Category Archives: Oshi

January 15, 2011

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It’s Time

I knew this day was coming, but now that it’s here I have mixed feelings.

Our business is changing. Now that Gretchen has a full time job at the pool as the manager, she’s had to cut back in other areas of

Gretchen in the pool with Tony the Face. He LOVES his massage!

her life. She says that if she were 20 years younger, she might be able to walk 7 miles a day, spend 6 hours a day in the pool swimming and massaging dogs, and survive 12 hour work days, but she isn’t so therefore something’s gotta give.

So, she’s cutting back on the number of dog walking clients she’ll have per week.

What this means for me is that I’ll get more walks with Gretchen just by myself and

while I am very happy about this (I enjoy our alone time), I’m also sad because I won’t see some of my friends as often. It also means that I won’t be writing this blog every day. Again, it’s kind of nice to think about not having to write every day (sometimes, as you know, it’s been tough to keep up), but in one way, I’ll kind of miss it. Keeping a daily journal, as it were, is a great way for me to reflect upon my day and my life.

But Gretchen says that I shouldn’t dwell on the sadness, but rather embrace this day as a day to celebrate my friendships. So let me begin…

Waiting with my friends for a mid-morning snack!

My closest friend in all the world is Monty. We will be keeping him as a client so you’ll read more about our work adventures (days when I walk him), but you’ll also read more about our friendship adventures (days when we’re just hanging out and NOT working). Monty’s a special guy. He’s taught me more than any other dog I’ve known and I’m looking forward to more wisdom and fun with my big, woolly buddy in the years to come!

We’re also keeping Woobie who, as you know, has been staying with us this week. She goes home tomorrow and we know she’s very excited to see her family once again. Yesterday, when we were driving around on some errands, Woobie got really excited at one point in the car. “What’s with Woobie?” I asked Gretchen.

“Look where we are,” Gretchen said.

We were one block from Woobie’s house. I guess I’d be excited, too if I passed by my house after not being there for three weeks.

“Soon, Woobie, you’ll be home soon,” I told her and she wagged her big, wavy tail and smiled.

Gemma is a dog we’ve passed onto another dog walker (or two). I’ve known Gemma since she was a puppy and it’s been fun to watch her grow up. I will miss her lively spirit and her willingness to go anywhere and try anything. I didn’t think I’d miss when she bites my neck or pushes me around with her butt, but then when I really thought about it, I realized I actually would. Happy adventures, Ms. Gemma.

Oshi and Perrito will also be moving on. While I’m sad that I won’t see them as much as I used to, the live right next door so I will at least get to watch them on their porch as they scurry around and chase each other. When the weather gets warmer, I may just invite myself over there to scurry around with them.

And then Saber. I’ve known Saber since he was a puppy as well and boy, has he ever grown! I’m miss a lot of things about Saber but the one I’ll miss the most is his goofy happiness.

Every day, no matter the weather or my mood, Saber makes me smile. He loves life and has taught me to embrace every moment with exuberance and zeal.

I sure hope we can arrange play dates in the future because playing with Saber is about as fun as it gets!

Even today, when he knew this was his last day with us, he laughed and laughed and laughed in the rain as we watched Woobie battle the wind and Gretchen forced us to sit on a cold, stone bench and pose for yet another of her many (too many, I might add) photographs.

Okay, I’m gonna kind of miss all of this, but I’m not going to dwell on that…I’m going to dwell (and laugh) on the happiness of friendships…

And to you, my faithful readers, thank you for your support these past few years. Please keep checking in for I will still be writing about my adventures and my thoughts and everything in between. They’ll still be photos and witticisms and the humble contemplations of a maturing Labradoodle (that would be me), but they won’t be as often. I feel like I know each and everyone of you personally and I’d hate to lose that connection just because the focus of my work is changing.

And yes, it’s changing. Turns out I’ll be a pool boy accompanying Gretchen to work at Wellsprings K9 and assisting my friend, Paige as she blogs about her work at the pool.

It’s time and so I step forward into my new adventure in life and I sure hope you follow me! All the best to my four-footed friends and their families who have touched my life in such wonderful ways. I know I’ll see you on the streets of this fair (albeit wet) city and I hope your tail wags as much as mine!

Until next time,

Rubin

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January 12, 2011

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Walking through a slushy

I suppose that title says it all. It snowed last night — about 3 inches — and then early this morning it started raining and hasn’t stopped. All that snow turned to slush. We were wet, wet, wet for the entire day. We dried out in between walks, but it was a messy, messy day and therefore, no photos.

My apologies.

We walked Monty and Woobie first and they both picked up their paws really high as we sloshed through the river of water melting on the sidewalks. Gretchen walked Gemma and the two little mops — Oshi and Perrito — and everyone was pretty chilly and soaked by the time they made it home.

I walked with Rosie and she told me that she’d rather be at home — “No offense, Rubin,” she added and let me tell you, no offense taken.

Not our photo, but this is kind of what it was like today...

Woobie and Monty got to walk with Saber and out of all of us, he didn’t care at all about the wet and mud and rivers winding through the city. His positive attitude is an inspiration.

I should write more today, but the rain’s got me a bit down. I checked the weather report and let me tell you, it’s not a pretty picture for the next few days. While everyone else is digging themselves out of the snow, we’re about to go shopping for a boat and oars.

Frankly, I’d rather have snow. Yes, I know for those of you in Atlanta that’s not the case, but I say, if you’re going to be wet and cold better to be that way due to snow than rain.

Perhaps photos and words tomorrow, but no promises. I’m off to find my galoshes.

Until tomorrow,

Rubin

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January 10, 2011

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Ubiquitous

Now there’s a big word! And yes, I know what it means. That’s why I had to laugh when a young man, who lives up the street, saw us out walking twice today — once in the morning and once at lunch time — and said, “Rubin is ubiquitous!” Our neighbor had seen us first about a mile from our house and the second time miles away from the first spot. The same neighbor works at a Daycare facility and we sometimes walk over by his work as well. He drives to work and we walk over there.

So yes, I guess I am ubiquitous — everywhere at once…or so it appears.

I glad somebody appreciates the miles I put in. Or perhaps they admire that I’m always out and about without really knowing that I log about 6 miles in a day (some days more, some days less). It makes me feel proud to be the “face” of dog walking and while we wrap up our last week of full time dog walking work, I find myself nostalgic, reminiscing about the past two and half years.

But I won’t go there today. Instead, I want to focus on the dogs we walked today. Well, I didn’t get to walk with everyone because I kind of had an upset tummy last night and Gretchen felt it was important that I rested.

Whatever.

The day started with a walk with Woobie. She’s staying with us for a bit while her parents finish up their trip to Africa! Woobie and I walked in the chilly morning and as our agreement, Gretchen doesn’t take photos on our “non work” morning walk. Despite the lack of a camera, we had a good time and slowly my tummy started to feel better.

Rosie and Tyson also got a morning walk and it was equally chilly for them, too. They headed over to Leschi where they pose on the brick wall and did their best to win over more treats from Gretchen’s pocket.

Gemma was next and she got to go out with Oshi and Perrito where the three played fetch and “prayer” ball (Perrito’s favorite activity) on the icy courts.

Well, Oshi didn’t play, but he supervised from the perimeter. He LOVES to walk the perimeters.

Woobie and I got to walk with Saber. Saber thinks Woobie smells pretty…

Woobie, as you can see, just ignores Saber and Saber wonders why…

“She’s just like that,” I told him, “But don’t worry. She likes you! Just look at her tail wagging?”

“Which end is her tail?” asked Saber.

He really is a funny guy.

What you can’t see in these photos, though, is all the snow in the mountains just beyond the lake. Gretchen was really hoping they’d pop out, but the lighting was too flat and gray so all you see is white sky.

Trust me. There’s snow in them thar mountains and I can hardly wait until the weekend when we get to romp in it.

Woobie and I rested more after that while Gretchen went off to work at the pool.

They’re talking snow tomorrow and so, I head off to bed dreaming of the white stuff.

I know snow throws everyone’s schedule off, but I sure hope it comes down and stays for awhile. I love snow!

May it be as ubiquitous as I am!

Until tomorrow,

Rubin

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January 7, 2011

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All the little things…

This morning I watched Gretchen maneuver her way through an online tax website so that she could file her city B & O taxes. She gets pretty tense about it all and so I sit under the desk and rest my head on her nervous feet.

It doesn’t seem to help much, but I do what I can.

It’s amazing, actually, how many little things are involved in running your own business and we’re a small small business. I can’t imagine what it’s like to be twice our size or even bigger. Of course, if you’re bigger I imagine you hire someone to do all those little things for you — someone who, perhaps, enjoys it though I can’t imagine anyone finding pleasure in the work.

There are other little things that you never even think about — like maintaining this website and blog, organizing your billing, making schedules, planning for changes, blah, blah, blah. The dog walking is the easy part and thankfully walking dogs, according to Gretchen, makes all the paperwork on the back end worth it.

And it’s January, which adds to the stress since all that paperwork filed and piled in the office must now be sifted and sorted and prepared for the tax person. Thank Dog we have a phenomenal tax woman! She holds Gretchen’s hands (not her feet like I do) better than I ever could.

But those little things can clog up your day and make your work more difficult than usual. Like today. Gretchen forgot to take care of one of the little things — charging the batteries for her camera — and so we don’t have any photos from the day. Of course, it rained all day long — the kind of rain that gets you wet in 30 seconds or less so we probably wouldn’t have taken photos anyway, but it’s a good example of how one little thing can impact your day.

So our apologies to the families of Monty, Rosie, Tyson, Oshi, Perrito, and Saber — all dogs we walked today…in the rain…without a camera.

Good thing it’s Friday…perhaps we can attend to more of those little things this weekend and then be all caught up…oh wait, Gretchen just mumbled, “Fat chance!” so I guess I was being too hopeful. Oh well. I think I’ll go rest my head on her feet again and see if that helps.

Until Monday…have a good weekend,

Rubin

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January 5, 2011

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Connected

It’s true that I have to moms, but somehow I’m more connected to one more than the other. Not that I don’t love them both equally. Not that when one or the other comes home I’m not thrilled and all wiggly to see them, but it appears that on a more unexplainable level, when Gretchen gets sick, I get sic. Or worse, when I get sick, Gretchen gets sick. I’m not sure why that’s worse, but maybe it’s because I feel bad about it.

Anyway, last night my stomach got all gurgly (is that a word?)…it started to gurgle. Loudly. I didn’t feel well and in the middle of the night, I got up and hurled on the carpet. Not a pretty sight, but all night long Gretchen kept feeling worse and worse and though she kept her side of the carpet clean, she said she felt like she could leave a spot somewhere inappropriate.

Turns out we both have intestinal distress. This is not the first time that it’s happened. Sometimes my left shoulder will hurt and Gretchen will get the same pain. When her left knee was gimpy, mine was too.

This is what I mean by connected. It’s eerie. We talked to the doctor about it this morning when I went in for my acupuncture appointment. “It’s not uncommon,” she said and went on to explain how many clients and their pets have the same ailments and conditions. “As a practitioner,” she explained, “I have to protect myself not to take on the energy of my clients.”

I thought this was kind of weird so I talked to Gretchen about it on our way home from my relaxing acupuncture appointment (and surprisingly, my tummy feels much better — must have been those needles in my stomach points!).

“You do massage on dogs,” I asked, “Do you sometimes pick up their ailments?”

“You know, Rubin,” she responded, “I’m not your typical woo-woo kind of person and I would have been the last to believe that such a thing could happen, but the more I work massaging dogs, and time with you, I realize just how amazingly we are connected. It’s true, if I open myself up too much in a massage, the pain the dog is feeling sometimes transfers to me. Not with the same intensity and it’s not like my knee is injured or my discs ruptured, it’s more of a general pain in that area. So, I’m not surprised that since you and I spend so much time together and we love each other so much that your sore shoulder is mine and mine is yours.”

Wow. If you knew Gretchen well like I do, you’d find this pretty surprising information and I suppose, if I were a scientist, I’d question the results, but I guess, in a way, we’ve kind of run our own experiments and the evidence is pretty clear to both of us — we’re connected.

On another completely different note, we’re “connected” in another way. Gretchen and our friend, Richard have been working feverishly on a new website for Wellsprings K9 (the pool where Gretchen works) and last night they launched it. You can see it here. Ironically, right after it launched, Gretchen felt ill and so did I.

Maybe it’s been the stress of ironing out all the glitches and the hours spent making it look the way we wanted it to, but I guess with all this woo woo stuff in the air (and in this house) I shouldn’t be surprised by the cause and effect.

Don’t worry — neither of us was too ill to not walk dogs today, though we walked slower and Gretchen let me rest more at home during the day, which was a good thing, I suppose.

So while I went on a walk with Monty, he walked some of the other dogs in my stead while Oshi, Perrito, and Gemma were left to their own craziness without Monty or me!

And just like the weather people promised, the temperatures rose and the rainclouds moved in. Thankfully, it stayed dry for our work, but things look mighty threatening right now.

So here’s a quick rundown of the day…

Monty walked with Rosie — well actually, they played at the tennis courts and had a blast (I’m only slightly jealous!)

Hard to see, but Rosie is chasing Monty...can you see her right behind Mr. Wooly!

Gemma walked with Oshi and Perrito, and yes, the gray skies tell it all!

And I got to walk with Monty in the morning (no photos, though) and then Saber in the afternoon.

Then I got another nap…so did Gretchen…and frankly, we both needed it. Monty enjoyed it as well. I wonder if he’s connected, too?

Until tomorrow,

Rubin

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January 3, 2011

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Busted

For those of you who follow this blog, you know that I try to post a new piece every day. But you also know that some days I forget or I get too busy and then I must go to bed. Generally, I write the blog I miss the day after and write from the perspective of the day before. It can get confusing to be living in a Thursday but writing about a Wednesday. I do my best to remember what day I’m writing about, but some days I forget.

Like last week. I got too busy to write Wednesday’s blog so I got up early on Thursday and wrote about Wednesday. Only I wrote about Wednesday as if it were Thursday. Are you confused? Well, apparently I was too and the result was that I forgot to write Thursday’s blog. Of course, then the three-day New Year’s weekend happened and it all got messed up so now I must make amends or at least confess that I’ve been busted for my little white lies about what day I’m writing about.

Gretchen tried to console me with some phrase about “you’re only human” and then she caught herself because we both know I am not human. When I was feeling kind of bummed about it all, she said, “Give yourself a break, Rubin” and then I felt a tad bit better, but I suppose I’ll only feel better if I apologize directly to all of you.

So…I apologize for missing and misnaming my blogs. I’ll do my best in the New Year to keep up, but I suppose this is as good a time as any to let you know that my life will be changing after January 14. After January 14, we’ll be cutting back on our dog walking so Gretchen can work more full time at the pool. While it saddens us both to say goodbye to some of our most loyal clients, I know this is the best move for Gretchen who’s been working 12-14 hour days both putting in miles during the day and hours at the pool in the evenings.

She promises me that I will still get the same number of hours of play and walks and adventures and that I’ll get to go help her at the pool more often, but still it’s hard (as well as exciting) for both of us to make this transition. What this means for the blog is that I’ll be keeping a weekly blog instead of a daily one (though I might cheat and do a blog every couple of days). I know my grandparents will be sad about this because reading my blog is part of their morning routine — coffee, newspapers, and Rubin’s blog — but I also know they’ll understand.

But that, of course, is in the future. For now, I must catch up on all the activities over the past few days.

Thursday, December 30, 2010

It was a short but beautiful day. Gretchen walked Rosie and Tyson while I went out with Ann and my Auntie Jessica and her dog, Quillette. While I had a good time, it looks like Rosie and Tyson had even more fun playing fetch at the tennis courts on a cloud, crisp, blue-sky day!

I did get to walk with Saber and we headed down to the lake where Gretchen took us out on the dock. “I’m not sure this is a good idea,” I told Gretchen since Saber LOVES the water and would do just about anything to go for a swim…

…but even he had to admit it was way too far down to take the plunge.

So instead, we hung out in the sun as Gretchen tried to capture our silly expressions!

Friday December 31, 2010

And then we packed up the car and headed to the mountains! I thought it was cold on our side of the hills, but let me tell you, my paws were mighty cold in the 8 degree temperatures by the Wenatchee River. Here’s just a sampling of our time at the River…

That’s Lake Wenatchee on the left and the river on the right…

And this is me on both sides (tee hee) dressed for the chill (10 degrees in these photos), but I’m being very impatient. Good thing there is no sound in these photos because I’m whining, begging to keep going on our snowshoe trip.

I love to snowshoe and ski, but I wish Gretchen would buy me a set of skis and snowshoes so I wouldn’t have to wear these boots!

When we got done snowshoeing, I got to play with my little pink friend. She throws the ball for me and then chases after me. It’s the best game ever and would only be better if I didn’t have to wear the boots.

Still, it was mighty chilly and so I suppose the boots were a good thing.

Yep, it was so cold that the river got icy! I told my little pink friend to be careful or her tongue would stick on the snow. She didn’t believe me.

Gretchen and I went snowshoeing again the next day. I didn’t have to wear my coat this time, but I did run into some scary folks! That’s a unicorn bunny with a weapon (I’m a bit cautious as you can tell) and I think I know that masked woman!

I know you can’t tell from these photos, but we actually got a little lost. Thankfully, we were in a state park that went around a lake so once we found the lake again, we made it back to the car. Still, it was a long haul and since no one had broken trail yet, it was a difficult long haul.

I bounded my way through and Gretchen smashed the trail with her snowshoes. I’m not sure who was more tired by the end of the day, but both of us were a bit stiff and sore after the hike.

Oh and I had to cross this treacherous passage — it was a downed tree and it was laying across the path in such a way that we had to walk across the tree that had about 2 feet of snow on it. It was stretched out over the lake about 6 feet off the ground and even I, who is afraid of heights, made it across the 30 foot expanse. I was proud of myself! Still who was more tired at the end of the day?

Saturday January 1, 2011

The next day I met a new friend — Scout! — and engaged him in an icy game of chase!

Sunday January 2, 2011

We drove home…kind of boring, but then I liked the long nap in the car.

Monday (today) January 3, 2011

And finally, today. The past few weeks have been kind of slow with people on vacation, our travel plans, and the holidays so when we got back out on the road, I was kind of surprised at the 9 miles we put in. Whew…I haven’t done that for awhile!

First up were Gemma, Oshi, and Perrito. We hadn’t seen Gemma for awhile and though I stayed home (to rest), Gretchen said she was very excited to see everyone.

Gemma, as you can see, has a new collar — a Halti — which is designed to keep her from pulling. Much to Gemma’s torment, the new collar really works and Gretchen’s elbow is very very happy.

Oshi and Perrito are particularly wooly, which is a good thing since it was about 24 degrees this morning. Not the -5 degrees from our trip to Eastern Washington over the weekend, but still rather nippy for the start of 2011.

Oshi and Perrito were happy to have their wooliness!

The chilly day made for spectacular views and so Gretchen, Rosie, Tyson, and I walked up to our favorite viewpoint to capture the grandeur of it all.

Despite the chill, the sun felt warm and wonderful and we soaked it up!

Well, I soaked it up with my eyes closed! Rosie and Tyson were just waiting for a treat.

Saber was last dog of the day (he usually is) and we went for a long walk down by the lake and up through Frink Park. I told Gretchen it was a bad idea to try to take a photograph when we were surrounded by sticks, but did she listen?

I shook my head in disbelief! She’ll never listen!

Hard to say what makes Saber look up, but eventually he gets tired of the stick and raises his head. Today the sun caught him just at that moment and made him look sort of angelic.

Yeah right…

Still, I’m glad he looked up because the stick thing was getting annoying.

Okay, I’m caught up…whew. My paws are tired. I’ll do my best not to get this far behind again, but know if I do, it’s for a good reason!

Happy New Year Everyone!

Rubin

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December 29, 2010

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The Last

These are the last few days of December and the last few days of 2010. While it’s only Thursday, the next time I write the blog will be January and 2011 (as we are going on a ski trip starting tomorrow). But it’s also the last of Ann’s vacation, which means that she got to walk with us today and Gretchen put her in charge of the camera.

Not to sound harsh, but perhaps it’s a last time she’ll get that duty as both of them — Ann and Gretchen — struggled with the changing roles.

First, Ann had a hard time seeing the frame of the photo since, on her walks, she doesn’t wear her glasses. Hence, dogs got cut off at the neck and faces were making odd contortions.

Which leads to the second issue — Gretchen’s insufferable obsession with giving directions about how to use the camera and take the photo. She’s talking in most of these photographs and while she might like to point her finger at Ann for the awkward facial expressions, she has no one but herself to blame for the open-mouth shots.

Ann always says that Gretchen is now a teacher without a classroom and we can both attest to what a dangerous condition/situation that is! Without something to organize and manage, she’s always organizing and managing everything, which can be a bit annoying. Luckily, though, Ann only went with us when we walked Rosie and Tyson so neither of them had to suffer through the other one’s irritations for the entire day.

It’s tough being a dog in the middle!

It was also the end of the warm winter weather we’ve been having. To the north of us and the south snow fell and throughout the day, we could feel the change in temperature. Saber didn’t mind, but Oshi and Perrito were a bit chilly. They wanted to stand close to Saber (he’s very warm), but it’s hard to know which direction he will head next so they kept their distance.

By the time I got to walk with Saber, the wind had picked up and the thermometer dropped even further as we watched the snow fall in the east from our perch above Lake Washington. No snow for us, but we are surrounded by the stuff and it was kind of like being inside a freezer.

I was kind of sad that we didn’t get any snow, but then I found out that at the end of this vacation (Ann’s vacation, that is) we were going to the mountains for some time in the snow and I didn’t feel so cheated.

Until next year!

Rubin

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December 27, 2010

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Remiss-mas

I’m feeling a tad bit guilty. So much has happened in the past two weeks that it’s all a blur — just like the photo to the right. All this busy holiday stuff — shopping, packing for our trip, our trip, coming home — has sent me into a tail-spin (pun intended) and has thrown me off my normal routines. In fact this morning, when I looked at the photos still waiting to be uploaded I cringed. “How am I ever going to catch up?” I asked Gretchen.

“You begin,” was her simple answer.

Still, I feel remiss since I know there are people out there reading my blog (which to this day, astounds me!). So, I shall begin though even knowing when to begin is daunting.

We went skiing. This was way before Christmas day, but I want to start here because I LOVE TO SKI and it was kind of the start to the blur. But before we went skiing, Jessica and Quillette spent the night and while this may not seem important to you, it was extremely important to me. I love my Jessica and Quillette is kind enough to share her with me, as you can see.

My moms are always surprised that when Jessica comes to spend the night, I sleep with her. Not sure why they are surprised…I’m just being a good host to some of my favorite guests.

But then we went skiing. Jessica had never really been cross-country skiing, but she caught on quickly. And despite the snow boots, Quillette and I did too!

And then we had a very short work week…

I know I should write lots and lots of pithy stuff about Monday and Tuesday, but frankly, I only remember tidbits of those two days.

I guess that’s part of the blur effect brought on by too much holiday excitement and not enough normal routine.

Luckily, I have the photos to remind me…

Of Tyson and Rosie on a cloudy Monday…

Followed by Gemma, Oshi, and Perrito in the rain…

And finally Saber to end the day…

And then Tuesday, which turned out to be a very light day but a very monumental day since we took Rosie out with Saber. They’ve never met and both of them were pretty darn excited to meet each other. Luckily, Ann came with us to help with the excited leashes and to take a photo as well as be the subject of a few!

Yes, Saber has a powerful tongue and yes, I just came from the groomers (in preparation for the holiday) and yes, it was a short, but fun work day!

And then we were off…we drove a long way but met up with Grandma and Grandpa and then ending up at my Uncle Paul’s and Aunt Patti’s house.

Where the humans ate a birthday cake that was as rich and decadent as anything I’ve ever seen…

And then, to my surprise, my doggie cousins — Hope and Ringo — were whisked away. I was a bit taken aback because I usually hang out with them, but before I could say, “Get off of me!” they were hauled away in the car and driven to…(dramatic music!) the vet’s office!

Whew…I am so glad I didn’t have to accompany them, but from the photos, it looks like Ringo was wishing I was there to help deflect the inevitable…

While Hope was the good girl and behaved herself…

When they returned, Hope did what she always does…found a lap to sleep on…after posing for a holiday photo…

And Ringo curled up and went to sleep, which is kind of rare for him…

You see Ringo, as adorable as he looks here, is kind of bossy. Gretchen tells me it’s the breed, but I’m beginning to think it’s really just Ringo. He likes me very much and follows me around everywhere, but he also likes to pick fights and since I usually don’t back down, well, we can get into some mighty tussles. You, of course, only get to see the sleeping shots, which is probably for the best. Here’s even one of me…

But Ringo and I also like to play and after much cajoling on my part, we raced around the yard and had a grand (albeit blurry) time!

While Hope watched…and Uncle Paul took a hot tub…

And if that weren’t enough…

…we decided to forgo a ski trip (bummer, bummer, bummer) and find a place where we could take a nice long walk with my human cousin, Lindsey…

…only where my Uncle’s family lives is kind of odd. It’s all farmlands and orchards and hilly vistas and vineyards with nary a place to walk. We had to drive along windy roads and through weird little towns to find a park where we could run free and even then, Hagg Lake was muddy and filled with plants that covered in burrs that clung to my Velcro fur like you wouldn’t believe. Still, it was fun and beautiful…

As you can see, I didn’t mind the mud or the burrs though later I paid a price with a bath and a combing…still, you’d think a place as beautiful as this…

…would have a lot more places to walk without problems of trespassing or highway walking.

So instead of too many hikes, hung out at the house and I watched as the humans cooked…How many humans does it take to cook up some pork?

And I snickered a bit when Ringo was put outside and I was left inside…

And then we all sat around as everyone exchanged gifts…or course, Ringo and I found our gifts right away…

And I snuck into the family photo…don’t worry because my Uncle and Aunt and human cousins LOVE me to pieces just as much as I love them.

But when they opened all the presents, I must admit, I feel asleep…

And the humans did more cooking and carving (with the help of some online advice on how to carve a turkey…notice where I am!)…

And then we all laid around — our bellies full, hearts even fuller — and counted our blessings. Okay, the last part — counting our blessings — isn’t a blur at all. In fact, it’s probably the part I’ll remember the most of these past two weeks.

Until tomorrow,

Rubin

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December 17, 2010

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Singing Along with Angels…

For weeks we’ve been dealing with wet, rainy, and gray weather. Floods all around us, black clouds above us, and squishy conditions under our feet. It’s like this sometimes in Seattle and just when you’re ready to move somewhere warmer and give it up, this happens…

Yes, I heard the angels singing too. I can’t tell you how exciting it was to wake up to blue skies, white mountains, and a winter sun (not super warm, but if you stood directly in it, glorious all the same).

Rosie and Tyson enjoyed it…

Oshi even enjoyed it…

Gemma and Perrito found it playful…or maybe they just found each other playful…

Monty and I were happy to find some shade by the end of the day…

(and yes, Saber’s there, too…guess what he’s doing?)…

Yep, chewing on yet another stick…though eventually, added his lick of approval on the day…

And Monty tried to sing along with the angels…while Saber kept looking for the angels…

A great way to end a long week.

Have a great weekend everyone!

Rubin

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December 15, 2010

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Key word…”puncture!”

I thought it was going to be a typical Wednesday — we’d get up, do our morning routines, and then venture up the street to get Monty to begin a long day of dog walking.

The first part went according to plan — we got up, did our morning routines and when Gretchen put the leash on me I thought, “Okay, Monty, here we come,” but instead of venturing up the street, she put me in the car and we headed east.

“Oh no,” I thought. “This isn’t looking very promising.”

When we pulled into the vet’s office, I had that sinking feeling in my stomach. “What did I do to deserve this?”

“Oh Rubin,” Gretchen said, “Stop being so melodramatic. You love it when the doctor works on you! Besides, it’s not like you’re coming here to get a shot!”

What I was doing at the vet is what I do about once a month — I get chiropractic and osteopathy treatments. I know, you think I’m spoiled rotten, but for a dog of my young age (I’ll be four in February) I have some structural issues that we’re trying to nip in the bud before they cripple me later on in life. And yes, though the doctor makes me nervous at first, I do like how she moves my body around so it feels better.

But today, despite Gretchen’s comforting words that I wasn’t getting a shot, the doctor decided to use needles anyway. Yep, not only does she do chiropractic and osteopathy, she’s an acupuncturist too! And I’d like to point out that the root word in acupuncture is PUNCTURE!

As you can imagine, I was a wee bit leery. When that first needle went in I looked at both Gretchen and the doctor and said, “Excuse me, but Gretchen said I wasn’t going to get a shot!”

“It’s not a shot, Rubin,” the doctor tried to reassure me, “Even though I do use a needle.”

Of course, I didn’t hear the rest of her explanation because I fell asleep. Yep, me…the nervous poodle, fell asleep. And I have to admit, I sure feel a lot better tonight after my treatment.

I was a little disappointed, though, that I wasn’t allowed to walk with our clients as much, though. Apparently, I needed to rest after my treatment, and rest I did. But I did get some walks in…

…yes, first with Monty who helped me walk Rosie.

“Hey Rubin,” Rosie told me as we walked through the park, “How did you like those needles?” Turns out Rosie gets acupuncture too and while she’s not so keen about the needle at the top of her head, she likes all the rest of it. “Makes you feel kind of gooey, doesn’t it?” she said.

And she’s right, that’s exactly how I felt.

I’m not sure how Oshi and Perrito would respond to needles. They have a hard enough time looking at the camera. Imagine if someone came after them to give them a few punctures along their meridians?

Gemma, I’m sure, would have nothing to do with it, but I bet it would cool her jets a bit. Saber would be grateful for that though today his jets were on full speed ahead!

I guess what I learned today is that even though the plan for the day doesn’t go as expected, unexpected goodness can come out of it! And sometimes a puncture is a good thing.

Until tomorrow,

Rubin

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