Wags n’ Words

Dog Walking & Pet Care – Seattle, WA

Monthly Archives: August 2010

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August 16, 2010

August 17, 2010 7:21 am / Leave a Comment /

"Feels like another hot one, Gretchen!"

Going Slowly

There’s record-breaking heat all across the country and while everyone seems to be focused on the East Coast, Seattle is getting its fair share of hot, hot weather. So hot that the only way to survive as a dog dog walker is to go slowly.

That’s exactly what we did today though we also employed some other strategies. For instance, on my own personal walk this morning, Gretchen got up early so we could walk in the relatively cool air of the morning. We’ve also been heading to the lake where we both take a swim, which is the most refreshing way to begin a hot day that I can think of!

But our schedule doesn’t always allow early morning walks or trips to the lake. Some dogs have to be walked later in the day and unfortunately, in the heat, but we do what we can to keep them cool. First up today were Rosie and Tyson. Luckily, they were first on the docket so they didn’t have to walk in the real heat. Still, it was warm so Gretchen took a route that guaranteed nice patches of shade and rests under big trees. Rosie and Tyson really appreciated it!

With Gemma we had enough time to head to the lake, which I really appreciated and while I think Gemma liked it, she’s kind of funny about the water. When we arrive, she walks right in and refuses to come out, but she doesn’t ever swim. Well, that’s not exactly true — she wades out until all of the sudden she’s floating and then she panics a bit and splashes back to shore.

Meanwhile, I swim out and fetch the ball that she has no interest in retrieving and Gemma watches in awe.

Since I had a play date with my friend Ben and his cousin, Bailey at their outdoor pool later in the afaternoon, I didn’t go on the next walk with Saber and Alice.

Yep, Saber and Alice walked together without me. Gretchen said it all went well though Alice was a tad bit hesitant to walk anywhere near jolly Saber until about halfway through the walk.

Of course during the photo time, it was almost impossible to get Alice to sit next to Saber because, as you know, Saber has a hard time sitting or lying in one place for very long. His fidgeting makes her kind of nervous…

But then they met a nice young man, who loved petting Saber…

…and who helped them pose for their “lie down” photo!

Alice didn’t seem to notice the heat much, but Saber drank a bowl of water at the end of the walk and when he got home, flopped onto the cool floor panting heavily. I may have to take him to the lake tomorrow!

Until then…hope you all survive the heat!

Rubin

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Posted in: Alice, Gemma, Rosie, Rubin's Buddies, Saber, Tail Waggin' News, Tyson / Tagged: , , , ,

August 13, 2010

August 13, 2010 8:20 pm / Leave a Comment /

WATER!

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Posted in: Gemma, Monty, Rubin's Buddies, Saber, Tail Waggin' News / Tagged: , , , ,

August 12, 2010

August 12, 2010 7:07 pm / Leave a Comment /

The Walk

You might think it’s silly for a dog dog walker to talk about walking since that’s what I do every day, but since today was one of those schedules where that’s all we really did — walk — I thought I’d write about the importance of walks. No, I’m not trying to drum up more business as our schedule is quite full (though meeting a new client or two would be nice), rather I’m trying to stress how valuable and beneficial walking can be for more than just your dog. To punctuate my point, I’ll use today’s clients as examples.

1) Building a relationship with your dog: Ollie was one of our first clients when we started this business. From the beginning, he’s been a dream on a leash — rarely pulling (unless a squirrel or cat is involved and then who can blame him) and always extremely attentive to me (at his side) and Gretchen (at his other side). When we stop to play at places like a field or a tennis court, Ollie will run around a bit, but mostly he hangs right next to Gretchen and though he mostly does it because treats are involved, he also does it because he has bonded with her through the leash over these past two years. In other words, leash walking your dog builds trust and Ollie has learned not only to trust me, but also Gretchen and though we aren’t his owners, we like to think we’re members of Ollie’s pack family.

2) Safety in the city: We see a lot of dogs off-leash in the city. Some are very obedient (those Australian cattle dogs, for instance) while others are just downright rude. I suppose if we lived in the country away from fast cars and heavy traffic, we could all be off leash and be just fine, but in the city, leashes are a must. First, because it’s the law, but second because you can control what your dog gets into and who your dog comes in contact with. For Rosie, this is important. She (like me) HATES cats and since there are no leash laws for cats (darn it!), keeping Rosie on a leash is important or she may end up with fur in her mouth and scratches on her eyeballs. But it also keeps Rosie safe when she hears a loud truck roll by (something that frightens her) and she feels the need to run away from it. Attached to the leash, she can feel secure that Gretchen will keep her safe (they’ve built a relationship as described in #1) and she can’t run away (out into traffic or some other unsafe direction). Someday, though, it would be nice if all the cars went away and all the dogs got to run around Seattle like it was one huge off-leash dog park!

3) Familiarity with the neighborhood: Walking your dog through your own neighborhood is a great way to meet your neighbors and see the interesting gardens, architecture, and scenery that you often miss when you’re in your car.

Ollie and I, for instance, found an interesting wall on our climb up from the lake. It was really, really tall and had all sorts of interesting artwork pressed into it. Ollie and I both found it very fascinating.

Rosie and Gretchen found a really nice vegetable garden constructed on the parking strip. The green beans spiraled up the cable that held the telephone poll in place and the tomatoes sat in a big rubber pot constructed of old tires. You can’t see all that, but trust me, it’s there.

4) Great exercise for YOU and your dog: We probably walked ten miles today today and frankly, Gemma could walk that all by herself and still have energy left over! It’s hard to tire Gemma out, but a nice long walk (through the neighborhood #3, on a leash in the city #2, with Gretchen #1) is a good way for Gemma to get her much needed energy break. She walked all the way up to Woobie’s house and then all the way back down to our house where she tried to torment Woobie who made sure to keep her distance.

While Gemma didn’t walk ten miles (and I don’t think I did either), Gretchen did and she can tell you that ten miles in one day is the best way to be able to eat a guilt-free brownie for dessert!

5) Reducing your carbon footprint: If we all committed to walk more and drive less one or even two days a week, imagine how much we’d cut down on pollution? In fact, if we all became dog walkers the earth would be as happy as the puppies! Side note: Both Woobie and Saber had vet appointments where they had to be anesthetized — Woobie to have a broken tooth removed and Saber to get some x-rays of his hips. “Going under” as they like to say, can take a lot out of you. Yesterday, Saber had trouble walking as well as holding his tail up. He drooled and moaned and was pretty uncomfortable. I imagine Woobie felt much the same after her surgery as well. Of course, the two of them were very happy to be on their walks today, but for very different reasons. Saber, who felt back to normal today, wanted nothing more than to play, play, play and I didn’t help much by taunting him. Woobie just wanted to relax in the shade so she stayed as far away from us as she could. Can you see her in the background? Ah, there she is!

6) Seeing the beauty in the world: Our final walk of the day was at one of my favorite places in the city — Seward Park. I don’t want to write about it much because I want to keep this park a secret from everyone else, though I did share my favorite spot with one of my favorite new friends – Paige!

Why do I love Seward Park? Big trees, right on the water, lots of fun trails, and every view is spectacular — so much so, neither of us were able to really focus on the camera! Paige really liked her afternoon in the park, though next time she wants to be able to be off leash and swim for the ball!

Promise, Paige, next time we’ll make sure that happens.

There are lots of reasons why exercising your dog (on a leash and off as well) is beneficial. I’ve shared only a few of my favorites. Now I hope to see you all out there at some point — early in the morning or late at night — happily walking your dog in this beautiful Seattle weather! I know, I know — you have to work and it’s hard to get motivated, but really if you make the time, a good walk will help lift your spirits as well as your dog’s!

Until tomorrow,

Rubin

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Posted in: Gemma, Ollie, Paige, Rosie, Rubin's Buddies, Saber, Tail Waggin' News, Woobie / Tagged: , , , ,

August 11, 2010

August 11, 2010 4:20 pm / Leave a Comment /

Social Mathematics

Every day I get to practice my math skills. Six dogs plus four hours with three dogs at a half hour and three for an hour. “Hm,” I say to myself measuring the day out on my toes, “That means eight miles of walking in four sessions.” But the math gets complicated at times and it’s not the numbers that stump me, but rather the combinations of dogs I must walk when, where, and with whom. There are nights when I have a hard time falling asleep because I’m trying to figure out the possible configurations. “Gemma can’t walk with Alice, Gretchen can’t walk too many other dogs with Zoe, Monty loves everyone, but he gets tired, and Oshi and Perrito always cross leashes.”

Gretchen’s made the calculations more difficult now that she has a job in the evenings at the pool, but I guess it’s an added challenge for me — a way to stretch my mathematical mind throwing in the social conflicts of our clients.

Don’t get me wrong — all our dogs are sweet, but sometimes their personalities don’t mesh nor do their geographical locations so I’m left with moving the schedule around like a Rubik’s Cube…or perhaps that’s a Rubin’s Cube! Luckily, today wasn’t so complicated because Gretchen didn’t have to work at the pool and Saber wasn’t on the schedule (he usually is with us daily, but he had a vet appointment — hope you’re doing okay, buddy!)

The day started with Monty and as usual, we took a nice long walk all around the neighborhood to limber us up and energize our appetites. Well, mine got energized — his doesn’t need much help! I asked Gretchen not to take photos because this is my special time with my good friend and we like to stroll along without worries about posing or smiling. She was kind enough to oblige.

While Monty and I brunched on yummy goodies at home, Gretchen took Oshi and Perrito out for stroll. Now Oshi and Perrito pretty much get along with everyone, though they aren’t very fond of barking dogs behind fences. This is exactly how Gemma feels, too, so walking the three of them together is kind of a nice fit only all three of them are pretty unruly on the leash.

Unlike me, they don’t really know how to walk right next to Gretchen so even though it’s a lot of work for her, there are times when Gretchen is cursing the decision to walk them all together.

Today, though, they were pretty could though Gretchen always thinks she’ll need to schedule an appointment with the chiropractor after a walk with these three!

Oshi and Perrito are half-hour clients, while Gemma is with us for an hour, which means that Gemma got to walk with Monty and me, too. She liked that very much, but she really liked it when I rolled around on the ground and she could jump on me!

Once we walked Gemma with Alice and that didn’t work at all. Alice is kind of nervous with new dogs and Gemma, being the confident and outgoing-type made Alice really nervous so we’ve avoided that social combination since the first time.

Today, though, we decided to try Zoe with Alice because 1) they live in the same neighborhood, 2) Alice got moved this week from Monday to Wednesday, which is also a Zoe day and 3) while Zoe is energetic and bubbles with happiness, she is a pretty mellow gal and would most likely not make Alice very nervous.

It worked! The two got along famously, which means that that social equation can happen again IF all the factors (day, time, location) align again.

So yes, today was pretty easy in terms of the math. In the end, we walked about seven miles in four walks and everyone seemed very pleased. Let’s hope tomorrow provides us with such easy calculations, but I won’t worry about that now…I’ll worry about that tonight before I fall asleep.

Until tomorrow,

Rubin

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Posted in: Alice, Gemma, Monty, Oshi, Perrito, Rubin's Buddies, Zoe / Tagged: , , , ,

August 10, 2010

August 10, 2010 9:09 pm / Leave a Comment /

Word Play

As you may know, I am fond of human words. Well actually, I am fond of the many uses for human words. While you might think that a bark is a bark is a bark, a dog’s communication system is much more nuanced than a humans, but one thing we don’t have is a good pun. Today, as I was thinking about the blog I wanted to write, I realized that many of the photos Gretchen took today have word play built right into them.

For instance, on our first walk with Ollie, we posed in front of some Canada geese foraging at the lake. Since Ollie just got his hair done, we were forbidden to go into the lake, so I bid my time by thinking of puns. This is the one that struck me…

"Hey Ollie, don't get goosed!"

And then I realized that I wanted to watch for puns today so I asked Gretchen to see if she could find other word plays in which to pose the dogs. But first, back to those geese and to the newly sheared Ollie!

Since Gretchen went out alone with Rosie, she didn’t have me to advise her, but I think she figured out a good play on words for Rosie’s photo!

"Hey Gretchen, tell Rubin you were stumped with the word play assignment!"

Very funny, you two! Glad to see that you capture another picture of Rosie in front of the sunny world, though!

I was actually stumped when we picked up Gemma next and then headed to Zoe’s house. I kept my eye open for signs of puns and then we met Chili and that’s when Zoe said…

"Rubin, does it feel a little chilly out here to you?"

I had to laugh, while Gemma had to play with our new little friend!

Of course, by the time we got around to picking up Saber, my head was sore thinking of all the possibilities and Saber had absolutely no interest in thinking at all. He just wanted to play so I showed him my ball and then we played keep away, bark at Rubin, and splish splash in the pool!

I mean, why mess around with word play and when you can have the real thing — PLAY PLAY!

Saber gets some X-rays tomorrow so we want to send him a special message for a good news report, but I think I need to write it in dog-speak! Woof, woof, bark, growl, yip, yip, yip, bark, bark, bark! Love ya, man!

Until tomorrow,

Rubin

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Posted in: Gemma, Ollie, Rosie, Rubin's Buddies, Saber, Tail Waggin' News, Zoe / Tagged: , , , ,

August 9, 2010

August 9, 2010 8:52 pm / Leave a Comment /

Mood Swings

We were walking through the park today and there was a crew of people cleaning up after this weekend’s many festivities! One man complimented me on my new haircut (he didn’t think that I looked like a meerkat!) and then I asked him how much fun he had at the festival in the rain.

“Oh, I’m used to Seattle’s mood swings!” he said.

“Mood swings?” I cocked my head his direction.

“Yeah,” he answered, “Seattle’s weather is moody to say the least. You never know which way it’s gonna swing.”

I laughed out loud. Today Seattle’s weather was in a gray mood. After all the warm, sunny moods of late, the rain and clouds of the weekend felt like kind of a relief. But I thought for sure the mood would change back to sunshine for our walks today only it didn’t. It was warmer, but the gray clouds stayed with us until well into the afternoon when Gretchen headed off to her job at the pool.

The first walk of the day was with CATS! Wait, what? Did I just write CATS? Well, it’s true. While I didn’t have to walk them, I did get a walk around Genessee Park where there were work crews cleaning up more festivities. Then I had to wait in the car, while Gretchen and Ann checked in on our friends’ cats. Yep, CATS! Man oh man, what has Wags n’ Words come to? I didn’t get to meet them (not sure why?), but I did see the photos — most of which were blurry and only this one turned out any good.

Friends, meet Jude and Rita (to the left)…and don’t even think about saying they are adorable.

I heard that!

Then Gretchen got to walk Rosie and Tyson. I know they wouldn’t have tolerated cat sitting on our agenda today if they were in charge!! But I guess it begs to question, WHO IS IN CHARGE?

Apparently, not me.

Next, Gemma walked with Oshi and Perrito and all of them were on the lookout for CATS! They even found one on Oshi and Perrito’s porch (the neighbor’s cat who likes to hang out at their house) and Gemma had the same reaction I would have — CATS!!!!

Finally, the day ended with Saber who would like to meet a cat, or so he tells me. Yikes!

I need to educate that boy…which is exactly what I tried to do today by showing him how to be a bad boy while posing for a photo…

…the best he could do was flip his ear.

By the time Saber went home, the mood of the weather was better, but my mood was worse since Ann had to go back and check on the CATS! Talk about mood swings. When I see a cat or know one is nearby, my mood goes wild! Who knows what it will do tomorrow both in terms of CATS and the weather!

Until then,

Rubin

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Posted in: Gemma, Oshi, Perrito, Rosie, Rubin's Buddies, Saber, Tail Waggin' News, Tyson / Tagged: , , , ,

August 6, 2010

August 6, 2010 8:34 pm / Leave a Comment /

Priceless

We slept in this morning and it was priceless. We haven’t slept in for a long time, but this morning cool clouds painted the sky, a hint of an autumn breeze blew through the open windows, and everything was exactly as it should be for sleeping in. When I realized how priceless a good sleep in is, I started to think about all the other priceless things in my life.

I am blessed with a great deal of pricelessness!

1) Good friends — human and canine: Our friend Nini came over for her going away dinner. I consider Nini my auntie and while it was sad to say goodbye (hopefully not forever) it was fun hanging out with her last night!

"Hey Auntie Nini? Any of that meat for me?"

And then this morning, we went on a nice long walk with Oshi, Perrito, and Monty — three of my best friends and we headed up to the bakery where everyone got a little bit of breakfast (we got a snack and Ann and Gretchen got full on breakfast). Then we walked down the many many stairs where we posed with Gretchen and her backpack and her baguette (can you see it?).

Followed by a nice walk with Gemma whose spinning, tongue-wagging antics make us all laugh!

2) Fridays: Yeah, I know, everyone has some kind of Friday (not necessarily on an actual Friday), but there is something sighing (the best way I can describe it) about the end of my work week. Unfortunately, Gretchen went off to work at the pool tonight and has a full day there tomorrow, but still, I think she likes Fridays too.

3) Fetch: Monty has taught me many things, but one of the best is how to play fetch in the little field (actually any field) and it’s really fun to teach it to my other friends, like Saber. He didn’t get to play today because he has a sore back foot. Still, he likes hanging out with the guys and we like it too!

4) Napping: And after a long week and a nice day, it feels fantastic to stretch out and take a nap in the warming afternoon.

I have a good life, a very good life and while I’ve only touched on a few of the priceless things in my life for today, trust me, the list is long!

Have a great weekend,

Rubin

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Posted in: Gemma, Monty, Oshi, Perrito, Rubin's Buddies, Saber, Tail Waggin' News / Tagged: , , , ,

August 5, 2010

August 5, 2010 2:42 pm / Leave a Comment /

What’s That Sound?

Today has been a day filled with interesting (and painful) sounds. This morning I woke up and heard a noise I couldn’t place. Normally, I bark, but today I didn’t. I just cocked my head and said, “Hey, what’s that sound?”

Everyone woke up and Gretchen cocked her head too. “I don’t know,” then she got up out of bed, opened the curtains, and looked out.

“Oh my,” she exclaimed. “It’s raining!”

What makes this kind of a fluke is that there were barely any clouds in the sky, the morning was muggy and already hot, and the forecast called for a chance of showers, but no one believed them. And yet here it was — rain. Not a delicate summer rain, but a full on downpour and the sound of it woke us all up partly because it was so loud, but also because we haven’t heard that sound in a long, long time.

Another sound we haven’t heard is the roar and thunder of the Blue Angels. If you don’t live in the Pacific Northwest, particularly in Seattle, then you may not be familiar with this sound. The Blue Angels fly their jets over Lake Washington every August for the Seafair festivities. Usually we’re out of town, but since Gretchen has to work at the pool on Saturday and there are dogs to walk today and tomorrow, we’re here and my ears hurt.

Not only are the Blue Angels loud, but they fly really, really close to the ground making all of us a bit jumpy. Surprisingly though, Rosie, who is generally the most jumpy of us all, wasn’t jumpy in the least when the Blue Angels flew overhead. Seriously. Rosie and Gretchen were playing in the shade of the park (because remember it’s super hot and humid) when the Blue Angels screamed overhead.

What did Rosie do? Laid down and asked for more treats!

Gemma wasn’t freaked by the jets either, which was nice because they rattle my bones a bit and I needed her calm reassurance to ignore them.

Who’d of thought that I’d be looking to Gemma for calm reassurance, but there you have it!

It’s not just the big jets that fly over either. The little planes that do flips and loops were out there as well. In some ways these annoy me more, but they aren’t nearly as loud.

Saber got to walk with Ollie today and it was kind of bad planning on Gretchen’s part. Usually we walk Ollie in the morning, but because of conflicts with the car (we are a one car family after all), she had to walk him this afternoon. Ollie lives pretty close to the lake so Gretchen thought they’d drive down, walk around the park and then take a dip only they barely found a parking spot, the park was closed, and they ended up walking a long ways before they found any water in which to take that much needed dip.

Still, it looks like they had a good time and as Ollie knows, it doesn’t matter where you are as long as there are treats in Gretchen’s pockets!

The hydroplanes will be practicing soon as well — another mainstay of Seafair — and the rumble of those engines on the Lake will mean I won’t get a very restful afternoon nap. I need one because my friend Nini is coming over for her farewell dinner. She’s moving far, far away and though everyone insists that I’ll see her again, I worry that my Nini will forget me.

Until tomorrow,

Rubin

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Posted in: Gemma, Ollie, Rosie, Rubin's Buddies, Saber, Tail Waggin' News / Tagged: , , , ,

August 4, 2010

August 5, 2010 7:50 am / Leave a Comment /

Boyish New Me

If you know me — I mean, if you are in my inner circle and I wiggle when I see you — then you know I’m pretty much a boy’s boy. I like to be rough and tough and throw my boyish weight around. If you don’t really know me, then you’d think I was pretty much a fella who is in touch with my girlish side not necessarily because of my behavior, but because of my haircut. The Page Boy ears kind of make the boyish side seem oxymoronic. Every time I go to the groomer, they puff me up and my friends kind of tease me because the look doesn’t fit my personality at all.

So today, when Gretchen walked Monty and me up to the groomer, I was expecting the same foofy look. Boy, wasn’t I surprised!

Ann, my other Mom, says I look like a meerkat. I had to look that up to see what exactly what she meant and I guess I kind of see the resemblance, though I still have one question: What exactly IS a meerkat?

But since today was muggy and hot, the shorter hair (and ears!) was worth the time at the groomers. And I have to admit, I look kind of cute except that the gender confusion thing still happens. During one of our walks (in my new hairdo) a woman stopped us and said, “My, isn’t she a beautiful Doodle!” Oh well. It’s a good thing I’m comfortable with my androgynous appearance.

Of course, I didn’t get to walk with all the dogs today. Nope. Monty and I got to walk up to the groomers and then Gretchen went about the business without me for most of the day. When she brought the photos home, I did take a look at them to see the various hairdos of my friends and that’s when I realized, not everyone has to get their hair done. Monty, yes. Me, yes. But there are many in our crew who don’t. But I’m getting ahead of myself.

The first dogs of the day were (after Monty) Oshi and Perrito. Yes, they get groomed because their hair, like mine, grows and does not shed. While not shedding makes our families happy, it means we must submit ourselves to the snip snip snip of the razors. Okay, it’s not all that horrible. They’re very nice at the groomer and they talk to me in Spanish something that makes me feel very manly for some reason!

I don’t think Rosie would like the groomer very much. Fortunately for her, she doesn’t have to go because she has fur not hair and instead of it growing, she sheds it. She doesn’t mind the shedding if it means she doesn’t have to get in the car to go somewhere (doesn’t like car rides) and if it means she doesn’t have to hear loud noises (like blow dryers) or get a bath. This, as you can see, makes her very happy!

Two other happy dogs are Gemma and Zoe. They are happy for reasons far too numerous to recount. While Gemma doesn’t shed, she must get “striped” to keep her hair short and red. I’m not exactly sure how it works, but just the word “strip” puts a chill up my spine. Zoe, on the other hand, must get brushed to keep her coat so shiny and beautiful. As you can tell, both of their families do a magnificent job keeping these two gorgeous even though the two of them are both outrageously goofy…especially when they are together!

On their walk, they ran into another dog named Lambeau — yes, named after the football stadium in Green Bay, Wisconsin. Gemma saw him first and boy, did she ever want to play some football with this guy!

Even after Lambeau left, Gemma (and her tail) were on high alert! Zoe, on the other hand, was just happy to be taking a rest away from the heat!

Being a Mountain Dog, I imagine Zoe gets mighty warm on days like this when the humidity is high and the temperatures are high as well. Gretchen says that her coat actually protects her acting both as a cooling system as well as an insulator.

“Do I have that?” I asked.

“Nope, buddy,” she informed me. “You just have one coat. Zoe actually has two.”

Wow. That’s pretty impressive. I can’t imagine what it’s like when she gets brushed out! When I get brushed there’s maybe a handful of fine, soft hair in the end. When Zoe gets groomed, I bet there’s enough hair we could make another dog out of it!

On the way home from walking Zoe and Gemma, Gretchen got the phone call that Monty and I were all coiffed and ready for pick up! So Gretchen got Saber first and then headed up the hill to fetch us! Boy, was Saber surprised by our clean scents and new dos!

Saber said, “I don’t have to have a haircut to look manly!”Monty and I had to laugh, but we made certain that Saber didn’t hear us! Instead, Monty said, “Dude, it’s not what’s on the outside. It’s what’s on the inside!”

And I added, “It’s important to let yourself be who you are, Saber. Don’t let anyone tell you otherwise!”

Now Woobie…I know she gets brushed because when she stays with us, Gretchen will often give her a grooming. Woobie, surprisingly, seems to like it, but I wonder if she’s ever had her hair cut?

She was happy to see us, but had all sorts of questions about my new haircut. “Does it hurt?” Monty and I reassured her that it was a painless process and we could tell she was relieved!

Woobie thought Monty looked particularly beautiful and I had to admit, Liliana did a particularly nice job on making Monty maintain his manly appearance at the same time making him look gorgeous!

As you can tell, today was a busy day. And while we spent most of it at the groomer, both Monty and I were tired after Woobie went home.

In fact, Monty was so tired, he decided to take a nap. I didn’t realize he’d made this choice until I went around the house looking for my best friend. I couldn’t find him anywhere and then Gretchen whispered, “He’s found his favorite bed!”

And guess where he was? Upstairs in my bed! He barely opened his eyes when I went to check on him! And he quickly fell back to sleep!

I kind of wanted to sleep after Monty went home, but apparently Gretchen had a surprise in store for me. We all piled in the car and headed over to the pool where Gretchen works. She’s been trading time in the pool by walking her boss’s dog, Paige. Generally, Gretchen swims me in the pool, but she wanted me to experience the joys of a massage and swim by a veteran expert. Let me tell you, there is experience in that woman’s hands! And the swim was fantastic, too!

While I relaxed in the lap of luxury, Gretchen and Paige went for a nice walk, though it was mighty hot so they had to stop and rest, which of course meant photo time!

Paige and I hung out for awhile after that and she told me all about her grooming regime. “I get a bath like once a week!” she told me.

“Really?”

“Yep, and when Gretchen brought me back from the walk tonight, she hosed me down to cool me off.”

“Wow!” I exclaimed. “Do you ever go in the pool for a swim and a massage?”

“Yep!”

What a lucky dog, I thought. I could get used that kind of life!

But really, I have a pretty wonderful life myself. I get to spend the days outdoors with my best friends, and only occasionally do I have to be beautified.

And now I get massages not only from Gretchen, but swim time and massages from Gretchen’s teacher.

Nice, really really nice!

Until tomorrow,

Rubin (aka Meerkat!)

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Posted in: Gemma, Monty, Oshi, Paige, Perrito, Rosie, Rubin's Buddies, Saber, Tail Waggin' News, Woobie, Zoe / Tagged: , , , ,

August 3, 2010

August 3, 2010 8:02 pm / Leave a Comment /

The Dog Days of Summer

August has arrived and it did so on quiet feet. Not sure how it snuck by me, but the dog days are here and while I have mixed emotions about the arrival of autumn, I’ve decided not to dwell in the past or the future. Instead, I’m living in the moment and playing hard while the sun is high in the sky.

The thing about summer is that when we are out walking, there are a lot more people (and dogs) out there, too. It’s like everyone crawls out of the woodwork, opens their arms to the sun, and walks around a tad bit happier than they do in February. Since I’m out there every day — rain, shine, or otherwise — I find this phenomenon quite interesting. Really, when it’s cold and rainy out it’s really just as fun as when it’s warm and sunny out. It’s just all a matter of perspective.

I guess I’ve had to learn that in the almost three years we’ve been doing this business. Those first few months were killer. I’d squint against the icy rain, brace my paws on the ground during the wind storms, and find a cool clump of shade when the sun burn the air around me. Now I’ve come to realize that there really isn’t any weather I haven’t seen (or walked in) and there’s nothing horrible about any of it. I mean really…wouldn’t it be boring if it was the same every day? I think they call that Phoenix and from what I’ve heard, I don’t want to live there.

So today, in the first dogged days of August, I enjoyed the cool overcast morning just as much as I enjoyed the hot sun in the afternoon. And I think my attitude is rubbing off on our clients.

First up was Ollie and he likes any kind of weather on any kind of day. His walk started in the cool of that overcast morning I just referred to, but it heated up quite nicely even though the sun didn’t come out.

We walked through the schoolyard by his house, posed by the beautiful sea mural and then wandered down, down, down to the lake. Bummer, though because we didn’t get to go in. Instead, we had to huff it back up the hill to drop Ollie off in time.

Whew! Good thing the sun wasn’t out yet!

The sun did start to make an appearance on our drive home whereupon Gretchen dropped me off so I could eat my brunch while she headed over to Rosie’s house. Rosie, poor girl, had a bit of an upset tummy so the two of them took it slow. Of course, when the sun is out in full force, Rosie always takes it slow.

Today though, she did really well, hiking herself up to the Bradner Gardens where the second round of summer flowers were in bloom. As you can see from the first photo of this post, Rosie likes to look at the flowers in the garden.

Particularly roses…tee hee…

…though she also found the pink ones and the yellow ones and all the ones in between so beautiful she had Gretchen take pictures of them. Gretchen, who has a large collection of flower photos, obliged.

You can see that Rosie liked the flowers so much, she started to drool in the last photo…or maybe it was because of the treat in Gretchen’s pocket!

By the time Gretchen got back to our house to pick me up, there was sun, sun, sun everywhere. So much sun, in fact, that when we walked Zoe, we both got kind of hot! That didn’t stop us though. We found more flowers to pose in front of and Zoe put on her happiest of smiles!

I was happy, too because the sun was out, Zoe was in a good mood, and I think I look really good in purple…

…Zoe does too…look good in purple, that is!

The fun in the sun had just begun because once Zoe went home, we picked up Saber, then walked to Gemma’s house, then went for a nice walk in the park and then…

POOL PARTY!!!!!

As you can tell, we got a little rowdy…especially Saber when I took the tennis ball away. He went from happy to grumpy quickly, but luckily Saber gets over his grumpy really quickly and he, like the rest of us, enjoyed the dog days of summer the rest of the afternoon.

Hope you get a chance to enjoy them too!

Until tomorrow,

Rubin

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Posted in: Gemma, Ollie, Rosie, Rubin's Buddies, Saber, Tail Waggin' News, Zoe / Tagged: , , , ,