Dark Tunnels

Rosie put the brakes on the second we rounded the corner. She looked a bit like a mule – her back legs splayed, her front paws dug into the concrete, and her entire body heaved backwards away from what she feared the most.

Generally, when we try to approach the long tunnel that takes us through the hill and down to the lake, Rosie approaches with trepidation. Around 50 feet from the entrance, she does whatever it takes to back away from entering and then we usually change our course and avoid going into the tunnel. Avoiding means that we have to go up a huge hill, a whole lot of steps, and then back down the other side to the lake. Since we only have a half hour with Rosie on some days, it’s impossible to make it to the lake and back.

That’s when I put my paw down. “She can do this, Gretchen,” I said. “We just have to make her! I can’t go all spring and summer NOT going to the lake and besides, she LOVES the lake. Let’s give it a try, okay?”

Who knows what it is about the tunnel that puts Rosie in freeze mode. I suppose we all have our dark tunnel moments when the light at the end is difficult to see. I certainly know that this winter has felt like a dark tunnel metaphorically speaking.  But slowly the crocuses are popping up all purple and white and the sun is showing itself more, so while I’ve dreaded the tunnel of winter I feel more hopeful these days that we’ll get through it. I have to convince Rosie that going through the tunnel offers great rewards on the other side, but to get those rewards you have to make the journey.

Of course, there are other tunnels that have no reward. I learned about them this week when Gretchen discussed with Dr. G (my osteopath and acupuncturist) the idea of retiring me from playing fetch on land and that certainly feels like a horribly long and dark tunnel. Dr. G says that it’s too hard on my body and that for a young man of 4, I need to preserve myself for the years to come. I was very sad when I heard this news because I LOVE playing fetch and I’m pretty darn good at it, if I say so myself. This is truly a dark tunnel with only a smidge of light at the end. What’s the smidge? I can still play fetch in the water. Whew!

So I suppose the tunnel through the hill for Rosie is a bit like my finding out that fetch on land is no longer in my future — it makes us both stop in our tracks. But I was determined to get Rosie through that tunnel and so we started on Monday.

It was, as we predicted, a challenge. Tyson, Rosie’s brother, has no fear of the tunnel (nor do I) so we had to be very patient (and Gretchen demanded that we be very supportive) as we approached, watched Rosie put on the brakes, and then slowly moved forward working through Rosie’s hesitation. What we learned is that the entry is the most difficult for Rosie. Once in the tunnel, she’s certainly not relaxed but she’ll keep moving forward and so, with no devious intentions, every time we got close to the end of the tunnel, we turned around and went back in again.

By the third pass, Rosie was visibly less stressed though certainly still worried.

So that’s when we continued the exercise on Tuesday. This time it was just me (Tyson was off at the dog park) and I put back my shoulders and said to Rosie, “Remember how well you did yesterday? You can do it again today. I just know it!”

Again the mule and the brakes, but on Monday it took about 10 minutes to get her into the tunnel. On Tuesday it only took about 3 minutes. That, I think, is a great improvement! The reward was a trip to the lake and as you can see by Rosie’s smile, she was pretty pleased with herself.

On Wednesday, we went through the tunnel with Monty and he, too, gave her his support. “I know it looks scary,” Monty said, “But a brave and beautiful girl like yourself should have no problem facing her fears.”

This time, Rosie went straight on through…not a moment of hesitation at the entrance and though she was still not quite relaxed in the tunnel, she did take a treat once we were in and that was a great improvement.

Later, Monty and I walked Paige who has absolutely no fear of the tunnel and, as we posed outside of it in the warm spring sun, Monty told her all about Rosie’s hesitations.

“Rosie just needs to believe she can do it,” Paige offered, “And she needs to completely trust that she is going to be safe with her friends once she’s in the tunnel.” Paige is very wise and so, after dropping Monty off at home, Paige and I practiced feeling safe in the long, dark tunnel so that I could be a confident supporter for my next adventure through the tunnel.

As many of you may know, I am also a cautious guy. I understand the dilemma Rosie faces. She wants to be brave, but sometimes fears just overwhelm and it’s difficult to overcome them. Take, for instance, walking out on the dock at the lake. It is not my favorite thing to do so when Gretchen walked Paige and me out there, I felt my knees knocking together just a bit.

“It’s okay, Rubin,” Paige said, “I’ll make sure you’re safe.”

Of course, when the waves (it was very windy for some reason) bounced up under the dock, Paige’s confidence wavered a bit. “What’s that?” she asked.

“Waves,” I said, and once she understood, she went back to her brave and confident self.

Her courage made our time on the dock not as scary as it has been in the past and it also made me realize how strong I must be for Rosie.

On Thursday, we decided to give Rosie a break and we went the other way through the park — no tunnels, no lake, but that was really okay because the sun was out again and I got to roll down hill basking in the warmth of it all. Rosie just laughed at me.

The dark tunnel of winter was supposed to return, but when we woke up, the skies were blue with only an occasional white, fluffy cloud passing by. But we still took precautions. Gretchen loaded up her pack with rain gear just in case and we put a towel by the front door to wipe us down if a sudden cloudburst showed up unexpectedly.

But the cloudburst never came (until late that afternoon) and Monty and I got to bask in the warm sun down by the lake for our first outing of the day. Later, after Monty and I had a snack (well, my breakfast actually) and we got to rest after our wonderfully long walk, Gretchen took out Rosie and Tyson who got a special treat…their Mom joined them on the walk. Apparently she wanted to see how well Rosie was doing going through the tunnel.

So to the tunnel they walked — Gretchen walking Tyson and their Mom walking Rosie. Gretchen was really cheering Rosie on (silently, inside herself because she didn’t want Rosie to get nervous or too excited) and you know what happened? Rosie didn’t hesitate AT ALL! She walked right into that long, dark tunnel with nary a look of fear or intimidation. And when she got through it and came out into the sunshine on the other end, she smiled and danced and felt as proud of herself as we all were!

Oh how I wish I could have been there! What an inspiration. The Rosie mule was gone (well, at least when it comes this particular dark tunnel) and from now on, we can walk to the lake all summer long if we want to! Yahoo! Summer swimming in the lake!!!

What? Really?

Gretchen just told me that Rosie doesn’t like to swim.

Well, I guess that means we’re going to have to teach her! And now that I know that she can walk through the tunnel of her fears, I have no doubt she’ll be joining me on a swim or two this summer!

Have a great weekend!

Rubin

PS — More photos from our week’s adventures below…

Oh and the last 3 photos are from last weekend when my buddy, Argo, stayed with us and we went on a big Paige adventure to a new park!

My Apologies

I seem to be apologizing a lot lately, but I really need to do so for Friday. Yes, I know today is Monday and frankly I’m quite happy that we made it here, but I didn’t post a blog on Friday because of unforeseen events. I will provide just the facts:

1. Good Friday — we had a date for a 5:30 dinner in Suquamish with my Grandparents (requiring a ferry boat ride)..the whole day was timed down to the last second.

2. We had dogs to walk, but the first — Rosie and Tyson — happened in the worst rain and most blustery of wind. Therefore, we left the camera at home thinking (foolish us) that the weather would continue.

3. No one else had to walk in the rain (just wind, wind, wind), but no one got their photo taken either.

4. Argo — the little guy (13 pounds) we were taking care of for the week, exercised his heart out so we left him home to rest while we walked everyone else…in the wind, but we forgot the camera again.

5. Upon our return, Argo weighed 15 pounds, his stomach distended and his whole body looking green.

6. He’d jumped on every table and counter surface available surfing for food — dining table, desk, kitchen counters, and finally, the kitchen island.

7. Yes, Argo is small, but he’s a mighty jumper and the bar stools helped.

8. 3 date bars and 6 large homemade chocolate chip cookies later, we were feeding Argo hydrogen peroxide and calling the vet. (Don’t worry…hydrogen peroxide in small doses is okay…it makes us “unconsume” bad things we’ve consumed.

9. 5 “unconsumes” later we’re driving to the vet’s office (I stayed in the car) and wondering if we’d make the ferry for the dinner date.

10. Best vets ever (in our humble opinion) fit us in pronto where Argo was given a stern look, but a clean bill of health.

11. Off we rushed to the ferry, made it, and then swayed and rocked away across the water — felt more like a 30 minute car wash than a boat ride! And by then it was wind and rain!

12. Made our dinner date (great restaurant according to Gretchen — Agate Pass Cafe), spent the weekend at the Grandparents, and cleaned off all the counters just in case.

Hence — no blog — and for that my sincerest apologies.

Argo went home yesterday — thrilled to see his voyaging mother, who informed us that he’d been to the ER three times before for eating chocolate.

For eating chocolate.

I never even thought I was supposed to eat it and here is this little dog vacuuming it up like he’s a canine version of a Hoover. We nicknamed him “Chip” for the rest of the weekend…as in Chocolate Chip.

And now it’s Monday and today everything went exactly as it was supposed to…well, except that Gretchen’s on Spring Break and we spent the morning together here at the house after walking Ann to school and then venturing down through Frink Park. I liked that very much.

Then off she went to walk Tyson and Rosie who were happy to see her — Tyson jumping up like his legs are pogo sticks and Rosie spinning like a dervish. They decided to walk down to the pea patch where it was apparent that people worked on their gardens over the weekend — lots of fresh dirt and lots of sprouting plants.

Of course, all Tyson and Rosie cared about were the treats they received for being good dogs while posing above the tiers of vegetable beds!

And according to their parents, they are known to consume mass quantities of chocolate if given half the chance!

Gretchen came home for a quick lunch and then we picked up Oshi and Perrito and headed to the empty tennis courts.

At first, I was the only one given a ball to chase, but soon enough, Perrito found one in Gretchen’s bag and did his darnedest to get it out!

Meanwhile, Oshi rolled in the warmth of the unexpected sun.

After the boys went home, we headed over to Saber’s house. The tennis courts were no longer free, but luckily, Gretchen had her long line and we got to play fetch in the little field. Yee Haw!!!

Once we were sufficiently worn out, we went for a nice long walk up over the ridge and down through the pea patch again…Gretchen wanted to see all the things people had planted so she could get her starts in the ground soon!

When Saber went home, we hopped in the car, which is something we rarely do, but to my surprise we drove to a new house, though NOT a new dog. Alice’s family has moved and therefore Alice, too and while she barked ferociously from her kennel, once Gretchen opened the door, she was THRILLED to see her and even more THRILLED to see me as I waitedpatiently on the walkway. I must admit, I was pretty happy to see her, too.

After I congratulated her on her new home, we walked through one of my favorite parks and Gretchen posed us first in a field of flowers (weeds actually, but still, they’re pretty as are we)…

…and then by one of the many waterfalls…

I could hardly wait to go into the water, but I was forbidden.

Alice, on the other hand, could hardly wait for her treat for being such a patient poser.

And as we walked home, the rain they said would be with us all day long finally showed up. Whew! Just in the nick of time.

All feels right in the world today — no vet visits, no panicked phone calls and worries about ferries and wind and rain. Whoever said Mondays are awful didn’t have a Friday like we did…and guess what? It was considered Good Friday according to Christians. Jeez!

Until tomorrow,

Rubin

A Fool for April

Today, Gretchen went to school (without me, again) and she tried to work on her computer only the mouse wouldn’t work. She struggled with it again and again, restarting her computer, checking the wires, and even reinstalling everything. Meanwhile, her teaching partner sat at her desk and quietly laughed.

“They did that to me, too,” she said.

“Did what?” Gretchen asked.

“Covered the laser sensor on the mouse.”

Sure enough, a little note was taped to the mouse and it read, “April Fools!” Of course, “Fools” was spelled “Folls” which made Gretchen chuckle, but still, 20 minutes wasted trying to figure out the prank. She knew exactly which student pulled the prank the second said student walked into class with a book titled, “Encyclopedia of Immaturity.” The rest of the day, pranks sprang up again and again like tulips in the spring sun.

We had spring sun today, but we also had spring wind and rain and dark, dark clouds that reminded me of Darth Vader. Luckily, we only got wet once, but we sure got windblown as you can see from the photo — well, everyone but Gemma is windblown. Her hair is too short to go anywhere but her ears were sure flapping.

The first walk of the day was without me. Well, that’s partially true. I went for a walk with Argo and Ann, but Gretchen went solo on her walk with Rosie who was not windblown in the least. Her hair is too short, too and even if the wind did blow, I think she’s too focused on treats to even notice!

But Gretchen says Rosie notices the cold and will start to shiver if the temperature drops too much. Lucky for Rosie it was relatively warm in the morning. Not so later on!

Once Rosie went home, after their walk up to Jackson and along the ridge where they marveled at the light on the lake, Gretchen stopped by to pick up Gemma. The wind makes her feistier than normal and so Gretchen knew she had to wear her out with a nice long walk, but first, she had to come by and pick us up — Ann, Argo, and me.

That’s when we headed up to Woobie’s house who is like a four-legged windsock blowing every which way the wind blows.

Ann peeled off with Argo on the walk while Woobie and I escorted feisty girl home. She was sad to see us go, but since Gretchen is still being gentle with her surgery site and Saber was next on the docket, well, she had to go home.

Saber was happy to see Woobie who he only gets to play with on occasion, though Woobie doesn’t “play” with Saber much. She likes to sit on the tennis courts and pose while Saber and I bust a move all around the court.

As you can see, Saber has learned how to skillfully steal my ball. He waits for the exact instant that I drop it and then swoops in like an agile bird only he’s like a big elephant and even if Gretchen steps on the leash, he doesn’t stop. She has to be careful that she isn’t pulled off her feet when he charges off. But I’m patient, and eventually, I steal it back!

And yes, Gretchen carries more than one ball with her at all times, but Saber wants whatever I want and he’ll wait and wait and stalk and stalk until he gets the ball. Then he races off and I swear I can hear him laughing all the way.

Woobie, on the other hand, just waits all pretty like, the wind blowing her hair like Mariah in a movie.

Occasionally, she’ll take off in a dead run, but the conditions have to be just right. Not sure what those conditions are, but apparently they weren’t just right today.

Never stopped Saber. I don’t think he has a clue what conditions are or even if he did, why they would get in the way of his stealing my ball!

We walked Woobie home just as those gray, gray clouds bust open (speaking of busting a move) and pummeled us with heavy raindrops. Woobie was happy to get inside her warm house, but Saber and I still had a ways to go — back to his house. So down through the park again with the rain beating on us. And then, just like that, the clouds moved by and the sun warmed and dried us. Like magic.

I guess today really is April Fool’s Day. One minute we’re basking in the warm spring sun and the next we’re fighting winter blasts. “April Fools” the weather kept saying or maybe it was April Folls…hard to know.

Until tomorrow,

Rubin

Camp Argo

Occasionally, we have overnight guests. Not often, but when our friend Cindy called and asked, we said yes. No one consulted with me, of course. The “yes” was given without even a look in my direction and when I even complained just a little, I was told that I need to be a better host. Excuse me, but who’s sitting on the couch I’m not allowed to sit on? Who’s sleeping under the covers on your bed that I only get to visit for 10 minutes in the morning? Who jumps in your lap while you’re working on the computer? Who gets all the media attention when we’re out on our walking jobs?

Well, the answer wouldn’t be me now would it?

Our house has turned into Camp Argo and while I’ve held my tongue, I’m a little worried that this guy is winning the hearts and minds of everyone I know, mainly my parents!

They reassure me that Argo will indeed go home (this weekend) and that I should muster up a little patience, but when I hear them coo over his cuteness and let him cuddle up on the couch while we watch TV, I get a bit jealous.

I explained all of this to Monty — our first walk of the day — but I didn’t get a lot of sympathy. He thinks Argo’s kind of cute, but I think  he feels that way because they kind of look alike. Pure narcissism if you ask me.

Plus, Monty’s always been a push over for little dogs.

Maybe Camp Argo should move over to Monty’s house for the remainder of his stay?

Monty and I got to hang out together while Gretchen and Ann took Argo out with his friends next door — Oshi and Perrito. They all scurried their little bodies over to Gemma’s house who was thrilled by the little visitors. Luckily for them, the tennis courts were free and off they ran playing chase the Argo and Argo tag! At one point, Gemma even tried to figure out where Argo’s ON/OFF switch might be located since he was running each of them into the ground!

As you can see, everyone was focused on Argo. I guess they’re better hosts than I am, but hey, they don’t have to watch him charm his way into our lives with his cute waggy tail and his salt and pepper smile.

Luckily, Argo got left home with Monty (he was digesting his lunch) while I got to walk with Gretchen over to Saber’s house. It was good to spend time away from Argo though when we got to the tennis courts, two other little dogs were there — Dexter and Theo.

Not that I have anything against little dogs — I actually kind of like them better than most big dogs — but I felt like I’ve had my fair share of little dog energy. So I did my best to spend quality time with my big friend, Saber, even though he kept stealing my ball!

Saber and I wore each other out after awhile and then headed up to the gardens to rest in the shade.

As you can see, I was mighty tired. Being a good host, practicing patience, and taking care of my dog walking duties wore me out today.

But that didn’t stop me when Gretchen decided to give Monty another walk. “Oh yeah,” I thought, “I get to hang out with my best friend for awhile.”

Only guess who joined us? That’s right. Welcome to Camp Argo.

Okay, so I know it looks like I’m smiling and yes, I am smiling because…well how do I say this…Argo is a sweet dog and while he gets all these privileges that I don’t get, he’s been a wonderful house guest and I really can’t complain. Of course, when he leaves, I might just jump up on the couch to see how it’s received. I’ll make certain to give my most pleading smile when I do…something I learned from Argo!

Until tomorrow,

Rubin

Insecurities

I like to consider myself a tough dog. Not much scares me, though some would say I’m jumpy. Perhaps, but mostly I think I’m pretty tough. Or as Gretchen likes to say, gnarly. I’ve heard her use that word a lot lately mostly in reference to her incision, which is soon to be a scar…a gnarly scar. She’s threatening to get an even gnarlier tattoo on top of the scar, but I think she’s bluffing. She’s not really the tattoo kind of woman.

I, on the other hand, would get a tattoo in a second, but unfortunately, it’s not going to happen. Too much hair.

But I digress. The real reason I’m telling you all of this is because last night, while I was practicing my tough look in the mirror, my biggest insecurity flared. Or perhaps I should say “bolted” and I was instantly in a puddle of quivering uncertainty.

Gretchen calls it thunder and lightning and while I don’t generally see the lightning, I most certainly hear and feel the thunder. Last night this thunder was right over our house. It even made the TV flicker and the computer screen get momentarily wobbly. It was at that point Gretchen turned off and unplugged everything. Later, when the storm had passed, she plugged it all back in and turned it all back on.

“Rubin,” she called to me, “It’s time to finish your blog.”

Unfortunately, I was in hiding, wedged securely between the ottoman and the couch lovingly covered up with a blanket by Ann. She gets me. She understands that sometimes even the toughest dogs have some hidden insecurities.

Lightning and thunder are mine. They’re apparently Argo’s too, though he tended to bark at the ceiling with every bolt and shudder.

So today, when we woke to a bit of rain, I asked, “Will there be more of those nasty storms today?”

“Not sure, buddy,” Gretchen told me. “They say there might be some this afternoon.”

“Well, let’s get this gig started so I can be home in the safety of my hidden spot when they come!”

It’s now late in the afternoon, almost evening, and no sign of noisy storms as of yet. Good thing. I’m not sure I can take two days in a row with all that noise and commotion.

Rosie feels the same way. I had Gretchen ask her what she feels about those storms and Rosie refused to even answer the question. She just looked Gretchen square in the eye as if to say, “Are more coming? If so, get me home quick, quick, quick!”

While the storms were no where to be seen in the sky, the air was mighty chilly, so chilly Gretchen made Rosie wear her coat. She may not look happy about it, but after the walk, she thanked Gretchen enormously for the extra warmth and the thunder-free walk!

Next up was Gemma and while I’m not certain, I don’t think Gemma has many insecurities. Certainly not thunder and lightning. She’s really tough and while I’d never want her to know how tough I think she is, I’ll tell you that I think she’s the toughest and gnarliest dog I know!

Gemma and I got to play at the tennis courts today, but instead of our usual romp photos, Gretchen tried to capture that unique nose and ear combination of the tough girl. Oh, and let’s not forget the drool. Hey, I didn’t know tough dogs drooled!

Gemma also got to come over to our house to meet Argo. We didn’t get any photos of the meeting (too bad) but it was pretty fun to watch Argo chase Gemma around the yard while Gemma chased me.

After Gemma went home, Gretchen and I picked up Saber and we, too, headed to the courts where Saber instantly stole my favorite ball and taunted me with it!

Man, he LOVES to play keep away (hence the attached red leash) and he’s mighty quick about it, too. The second I get close enough to steal the ball back, he’s off and running!

As for toughness, Saber is a lot of things — goofy, loving, big — but I’m not sure tough or gnarly are words I can attach to him. Gretchen calls him a mush ball elephant and while he used to show the fear of open umbrellas in his early years, I’m not sure thunder and lightning would elicit the same response now. Instead, I bet he just looks up at the sky and says, “Uh? Is that music?”

Saber has a habit of ramming into me with his large, Lab head. For as large as he is, he actually moves really well. I think of him as a bulldozer able to scoop up the ball in one swift move or in some instances, leap right up in front of the camera to snatch the ball high out of the air.

We played hard, which was Gretchen’s ulterior motive because once we were done, I got to rest at home with Argo while Gretchen and Ann headed south to walk with Ollie, Playa, and Doodles. Now, it’s pretty clear to me (even though I don’t know Playa or Doodles) that the two of them would have completely different reactions to thunderstorms.

Playa would see it as a signal to go outside and sniff the air. A husky-mix, Gretchen says that huskies want nothing more than to be outside in any kind of weather. They’re all about being on the move and while Playa can’t get out of her yard, when she’s on the walk, she wants to just keep going and going and going! All you could see would be her beautiful tail waving goodbye!

Doodles, on the other hand, would find the deepest, darkest hole he could and tuck himself in for days and days and days. No matter how much reassurance he got, no matter how many treats they used to coax him out, he’d be too afraid those loud booms and spine-tingling cracks would come again. I completely understand!

Ollie would bark. Plain and simple… woof, woof, woof! He barks at everything he’s not certain about, which is hard to imagine since he’s such a fun-loving, happy-go-lucky kind of guy.

As you can see, Gretchen’s feeling better these days since Ann only had to help out with the last walk of the day. Everyone was very appreciative…especially Gretchen…but even Doodles, who is spooked by everything, seemed to enjoy meeting the new girl.

When they finally got home, Argo and I greeted them with typical enthusiasm. Well, my was typical. Argo grabbed a shoe and brought it to them. Where did he learn that?

He’s certainly making himself at home. First he’s learned to drink water from my dish and then, when we were let out in the backyard, Argo got really affectionate! Wait just one minute little fellow!

Tomorrow Gretchen thinks she can go it alone…no more need for Ann to help out unless she wants to. Well of course, I’ll be there to lend a paw……unless it storms again!

Until tomorrow,

Rubin

Window of Opportunity

I woke this morning to the most amazing sound — torrential rain on the roof. It was so loud everyone in the house woke up and my first thought was, “What a wet day of dog walking this is going to be!”

But what do you know…by the time Gretchen got home from teaching, the sun actually came out and we knew that we had just a few hours to get out there before the rain came again. And came it did. In fact right now, it’s torrential again and that’s after bolts of lightning and earth quaking thunder.

Needless to say, it’s been emotionally exhausting!

Gretchen did go to school by herself today because Ann is home for Spring Break. That’s another window of opportunity in that Gretchen planned her surgery so that Ann could help out with the dog walking (Gretchen didn’t want to rip her stitches out before she was healed up!). So Ann took us out this morning (yes, there’s an “us” because our friend’s dog, Argo is staying with us for the week while she’s vacationing in Italy…lucky her!) while Gretchen did fulfilled her teaching duties.

When she got home, they both left us behind while they walked over to Rosie and Tyson’s house. Ann’s never really met Tyson so Gretchen gave her the leash and the two of them bonded on the walk. Tyson, of course, bonds with anyone who has a tasty treat to hand out!

As you can see, they walked up on the ridge and did their best to pose in front of the tulips that didn’t get drenched in the morning rain. Unfortunately, neither of them would really look at the camera since Ann held the treats! I completely understand!

After Rosie and Tyson went home, Ann and Gretchen swung back home to pick us up and then we all went next door to get the boys — Oshi and Perrito. The thing about little dogs is that they LOVE to play with each other and Argo was thrilled to have two playmates his size! Crazy times!!!

Originally, I was going to stay home with Argo while Gretchen and Ann walked Gemma and Saber, but everyone decided that Argo needed some rest after his dance with Oshi and Perrito and I needed a bit more exercise so yippee for me, I got to play with Saber and Gemma.

And just after we got done with the romp, down came some rain. Not much, but enough that Gretchen kept her camera in her fanny pack!

But the rain didn’t really start until we got home and then came that nasty thunder and lightning. Argo hates it as much as I do, but Gretchen’s done her best to get us to relax while we watch Women’s NCCA basketball — a fun distraction.

The rain is supposed to continue, but hopefully it won’t be as torrential, hopefully it won’t wake us up, and super hopefully, it come with thunder and lightning!

Until tomorrow,

Rubin

The Thought of This

It struck me today that my job as a dog dog walker is more than just walking dogs around the neighborhood. This blog, the chronicle of photographs, my reflections — it’s more of a historical document — a tome, as it were, of canine life in this corner of the world. You might not find that significant, but when I checked the statistics about who views this blog on a daily basis, I must admit my job and all that it encompasses, carries far more significance than I ever imagined.

I didn’t arrive at this profound awareness until the end of the day, in the evening actually, when we set out to play with Wilson, our last dog of the day. Wilson’s mom works nights and so, in the middle of her shift, we take Wilson on an adventure to tire him out. He likes it very much and by the time he returns, he curls up in front of the fan, calm and relaxed, and watches us leave with a smile on his face.

Wilson’s dad, on the other hand, is far away, deployed to Iraq. Wilson’s dad misses him very much and both Wilson’s parents worried about the transition so they hired me to keep Wilson happy and entertained while they were both away. I am honored to help out, but even more humbled by my work when Gretchen told me that Wilson’s dad reads my blog, every chance he can, from Iraq.

Wow.

I am not a political fellow. Politics are for people, not dogs. Philosophy, on the other hand, is very much a canine domain and as you read today’s blog — no matter who you are or where you live –view the photographs as snapshots of a dog’s existential perspective on life. Look closely. Truly. We all say a lot with our faces, our tails, our whole bodies and in all of our contortions and postures, humans can learn a lot about how to live life in peace.

Since I’ve started with Wilson, let me continue with the end of the work day and spin my way back to the beginning.

Wilson and I went for a walk, Ann came with us, and we looked for a park where we could play fetch. Unfortunately, every park was busy with human activity, so we headed to the off-leash park where surprisingly, no other dogs were playing. So play we did — Wilson chased his orange and blue ball and I chased mine.

And then Mosher arrived.

Mosher is a yellow Lab/hound mix and at 8 months old, he was a bit timid at first. Can you see it in his eyes? He wants to be your friend, but he wants to scope it all out first. And so he did, but in no time at all, Mosher decided to play.

Now that’s a happy dog, don’t ya think? As much as Mosher wanted us to chase him, we were both focused on our individual games of fetch and so Mosher entertained himself by following us around.

One bad thing about playing at the off-leash park is that it’s very dirty. You can see by the dry grass and sandy surfaces that if we aren’t careful, we could end up in the bath tub after a romp in the park.  I’m apparently already scheduled for a bath, but Gretchen was worried about Wilson. Luckily, though, only his tongue got dirty.

And these two photos are a study in dog philosophy. In the first, Wilson is clearly contemplating the art of patience and in the second, he is practicing an ancient yoga (or doga as we call it) Asana — or yogic/dogic position of relaxation.  For his young age, he’s really mastered this relaxing pose, don’t you think?

Before Wilson, was Gemma. I didn’t go on a walk and romp with Gemma because I needed to eat my breakfast (which really was lunch by the time I decided to eat it…not much of a morning dog). But Gemma was not alone. On their walk, they ran into Quillette and Jessica and headed to the other tennis courts for a little bit of frolicking.

Gemma is, as you well may know, a handful. Quillette is an elder and has mastered the way of schooling — of letting younger dogs know who is the boss.  Gemma persisted in playing with Quillette the way she plays with me, but Quillette held her at bay for quite awhile.

Neither dog really likes to play fetch, though both dogs are very interested in the ball.

Quillette likes to play soccer with her mom, so Jessica obliged and the two of them had a game of it.

And only after a rousing came of soccer, did Quillette show Gemma any attention.

Can you see Quillette’s acceptance of Gemma, finally, in this last photo? And what do you think she’s contemplating here?

Yes, it’s in the tail and the ears and those eyes. She is practicing the refined art of happiness.  After 10 years of life, she’s a master of it don’t you think?

Before Gemma and Quillette, were Oshi and Perrito. I didn’t get to go on this walk either. That dastardly breakfast/lunch thing again. It’s bad enough I have to eat, but then I have to digest and it really cuts into my play time.

But Oshi and Perrito got to go on a walk and they got to play a bit, though Oshi is not so interested in playing as he is in going home.

Perrito would like to do nothing else but play and since Gretchen recently found out about his love of fetch, she threw the ball for him in hopes of running off a little of his playful steam. Only apparently Perrito wasn’t as much into fetch as he was into shoveling. Yes, he’d chase after the ball, but once he reached it, he didn’t pick it up. No, he pushed it around turning his whole body into a fuzzy shovel. As you’ll see in the last photo in this next series, even Oshi thought Perrito was being a bit odd in his shoveling behavior.

So, while Oshi begged to go home, Perrito chased after the ball and then pushed it around with his nose.

Another reason why I didn’t get to go on the walk with Gemma, Oshi, and Perrito was because I’d been on a really big walk and romp with Monty and Argo. Yes, Argo. He and his mom came to visit and we went for a walk at Seward Park. Monty and I love playing at Seward Park and Argo got to observe (and stay clear of) our blur of woodsy activities!

After our athletic play through Seward Park, we rested for a posed picture. Argo liked that more — he felt a lot safer with us sitting!

It was a full day, as you can tell, and I know I’ll sleep soundly tonight. But I’ll also sleep contemplating the thought of this — my words, deeds, and actions have significance. That’s deep and the wait of it all has humbled me quite a bit. I will take my work more seriously from now on both in my interactions with others as well as in my role as a connection between the human and canine worlds.

Finally, to Wilson’s dad, know that Wilson is doing well, that he’ll be thrilled to see you when you return, and that all of us are sending you thoughts of safety and peace.

Until tomorrow,

Rubin

All the Way Home…

The sad thing about having another dog at our house as a boarder is that they eventually go home.

The good thing about having another dog at our house as a boarder is that they eventually go home.

Does that make me sound mean?

Let me explain.

Argo has been with us since last Thursday. He’s a sweet little fella whose personality broadened every day.  At first he was shy and a bit out of sorts, but as the days progressed, his playful, jolly, and wiggly self emerged. Today was his last day with us so we took an early morning walk to the little field where we played fetch.

That little guy loves to play fetch, but then again, so do I.

Argo wasn’t to go home until the evening so that meant he got to go to work with me only my work was pretty trim today. Ollie and Gemma were the only dogs on the docket…or should that be “dog”ket?  No matter.

Gemma is still recovering so the only dog Argo got to meet was Ollie and as usual, Ollie was very excited to see us and meet Argo. We headed on a long walk aiming toward the little field for games of chase and fetch, but when we got there, they were mowing the lawn.

What now? We decided to see if anyone was at the off-leash dog park. Generally, we don’t go to the dog park because 1) there are often lots of dogs there and 2) it’s often very muddy, but since we haven’t much rain of late, we decided to check it out. And what do you know…no one was there AND it was dry. So we got to play and play we did!

As you can see, Argo and Ollie got along really well. Ollie chased Argo and then another dog showed up (Vadar) and Ollie got chased. He was one happy guy.

Since Argo had played that morning, he got tired pretty quickly and found a couple places to rest first in the tall grass and then in the shade. Smart fellow!

I played fetch and Ollie stood around waiting to be chased…

Eventually even Ollie got tired and found his own shade in which to rest.

On our way to return Ollie back to his home, we stopped at our house where Gretchen left Argo and me so we could get some rest. We needed it.  Gretchen dropped off Ollie and then walked over to Gemma’s house.

You know how they say a dog’s bark is bigger than his bite? Well, in Gemma’s case the bandage is bigger than her bite. Yes, her ear had to get stitches, but to keep the ear from splitting open again, the vet had to bend her right ear back and strap on a full-headed bandage.

On top of that, she has to wear the Cone of Shame to keep her from scratching out the stitches.

Poor girl.

Though Gretchen reports that she’s still full of energy!  To burn some of it off before their walk, Gretchen took Gemma to the tennis courts to play fetch and race around.

Gemma likes to chase after the ball, but unlike me, she’s not very good at bringing the ball back. This makes fetch kind of a tough game, but Gretchen pulled out three balls, tossed one across the court to get Gemma to chase it then threw the next so Gemma would chase that.

But after awhile, Gretchen noticed that what Gemma really liked to do was jump up after a bouncing ball so they played that game for awhile.

Occasionally, the ball would get stuck in the Cone of Shame. Gemma had a hard time trying to figure out how to get the ball out of the cone. Eventually, she learned to flip her cone and the ball would fly out on it’s own.

Amazingly, Gretchen got a picture of it!  Talk about luck!

But it was warm yesterday and Gemma soon tired out. A perfect time to take an energetic dog for a walk. But first, some rest in the shade and a happy yawn…

They finished their time together with a walk through Judkins park, but Gemma sought the shade every now and then. That’s a tired dog!

The rest of the day, Argo and I hung out together and ended the day with a walk around the park and games of fetch in the backyard. When Argo’s family arrived, it eased the pain of his leaving by seeing how happy he was to have his family around again.  He is a loved dog, it’s true, but we will miss him very much.

Be a good boy, Argo.

The good part about the boarder going home? I get my moms all to myself!!!

Until next time,

Rubin

Zoom, Zoom, Zoom

If there is one thing I’ve learned about little dogs it’s that they are very, very fast. I always thought I was fast, but Argo is a Mach One race car compared to my turbo engine.

We started the day with a long walk up over the hill and down through the woody park.  Argo likes to walk and he squirted and spurted in front of us the whole way…and I mean that both figureatively and literally. I thought Monty could pee a lot, but Argo lifts his leg without much provocation. Pretty amazing for such a little guy.

We also went through the Bradner Gardens where Gretchen propped us up for one of those classically staged photographs. Everyone we walk it seems, gets their picture taken at the tractor and Argo is no exception.

After the tractor, we headed through the park and then back up over the hill toward home.  Usually after our morning walk, Gretchen works at the computer for awhile, but today she left us behind at the house and headed out the door to help my other mother, Ann, pack up her classroom for the big move to her new school. We’re all excited because Ann’s new school is only 3 blocks away and that means she’ll be close by and we can visit her often. Yippee!

Gretchen returned from her work with Ann, leashed us up, and we headed next door to fetch Oshi and Perrito. There’s a love affair blossoming between Perrito and Argo. The second they saw each other their tails got all wiggly and they had a peeing contest all the way to the park.  Impressive how much liquid those two can produce. At the park, I played fetch and they played chase. First they chased after me, then they chased after each other, and then we all chased after a swallow who decided to join in on our fun (3rd picture…can you see the swallow just to the right of my tail?)

Oshi, as is his style, watched and mourned for home,  and eventually we all got tired and rested…

Oshi’s position doesn’t change much on these outings. Perhaps that’s because Gretchen leaves his leash on. She’s taken it off before, but then Oshi heads for home on his own and that’s just not a good idea. With the leash left on, he stands in one position or walks a little dragging his leash like an anchor. Argo, on the other hand, is all over the place, but never leaves his new friends’ sides. That’s good.  Makes him really fun to be with and a whole lot more reliable for Gretchen! Perrito goes whereever Argo goes…like glue I tell ya, like glue.

That’s it for today in terms of the business side of my life. I think there are more walks planned later and perhaps even a romp with Monty this evening, but only after we get finished cleaning the house.

Until tomorrow,

Rubin

Ergo Argo

Dear Family,

Rubin has been kind enough to let me write on his Dog Blog about the weekend. He said that as a guest, I get to give my viewpoint of life at Camp Rubin. And what a life it is! When you told me you’d be leaving me with Ann and Gretchen, I had no idea how much fun I would have. Okay, I’ll admit, I was kind of shy when I first arrived, uncertain about where I’d sleep, who I should follow (since I always follow you, Mom), and when or where I’d get fed (a very important part of my existence). But soon I learned the routine at Camp Rubin and have settled right in.

Rubin is a good friend. He pretty much leaves me alone, but allows me to go with him to work. He’s a dog dog walker, if you didn’t know, and he stays very, very busy during the week.  He also stays very busy on the weekends, too. .

This weekend, for instance, we traveled over to visit his grandparents as well as his Uncle Paul and Lindsey, his human cousin. They were all really nice to me and we had lots and lots of fun.  We played lots of fetch…a game both Rubin and I like.

I also got lots and lots of loving attention…

Not only from Ann and Gretchen, but from Gretchen’s family as well. For instance, this is Grandpa Bob. He’s very kind and gave me lots of love. He also gave lots of love to Rubin since that is his Grand-dog.

Lindsey, Gretchen’s niece and Rubin’s cousin, liked to scratch my back and I even got to hang out with Ann while she read the Sunday paper.

Rubin is one lucky dog. Not only does he have a loving family (just like I do), but he gets to go on all sorts of adventures.  For instance, on Saturday afternoon, we went to this boat launch where that’s what they did…launched two kayaks. And guess what? Rubin got to go for a ride in one of the kayaks! They asked me if I wanted to go, but I didn’t like the thought of getting my paws wet. Instead, I went for a walk with Ann around the park. That was fun, too. Everything smells so different in Bremerton!

We all hung out on the dock, too, watching the boats go by.

We also played fetch in the park and I got to chew on Rubin’s orange and blue ball. That was especially fun!

When we got back to the house, Rubin and I hung out in the front yard while everyone washed down the boats.

Because it was Father’s Day, we all got to watch Grandpa Bob try out his new hose wrapper-upper. Rubin liked to chase the hose, but I got a little nervous and wanted Ann to pick me up, and she did…just in time for the family portrait!

I also got a new nickname. They called me “Star Anise”…I’m not sure why but I think it has to do with the white star on my back end.

At night, I get to sleep in the middle of the human bed and sometimes Rubin comes up, too and we sleep together.  Rubin and I also play in the back yard, too, which is really fun though he likes to bark at me and that makes me a little nervous.

It’s been really fun so far hanging out and playing at Camp Rubin. I do miss you, though, but I’m glad if you had to be gone, that I got to come here.  I feel safe and loved almost as much as I do when I am at home.

Your faithful and curly boy,

Argo