April 14, 2009
Tardiness, My Bad
I’m usually very good about updating the website after a day of walking, but yesterday just flew by before I realized my mistake. Therefore, I am a day late and for that I apologize, but maybe if I get it done early this morning, no one will notice!
The day started with a crisp, beautiful walk around Volunteer Park. Gretchen was desperate to get a photograph of the Olympics bright white on the horizon, but every view was cluttered with wires and houses. This was the only one that offered a clear shot over the city to the mountains and believe you me, we had to hike quite awhile to find just the right viewpoint.
Even this photograph had to be cropped because a flagpole originally cluttered the left side. Still, it gives you a sense of how beautiful it was yesterday.
And cold, mighty, mighty cold. The morning temperatures were an astounding 36 degrees!
After our walk through and around the park, we headed to the pet store to find more food for me. Yes, I’m a finicky eater so Gretchen’s always hemming and hawing over which food I might find appealing this week. She did a good job because I’ve eaten every meal since our stop at the store.
Next, we gathered up Lucy and Ollie for a walk and a romp.
Lucy, who has weird allergies, was dressed in her Bad Ass sweater (it’s gotta be cold for a skinny little dog with short hair on cold mornings like this!) and her left eye was all puffy from something though no one is really sure what. That didn’t stop her in the least, though, from playing fetch and being obsessive about the ball.
Ollie, on the other hand, was his usual wooly, bouncy self with a special emphasis on bouncy!
We played fetch and chase and wrestled in the cold chill of the mid-morning and Ollie, as you can see, practiced his jumps. It’s impressive. Even I, who love to perfect my agility skills, find Ollie’s altitude remarkable. I mean, the guy is half my size, all hair and curls, and still, he can launch himself from four flat feet a good five feet into the air.
And he LOVES to do it in search of a bouncing ball.
In addition to all the normal fun we had at the park, we were joined by a sweet old gal named Yuna who Ollie found particularly wonderful!
Yuna is 10 years old and she loves to talk announcing her arrival, her pleasure in meeting new friends, and her general joy of life. Plus, she has a great smile, don’t ya think?
While Ollie found her lots of fun to smell and play with…
..I myself enjoyed chasing Yuna’s mom around the courts. She was lots of fun!
Where’s Lucy during all this fun with new friends? You guessed it, though don’t worry — she got our new human friend to throw the ball for her like a million and a half times. Lucy LOVED that, as you can imagine.
We thought our work day was over after this, but then we got a call from Gemma’s dad. She was driving her dad crazy as he was preparing for guests that evening. “Could we wear her out?” he pleaded. I laughed. As if I could wear out Gemma before she wears out me! HA!
See what I mean?
Gemma got to go with us in the car as Gretchen met some potential new clients — Riley and Rufus. We didn’t get to meet them. Not yet, anyway, as Gretchen likes to walk the dogs on her own to see how they are on the leash. Riley is an 11-year old beagle who, as beagles are prone to do, is very stubborn. Rufus is a 3 year old basset hound and walked as fast as his little legs allowed. They are both, according to Gretchen, driven by their noses so she found it hard to move forward. Next time, she told me, she’s going to take me AND some really smelly treats in hopes that will motivate them into some vigorous exercise!
After we dropped Gemma off (hopefully she slept through the dinner party) our day was officially done, though I got to play some fetch later that evening with Monty and his mom Colleen. It was a great way to end a busy day and man oh man, did I sleep like a dog!
I’ll do better today, I hope, posting today’s activities. Promise! =-)
Rubin
