Close to home and far afield…

When we started this business a couple years ago, all of our clients were within walking distance of our home. It was really nice. We’d head out, walk a few blocks, pick up a dog and head out on a long walk around the neighborhood. Thankfully, our neighborhood is close to many parks and really close to the lake. In 15 minutes we can be there, have a lot of fun, and then head home, tired and wet.

But our business has grown and some of our clients have moved farther away and some of our new clients don’t live within walking distance, so now we get in the car, head to other neighborhoods, explore them with our clients, and then head home for some snacks and water. We like all of our walks and while we fondly remember those days when we walked from one client to the next, I must say, there are some great adventures to have out there in the world and I’m thankful for the opportunity to walk in places I rarely get to go.

That’s how it was this morning when we fetched Woobie who lives the farthest north on our route and drove to pick up Ollie, who lives the farthest south on our route.

The three of us (plus Gretchen) walked through Ollie’s neighborhood and found lots of places to “perch” for our photos.

As you can see, it was rather windy…and gray and cloudy…but eventually it all cleared up…but not the first thing this morning. For our first walk it felt a bit like fall, but that didn’t stop us from having a nice long walk through some really nice neighborhoods.

Rosie (and her brother, Tyson) live close by, so Gretchen walked over to her house and off they went to play fetch in the park. Rosie loves to play treat fetch! But still those clouds and the wind hung around.

Woobie hung out at our house for part of the day and slept right by me most of the morning. I tried not to sleep, but as you can see…

Gemma lives really close to Rosie and really close to Saber. So on her way back from her time with Ms. Rose, Gretchen picked up Gemma then headed over to Saber’s house and off they went again to the lake. Saber was THRILLED…Gemma, not so much. Still Saber tried to engage her by lifting her up, showing her the ball, and my favorite, lying down in the water — an aquatic play bow!

While Gemma got wet and even longingly looked at the water from afar, Saber is a no-fear kind of dog and he frolicked and swam like only a Labrador can!

We took Woobie home then and I thought our day was over, but as the clouds started to part and the sun showed its yellow, I realized that we weren’t driving home after dropping off Woobie.

We were driving to Paige’s house! Yahoo! Paige lives the farthest west on our route and while we occasionally walk around her neighborhood, sometimes Gretchen takes us on adventures. Today was such a day. She said the mountains were calling to her so we all piled into the car, headed east, and landed in one of my favorite spots — Rattlesnake Lake!

But we weren’t just going there for a swim. Nope, we hiked to the ridge first and let me tell you, that was quite an experience. Gretchen had Paige on a flexi-leash — the kind that extends out really far — and I was on a bungee leash, the kind that snaps to Gretchen’s backpack. Only that combination didn’t work.

Paige, as I may have mentioned, is a huntress and being in the mountains really brought out her hunting instincts. About a quarter-mile into the hike, Gretchen’s shoulder was sore from Paige pulling so she decided to give Paige my leash and I got to go off-leash! (Don’t worry, I was amazingly good…so good, in fact, Gretchen said I made her proud!). Giving Paige my leash (that hooked to the waist belt of Gretchen’s backpack) was a stroke of genius because Paige literally pulled Gretchen up the mountain and they both got a workout.

Now, while I like exploring new places, I’m not very fond of high places and all the way up the mountain I kept thinking, “I’ve been here before and I think it’s very high up.” To steel myself, I walked right next to Paige (the most confident dog I know) and braced myself for the top. Only the scariest part wasn’t the height. Nope, it was the chipmunks!

No, I’m not scared of chipmunks, but remember how Paige is great at hunting? Well, when we got to the top chipmunks heard us coming and scurried hither and thither into every nook and crevice on the steep, rock ledge. Paige went crazy. “Oh my DOG!” she shouted from the mountaintop, “Did you see all those chippers, Rubin?”

I’m old enough now to admit that while I did see them, I was too busy smashing myself flat on the ground in fear of falling off the mountainside to really be interested in the chipmunks. Meanwhile, remember how Paige was using my leash? The one that ties onto Gretchen’s backpack? Paige lurched forward toward the edge of the mountain and Gretchen lurched to! She dug her heels into the rock as best she could and held on for fear of both of them flying over!

Wait, wait, wait Rubin! That’s not completely true!

Oh hi, Gretchen. I didn’t realize you were READING OVER MY SHOULDER!

Yes, I am and while I love a good story, don’t exaggerate too much. Paige did lurch but we weren’t that close to the edge and while I know she’d fly right over if she hadn’t been leashed up, I had things under control.

You did?

Yes, I did and while you were holding on for dear life, you missed the whole thing.

I wasn’t that bad, was I?

Well, remember when the nice guy took our photo and you kept trying to crawl underneath me?

Oh yeah…

And Paige kept trying to find the chipmunks?

Oh yeah…I guess I wasn’t really paying attention, though I did see you snap a photo of the nice man who took our photo and the friends he was with!

Well, they forgot their camera and I didn’t want them to miss the photo opportunity.

You rarely miss those!

Besides, we’re all safe and sound now with our feet off the mountain and you have to admit, you had a pretty good time!

I’ll admit it, but I’ll also admit that coming down the mountain was a lot more fun than going up!

What about the swimming?

Icing on an already magnificent cake!

Okay, you may continue with your daily blog…

Thanks though there’s not much left to tell! You’re right though, it was a grand day. We literally covered all four corners today and every inch of it was perfection! I wonder what tomorrow will bring?

Until then,

Rubin

The Circle Game

I’ve been having a hard time keeping up these days. The summer is a busy time and if we aren’t working we’re off on errands, visiting friends, or entertaining friends at our house. It’s made it difficult to keep up with the writing part of my job since I’m either not here until late at night or I am here, but enjoying my friends.

I think all of this is about to change, that life is going to slow down a bit more because this morning, when I woke up, it was dark. You may be asking, what does a dark morning have to do with being less busy, and it’s good that you ask because it’s exactly the same question I asked myself. “Why do I have this sense that life is going to slow down soon?”

It took me awhile to figure out the connection, but after I did my morning stretches, went outside to take care of my morning business, and then curled up on my bed downstairs to wait for the start of the work day it hit me — Autumn is coming. In other words, the seasons are changing.

Summer is a wonderful time — it’s warmer (for the most part), it’s lighter for longer, and each day is filled with amazingly fun activities — hiking, swimming, vacationing, visiting, and on and on. But as much fun as it is, around this time of the year (mid-August) I start to get tired and I wonder how much longer I can keep up the pace of summer activities.

That’s when the light starts to change. The sun goes down earlier and comes up later. Clouds often cover the morning sky and there’s a chill in the air early in the mornings and late in the evenings. Many people I know don’t like the change of seasons. They are happy with sunshine and blue skies and hate to see the days shorten and the nights lengthen.

Not me. I love the cycle of the seasons and even though I’m sad to know that soon I won’t be swimming in the lake anymore or jumping into my friend Ben’s pool, I’m looking forward to the leaves changing colors, to the fall hikes in the mountains, and most of all, to the possibility of snow.

But mostly, I love the cycle of the seasons because it makes me realize that there’s something bigger than us, that we aren’t really in charge. We like to think we are (humans especially, but sometimes dogs, too), but really it’s mother nature and no matter how much we may mess with her, she does things that bring me comfort — diminishing light, chilly dew on the grass, the slant of morning sun, the scent of winter’s arrival.

Gretchen says she likes spring and autumn most of all the seasons because they are those in between times when life is transitioning between birth and death. She also likes the coming of autumn and winter because she loves to wear sweaters and frankly, it’s been way to hot to think about anything even resembling a sweater.

But lately, I’ve noticed she’s donned a sweatshirt in the mornings and sometimes in the evenings as well. She’s turned on lights in the morning as well and has slept better because the sun hasn’t knocked on her eyelids as early as before.

I like the coming of the fall as well if only because it means a little less activity around this place. My other mother, Ann, will soon return back to teaching and while I’ll miss hanging out with her, I look forward to the changing routine — rising earlier and Saturday naps to name a few changes.

After I woke up this morning and realized that autumn is around the corner, I paid closer attention to the leaves on the trees — some are turning yellow even now — the last of the summer flowers, and way the sun sits lower in the sky. As you can see from many of the photos, Monty and I hung out together a lot today and even though we didn’t hang with Gemma and Saber, I think they both noticed the seasonal changes as well.

Okay, maybe they didn’t, but they will soon enough. I mean, it’s hard not to notice the darker mornings and the chillier nights, but sometimes Gemma and Saber have one-track minds (each other) and are perhaps too young still to grasp the immensity of it all. It’s a circle game in many ways that what goes around comes back around again. For them, of course, the circle game is really a game of chase, but I know they’ll come to understand the bigger picture soon enough.

While some of you may dread what’s coming, I welcome it and encourage you all to embrace the coming changes.

After all, what would it be like around here if nothing changed?

That’s the question Monty and I were pondering today…we hope you get some time to ponder it as well.

Until tomorrow,

Rubin

Learning Opportunities

Gretchen made a minor mistake at work last night and stayed up half the night worrying about it. She’s like that. Little things carry a big weight with her and if worry were edible, she’d consume her body weight in the stuff. So you can imagine, I had to have a consoling conversation with her that went something like this:

ME: I don’t like to think of them as mistakes.

HER: Oh really, Rubin, what do you call them?

Learning opportunities.

(Smile) And what mistakes have you made lately that you’ve learned something from?

I can think of one from today as a matter of fact.

Do tell.

You know how I don’t like to always eat breakfast, right?

I would have to say you rarely like to eat breakfast unless we’ve been swimming or one of your friends is here to encourage you on.

Yes, those are both truths, but we’re not going to discuss what makes me eat, okay?

I was just sayin…

Okay, as I was saying, I don’t always eat my breakfast, which is a mistake because as the morning progresses, I get hungry, really hungry.

So hungry you sometimes eat grass and then throw up.

Let’s not go into gory details. The point is that you’re right, eating breakfast is better for me and when I don’t eat it, I feel kind of crummy later on.

I appreciate your admitting that…

Well, thank you…

…but I’d like to point out you still go without eating breakfast so I’m not sure how you’ve learned anything.

I’m in the process of learning. That’s the beauty of mistakes — you can make the same one more than once and the world still doesn’t fall apart.

Do you stop making the mistake once you’ve learned?

No always.

So I guess I’m missing your point.

You can’t be perfect all the time, in fact, you can’t be perfect most of the time, which means that mistakes are a part of our lives from now until we die.

What about really big mistakes?

I wouldn’t know. I’ve never made a really big mistake.

Oh you haven’t, have you?

You doubt me?

Let’s just say I have a different perspective.

Come on! I’m a dog. How many really big mistakes can I make? I mean, I didn’t cause the banks to fail or cause unemployment. Those are really big mistakes.

Do you think people learned their lessons?

I don’t know those people. I just know you and I know you are way too hard on yourself and that if you made a really, really big mistake like that, you’d learn from it after feeling really, really bad and contrite.

Contrite? Wow, your vocabulary is really expanding.

Thank you, but that’s beside the point.

So could you please review the point so I’m sure I really get it?

Humans. Sometimes I wonder how on earth you became our masters.

I wonder sometimes too, buddy because frankly I learn far more from you than I do from most humans.

(Blushing) Shucks, thanks.

So your point?

You’re going to make mistakes in your life, Gretchen — big and little. You have to forgive yourself just like you forgive me when I bark uncontrollably at our weird neighbor or hog the bed or don’t come when you call me. You have to be as gentle and as loving with yourself as you are with me. Last night’s mistake was minor and no one thought otherwise, especially your boss. She just wanted you to learn from your mistake that’s why she pointed it out.

(Silence)

Do you understand?

Yeah, I get it, but I was just thinking…

Oh no, that always gets us into trouble…

(Smile) Thanks, but I was thinking that you are one special little fellow.

(Wag, wag, wag, wiggle, wiggle, wiggle) We’re pretty lucky to have each other!

And we’re pretty lucky to have such a great job.

That’s “jobs” in your instance…

Yeah, I’m pretty lucky to have two great jobs where I’m allowed to make mistakes, learn from them, and be forgiven.

Today’s job was pretty sweet, don’t you think?

Hot, but sweet.

We shouldn’t complain because remember in February when it rains for days and days on end and all we can think about is warm sunny weather? Now we have the warm sunny weather and…

…all I can think about is cooler temperatures and snow!

Oh, that does sound good!

You have to admit, it felt warmer today than yesterday even though the thermostat said otherwise.

I do admit that. I think it was warmer because it was more humid and there wasn’t a breeze.

You’re probably right and I’m not working at the pool tonight, which is always a really cool place to be in weather like this!

Yeah, I’m kind of envious.

You’re just envious because you LOVE to swim!

I do indeed.

Did you enjoy swimming with Ollie today?

Yes, though he’s kind of funny about the water.

He did a great job swimming out to fetch the ball.

But then he swam overhand to bring it back and that was kind of funny.

Well, not all dogs can swim as well as you can.

Does Rosie like to swim?

No, she doesn’t like water too much though today we walked up to the Bradner Gardens and saw Laurie at her pea patch.

Did you say hi to her from me?

Yep, I did, but it was actually Rosie who said hello and then, because Laurie was watering her patch, we decided to hose down Rosie to cool her off for the walk back home.

Uh oh, how did that go?

Amazingly well! She stood there and let us get her wet and then she lifted her leg up so we’d spray down her belly!

It was hot enough that Rosie liked the water?

Yep, I guess it was.

Zoe LOVES the water like me, doesn’t she?

Yep and because it was so warm, Gemma and I walked her to the lake where they both took a dip!

And it looks like Gemma did a little rock climbing.

Yes, well, you know Gemma…always an adventurer though she struggled with how to get off the rock, as you can see.

And then there’s Saber.

Yep, he loves the water and has learned to really enjoy the kiddie pool.

Only he doesn’t fit in it so well, does he?

He makes it work.

And he loves to steal my ball.

He loves to steal what you want, Rubin because he adores you!

If he adores me so much, why does he taunt me?

Because despite his size, he’s still a puppy.

A big puppy!

(Laughter!)

Are you feeling better about last night, Gretchen?

Much better. Thanks for talking me through it and thanks for being such a great dog dog walker!

You bet. Hey, can I get a massage now?

Anything for you, Rubes!

Until tomorrow,

Rubin

"Feels like another hot one, Gretchen!"

Going Slowly

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Until then…hope you all survive the heat!

Rubin

WATER!

The Walk

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Until tomorrow,

Rubin

Social Mathematics

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Until tomorrow,

Rubin

Word Play

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Until tomorrow,

Rubin

Mood Swings

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

I heard that!

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

Apparently, not me.

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

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

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

…the best he could do was flip his ear.

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

Until then,

Rubin

Priceless

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

I am blessed with a great deal of pricelessness!

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Have a great weekend,

Rubin