going to go in.

Jasper liked watching the boats.

Watching the boats is one thing, but you were ready to swim alongside them!

Well, I tried. I mean, I put both feet off the dock and then Gretchen kind of panicked and pulled me back.

Good thing she did!  You would have gone down like a boulder straight to the bottom!

Really?  I thought for sure there was solid ground down there!

Dude, you’re kind of crazy, you know that?

Well, Jasper wanted to jump right off!

Good thing Gretchen had a tight hold of our leashes.

She didn’t really have to hold onto you. You just stood a bit frozen in the middle of the dock.

Well, it was kind of rocking back and forth and I’ll admit, that made me a bit nervous.

I kind of liked it!

Is there anything you don’t like, Monty?

Um, let me think. Oh yeah, the vacuum cleaner.  Hate that thing!

See, we all have our issues.

I’m glad you accept mine.

Likewise, dude.  And I’m really glad you’re my best friend.

Ditto. And thanks for letting me write on the blog.  Can I do it again sometime?

You bet!

I’m not sure I can do this, Gretchen.

Sure you can, Teabiscuit. You’re a very brave dog.

I am?

Yes, you are certainly braver than you think.

But this keyboard is so big. It takes so much effort to reach each letter. And that ‘z’ it’s so far away.

Don’t worry about the ‘z’ — you rarely use it.

But what do I write about?

Anything you want, but why don’t you start with a brief introduction. Not everyone really knows you.

Okay, well I’m a small dog, a poodle and Maltese, I think, but I’ll have to double-check with my family. I’m young, but I forget how young and I like to play fetch.

How did we meet?

Well, usually Peter walks me, but he’s famous now and out of town on tour (not sure what that means) so he asked you to walk and play with me.

That’s right. How’s it going so far?

As I said, I’m pretty shy so honestly, while I was glad to see you, I was a bit hesitant to do all the normal things I do with Peter.

Like play fetch?

We played some fetch, but mostly I just rolled around in the grass.

Yes, you liked that very much.

It feels good on all those places I can’t scratch myself.

I bet it does, and already I know how much you like to be scratched.

Yes, thank you for all the rubs you gave me today.

No problem. So what did we do next?

We went for a walk, a long walk down the hill to the lake and even though you said I couldn’t go swimming, you let me get a drink of water.

That tasted good, didn’t it?

Yes. Very refreshing.

You’re doing a great job writing and look, no use of the ‘z’!

You were right!  Hope it stays that way.

It will, it will.

So next we went up through the Madrona Woods. You go there often, don’t you?

Yes, it’s very pretty and I love the forest. It’s nice to find it in the city.

It scared me at first.

Yes, I know it did, but I told you, you are very brave and you showed great courage in the woods.

I liked it when you said the word “kitty” because I have a kitty who lives at my house.

I was wondering. A cat wanted to go into your house when I dropped you off, but I wasn’t sure the cat belonged to you.

It does. Coming home was a hard walk for me. Was it hard for you?

Yes, it’s all up hill from the lake and there are a lot of stairs.  You did very well on the stairs. I was impressed.

Thank you.

You’re welcome.

Did any of those photographs of the flowers turn out?

I think so. What do you think?

Oh, those are lovely!

I like all the colors, don’t you?

Yes, very much…so, is that it?  Is that all I have to write about?

Actually, no. If you were the only dog I walked today that would be okay, but remember how I told you about Ollie and Lucy? You need to write about them.

Even though I wasn’t there?

Yes, well, I told you all about the morning remember? You just have to tell it from your perspective.

Okay, but I’m feeling kind of nervous about it.

Would it help if I showed you a picture of Ollie and Lucy?  Would that help you remember?

Yes, that just might do the trick.

Oh, now I remember. That’s Ollie in curls and Lucy dressed in my colors.

Your colors?

Yes, she’s black and white, too, though I have curls.

And she likes to play fetch just as much as you do!

Really? What about Ollie? Doesn’t he like fetch?

Sometimes, but he’d rather just grab the ball and run around a lot. And he drops the ball all the time. That’s pretty funny.

Why is it funny?

Well, he never knows which way he’s going or which way the ball is going so he tumbles all over the place trying to find the ball that he just dropped.

That is pretty silly. What does Lucy do?

Lucy is like a machine. She gets really, really excited once she knows where we are headed and when she sees the ball, she starts whining with excitement.

I like to play fetch, but not that much.

Well Lucy could play all day and all night. She rarely gets tired, though this morning, because it was warm, she got pretty tired.

It was warm this afternoon, too. I got really hot. That’s why you let me have a drink from the lake. Does Lucy drink from the lake?

I’m sure she would. We rarely go down there because she just wants to play fetch.

Does Ollie like the lake?

I bet he would, too, but when his curly coat gets wet, it’s kind of a big mess and I don’t want to give him back to his family all wet and heavy.

That’s nice of you.  What else do they do besides play fetch?

Ollie likes to bounce a lot. He also pounces on things like the ball or a stick or sometimes a pine cone.

I think that would scare me.

Oh, he’s super nice and very sweet. He likes to cuddle, too, just like you.

But still, he seems like he’s got lots of energy. Does Lucy?

Oh yes, but Lucy’s energy is all about fetch. She is singularly focused. Ollie’s all over the place.

Do they ever hold still?

Yep!  In fact, just this morning, I got a picture of Ollie lying down chewing on the ball and Lucy standing staring intently at me.

Why was she staring?

Can’t you guess?

Oh, she wanted the ball!

See, you are wise AND brave!

And guess what, Teabiscuit?

What?

You’re done! That’s it!  You wrote about the whole day and never once used the letter ‘z’!

Imagine that!  I guess I am a brave dog!

Yes you are, little one, yes you are!

Boys In The Hood

Hello there! My name is Oshi and I…

Hold on a minute there, buster, who says you get to be the one to blog today?

Well, I am the oldest, Perrito.

Yeah, but I don’t see why old has anything to do with it. We should go by who is cuter.

And your point?

I’m cuter so I should go first.

I think not, young man. I am by far the cutest, the most mature, and the wiser of the two of us so I should go first.

Are not.

Am so.

Are not.

Am so so so so so!

Wait a sec guys. Why can’t  you just take turns?

Oh, good idea, Gretchen. But who should go first?

Rock Paper Scissors…that always does the trick!

(Silence)

Whatever. Oshi, you’ve introduced yourself, why not let Perrito take it from here for awhile?

Told you I was cuter.

Stop it.

Okay, I’m Perrito and today we got to go for a walk through the neighborhood. It was beautiful and sunny and I peed on everything I could find.

Great. That’s just great.  Now everyone we’ll think we’re bad dogs.

Why? Dogs like to pee on things. Boy dogs especially. You do it.

Yeah, but I don’t talk about it…at least, not to people I don’t know.

We’re talking to people we don’t know here?  I thought we were just talking to Gretchen.

See why he shouldn’t go first?

Guys, guys, guys. Don’t blow this opportunity. Okay, Oshi…how would you describe what we did today?

We walked.  And that might sound boring to most, but walking is a great way to know what’s happening in the neighborhood.

Yeah, like who peed where…

See what I mean?  He interrupts AND he talks about inappropriate things!

Continue Oshi, just continue…

Well, usually we walk to the tennis courts…

Oh I LOVE the tennis courts!

Perrito, give Oshi a chance.

Okay…sorry…

But today we walked up to the school because Gretchen had something she had to drop off.

I LOVE the school, I do, I do, I do!

Why’s that, Perrito?

Because the girls at the school think I’m really cute and they cuddle me and pet me and let me jump on their legs.

Do you like it, too Oshi?

Well yes, but I’m not as forward as Perrito. I did like the girl who asked if she could hold us, though. She was nice.

Yeah, really really nice.  She told me I was cute.

Enough of the cute, already!

I’m just saying…

What’s your favorite part about the walks, guys?

Peeing on everything! And walking by the houses of my friends. Like Monty’s house. I thought for sure we were going to go in there today, but we didn’t. I peed on the bush outside his house though so he’d know we’d been there.

I’m just going to ignore his uncivil behavior, okay?

Now hold on just one minute. YOU peed on the same bush!

See, he doesn’t get it, does he, Gretchen. He doesn’t get that civilized dogs don’t talk about their bathroom habits in public!

Hey, Gretchen?

Yes, Perrito.

What does he mean by bathroom habits?

Don’t worry, Perrito.  You two may look alike, but it’s good to let everyone know you are very, very different.

And that I’m the cutest.

Oh, jeez!

Writing Backwards

Good evening. My name is Jasper and I have been asked by my new friend, Rubin, to post a dog blog of today’s activities at Wags n’ Words. Please forgive me if I make grammatical or punctuation mistakes for I am a humble dog with little experience in the ways of human language.  This task is difficult for me since I am walked by Gretchen at the end of her day therefore, in order to do the day justice, I must refer back to notes so diligently explained to me by other new friend, Monty.

First and foremost — get better soon, little Rubin. I miss smelling you and walking beside you. While I adore Monty, he doesn’t walk beside anyone. Rather he leads the way by circling around and around eventually moving forward. You and I, little Rubin, are obedient walkers calmly walking by Gretchen’s side unless we see something more interesting like a cat or a squirrel. Then, I suppose, we aren’t as obedient as she’d like, but she’s very understanding and can generally snap us back into behaving with a gentle tug of the leash.

So let me begin at the beginning. The day started with two little fellas I haven’t met yet  — Oshi and Perrito — though I can smell them on Monty since he got to walk and play with them today.  Their routine is very different from ours. While Monty and I walk through the neigborhood and sometimes down by the lake, Oshi and Perrito escort Monty to the tennis courts where he plays fetch and Perrito chases him!

This looks like a great deal of fun, but Monty tells me that his favorite part is climbing up on the bench with his ball and watching it fall off again and again.

Sometimes, he tells me, he just likes to lie on the bench in the sun and squish the ball between his teeth. I can understand the squishing part, but the whole bench thing confuses me to no end.

But I am not one to judge, so I’ll take Monty’s word for it. It’s fun.

I asked what Oshi and Perrito did for fun and Monty told me that Perrito likes to chase him around and Oshi likes to scurry after Perrito. From the photographs, I think Oshi actually likes to run around and watch his hair blow in the breeze. What do you think?

Monty did tell me that the surprise of the day was when Quillette showed up with her mom, Jessica. Jessica looks like a very nice young woman and Quillette looks as if she was very happy to see everyone!

I think I would very much like Quillette. She has a great smile and she likes to pounce on her ball. I like that too!

It looks like everyone had a great time this morning. Of course I imagine little Rubin was none too pleased that all his buddies got together without him. But you’ll get to hang out with them (and me) soon, yes? For now, the pictures will have to suffice.

Then it was my time and oh what a time we had! First, Rubin needed a new toy so we headed off to Four Legs Good the local pet store. And there we met Cheryl who gave us lots of really tasty treats.  We liked her very, very much.

Then off we went for our walk through the neighborhood, down by the park, and past all the wonderful smelling signs of spring. Monty posed in the sun at the park…

…we met Poppy, an old gal who wagged her tail in pure happiness…

…and then headed back to my house, side by side…finally.

It was a wonderful time and I thank you, little Rubin, for the privilege of sharing the day, beginning to end, with all the Wags n’ Words fans.

Have a great weekend everyone!

Jasper

Ollie Ollie In Come Free!

Hey. How are ya? I’m Ollie. Yep, Ollie, Ollie, Ollie. That’s me!  I have springs for legs and boy to I love to use them. Boing, boing, boing! I get to be the writer of today’s blog because my buddy Rubin has a sore leg. Poor guy. He’s repooperating…or something like that.  Gretchen says he needs rest and it makes me very, very sad because when Gretchen and Rubin come to the back gate, I’m so exicted my legs start twitching and I start jumping. Boing, Boing, Boing! Ollie, Ollie, Ollie. That’s me!

I also get to write today because I was really the only dog who needed walking. Imagine that.  With all the fun we have, you’d think all the dogs in the whole wide world would want to walk with us?  Ya think? But not today.  Today it was just me and Gretchen and a long, long walk through the park and down to the lake.

I like my walks. It’s like an hour of visiting. I’m certain that every house we walk by is the home of a friend.  Gretchen laughs at me and is always saying, “Nope, Ollie, you don’t live there!”

Okay, I know that, but I’m sure I have a friend who lives in that house…and that house…and that house.  Don’t I?

Gretchen is always trying to get me to sit calmly while she takes a photo. Today, for instance, we passed a waterfall…yes, a waterfall in the city…and she propped me up right next to it only I wasn’t very comfortable sitting next to running water. Plus I was like 2 feet off the ground and that made me kind of nervous. Jittery Ollie, that’s me!

If Rubin had been there, I’d have been a lot more confident. He’s very good at sitting and waiting. He tells me often that if I just go along with it, it will all be over soon, but he wasn’t with me today so I had a hard time sitting still.

We walked through the Madrona neighborhood and even though Gretchen had a raincoat for me packed in her bag, the sun came out and we both got kind of hot!  She stopped once to take off her coat, but when I asked if she could take off mine, she just laughed and said, “Ollie, you are such a cute and silly dog!”

So down through the Madrona woods we walked where I occasionally strayed from Gretchen’s side to smell the ground and the flowers and then race back to her with glee on my face.

“You’re a well-behaved boy,” Gretchen told me and that made me proud, proud, proud. I want to be a good boy, really I do and most of the time I am.  My only bad behavior is that I leap up on Gretchen’s legs. I’m sorry, but I can’t stop it. When you have springs for legs, you really don’t have much control of them. I hope she understands that.

The park was beautiful and look what we found!!!!!

I’m not sure what they are, but Gretchen got all excited and took lots of pictures of them. I got excited, too and peed on them!

I was sad when Gretchen dropped me off at my house, but as usual I ran through the dog door, checked to see if anyone was home, and then raced back on the porch to say goodbye just as Gretchen was speeding away on her scooter.  Varoom, varoom! See you next week and give Rubin a wag for me!

Though my time with Gretchen was over, she had other friends to visit. She’ll be taking care of two dogs for another dog walker while he’s on tour with his brother.  ON TOUR? What does that mean? Is it like visiting?

Well, I guess you’ll find out (hey, that’s a pun) when you check out this website: www.foundmagazine.com

And on the radio at http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=1311376

So anyway, while I was taking a nap, Gretchen met Gurda…

…a recently rescued dog who lives in the Central District and has one heck of a smile and LOVES LOVES LOVES to be petted on her belly…here she is about to roll over!

And did I mention the smile?

And after Gurda, she met Teabiscuit. What kind of name is that?  Wait, she looks like a miniature Monty!

Apparently, Teabiscuit is obsessed with playing fetch (just like Lucy) and she’s quite good at it, according to Gretchen.

And those ears! They’re just like my buddy Monty’s ears…flap, flap, flap!

Only her tail is quite a bit fluffier…in fact, she’s kind of one of those dogs who you don’t know if she’s coming or going…can you tell which end this is?  Guess!

Teabiscuit doesn’t live too far from me so maybe I’ll get to meet her though apparently, she’s a bit dog shy. She won’t be once she meets me. I’m sure she’ll be impressed with how high I can jump and what a sweet and wonderful boy I am.

Ollie, Ollie, that’s me!

Thanks for the fun of writing on your blog Rubin. Get better soon, buddy. I can’t wait to play with you again!

OllieOllieOllie!

Rubin is currently indisposed, but has invited some of his clients to provide their “tails” of our dog walking adventures. Rubin hopes to be back at the keyboard soon, but in the meantime, he’s excited to have you read about our work from the viewpoint of his friends!

Lucy’s Tails

Hi!  You don’t know me…well, maybe you do. I’m Lucy and despite the title of this blog, I do not have a tail…well, not much of one.  I don’t have much of anything actually because I’m as skinny as the wind and just as fast, too.

I’m honored that Rubin chose me to be the first to write on his blog.  I thought for sure he’d choose Monty, but actually, Rubin and I go way back since we were born within a month of each other.  (I’m older…wiser, too.) As puppies, Rubin and I spent lots of time together chasing each other and sleeping side by side in his “donut bed.” He outgrew that bed and I inherited it and to this day, there’s no place I’d rather be than curled up under my afghan (blanket, not dog) sleeping.

That’s where Rubin usually finds me when it’s my day for a walk. Today was such a day and I felt really lucky because Monty joined me. I like Monty. He likes me, too, but we’re both rather shy about it all.  We walk together looking like distant cousins. I’m short, he’s tall. We’re both black and white, but he’s curly and I’m not. Our tails are the same length, relatively and we both like to be out front on our walks.

This is how we start our walks…forging ahead down the street, but as we get into the groove and over our shyness, we move closer and closer together glancing at each other out of the corner of our eyes.

Yeah, we kind of have a thing going on, but we’re both too polite to take it to the next level.  We keep waiting for the other one to make the move, but Monty is too polite, and I’m too…well, I’m too focused on getting to the field so we can play fetch, which I will admit is my personal obsession in life.

But if you watch us walking together, you’d see how much we like each other.

Today we walked along the ridge and down to the tennis courts. I suffer from allergies and so Gretchen is kind of enough not to run me through the tall grass of the park. The tennis courts are fine, though as the the weather warms up, we’ll have to go back to the field since humans like to play tennis there. Imagine that!

Because of my size and my lack of hair, I tend to get kind of cold. Along with my NEED to play fetch, I get a bit annoyed with Gretchen’s requests to take our pictures. She thinks Monty and I are cute together and while I agree we make a perfect couple, it’s cold out there (where’d the sun go?) and that makes me chilled.

But I know that if I’m patient enough, eventually the orange and blue balls will come out and we’ll get to play fetch. That makes me happy. That makes me very happy.

It also makes Monty happy…or so it seems. Lately, he’s become this silly dog who finds it very fun to fetch the ball and then climb onto the bench and lie down.  What? Isn’t the whole purpose of fetch to obsessively get the ball, bring it back, get the ball, bring it back?

Apparently, that’s not how Monty sees it.

I don’t get it. He climbs up there, lies down, drops the ball, and then watches it bounce on the court. Only when Gretchen picks it up again does he jump down and fetch the ball. He’s tried to explain it to me, but I don’t get it. “It’s fun,” he says, “you should try it!” But the bench isn’t what I like about fetch…it’s the ball!

After I was dropped off, Gretchen walked Oshi and Perrito. Actually, we dropped Monty off at his house and I got to walk with the boys (in their new, stunny hairdos!) back to my cushy bed with the warm afghan (blanket, not dog!).

Oshi and Perrito got to visit the school where my mom works and there they met a student who was very excited to see them.

After their visit, they went on a long walk and headed home where they met up with their best friend…Orondo the Cat. I’ve met Orondo. I’m not sure why Rubin doesn’t like him. He’s quite nice and is very friendly to dogs, but Rubin told me that Orondo scratched Perrito and that’s why Perrito has a goopy eye right now and had to go to the doctor’s office.  I know how he feels. When my allergies kick in, my eyes get all itchy and I have to take medication, too. It’s no fun, but Perrito is healing well and seems to have forgiven Orondo.

Next up, Gemma. Now I must tell you that I have spent some time with Gemma and while generally I don’t like girl dogs OR puppies, Gemma’s grown on me.  Perhaps that’s because, like me, she’s a terrier.  Hard to say at this young, but she appears to have that obsessive drive that I like.  Gemma got to play with Quillette (another female dog I like) for awhile…

…and Quillette, an older gal, tolerates Gemma’s terrier persistence with only an occasional schooling. Like while they played at the tennis courts, Gemma ran full bodied into Quillette and Quillette gave her quite a protest growl. Gemma apologized and then decided to play fetch (see why I like her?) while Quillette played soccer with her mom, Jessica, who joined them on the walk.

Gemma, still a puppy, likes to imitate and Quillette is a good dog to mimic.

The day ended with a dog I have not met. Monty’s told me all about Jasper, though. Monty really likes him. He says he’s kind of shy, but very friendly and the two of them spend their walks sniffing flowers and peeing on trees.  I guess that’s a guy-thing. “No fetch?” I ask.

“No. Life isn’t all about fetch,” Monty tells me.

It’s not?

On their evening walk, Monty told me that he and Jasper met a new friend.

“Yeah, like we were in the park and Jasper said, ‘Hey, Monty. Check out this dog!’ and so I went over to meet the new guy.”

“He looks a bit stiff,” I said.

“Yeah, and kind of cold, but he’s very well-behaved!” Monty added.

“What was his name?” I asked.

“Carl and is name is like stamped on his body. ‘Good Dog, Carl.’ Jasper tells me he’s like famous this Carl dog.”

“What for?” I asked.

“I have no idea,” Monty exclaimed. “Maybe for standing there on three feet and NEVER moving!”

“Jasper doesn’t seem so impressed,” I commented.

“No,” Monty explained. “He says Carl might be well behaved, but he smells funny. Unlike me, though. Jasper says I smell really good!”

I hope to one day meet Jasper. I kind of have this thing for big, strong dogs and from the photos and Monty’s description, Jasper is such a fellow.  And he poses well, doesn’t he?

Well, that’s it for me — Ms. Lucy Ball (that’s my full name).  Thank you, Rubin, for this opportunity. I hope you ask me again, but now I’m off to play fetch again with my mom after which I’ll curl up in the donut bed you gifted me underneath my warm afghan (blanket, not dog!)

Lucy

Indeed. This is Sunshine!

Gretchen says that when we have three days of sunshine we should thank the weather gods because three days of warm weather in April is a bright blessing. It’s so bright, in fact, when she snapped this photo of me, the sun was hot on my back and I was in heaven!

I love the sun.  When the sun shines on our back porch, I want nothing more than to eat my breakfast and then sprawl out in the warm sun while I digest.

Ollie seems to like the sun, too. He was our work today. Just Ollie, no Lucy. Lucy moved until tomorrow this week, but that’s okay because Ollie and I are good friends.

We walked down to the lake through the park and the bright light of the sun filtered through the tall park trees.  When Gretchen shot this photo, the sun was a warm and wonderful light turning my usually apricot coat to white.

Ollie, on the other hand, is caramel and no matter how much the sun shines on his coat, it will always be caramel.  It’s a beautiful color, don’t get me wrong, but it’s one color and will always be only one color. I have different shades depending on the light and as I’ve already said, the light was spectacular today!

After our long walk through the park and down by the lake, we came back to our house so we could play a bit in the backyard.

I like to tease Ollie with my ball and he plays along with it!  He’s a good boy and a good friend.  Hey, in the sunshine everyone is good and a friend!

Indeed, this is sunshine.

Tomorrow promises many more dogs, but unfortunately rain. Oh well. We got the blessing of three days of warm and light. Ahhhhh.

Rubin

In Need of Shade

After months and months of rain and cold weather, the sky broke blue today and warmed the ground in a pleasurable way.  So warm, in fact, I got to go for a swim.

Did Gretchen take any photos of that?

Nope, but she captured this elusive creature hiding right by my entrance and exit to and from the lake.

The turtles are one of Gretchen’s favorite signs of warmer weather.  I rarely notice them. Besides, doesn’t it just look like a big rock?  Well, that’s what I thought. If I’d known it was something more interesting I would have investigated more closely.

Gretchen investigated instead…careful not disturb the “rock in hiding.”

And then, after the swim and on our walk along the lake, she found another turtle perched on the downed tree at the edge of the lake…

Kind of hard to see, but it’s that bump in the middle of the tree.

Boring if you ask me, but then rarely does Gretchen ask me anything before she snaps the photos!

Gretchen had lots of work to do at the computer today including finishing a class on birds. On birds?  Humans are weird!

But we did get to go for a walk with the boys next door — Oshi and Perrito.  Poor Perrito. His cat friend (galls me to even write those two words together!) snagged him in the eye and now he has to get cream in his eye 6 times a day!  See why I’ll never be a friend with a cat?

Perrito wasn’t his usual energetic self partly because of his swollen, goopy eye, but also because it’s warm (about 70 degrees). In fact, after our walk and on the way home, we stopped in the shade of a tree to cool off a bit and do what Oshi likes to do best…roll in the cool grass!

I like it, too.  In fact, we all got into the act after awhile…

…well, Gretchen didn’t, but if she weren’t holding onto 3 leashes AND a camera, I bet she would have!

That was it for business today.  Good thing because I’m kind of tired from swimming, bird and turtle watching, and rolling around.  Quillette came over in the afternoon and her mom had dinner with us, but there aren’t any photos of us since we’re “off the clock” — whatever that means!

Enjoy the sunshine or at least know we are enjoying ours!

Rubin

I Get By With A Little Help From My Friends!

Friday’s are good days.  This Friday was particularly good because:

1. My other mother, Ann, took the day off and she got to go on our first walk of the day with Oshi and Perrito

2. It was sunny (though not terribly warm until later in the afternoon) after a night of rain, rain, and more rain.

3. I got to go to Grandma and Grandpa’s house for the day.

4. And I got to eat cooked pork — thank you Grandma and Grandpa!

The day began early, which it never really does, but since we were headed to Bremerton for the day, Gretchen arranged an earlier than usual walk with Oshi and Perrito, though the start of the walk is rather a funny story. The boys, as you will remember from former blogs, got groomed on Wednesday.  Not only is their hair clean and brushed, it is now much shorter. When they stand next to each other, you can see the differences between the two of them — Oshi is lighter and Perrito is darker, for instance. But when they are apart from each other, it’s hard to know which one is which — the case we struggled with yesterday.

Gretchen went into the house to retrieve the dogs, but was only met by one — Oshi (or so she thought).  She leashed up Oshi, sent him outside to Ann, and then searched for Perrito.  No Perrito. In fact, nothing. The house was silent, though she knew that their dad, Antonio was working outside. So she asked Antonio, “Where’s Perrito?” Antonio went into the house looking and looking for Perrito and as he looked, the more nervous he got. “I don’t know, I don’t know, this is not good,” he said.

Then he looked outside where Ann was waiting with me and “Oshi” only it wasn’t Oshi, it was Perrito.  Oshi, it seems, was still sacked out in the bedroom and when Antonio went searching for Perrito, he only saw Oshi and thought for certain Perrito had escaped or was trapped somewhere.  Instead, Perrito (who we thought was Oshi…well, my moms did…I knew all along which dog was which!) was with us and Oshi was in bed. Two dogs, no problem.

Everyone laughed and was relieved. The three of us — Oshi, Perrito, and me — we laughed at the humans. “Use your noses,” we told them, “Not your eyes.

After our walk through the neighborhood, we all piled into the car with our friend Denise (human, not dog) for a drive to the Grandparents’ house.  I slept and relaxed under the calming massage of Ann who sat in the back seat with me.  I was very excited to see Grandma and Grandpa, but Gretchen forgot to take pictures so you only have my word that a great time was had by all. I was a very good boy — everyone agreed — even when I saw the pesky squirrel in their backyard and barked at it again and again. 

When we got home in the late afternoon, Gretchen and I retrieved Monty, piled back into the car, and headed north to fetch Jasper!  Gretchen tells me that that, too, was a funny story though I was in the car with Monty waiting for their return.

Usually, Jasper gives a growl and a few barks when Gretchen enters the house followed by what she calls a “happy dance” only this time, there were no growls and no barks. Again, just like in the morning with Oshi and Perrito, she was met with silence. “Jasper?” she called, “Jasper, where are you?” No repsonse. “Hey buddy. Don’t you want a walk?” Still no answer.

Finally, she checked in the bedroom and there he was, sacked out on the bed, his tail gently tapping on the bed covers. As she approached, Jasper rolled over onto his back exposing his belly, yawning and stretching. “You want me to rub your belly?” Gretchen asked.

“Yes, right there!” Jasper pointed to that magic spot along his ribs.  It took some cajoling, but eventually Jasper was leashed up and ready to head out the door where he was pleased and excited to find Monty and me!  We went for a walk down by Green Lake only that turned out to be kind of a bad idea because Monty was full of energy and couldn’t understand why we weren’t going into the water!

The two of them couldn’t understand why they had to walk on the path and NOT go into the water.

I wondered, too, but I was being a good boy so I just sat and listened to the two of them question Gretchen’s judgment.

“It’s such a warm day,” Jasper told Monty. “You’d think she’d let us at least put our feet in the water.”

“And I’ve been inside all day,” Monty replied. “A splash in the water would be just the thing to release some of my boyish energy. Did I tell you what a good swimmer I am?”

At this point, I was laughing because Monty, my best friend in all the world, is anything but a good swimmer.  He swims, as his mom likes to describe it, overhand. You know, doggie crawl stroke?  It’s funny to watch and there are times when we all fear he will drown given the lack of his swimming efficiency, but he never does. Amazing!

Despite their pleading, we didn’t go into the water, but Gretchen promised she’d check with their moms to see if it would be okay if we went in the water occasionally though she’d rather we swam in Lake Washington than Green Lake.  She calls Green Lake the Freeway Park because there are so many people and dogs and skaters and cyclists whizzing about. Lake Washington is much calmer.  Of course, that means that maybe Jasper will come to our neighborhood some time and take the walk down to our lake for a swim some day. We’ll see.

On our walk back to Jasper’s house, Gretchen kept trying to get us to all sit so she could take our pictures by the lovely spring flowers that are in bloom.  I’m usually pretty good at sitting and so is Jasper, but then Monty ruins the whole thing by walking toward the camera in search of a treat. At that point, we all get up and wander over, following Monty’s lead.

“Oh, Monty,” Gretchen exclaims. “I just want a photograph of the three boys together. Don’t you think you could do that for me?”

“Oh, Gretchen,” Monty retorts. “I just want a treat as do my fine friends here. Don’t you think you could do that for us?

And then everyone laughs, but Gretchen keeps trying.

At a park near Jasper’s house, Gretchen tried again to get the photograph.  Everything was going quite well until we all heard a noise that grabbed our attention.

“Did you hear that?” Monty asked.

“Yep,” I said, “What was it?”

“They make lots of noise in this park,” Jasper explained.

So much for the photograph!

As Gretchen was packing up, though, Monty gave her a big smile and posed in his usual fashion while Jasper showed us his rolling techniques and I got in the way of the photographer!

Still, I win the award for sitting pretty the longest waiting FOREVER for Gretchen to take the picture!

Friday was a good day and I am one lucky dog to have such wonderful friends as these!

Have a good weekend everyone!

Rubin