Feel Like Complaining

I was supposed to have a dog for a 10 day stay. That would have been my longest stay for boarding and a good chunk of change for the summer. An out of town daughter of a elderly man in town set up the entire stay for him. He was going to fly to her house and then to California to visit his older sister. I picked up Big Jake to make it easier for Harold and brought him home. Jake is a 9 year old English Setter who has had to slow down because his owner has Parkinson's and can't take him out much anymore. He's overweight and his toe nails are way too long. I bought some clippers and planned to work a little bit at a time over the 10 days. His toes are turned sideways because of their length and I know his feet must hurt and he walks funny. But he is so loving and affectionate. He'll put his paw up on your leg and lie his head into your hand as you pet him. Dang, why do we have to fall in love with almost every dog? We got him to chase a ball around the yard a bit and ...

This is George, and I love him. He's a 5 year-old Border Collie/Lab. He is just the coolest ever and his antics and mannerisms are more like Nellie than any dog we've had. I know I'm starting to sound like a broken record about comparing every dog to her, but George takes the prize winning ribbon for that. I swear Nellie whispered in his ear and told him about her favorite place to dig, right in-between the Peony bushes. She also told him to trample through the garden to get to the corner of the yard to observe the world. And she told him when he sees a cat while walking to turn into a stone wall that cannot be moved. We didn't take him anywhere but he did keep us busy with walking and playing. Two walks a day are pretty mandatory and chasing him while he has a toy is too. His idea of 'fetch' is us throwing a ball and then chasing him to get it back. I've played this game before although I am a bit slower at it. His mom was late picking him up due to...

Lo and Behold, today is my Birthday!  This picture is when I was a few weeks old. I have pretty much the same disposition. I know The Kid will be making me a scratch carrot cake and has ordered me something special. She always puts a lot of thought into her gifts. I will probably have to wait until her finals are over for both. It's not like I'm going anywhere, so it's all good. I went to a rummage sale at the Park where my Mom lives last Friday. As I went out her door she kiddingly told me to look for a birthday present for myself. I just breeze through and don't stay long. I spotted a brand new Himalayan Salt Lamp for 20 bucks. I've been wanting one for a long time and I had them hold it so I could go back to her house to get some money. I think she was surprised that I took her up on the offer; we got a good laugh out of it. It was probably the easiest shopping experience she's ever had! I also spotted a movie style popcorn maker. OMG, I was in heaven! ...

As it got closer to Memorial weekend I didn't have a dog booked. First I did, then they cancelled, so we just decided to have a nice family weekend putting up our yard swing, and working on a project. Saturday morning at 7:00 I got a last minute request for a little cutie named Sadie, just for the night. She's a 7 year old Wire Fox Terrier. I am already booked with her next weekend so we had done our meet and greet earlier in the week. She's really sweet and it wouldn't be a bother at all so of course I said yes. We did get the swing up as well as the disc golf basket. Sunday morning we headed to the cemetery to put flowers on my Grandma's grave as well as my Step-Dad's (or as my Mom calls it, her future home). The Kid always takes pictures so at least my Mom feels like she's a part of it. Right behind the cemetery is a short little trail and we took Sadie for a walk. We haven't been there for a long time and this is one of my favorite pictures o...