Snow!

It finally snowed!  While it did dust our house on Thanksgiving, this morning we woke to our backyard sparkling like a pretty glass of champagne.  Too bad that after going back to sleep and waking up for the second time, most of our backyard beauty had already melted and created a large mud pit.  It was not pretty and I hate mud.  Hate is a strong word, but is appropriate in every sense.  I loathe mud!  The dogs however, are attracted to it like a hungry girl to chocolate.  They squish their paws in it, drag each other through it, and somehow manage to bring it all inside.  They have a distinct knack for getting on the bed at the precise moment the white sheets are exposed and they know when to paw at your newly washed pants so you end up with a streak of mud down the middle of your thigh.  I could go on and on about  my discomfort with wet dirt.

While being overjoyed with the dazzling whiteness, Io was more in a perpetual state of bliss.  This dog lives for snow.  It is as if she becomes alive in winter.  In the summertime, she is pretty docile and  likes to sleep in her patch of dirt in the sun.  Come winter, her alter-ego comes and she becomes what we refer to as Sasafrass.  Sasafrass is confident, energetic, and most of all - sassy!  Io becomes giddy in the snow.  While on our walk this morning, the first lawn we came to covered in snow she bucked her hind legs like a horse, ate the snow without inhibition, and covered her nose completely.  The walk to the park was unbearable as she knew what awaited.  We almost killed ourselves trying to wait for oncoming traffic to pass so we could make it to the prized glory.

She barks and rolls in the snow.  She becomes the Husky we know she is (partly) and eats the snow like it is a constant snow cone.  Odus on the other hand cannot handle the cold very well.  While he indulges in eating snow occasionally he cannot walk though snow for too long.  He usually will scurry to a patch of clear sidewalk and hold one of his paws in the air.  He won't move until you address the issue of the cold paw.  I have tried to put snow booties on him, but he growled the first time I put them on him and then walked around the house marching slowly like a solider, lifting each paw so high in the air.  He forgot how to walk in the booties and essentially called it quits and refused to move.  Thus, we do not use booties on walks, but instead he acts like I am a servant  and waits for his paws to be cleaned. 

The snow was glorious in its life of about two hours.  As I write this, Sasafrass is harassing me to go outside.  Hopefully her winter diva attitude will subside as I hope the wind will.

On a funny side note, I went to the grocery store today to grab some breakfast fixings and found this duo in front of my car.  I luckily happened to be carrying my camera with me and I am now convinced I must do so more often in order to find pictures like these.  Happy New Year everyone!

Silent Night....

Holy Night....

Pig 2.0

One of my truly talented friends made this toy for Luna a couple weeks ago.  I finally brought it home last night.  It is called Pig 2.0.  The first version she originally made for her own dogs (she also has four dogs, but they are much better behaved) did not last too long so the second version was created.  I could not believe how cute the pig was.  I contemplated not giving it to the dogs but keeping it on display.  Alas, every dog knows a toy when they see one.  Even if the toy is handmade or store-bought, they seek it out and destroy.  

Luna knew instantly what this little red creature was and took it with her to the bedroom.  Bridgette, my friend who created Pig 2.0 assured me that it was still intact at her house.  The obvious parts were missing, mostly the ears, but the body was still together.   Luna chewed both ears and a leg in the span of ten minutes.  

Luna is a notorious toy hoarder and destroyer.  She has the jaws of life!

We did eventually put Pig 2.0 away for the evening as trying to fall asleep to the sound of teeth attempting to cut through micro-suede is not conducive to slumber.  Every night Luna chooses her toy to bring to bed.  It is a nightly and compulsive ritual to bring something to bed and gnaw on until sleep becomes her.  Lately she has preferred to bring her bacon-flavored Nyla bone to bed.  

Another friend who has two Labradors has found that when dogs are persistent in chewing can turn their Nyla bones into shanks.  Luna has succeeded in creating a weapon to carry with her to bed - great. 

Thankful/grateful

Every year Charles and I have to spend Thanksgiving with our families in different houses.  It's not a bad thing but certainly isn't your own home with nowhere to go and a nap is the nearest bedroom or place on the couch.  So we have begun our own small tradition of having "early" Thanksgiving at our house the weekend prior.  It's nothing fancy. This year we made a turkey, mashed potatoes, stuffing, green beans, and a cranberry cornmeal cake.  The leftovers are phenomenal (mostly because I have not had to cook at all this week).  It's unusual for me not to cook, but the office has been busy this week and I mostly come home to find the perfect place on the couch, turn on our small heater, and curl up in our blanket to watch Harry Potter movies.  A little lame, but during the holidays it's important to do nothing sometimes when it seems like the entire world around you is swarming to iron table cloths, hit the early-bird sales, and overall seems like they could use a good dose of Lexapro.

Let me say proudly that I cooked the entire 20 lb turkey without any melt downs.  Last year I was in tears on the floor because my 5 lb breast had barley reached 140 degrees after 3 hours in the oven.  I was like a small child, angry that the bird would not cook, sitting pitiful on the floor with Charles trying to console me.   We autopsied the bird and found my lack of defrosting to be the cause of death. I don't handle cooking mishaps well.  Mostly the knife gets faster and I want no one in the kitchen.

This year the bird was browned, buttered, and beautiful.  Even though I am not a vegetarian, the act of preparing the bird seems somewhat barbaric to me.  I loathe reaching into the dark cavity to pull out such slithery things named giblet.  They never make it to my gravy and I don't think they ever will.  Charles casually mentioned that his mother is the best gravy maker in the family and I will not fight for that title.  My gravy was in fact lumpy and odd looking as I don't think I whisked enough or had the fervor in my wrist.   Next year I must remember to buy the packet gravy!  

After we tore the skin to reach the dark meat (my favorite) the juices flowed like a river onto the floor and our kitchen helpers proudly came to the clean-up.  Not the greatest moment in our kitchen, but without dogs, I would be responsible to clean-up.

This is Odie watching Charles carve - how curious he looks and hoping it will all fall off the counter.

After juices ran over, we sat to a small table and literally were surrounded by a circle of canine.

Each dog was presented with their own bowl of Thanksgiving.

This season, we hope each dog/cat can have their own Thanksgiving whether that is a warm place to sleep for the night, a meal, or a place next to their human on the couch.  We are grateful/thankful we can buy dog food for our pack, the money we have to replace eaten trouser socks, a warm canine to snuggle with when we are overwhelmed by day-to-day stress, and of course each other.  Happy Thanksgiving from our family to yours.

Odus Immortalized

Need I say any more?

For five years now I have been trying to find a way to put Odie on canvass.  I've made artwork for most of our dog family ever since I was in high school.  Some of the dogs have taken me longer than others.  I don't know if most people can really understand how hard it is to draw dog.  The shape of their face is usually an off shape and forget their nose, especially if most of the muzzle is already black. 

The hardest part of Odie were his wrinkles.  They are so much a part of who he is that that trying to incorporate them without having them look as just lines on his face was pure torture.  For now, this is the best I can do for him.  I may consider trying to get the others on the wall but for now, the most handsome Shar-pei will have to do.

Night of 200 hot dogs

I am serving on the committee of Doggie Dash and Dawdle this year and part of my job was to buy the 200 hot dogs that are needed at the Dash Bash Carnival.  Every year, Animal Humane hosts a 5K human, 5K dog and human, and 2-mile dawdle to benefit the homeless pets of Albuquerque.  After the runners, dashers, and strollers are done with the event, we celebrate with a carnival for pets and people.  We have paw print painting, build-a-biscuit, pet photography, and bobbing for hot dogs.  The event is always a lot of fun and a great way to see so many people who love their pets almost as obsessively as I do.

I went to Costco this afternoon and purchased 200 hot dogs.  The people in the check-out line certainly looked through my basket and gave me a quizzical look.  I did not elaborate on why I only had hot dogs in my basket nor why I needed to have a mass quantity.  I felt no need to explain myself after tagging alongside people who buy anchovies in large glass jars and containers of peanuts that could keep them alive for almost a week if they ate nothing else.

The reception at home was of utter joy.  Odie danced around the kitchen as if he had surely won the lottery or had somehow died and had gone to heaven.  He cried and whined through the whole process of cutting them into smaller pieces.  Of course the other dogs were watching, but only from a distance.  When Odie is manager, the rest know not to get in his way. 

The only time he left his post was when he heard a noise in the backyard and he raced to confront whatever was outside.  Luna on the other hand would race to the counter as soon as he would disappear and proceed to lick the juice that was running off the counter.  As soon as Odie returned to post, Luna would slip back into the foreground. We continued this dance for 45 minutes.

Don't worry - they each received the equivalent of an entire hot dog.

Happy Halloween!

Halloween came kind of early to our house.  I wasn't much in the mood to decorate this year.  I just put out a few fake pumpkins that have been with us for three years and usually stay up until the culmination of Thanksgiving.  We only put one welcome sign out in the front yard and a light up ghost and jack-o-lantern.

I did stray this year when it comes the animals. I usually never buy Halloween costumes for the kids (and by kids I mean four-legged).  Case in point #1:  please see below....

This was Odie's Yoda costume back in 2007.  It was harder to get him dressed and posed for one second than it is to get a rock to talk back to you.  He does make a darn fine Yoda with just the ears on though.

So this year I was taking a look at the Halloween gear at Target.  It was already 15% off and there were a ton of costumes for XL dogs.  Instead of going completely crazy I just bought two.  Please take a look.

He is supposed to be a moose rack.  He was not thrilled with it to say the least.  I am trying to tempt him with a biscuit in order for him to stand still. 

Hello Bullwinkle!!  Don't worry - he will have a Rocky.

And then I bought a squirrel costume.  Both Ecco and Luna were test subjects.  IO was nowhere to be found...(smart girl).

Happy Howl-O-Ween!!!