Wags n’ Words

Dog Walking & Pet Care – Seattle, WA

Monthly Archives: October 2010

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October 29, 2010

October 31, 2010 8:50 am / Leave a Comment /

The Forgotten Friday

I never intended to forget about Friday’s blog, but one thing led to the next and when I woke up this morning (Sunday) it hit me — I FORGET FRIDAY!

I guess my life has been busy of late what with walking dogs, helping around the house, and getting Gretchen out the door on time for her other job at the pool. Sometimes, I’ll admit, I feel like I’m chasing my own tail so I guess I shouldn’t be so hard on myself for forgetting things every now and then.

But oh, how I hate to forget telling my loyal following about the fun times I have with my canine friends. And I particularly hate missing Fridays because they are always a relief — having reached the end of a long work week — and this particular Friday was kind of nice because we didn’t get rained on (a common occurrence of late or so it seems).

So, my apologies to those of you who show up on this site and find only Thursday represented and my apologies to my Friday Friends who are just as special as the ones I see on Monday through Thursday.

As I’ve mentioned, this Friday was dry and for the beginning, incredibly sunny and beautiful. In fact, Monty and I (Monty was my first job of the day, though he’s no job at all) basked in the morning sun looking out over Lake Washington and to the snowy mountains to the east.

As you can see, the fall colors are still with us though the recent rain and wind have thinned those beautiful trees out a bit each day. After our walk, Monty and I had a lovely brunch at home while Gretchen took Gemma, Oshi, and Perrito out for their time in the sun.

As you can see, they were all on high alert. Gretchen’s not sure why, but she knows that Gemma is always on the look out for something or someone –dogs, people, squirrels, cats, rolling leaves — and Oshi is always looking out for the most direct route home and Perrito…well, he’s just interested in everything Gemma’s interested in or in what Gretchen might pull out of her pocket.

Still, it was a gorgeous day to be on the alert — crisp, blue, and surrounded by the golden colors of Autumn.

Oh, and did I mention how active the squirrels have been? It’s been amazingly fun to be on the lookout for squirrels as they scamper right in front of us testing their luck or race across the telephone wires and rattle the branches above our heads. I get all twitchy just thinking about it!

But I digress…

Friday…this Friday…was our last walk with Gertie or Gertrude if I’m being formal. She was fun to walk for this past month and I’m certain we’ll see her out on the streets in the future, but I must admit, I will miss her springy, bubbly self bounding along beside me.

I think Monty will miss her, too!

Have fun, Gertie, with your family and your trips to doggie daycare and don’t let those loud noises scare you, okay? Really, it will be alright. Just think of me and Monty if you feel nervous about anything, okay?

As you can see from the photos with Gertie, the sun disappeared for a bit, but don’t worry, it returned just in time for our walk with Saber. So up on the hill we went to the warmest, sunniest spot we could find. And what did Saber do? Found a stick and chewed on it!

But then Gretchen finally got his attention and we posed in the warmth of the Friday sun…ahhhhhhh!

Gretchen worked at the pool Friday night while I lounged around with Monty recounting the busy week and looking forward to a weekend of chores and games.

So, my apologies for forgetting this past Friday…I’d like to promise that it won’t happen again, but now that I’m older and wiser I know that most likely it will happen when life gets as busy as a dog chasing his tail.

Hope you are all having a glorious weekend!

Rubin

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

October 28, 2010

October 28, 2010 2:56 pm / Leave a Comment /

Haunted Thoughts

I woke up this morning from a frightening dream. I was being chased by pumpkins. Big, orange, carved pumpkins. I jumped out of my bed, raced down the stairs, and ran barking out into the backyard. It was 5 in the morning. Everyone in the house tried to comfort me. “It was just a dream, Rubin,” Gretchen said in a soothing, sleepy voice. “Come up on the bed,” offered Ann, “And we’ll protect you.”

And so, for the next few hours I slept on the flannel sheets curled between the warmth of my two moms.

But then, when we went on our walks today I kept seeing pumpkins!

“It’s almost Halloween,” Gretchen told me.

“Hallo- what?” I asked.

“It’s a long story,” she began and then told me all about the pagans and the church and the candy and the costumes and the whole thing just made me more confused than I already was.

“But what about the pumpkins?” I asked. “Why are there pumpkins with spooky faces every where?”

“Why don’t you look it up?” she suggested. I tell you, once a teacher always a teacher only now she’s worse because she’s a teacher without a classroom.

So, I got on the internet and found the following explanation from Halloween.net:

There are several different stories about how pumpkins came to be part of our Halloween traditions. They are all interesting, and although pumpkin carving was first done in the Americas, all of the stories come from Europe.

Halloween originated almost 3000 years ago with the Celtic people of Western Europe. In those times, the end of summer and the beginning of winter was considered to be the end of the year and a special, magical time. The Celts held a festival, called Samhain to recognize the end of summer. There were many traditions associated with the Samhain festival, and there were many beliefs about the power of that night. Most Celts believed that on the night of Samhain, the recently dead souls were permitted to walk the earth.


It was traditional to attend a big bonfire on top of a hill to honor the gods. This was called the Samhain fire festival. On the way home from the fire, people would dress up in scary costumes to frighten away the dead souls roaming the earth. They would also take an ember from the bonfire to light the way. As the story goes, people would hollow out gourds or turnips, or even potatoes and place the lit ember inside. To help them scare away the marauding spirits, they would carve scary faces into the ember holders.

Once they returned home, the lit gourds (or other vegetables) would be set in the window or outside of the door. This is thought to have been done either to scare away the malevolent spirits or to welcome benevolent spirits. The Wiccans and some other neopagan religions are still based on the ancient beliefs of the Celtics and the Druids, and some of these religions still participate in the Samhain fire festival.

Carving pumpkins at Halloween time almost certainly has roots in these ancient rituals. However, farmers started carving faces in pumpkins soon after coming to the new world. This practice had nothing to do with Halloween but was instead associated with the harvest. It wasn’t until the late 1800s that carved pumpkins became a part of the Halloween tradition.

Irish immigrants started to call the pumpkins Jack o’ lanterns after an Irish folk tale about a wandering spirit named Jack. The story on Jack is that he played a trick on the devil and won back his soul. However, he had been such a bad man that heaven wouldn’t take him whether the devil claimed his soul or not. Being banned from both heaven and hell, Jack was forced to spend eternity roaming the earth. He did this carrying a piece of coal either that he had received in hell or that the devil had thrown at him. He used a hollowed out gourd to carry his coal and light his way.

The reasons that pumpkins are a part of Halloween are a combination of all of these traditions. The ancient Celtic holiday is certainly part of the reason that we carve pumpkins, but it is important to remember that there were no pumpkins in Western Europe at that time. The first pumpkin ever carved was most likely in the United States since pumpkins are a native fruit. Calling the carved pumpkins Jack o’ lanterns most likely did come from the Irish folk tale of Jack. However, there is another story that in the early factories of the United States, the night watchmen carried lanterns and that those lanterns became known as Jack o’ lanterns.

So I guess it explains why the pumpkins are kind of scary, but that doesn’t help me much late at night when those big, round, orange lit-up frightening faces haunt my dreams. Maybe I can sleep on the human bed until it’s all over? Hm, it’s worth asking now isn’t it!

But as you can tell from today’s photos, I wasn’t the only who was on alert about spooks and pumpkins. All my friends where just as jumpy as I was.

Until tomorrow,

R-boo-bin!

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

October 27, 2010

October 27, 2010 4:23 pm / Leave a Comment /

Where You Choose to Focus

There are choices I make every day. Choices about where I lie down, when I take a drink from my water bowl, when to bark at the crows on the fence, and when to look at the camera and when to look at something else. Gretchen finds that when she looks through the camera that what she chooses to focus on isn’t always what the camera wants to focus on. If she had more time, she’d really play around with her camera and see what it can actually do, but since her hands are usually tangled in leashes and she’s constantly saying things like “Stay” “Sit” “Treats!” and anything else she can think of to get us to look at the camera, she hasn’t had much time to play with her camera.

Therefore she takes a moment to focus on the snow in the mountains and ends up instead with the camera focusing on the cones on the tree.

Some things are just out of her control.

This is a lesson she’s still learning. I guess it’s still a lesson I’m still learning. And oddly, whenever we make an awareness like this (an almost epiphany) the lesson repeats itself all day long. It started this morning on a walk with Monty. The air was clean having been washed and rinsed for the past few days and the sky was that kind of blue that only shows up in October. We were all enjoying our stroll when those busy squirrels decided to race across our path again and again and again.

I suppose Monty and I could have focused on something other than the squirrels — the falling leaves, the green grass thick with scents, the joggers and cyclists passing us by — but no, we focused on those squirrels and Gretchen held on tight.

And then, I had a vet appointment and I could have focused on how nervous I was when the doctor started doing her adjustments on my back, but instead I focused on how good it felt and then on the sad news that her dog was very ill. It was rather surreal — to be enjoying her work all the while feeling bad for her “pal” struggling to survive. We send her healing thoughts and hope that she got to spend time with her canine family. She’s a wonderful doctor and while I still squirm a bit when it’s time for me to be worked on, I trust her hands and knowledge and her deep sense of compassion. Any dog who lives with her is very, very lucky.

On a lighter note, I could have focused on the fact that for breakfast I got served last night’s dinner that I didn’t eat, but instead, I focused on the morsels of Monty’s food Gretchen plopped into my bowl. Monty didn’t take the time to focus on anything in his food bowl. He just ate and ate and ate and the next thing you know, he was done. He’s a culinary inspiration.

Oshi and Perrito focused on the fact that the sun was out and they didn’t have to bundle up. Instead, they lounged on the warm rocks and watched the squirrels from afar (and yes, Gretchen was saying, “Stay” over and over in an attempt to get the perfect shot!).

Gertie, Monty, and I had a hard time focusing in one direction…

…there was so much going on during our photo shoot.

The mountains in the background were begging for a glance, the squirrels climbing the trees across the street were teasing us with each flick of their tails, and Gertie could hardly wait for her reward for sitting/lying so calmly while the chaos of the world swirled around us.

Of course, Gertie kind of focused on the leaves on my head. She thought I looked funny.

Hm, I don’t quite see the humor in it all, but we all focus on something different, don’t we?

I’m gonna miss that Gertie…but I’m not going to focus on that now…we still have two more days of walking her.

Gemma and Saber can’t focus on anything other than each other. Because of that they needed to burn their energy off at the tennis courts before a walk was even possible. I miss those tennis courts, but the doctor has sworn me off of them and because I like my doctor so much (and I’m feeling better), I’m avoiding the courts.

But not these two…

Later, when we were done with the walking and lying around the house, Monty decided to focus on the vacuum cleaner and I focused on Monty. He does not like the vacuum cleaner. It took me a bit of time to figure it out, but wherever the vacuum went, Monty headed in the other direction. Poor guy. But then we waited outside and I rolled around in the green grass while Monty tried to remove his look of concern.

The house is pretty clean (thanks Gretchen), dinner is cooking on the stove (well, mine is cooked and just waiting for my supplements), and the clouds are moving in. But I’m going to focus on the warm feeling I have inside knowing I have a doctor who understands that loving a dog is one of the greatest gifts in the world, friends (canine and human) who enjoy me as much as I enjoy them, and a family who focuses on sharing their love with me.

Until tomorrow,

Rubin

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

October 26, 2010

October 26, 2010 8:51 pm / Leave a Comment /

NoWindRain/NoRainWind

There is amazing weird weather happening around these parts. First, the temperature dropped and finally, FINALLY the furnace at home kicked in. (I, for one, am very thankful!). Next, the wind blows like Harpies howling all night long and banging the trees against the house. And if the wind’s not blowing, the rain is pounding, coming down in huge drops that bounce off the back deck like popcorn.

But the weird observation of the day is that when it’s windy, it’s generally not raining and when it’s raining, it’s generally not windy. I’m not sure which I like more (or perhaps least) — the wind or the rain — but it’s clear they don’t like each other much because they’re rarely around at the same time.

On our first walk with Ollie, it rained. Ollie wore my old raincoat and I kind of, sort of wished I had mine on. It was wet, but more than that, it was cold and my curls ran a bit thin this morning!

Next up was Gertie and while it rained in the beginning of our walk, the wind picked up and whipped our curls about as we posed in the park on the cement “thrones”…

well, I sat on a throne…Gertie didn’t like the marble finish so she sat on the ground.

By the time we picked up Rosie, the rain was a mist and the wind was swirling and twirling and lifting the leaves across the pavement!

Rosie watched with interest…

…and when we got back to her house, she tried to hide from the wind in the back of our car. A side note: Rosie doesn’t like riding in the car, according to her owners, but when Gretchen went to put me in the car before taking Rosie home, Rosie jumped right in with me. The problem was trying to get her out! She wouldn’t budge, but when I left, Rosie followed and Gretchen and I had to chuckle. I guess that means that Rosie really likes me!

Originally, I wasn’t going to walk with Gemma and Saber, but Gretchen figured I was already wet and it would just as easy to wipe me dry when she wiped herself off at the end of the day, so Gemma, Saber, and I watched as the sky grew lighter, the wind kicked up and the rain stopped and then did all of that in reverse — the rain kicked up, the wind stopped, and the sky darkened…amazing.

Of course, none of it deter us when Gretchen asked, “Who wants a treat?”

I usually don’t mind the weather, but I have to say, I’m kind of glad that I’m home and dry and warm tonight. I sure hope all of you are, too!

Until tomorrow,

Rubin

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Posted in: Gemma, Gertrude, Ollie, Rosie, Rubin's Buddies, Saber / Tagged: , , , ,

October 25, 2010

October 26, 2010 8:31 pm / Leave a Comment /

A Time of Detritus

I have written about detritus before, but that was in a metaphorical sense. Today it’s in a literal sense since the streets are covered with it. Take a look…

Of course, there were some signs of life among the dead stuff…

…but not very many. Yep, a week ago the leaves were full and orange and glowing from the trees and now all the orange and glow has crumpled and shriveled and been blown to the ground by the fierce, cold winds we’ve been experiencing. And today we tromped through all that crumpling as we walked through the neighborhoods, careful not to slip and fall.

The first walk was my own as Gretchen and I headed out to experience the Autumn chill before we headed off to work. I love walking other dogs, don’t get me wrong, but I have to say that having Gretchen all to myself is kind of a treat. I think she enjoyed it too.

But work called and Gretchen answered (I stayed home and ate my breakfast). First on the docket were Rosie and Tyson and they stood among the detritus and marveled at how quickly all the golden shimmer of the trees fell to the ground and created what is known as leaf litter (what an apt description, yes?).

I know they kind of look sad, but I think they’re just missing the warm sunshiny days of September. I know I am. They really weren’t sad. Nope. They were actually excited because it was kind of fun to kick through the downed leaves and keep a watchful eye out for those pesky squirrels who are scampering like crazy these days!

And not all the leaves have become detritus. Oshi, Perrito, and Gemma found a bush still blazing in red, though the wind was threatening to rip them all off today!

Luckily, Oshi and Perrito were dressed for the weather…

And Gemma, who was also bundled up, figured out that the best way to keep warm was to keep her ears down so the wind didn’t blow the chill right to her brain!

Gertie, Saber, and I did our best to stay dry. I know it’s hard to tell in this photo…

…but it was, as my Uncle Paul says, raining cats and well, more cats. Of course, Gertie and I are looking at each other saying, “What is Saber doing?”

And it turns out he could care less about the rain. He was just happy to eat dirt. Yep, that’s what he’s doing. Eating dirt!

I laughed out loud, but Gertie, she was astounded. “Why does he eat dirt?” she asked, but no one really had an answer for her!

But he ate it and then looked up before frumping his walrus-self to the ground, content and oblivious to all the rain!

And as you can see, the detritus of the boulevard isn’t as thick and rich as the detritus around our house, but still, the leaves are falling and winter is knocking at the door.

Until tomorrow,

Rubin

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

October 22, 2010

October 22, 2010 8:54 pm / Leave a Comment /

And Just Like That…

…another week sweeps by me. What started out in sunshine and blue skies has ended in wet and gray. Good thing I got to swim in the lake yesterday because I don’t think I’ll be doing that again any time soon.

Humans have these expressions — like “time flies” — and as a puppy, I never quite understood. “Time flies,” Gretchen would say and I would respond, “Where?” Now I kind of get what she’s saying. I mean, here I am almost four years old and I’m not sure when all those days between 8 weeks and four years happened. Luckily, I have a photographic catalog of my life thanks to Gretchen and her persistent if not always welcome camera.

Still, there are days, like today, when I just want time to stop. Not for long, but long enough that I can revel in my friendship with Monty just a wee bit longer and look out over the park and see all those colors every single day…

…watch the short-legged romp of Oshi and Perrito in slower motion…

…hold Gemma still for one more moment…

…spend a bit more time with my new friend Gertie…(and find her eyes in there!)

…and catch and hold Saber’s goofy, happy grin for more than a click of the camera shutter. (We found this plastic dragon today and Saber tried his best to imitate it and then he tried to eat it!)

But time isn’t like that. At least, that’s what I’m learning. Time moves and while there are days when I tap my dog toes against the floor asking for a walk or hours when I am left to wonder who will come home first or dream-filled nights when the warm dent in my bed holds me perfectly — if I’m not paying attention, moments can slip by me.

Happy Weekend Everyone! I hope time slows a bit for all of us,

Rubin

PS — I’m sending a Woof to my dear friend Ginger who hasn’t been feeling too well these days. I’m thinking of you, girlfriend!

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October 21, 2010

October 21, 2010 3:05 pm / Leave a Comment /

Oh My Dog!

So, I’m sitting at the computer (yes, sitting), my paws clicking away at the keyboard when all of the sudden I hear this sound. “Meow!”

Uh, what? Gretchen was in the kitchen and the back door was open to let in the last of the warm fall air. I jumped from the chair, headed to the kitchen at the same time Gretchen raced from the sink to slide the back door closed.

But in that split second between my arrival at the back door and the sound of the lock clicking into place, I saw a white butt and gray tail.

IT WAS A CAT!!!!! IN OUR HOUSE!!

It took quite awhile for Gretchen to settle me down, but after much cajoling, I came back to the computer. “I’m going to write about it in my blog today!” I announced with quivering glee.

“You do that, buddy,” Gretchen called from the kitchen. And now that I’ve written it down, I’m not sure what else to do. I mean, how can anything else top a stray cat in your house?

Okay, nothing can, but still I worked today and though we had a much calmer schedule than yesterday, I would be doing a disservice to my canine pals if I let a cat take precedence. So…

The day started later than usual, which was fine because I was kind of tired from the eight dogs we walked yesterday. Our first dog was Ollie and while we usually pick him up earlier than we did today, he wasn’t disappointed by our late arrival. “I’m so glad you’re here!” he squealed and then we piled into the car and drove to Gertie’s house.

It was kind of a doodle morning, you could say since Ollie and I are both Labradoodles and Gertie is a Whoodle — a Wheaten Terrier and Poodle mix. I knew Ollie and Gertie would get along fabulously because they both have the same dog-a-nality — bouncy and silly.

We went for a walk down to Genessee Park where we posed in the colorful leaves. Of course, it’s hard to see Gertie’s black face against the reds and golds, so Gretchen took close ups of us to demonstrate that we each have faces under all of those curls.

I even asked Gertie to look up so you could see that she does, in fact, have eyes.

We walked along the lake, back to Gertie’s house, and I watched as Ollie and Gertie bounced and giggled  happy to have met each other!

After we dropped Ollie back at his house, we took a wee break so I could eat my breakfast. Of course, it was now lunchtime, but it still tasted pretty darn good because today was sardine day. Twice a week, I get half a can of sardines though I have to train Gretchen to give it to me at dinner time because I think that’s why breakfast looked/smelled so unappetizing. Fish for breakfast? Not this boy.

Next we picked up Gemma and headed over to Saber’s house. Since they got a big romp yesterday, we just went for a walk, but it’s never as simple as it sounds when we’re walking those two together. We headed through the tunnel and for Gemma, this is an invitation to poke her nose into Saber’s neck and beg for a rowdy wrestling match. On leashes, it’s a bit dangerous so Gretchen did her best to get Gemma to behave, which included barking at her to get her attention.

It worked beautifully because the echo in the tunnel amplified the bark making Gemma worried that there was a HUGE dog scolding her.

That huge dog was none other than Gretchen who smiled at the genius of her new training technique!

We posed above the tunnel with the beautiful red trees behind us. Of course, it took a bit of work on Gretchen’s part to get this shot…

…because Saber wanted to chew on a stick and Gemma wanted to jump into the bushes after whatever was rustling in there.

And then Gemma decided chewing on a stick was a good idea, too.

Meanwhile, I’m behaving. It seems I’m almost always behaving.

But I was rewarded later when Gretchen took me back down to the lake after we dropped off Saber and Gemma and I got to go for swim!!! The wind was picking up and the waves were rolling in, but I didn’t care. Yahoo!

Of course, the cat in the house tops it all! Oh, if only I’d been faster to the door than Gretchen! Catching a cat in my house would have made this the best day ever!

Until tomorrow,

Rubin

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October 20, 2010

October 20, 2010 8:34 pm / Leave a Comment /

Squirrel Hunting

It’s that time of year. The leaves are turning golden and gently falling to the ground. The sun is resting lower in the sky. The morning chill brings in fog followed by blue skies and white, white clouds.

And the squirrels scurry around from tree to tree, limb to limb, fence to fence – dangerously leaping and even more dangerously racing in front of me! It’s true, I have a pretty strong play drive (I am compelled to play, in other words), but I also have a strong prey drive. Not a strong as my friend, Paige, but still, when a squirrel scampers in front of me, I have a difficult time containing my excitement. Even when Gretchen commands me to “leave it” it’s all I can do to hold myself back. And when Gretchen’s walking three of us (or more) and all of us see the squirrel just inches from our noses, it’s all she can do to not get pulled face first down the street.

Each dog we walk has a different reaction to squirrels though each of us shares one characteristic in common — we want to GET ‘EM!

So you can imagine, this time of year is rather treacherous for Gretchen as the squirrels are busily at work storing nuts, burrowing holes, and bouncing from one hiding place to the next and we’re all pulling on the leashes trying to hunt them down!

Such a crazy squirrel hunting squirrel happened today. We picked up Monty first and then headed to get Woobie and along the way, Monty and I watched the branches overhead, the fence lines along our walk, and the telephone wires up ahead for signs for the rascally varmints. Gretchen kept us under control, but when she had three leashes and Woobie was involved, well life got pretty comical.

If it were safe to do so, she’d photograph they squirrel hunting circus, but that would put her expensive camera in danger as the three of us pulled her down the sidewalk racing after one furry tail or another. Instead, she poses us…but we keep a lookout for twitching tails every minute.

Surprisingly, Oshi LOVES squirrels as well. When Gretchen walks the boys – Oshi and Perrito — Perrito walks out front while Oshi drags far behind. He normally just wants to get his business down and then head back to the house, but if a squirrel happens by, hold onto the leash because Oshi is way out front leading the charge. You can imagine the humorous scene as Gretchen (who walked Oshi and Perrito with Woobie today) has one large, hairy dog pulling her down the street with two little whipper-snappers way out front straining against their harnesses.

I know, today’s photographs don’t really do the descriptions justice.

We found out today that even Gertie likes squirrels and as we walked through her neighborhood she jumped up and raced forward every time the wily critters popped up. Of course, she also jumped when she saw this…

I jumped a bit, too, but Monty? Nope, he thought the spider and all the webs were mighty curious. It took some time, but eventually he convinced us that sitting in front of the ginormous spider web was safe. Notice Monty is the only one smiling!

All that self control is hard to maintain so when we had a moment in the sun, I did my typical roll around while Gertie and Monty looked on.

Of course, Monty saw this as a perfect opportunity to sniff Gertie and she didn’t seem to mind.

Surprisingly, Rosie didn’t mind Monty’s intrusive habit either. That’s right! Monty and I both got to walk with Rosie today and everyone was very thrilled about it all..perhaps Monty most of all. He jumped  up and bounded as we walked hoping to get as close to Rosie as he possibly could. Gretchen kept them sort of apart though because she didn’t want to overwhelm Rosie. I walked next to Rosie instead and protected her from the overly-enthusiastic Monty!

We saw squirrels on our walk as well, but luckily, they never got close enough to themselves or Gretchen in danger!

The biggest hunter of squirrels is Gemma — bred for such hunting and hard-wired with all the instincts of an expert huntress. On their way to the tennis courts, Gretchen had to brace against the leash as Gemma spun and twirled in desperate hope to catch one of the scurrying creatures. Then, at the courts, Saber and Gemma let off some steam and it was a good thing because Gemma was pretty frustrated she couldn’t go squirrel hunting!

Of course, once they blew of some energetic steam, the rested in the cool grass and let the sun warm them. Good thing no squirrels scampered by!

We took Monty home in the early afternoon and then I went with my other mom and laid under her massage table as she received a much-needed massage. There I slept and dreamt about quivering tails and twitching noses and the taste of squirrel filling my mouth!

Until tomorrow,

Rubin

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Posted in: Gemma, Gertrude, Monty, Oshi, Perrito, Rosie, Rubin's Buddies, Saber, Woobie / Tagged: , , , ,

October 19, 2010

October 19, 2010 8:03 pm / Leave a Comment /

As Luck Would Have It

I’m not sure what’s changed. I’m not even sure if I’ve changed or everyone else around me, but all of the sudden, I’m allowed on the couch. Since I was a wee one, I’ve been told that I will be allowed on the couch when I turn ten. I’m three now and in February I will turn four, which even I know is a very long way from ten.

I should clarify. I’m not allowed on the couch in the living room, I’m only allowed on the couch in the TV room. And I’m not allowed to go on it any old time I want (like when I’m left alone), but only when invited. I’m even allowed, at times, to go on other people’s couches. Like last night, when Gretchen took me to the pool where she works and after I went swimming (divine!), I was allowed up on the couch while she worked in the office.

Of course, I haven’t asked to go on other people’s couches in other places and I’m not sure I’m actually brave enough to even think it might be a possibility, but for now, I’m enjoying the bit of couch freedom I’ve been given and trying not to press my luck.

I wasn’t sure being allowed on the couch was a privilege many dogs get so when I went out on my first walk with Ollie today, I asked him, “Do you get to be on the couch?”

“Yeah,” he said matter-of-factly, “Don’t you?”

I sputtered, “Uh, yeah, now I do, but never before now.”

“Really? Shock and surprise,” he gasped.

“Why?” I asked.

“You’re Rubin!” he said if that answered it all…and then he kissed me and got all embarrassed about it. Silly boy.

Gertie is new to us (we’ve only been walking her for two weeks now, with only two more to go) so her answer was a bit muddled. “Couch? Where’s the couch?” You see, Gertie bounces everywhere and it’s hard to hear as she flies by. And then, when it’s time for the photos, she plops down and looks at me.

“Is that the couch? It doesn’t look like a couch!”

I know Rosie gets to go on the couch, but she says she doesn’t do it that often.

“Would your parents agree?” I asked.

She just looked at me innocently. Of course, she was also surprised by my behavior today. “What are you doing, Rubin?” she asked.

“There’s nothing like a pile of autumn leaves on a green lawn,” I said and promptly rolled around!

Rosie didn’t see it that way…she thought I was pretty silly and I guess I am! But seriously, who can resist a romp in the leaves?

Gemma and Saber have opposite couch experiences. “I go on the couch all the time,” Gemma said. “Who’s gonna try and stop me?”

“The couch?” Saber looked at her guiltily. “Oh me, never, never, never do I go on the couch. I am a very good dog, a very good dog. No couch for me.”

Maybe when he’s older, eh?

As for me, I’m enjoying the couch, but I still don’t trust that it’s a long time event. I mean, out of the blue they let me onto the couch. Just as quickly they may keep me off of it. I have to play my cards just right or who knows what I may or may not be allowed to do!

Until tomorrow,

Rubin

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

October 18, 2010

October 19, 2010 6:22 am / 2 Comments /

Capturing Color

Gretchen’s been playing around with black and white photos of late (not on the blog, though), but today I told her she really needs to stick with color during October.

“Why do you think so, Rubin?” she asked.

And then I pointed my nose up to a tree and she said, “Oh yeah, it’s beautiful isn’t it?”

Yeah, beautiful and imagine what it would look like in black and white…well, don’t imagine, here it is.

Big difference, eh? So we spent our weekend searching out the colors of autumn and then today, on our walks, we found even more. Color is everywhere, though it’s not always easy to capture.

We captured some color from our office window looking out at our neighbor’s dog, Oshi, who sat perched in his favorite spot in their kitchen bedecked in a blue shirt and an orange bandanna…

We captured some more on our walk with Woobie on Sunday…

…and when we walked down to the lake, we found different colors, but colors all the same…

…and then Gretchen captured some on her walk with Rosie and Tyson this morning.

She even tried to capture some while they played fetch, but the green of the tennis courts dominated.

She found more colors at the playground on her walk with Gemma, Oshi, and Perrito…

…and some really interesting play on color and light and dark with me in the backyard…

…and even more when we took Saber over to first walk Gertie…

The color made me want to roll around and then made Saber want to play with me…

but eventually, we settled down…

…and then with Alice we found color at the church we pass every day…

It was, as you can see, a colorful day and I am so very thankful Gretchen didn’t convert the color into black and white.

“I am too, Rubin!”

She knows that some days I’m a wise little pup.

“And other days?” she asks?

I’m colorful…always colorful!

Until tomorrow,

Rubin

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