Upset

Upset.

It seems to be the theme around these parts.

Scout took a turn for the worst yesterday and The Decision was made. It was absolutely the right thing to do, and we are all relieved that he is no longer in any pain. I would speculate his immediate plans in Doggy Heaven involve either eating or sleeping, or being fawned over by adoring doggy-loving angels. Any way you look at it, he is in a much better place.

Caleb developed an upset tummy today, would not eat this morning, and threw up all of his dinner this evening (Happy Birthday, three piles of dog puke for yooooou!). I finally managed to get him to eat a can of wet food over the course of an hour and a half by feeding him tiny bites with a spoon. I have no idea where this dog got it in his head that he should be spoon fed, (But I am looking suspiciously at you, Mother), but if Caleb could use his corgi mind meld powers to convince me to feed him in little bites with a spoon for every meal, he would. Despite the upset tummy, he looked positively joyful at being spoon fed an entire can of wet food and thankfully seemed to perk up after he was able to let it digest for a bit.

Hopefully, Caleb and I do not start the New Year off with a visit to Dr. Michelle.

Rest in Peace, Scout

May they have a limitless supply of rotisserie chicken and a strictly enforced ban on fireworks in Heaven.

When you meet Cody, ask her to tell you about eating the pink smelly markers (the ones that that smelled like bubble gum) from every set of Mr. Sketch Smelly Markers I ever owned.

...

God turns clouds inside out to make fluffy beds for the dogs in Dog Heaven, and when they are tired from running and barking and eating ham-sandwich biscuits, the dogs find a cloud bed for sleeping. God watches over each one of them. And there are no bad dreams.

Cynthia Rylant

Waiting For Santa

I hope everyone had a blessed Christmas this year! Thankfully, we all survived the holidays in (more or less) one piece.

Now, on to the birthdays; Specifically mine on New Years Eve, and Caleb's on New Years Day! Technically, I am not positive when his birthday is, but that is when Pat (Caleb's Guardian Angel and Rescuer in Oklahoma) estimated his birthday to be, and it was just too perfect for me.

We are two peas in a pod, even when it comes to our birthdays.

*sentimental sniffle*

Updates and Thanks

Thank you for your thoughts, prayers and helpful suggestions.

The vet confirmed that Arthritis was part of the problem but that it was not in his back, but possibly in his hip. He gave Scout a shot and told them this was either going to work really well, or have no effect. It has been two days and, mercifully, they are already seeing some improvement. Scout is in much less pain, is sleeping better, and is smiling again. Scout still cannot quite make it up by himself, but once he gets up he seems less stiff and sore when he walks. The vet is going to reevaluate the situation in a week and go from there. He assured my Mom that if they could get the pain under control, and as long as he was eating, drinking, and doing his business, they did not have to make The Decision right this second, as we all feared.

Now comes the balancing act between being cautiously optimistic, while remaining realistic at the same time. Scout is definitely in less pain and much happier, so making The Decision seems like it can wait a bit longer, but at the same time, it is now impossible to forget that he is 12 years old - an old man.

Prayers

We need your prayers for Scout.

A year ago, I posted about Caleb and Scout's first introduction, and what was to become the beginning of a fast friendship between two dogs, and a long overdue lesson in forgiveness for me. Since that time, Caleb has gone over to play with Scout countless times, spent the night with him while I went out of town, and stood shoulder to...well, knee, with Scout to form a united front against the rest of the family when the end of dinner rolled around and table scraps were on the line.

Scout is twelve years old. He's been arthritic for quite some time, but in the past couple of weeks, he has taken a very sharp turn of the worse. In the few hours between yesterday when I saw him last and this morning, I learned that he is no longer able to get up on his own, his back legs can hold him once he's standing, but he can no longer take the one step to get down from the kitchen into the living room and out to the backyard. He is in obvious pain, so much so that he snaps when my brother tries to help him up to get him outside so he can do his business. They took him to the vet a couple of weeks ago, and at first it seemed like the medicine that she gave him was working, but now the pain and anti-inflammatory pills seem useless. Another vet that makes house calls is coming out to the house this afternoon to give him a steroid shot, to see if that will dull the pain.

Oh, and have I mentioned that it is almost Christmas?

I am asking for your prayers to get us all through the holiday season. I ask for your prayers for Scout, may God bless him with a reprieve from the pain through the medicine the vet will administer, and may he know just how deeply he is loved. I ask for your prayers for my Mother and Brother, who may have to make a painful decision so close to the holidays that it will forever alter them for us. May God give them wisdom and strength. Finally, I ask for your prayers for me, that I might have the right words to offer comfort when they are needed, and the wisdom to remain quiet when there are no words that can help.

My tag line for my blog is "I'm not sure who rescued who, sometimes", but when it comes to Scout, I know. Without Caleb teaching me how to act like a dog and live in the present, I never would have had the year I did with Scout. I never would have have experienced the healing of very old hurts, or the joy that comes when a Brother and Sister can just sit around and talk about their dogs to each other, when they may not talk about much else. For these reasons alone, I will always be in debt to the little corgi from Oklahoma who stole my heart then reminded me how to use it.

I would just like a little more than a year to appreciate it.

Caleb's Christmas Pictures

I was so excited to get Caleb's Christmas photos...until I realized that he looks like he's being tortured in just about all of them. I swear, he did not look this upset when we were taking the pictures.

Epic. Fail.

Momma, why are you doing this to me? Have I been bad?

Oh, alright Momma, I'll throw you a bone. Here's a nice picture of me looking quite regal in a pile of snowflakes. Can we go home now?

NaBloPoMo: At An End

Well, it is finally here! The END of NaBloPoMo! I enjoyed this little endeavor, but I am also glad to have it over. There were days and nights when I looked forward to writing another post, and just as many days or nights where I was at a loss as to what to blog about. Maybe when this rolls around next year, I will be ready to give it another go, but for the time being, I think I will enjoy going back to my random blogging history.

Caleb DID get to go to Doggy Daycare today, and I managed to get the house decorated for Christmas. I will post pictures of Caleb under the tree soon.

Thanks to everyone who followed me this month while I explored the wonder that is NaBloPoMo. I enjoyed following you, as well! I will not take it personally if I do not hear from you for awhile, as long as you do not take it personal if you do not hear from me for a bit. ;-)

NaBloPoMo: Christmas

When is it time to decorate for Christmas?

I have friends who make it a tradition to decorate the day after Thanksgiving, but that is just too much for me all at once. I mean, I am still in a turkey coma, and you want me to start thinking about Christmas? No thanks.

Last year, I waited until a week or so before, and that seemed a little too late.

I have one more day off, I'm considering doing it tomorrow; but then the question becomes: what to do with Caleb? Between going in a out to put lights up outside, opening all the doors a hundred times with various boxes of things, and trying to get the tree and ornaments up, I think I would rather he be elsewhere.

Maybe there is a trip to Doggy Daycare in the future for Mr. Caleb.

NaBloPoMo: The Bed Wars Continue

Today, Boyfriend, Caleb, and I piled in the car to head to Boyfriend's house to wait on a new mattress delivery. The delivery folks said they would be out between nine and noon, so I was desperately trying to light a fire under Boyfriend (who was with me at my house) to hurry up and get ready so we could be at his place, about 30-45 minute drive from where I live, right at nine.

As is frequently the case, this did not happen.

At 9:10, we were still 20 minutes away from his house and halfway through the "The delivery guys never show up on time" spiel from Boyfriend when they called to announce that they were on their way, and they would be there in half a hour.

I will have you know, I did not utter the dreaded phrase "I told you so". Points to me!

Even though we thought that we would just make it, they still beat us there, and had the back of the truck open and were standing around looking confused at why nobody was there. Boyfriend jumped out to let them know we were there, and I kept Caleb occupied while they were traipsing up and down the stairs.

Once the bed was delivered and the old mattress hauled out, we decided the place was in need of a good scrubbing, so we scrubbed and Caleb followed us around supervising until it was time for lunch. We decided we needed a pizza.

I should note that at this point, the mattress was on the bed, but there were no covers on it yet because the thing STANK to high heaven. I hate new mattress / new carpet / new furniture smell, so I had every window open trying to air it out. When we left, though, we decided to keep Caleb in his bedroom, because we don't have an area cordoned off with baby gates yet in his living room.

We had pizza and ran a few errands and did not really think about it until we were walking back up the first flight of stairs when Boyfriend said, "I'll bet he's on the brand new bed". So we initiated ultra sneaky mode, and tiptoed up the rest of the stairs to the bedroom, then flung open the bedroom door...

To find Caleb passed out in the middle of the brand new bed with no covers on it.

I guess with all the corgi hair, the new bed can consider itself initiated into the family. I think Boyfriend has realized that he is fighting a losing battle when it comes to Caleb and beds, and just sort of shook his head and mumbled, "I knew it!"

NaBloPoMo: Dog Park Dreams - Delayed

We had grand plans, this morning, of avoiding all shopping centers / stores / places where angry mobs may be and instead enjoy some quality time at the dog park near Boyfriend's house...

But then we woke up to the rain.

We thought maybe it had just rained overnight, and that it would dry up soon enough, but no. It started raining right after we got in from our walk.

So we played fetch in the house with his stuffed piggy, pulled Caleb's favorite neon green squeaky ball from underneath the couch so he could play with that for awhile, and tried to tire him out that way.

I guess it worked, he is snoring behind my chair. We will try to make it to the dog park tomorrow, as long as it stops raining, I can deal with the mud.

I think.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Happy thanksgiving, everyone!

NaBloPoMo: Cranberry Stealing Corgi

I was in the kitchen this evening, preparing the cranberry sauce for tomorrow, when I hear boyfriend pipe up from the living room and say, "I don't think Caleb can decide whether or not he likes that cranberry you gave him."

"What?!?!?! I didn't give him a cranberry!"

I ran into the living room to get it back, but Caleb knew I was coming, and quickly decided that he DID like the cranberry, and that he would scarf if down before I could get it back.

I guess I lost a cranberry in the rinsing process. Caleb, being such a good little helper, found it for me.

The world's most finicky Corgi eats whole, fresh cranberries.

Crazy dog.


Happy Day Before Thanksgiving, friends!

NaBloPoMo: A Couple of Hams!

In preparation for this years significantly toned down Thanksgiving festivities at my Mother's house, it was my job to acquire a small ham from the Honeybaked Ham Store. Since I hate traffic and crowds I decided to sneak out of work for about half an hour today to pick it up in the middle of the day and avoid both. This plan worked great; I got the ham, got back to the office, and found a place in one of the refrigerators to hide it.

Then I got back to the office and realized my error. I brought Caleb to work with me. This meant, come closing time, I would have to finagle my laptop, giant purse, honeybaked ham, and ham-loving Corgi into my itty bitty truck. Oh, my head.

It took a bit of doing, but I was ultimately successful in getting everything in the truck. I was mostly successful in keeping Caleb out of the ham. He had his head in the bag for most of the ride home, but it was wrapped well enough that all he could do was sniff...and sniff he did! I think he may have been trying to inhale the ham, in its entirety. Not that I can blame the poor guy, I love ham, too.

Just a few more days, Caleb. We just have to leave the ham alone for a few more days.

NaBloPoMo: God and Dog

NaBloPoMo: Royalty

I love this photo. He looks so majestic, I can imagine a tiny corgi sized crown right between those glorious ears of his. I can definitely see why Corgis are the dogs of royalty, they certainly have the attitude for it.

NaBloPoMo: Awaiting my Call From Wellness...

Dear Wellness,

I really cannot stop saying good things about your products. Yesterday I found yet ANOTHER flavor of Wellness treats that Caleb-the-unusually-picky-Corgi will eat! HOORAY! This is truly a Nearly Thanksgiving/Not Quite Christmas Miracle.

Perhaps you have noticed I have a blog. It is quite popular you see, and I plan on celebrating in much the same way Kelly of Corgi Butts did when I hit my next milestone of 100 10 followers.

Perhaps you have also noticed the overall lack of advertising on my blog? That is because I am waiting for you, my dear Wellness corporation, to call/write/email/smoke signal/carrier pigeon me an offer to trade my AWESOMELY FANTASTIC ADVERTISING SPACE for free Wellness dog food.

Because, really, your food is expensive. I mean, really. All of the wellness canned food / yummy treats that I bought for my Beloved Corgi last night fit in one regular sized plastic bag, and it cost me 50 bucks.

5-0. Fiddy. Half a Benjamin. Or, if you will, one Grant.

I eagerly await your offer, Wellness, because at this rate I may have to start selling organs on the black market to put dinner in the bowl, if you will.

Or I will just keep whining and shelling out the money, because I am a sucker and Caleb has me wrapped around his picky, picky little paw. One of the two.

Warmest Regards,

Julie

NaBloPoMo: Standing Post

Caleb is still adjusting to our new office, but it looks like he has chosen his new post:

As you can see:

1. Nobody can enter or exit the office without acknowledging the Corgi.
2. I cannot move more than one or two inches backwards without running over the Corgi (Note the arm of my desk chair in the bottom right corner of the picture).
3. His nose is strategically placed though the gate to catch the first whiffs of any dogs passing by.

Oh, and that extra large, super comfy dog bed that I had to frantically rearrange the office while my office mate was out just so it would fit...lies empty. Of course.

NaBloPoMo: Ooooh! A Contest! And My Blog Post For Today!

I am still not feeling so great, but I am determined to do this whole NaBloPoMo thing if it kills me. Imagine my surprise, then, when I checked my dashboard and discovered MY ENTRY FOR TODAY HAD WRITTEN ITSELF! Oh thank you, Lord!

So...Kelly at Corgi Butts is having another awesome contest to celebrate having 100 FOLLOWERS! How impressive is that? See never seems to run out of neat ideas AND she has 100 followers. She is our blogging hero (Yes, this would be the shameless schmoozing portion of the blog...I could really use an awesome custom blog header)!

Now, go to her blog and check it out! I am going back to bed.

NaBloPoMo: I Do Not Run, I CHASE

I am not feeling so great, although thankfully I think it is turning out to be a mild whatever-it-is, and I do not have a fever, so it looks like I can rule H1N1 out. Which is fantastic, although I have to admit I was having fantasies of walking into work coughing and hacking and oinking, just to see if people would run screaming in the other direction. I know, I know, evil. I managed to keep my sarcasm to myself this morning and am just hiding in my office waiting for my meetings to be over, so I can go home.

Boyfriend was around this morning, and was kind enough to take Caleb out for his morning walk, although "Mr. I Run Marathons" decided to mix it up a bit and run with him this morning instead. When they got back he said he could not understand why Caleb looked miserable the entire time and did not keep up a constant pace, even though Boyfriend was jogging very slowly for the sake of his small legs.

I realized he had yet to learn what Caleb taught me a year or so ago, so I laid it out for him. Caleb is crazy fast, much faster than you would expect for someone with stubby little legs. But he does not run for the sake of running. He chases. He does not even seem to mind if he catches, he just wants to chase. So running for the sake of cardiovascular health is not going to be his idea of a good time. It is why I gave up long ago having Caleb for a jogging partner. To get him to do it and enjoy it, I have to coax and flap my arms and yell for him to catch me...the entire time I am trying to run. Which is exhausting...and makes me look crazy.

Now that Caleb has Boyfriend on the same page, I expect they will go back to the normal routine of brisk walking and lots of sniffing. Although, Boyfriend running down the street flapping his arms and yelling for Caleb to catch him DOES make a funny mental image. Hehehehehe.

NaBloPoMo: New Friends at Work!

Caleb is meeting all sorts of new friends at work! The building we are in is one in a set of three, a few blocks away from our main campus, so we are sort of like an island to ourselves. Well, this island is turning out to be DOG ISLAND! I've seen more dogs in the past two days than in the previous six months at my old building! Hooray! There is even an awesome Aussie Shepherd a few offices down from us. He came over to say hello and massive play time, bitey face, roll on the ground fun ensued. It's so nice to have another herding dog so close by, especially since his owner is also very awesome and really seems to understand how our dogs play and interact. It is great not to have to keep repeating, "He is a herding dog, and he plays by chasing, he is not trying to eat your frou frou dog, honest".

NaBloPoMo: Caleb is Back at Work

Hooray, it is official; Caleb is back to work with me in our new office! I did not think it was possible to have a smaller office than the one I had before, but it turns out that it is! At the rate my offices are shrinking, the powers at be will be shoving me and Caleb in a phone booth, before long. Which is still better than a cubicle, let me just say.

I even managed to snap a halfway decent picture of my camera shy furry child from my iphone in our new office! I sure hope bribing him with the last bit of my tuna melt sandwich will not come back to bite me later...

NaBloPoMo: SQUEAKSQUEAKSQUEAKSQUEAKSQUEAK!

What is about dogs and the squeaky ball?!?!? Here I am, trying to spend a lazy Sunday morning reading the newspaper and playing computer games, and Caleb decides he needs the neon green squeaky ball that is currently hiding under the couch. So I get him the neon green squeaky ball.

He promptly rolls it underneath the entertainment center. So I retrieve it from the grips of the entertainment center and throw a blanket on the floor, so he cannot get it stuck under there anymore.

Caleb rolls it back under the couch. I repeat the same procedure involving retrieving and blankets, and go back to my computer.

So Caleb rolls it under the rocking chair.

Really, Caleb?

So after half an hour of crawling around on the floor retriving the now slimy neon green squeaky ball, getting covered in dog hair, and shoving blankets in every conceivable nook and cranny in the living room...Caleb decides he is bored and curls up behind the rocking chair for a nap.

I really should not complain, he usually saves the neon green squeaky ball antics for when I get on the phone to my mother. *sigh*

NaBloPoMo: Holiday Picture Time!

Today I took Caleb to Downtown Dogs to get his holiday portraits taken. As much as I love to take pictures of His Furriness, His furriness does NOT like the camera flash. Consequently, I have many, many pictures of the side of his head, and of his disapproving "Not the camera AGAIN" look. The great thing about Jen and all her awesome photography gear is that none of her lighting flashes, so Caleb is a much better sport for her sessions. She is also awesome in that she can make a cacophony of noises which dogs find fascinating. Caleb is pretty easy though, all you have to do is ask him if he wants to go for a walk, and he looks right at you and the ears perk up and she can snap away.

I should hear from her in a week or so, I can hardly wait!

NaBloPoMo: Friday the 13th!

...and nothing interesting happened today.

Not that I am even remotely inclined to believe in such things, but hey, I need a blog title.

In other news, Boyfriend and I are discussing the possibility of adding a SECOND CORGI to the insanity! I want three dogs in total, and one of them has to be a German Shepherd. He, unfortunately, is going to have to wait until I get a yard, but with it looking more and more like I will be moving in with Boyfriend within the next couple of months or so when my lease runs out, he ever so coyly brought it to my attention that the couple hundred extra square feet his place has over mine could be put to good use with the addition of a second Corgi! AGREED!

This time, however, he wanted some input on the name. Which is fair enough, last time I came home and announced I was rescuing a corgi, and his name was going to be Caleb. This time, I figure we can at least discuss the matter.

So, after much discussion we are thinking 'Riley'! We both love the movie National Treasure, and Riley Poole (Played by Justin Bartha) is one of my favorite characters. In the movie, Riley is the goofball sidekick, and just kind of reminds me of a corgi.

We shall have to wait and see whether we wait until I move in with Boyfriend to find another rescue corgi, or I jump the gun and start looking RIGHTNOW.

Gosh, which one do you think it will be?

NaBloPoMo: Where Are You, Interwebs?

I do not tend to branch out of the realm of things related to Caleb and my interactions with him on this blog, but today is going to be an exception.

Because I am two steps away from being paranoid enough to don the tin foil hat, I do not talk about my personal life, work, or friends and family by name here, but you sort of need to understand the environment in which I work for this to make sense.

So, without naming names, I work for a company wherein we work on and are connected to the interwebs at all time via our laptops. We are so in love with our connection the the interwebs that we even drag them along in bags and backpacks to conferences, like the one we went to yesterday, that was held in a hotel in a nearby city.

I will admit that the company I work for is usually fantastic at thinking everything through down to the last detail, which is why I CANNOT help but think this was not an oversight, but rather completely and utterly intentional. Which would have been fine, had they sent out an email saying something to the effect of, "HEY! We actually want you to pay attention to these people who love to hear themselves talk and not tune them out while you read emails, do work, or (not that I ever do this) play Farmville on Facebook, so leave your machines at home, because, we're turning off the wireless Internet access.

Alas, no such email was composed. So I, and everyone else, schlepped our laptops to this painfully long and boring conference only to the discover that the interwebs would elude us this day. GRR. I had crops to harvest, too.

But fear not, because I actually learned something very important, nearing on life changing, because of this lack of interwebs:

I learned my iphone will let me play Toy Story Mania for eight whole hours before the batteries die!

More awesome Caleb adventures tomorrow!

NaBloPoMo: Whose Side of the Bed?

Boyfriend and Caleb had an interesting interaction, tonight. When Boyfriend is not around, Caleb sleeps on his side of the bed. Caleb is not a cuddle bug, and usually sleeps just out of arms reach, in case I get any bright ideas to sneak in a cuddle. He also wanders during the night, and almost never stays on the bed longer than a couple of hours.

Tonight, I decided it was time to go to bed and read for a couple hours, and Caleb decided to help, so he jumped up on the bed and made himself comfortable. About a half an hour later, Boyfriend came in to see what I was doing, and saw Caleb on the bed. He told him to move so he could take over pestering me for attention while I was trying to read, and Caleb ignored him. Thinking he would be cute, he said, "Fine, I'm just going to sleep right here then," and promptly scooted in the middle of the bed and started scooting closer and closer to Caleb.

Caleb would not move.

Boyfriend decided to scoot right up next to him, so that there was actual Boyfriend to Corgi contact.

Caleb would not move.

Boyfriend threw one arm around Caleb's body and put his other arm under his head in what can only be described as a full on cuddle...

Caleb would not move.

At this point, I had to stop reading to watch this standoff unfold. Boyfriend did not move. Caleb did not move. I laughed. Boyfriend elbowed me and whispered: "I think he's cuddling!" Caleb did not move. I took pictures. The standoff continued for a few minutes.

Finally Boyfriend gave up, muttering something along the lines, "You win this one, Caleb" and slunk off to play more video games.

I swear, I saw Caleb smirk.

NaBloPoMo: Caleb and the Case of the Misleading Scale

We had to stop by the Vet's office yesterday morning to get Caleb's Bordetella vaccine; his Daycare is appropriately strict about keeping everyone vaccinated and they will begin to hound you starting a month before it is actually due. So, I figured the sooner we got it taken care of, the sooner I would stop receiving ominous little red pieces of paper warning me of the imminent lapse in vaccination coverage.

While waiting for the Vet Tech, I decided to poke His Furriness on the scale to weigh him. Six months ago, he was at 24.5 pounds, and I was nervous about giving him the 25 - 50 pound dose of heartworm meds. Once they explained that it would not be over medicating him, I was fine with it, and he is on it currently, but I was still curous to see if he'd gained or lost any weight.

The scale said 28.4 pounds!!

I thought my head was going to explode. There is no way Caleb is that heavy. He gained 2.5 pounds in an entire year from when I first got him to six months ago (Which he needed, 22 pounds was too skinny for him), there is no way he suddenly packed on the pounds with no changes in meal portion, number of treats, or amount of exercise! I was tryng to think up a rational explanation for this when I looked back at the scale, and realized that it was vascilating between 1 and 1.5 pounds, WITH NOTHING ON IT.

*Whew*

If their scale can be off by that much, it is probably off by more, so now I am trying to think of another way to more accurately weigh Caleb. I'm wondering if the Humane Society we went to last week to get Caleb microchipped has a scale out front in their lobby. I did not notice one, but then I was busy worrying about Caleb, not taking in the scenery.

NaBloPoMo: Doggy Daycare!

Doggy Daycare is really the best thing since sliced bread! I never thought I would say that, or that I would become one of those dog obsessed folks who take their dog to doggy daycare, and yet here I am...with a dog blog, no less!

Caleb went to daycare all day today, and was asleep before I even got on the freeway to go home! He even went to bed without me, which almost never happens! I had to get up and look for him around 8pm when I realized he was not in any of his usual living room spots. I found him in my bedroom curled up on his pillow asleep in the dark. I guess he has a busy day!

I was sorely temped to snap a picture of him passed out on his pillow, but I just could not bring myself to disturb his slumber.

At least I know that I will not be assaulted the second I walk in the door tomorrow after work by a crazed corgi. If he rolls over to look in my general direction this evening, I'll be amazed.

Five days and counting until I move to the new building and can bring Caleb back to work with me!

Nablopomo: Contextual Learning, or Teenage Antics

My mother looooves Caleb.

Caleb walks all over my mother, literally and metaphorically.

When I travel and Caleb stays with her, I get updates on the new culinary experiences she has allowed my puppy. Waffles ('Just a bite!'), Avocado ('I wondered if he had ever had one!'), Salad ('He looked like he wanted it...I think he just wanted the Ranch Dressing!'), the list goes on and on. He has even picked up a bad habit or two from her Boxer/Mastiff mix, Scout (Scout taught him how to sit in the kitchen next to the counter with the puppy biscuits on it and look pitiful until someone offers him one, *sigh*.)! What about good manners, you ask? Forget it, at Grandma's house, we don't need no stinkin' manners!

This afternoon I got one of the best examples of contextual learning I have ever seen. My Mom came over to play with him and he was hysterical to see her, as always. I took some treats out of his treat jar and put them on the coffee table, so I reward him for NOT dancing all over Mom when she sat down on the couch (an effort made much harder when she obviously enjoys being danced on). Caleb was in between us on the couch when he realized there were treats on the table.

Normally, he does not have to think twice, when he sees something on the coffee table he wants, he looks at me and gives me a nice down. But I soon realized we were not in the context of, 'I am at home, where we have rules and regulations for how everything is done around here', he was in full 'GRANDMA MODE', which basically means help yourself and look cute doing it, and you are safe.

Caleb jumped off of the couch put his front paws on the coffee table, and snatched up the treats. Three things happened in quick succession: My mother burst out laughing so hard I thought she was going to break something, Caleb realized he had committed two major NO-NOs in my presence and started running, and I shot off the couch to catch him and retrieve the treats that were not given to him. I was on him so quick I do not think he realized what was happening until it dawned on him that I was holding the soggy treats that were once in his mouth.

My Mom joked that it must be his teenage rebellion acting up, but I was quite sure it was because he was in GRANDMA MODE and thought he could get away with it. It is interesting because this is the first time the context was so clearly a person, not a place. For example, he always performs his obedience tricks MUCH better when we are at Downtown dogs, he has learned that in the DD training room, he has to settle down and get to work. He is always hysterical when we go to DD in the morning and head for the playroom door, because he knows he gets to PLAY CHASE, HIS MOST FAVORITE GAME EVER all day long. When we get to my office, it is time to chill out and wait for my coworkers to show up to pay homage to the furry one, rather than run around the office like a loon.

It is also interesting that he thought GRANDMA MODE trumped the normal rules associated with being at home, in my presence. If my dog goes this crazy when Grandma is around, what is this woman going to do to any human offspring that come along in the (distant, not-any-time-soon, so do not get your hopes up, Mother) future?

NaBloPoMo: My Garden Does Not Stand A Chance

I live in an apartment. This is not ideal for a number of reasons, the most important one being I want a backyard for Caleb; the second most important reason being I like plants and would actually enjoy putting them into the ground, rather than in pots.

But then, there is this to consider:




Apparently my apartment complex shares the space with an number of interesting smelling creatures that live underground. Caleb would like to visit with them...by any means necessary.

My future backyard garden does not stand a chance.

NaBloPoMo: Thank You For What You Do

Can I tell you a secret?

Shelters break my heart. I mean, I am sure they do to most people, right? But it is different for me. I walk in one and it feels like I cannot breathe. I tear up. All I want to do is take them all home, right now, so they will be wanted. The lost and the unwanted have a special place in my heart, and an animal shelter is the epitome of such. They make me feel overwhelmed and hopeless. They make me squall. I avoid them like the plague.

It really is a bit ridiculous; the shelters in my area are great, there is even a brand new state of the art shelter seven minutes from my house! But it does not mater how great the place looks, I know some of those dogs and cats will die, for no other reason than they are unwanted, and that makes me lose it.

So I adopted Caleb from a rescue organization, and successfully avoided anything even remotely close to a shelter.

For the past year, I have also successfully avoided getting him licensed and microchipped, because doing both requires not one but TWO trips to two separate animal shelters. The Animal Services Center that is responsible for licensing is also a shelter, and the best place to get him microchipped is the new animal shelter right by my house.

It has been bothering me for awhile, not having Caleb microchipped and licensed, not to mention incredibly hypocritical (I mean, I blog about minor celebrities giving up their dogs like they have committed murder, and Caleb has no microchip? Eeesh...). So I decided today would be the day. It took an hour and a half between driving back and forth from one end of town to the other, and the trip to the Animal Services Center nearly sent me into hysterics when I watched the shelter employees turn away a stray dog that two boys brought in because it was too sick, but I got Caleb licensed with the county and microchipped.

I tell you all that, to tell you this: If you work or volunteer in a shelter or for a vet: Thank you. Thank you for doing something that would reduce me to a blubbering idiot in the corner. Thank you for taking the precious time to make the lost and the unwanted feel wanted, if only briefly, something I would give anything to be able to do myself. 'Thank you' is not adequate enough to convey to you how much I appreciate what you do.

On the way out of the shelter with my newly chipped corgi in tow, I did the only thing I could do, donated the rest of the cash in my wallet. I pray that my small donation will help to make the work that I cannot do a little easier for the amazing people who do.

NaBloPoMo: Target Locked On

This was taken last Saturday at the Corgi meetup in Mountain View. There were not many non-Corgis on the little dog side, and the ones that ventured into the chaos did not stay long.

I cannot imagine why.

NaBloPoMo: Rollover and Such

Since I have not been the greatest on differentiating between 'drop it' and 'give' with Caleb, and a lot of the tricks I am really excited to get started on in 101 Dog Tricks build on, or at least combine, one or the other, I thought I would warm up with a few tricks that we have a better grasp of.

So we started with sit, down, place, shake, paw, and rollover. All of which he did very well on, so I thought I would start introducing the trick 'bang' (play dead). At first, I thought this would be a piece of cake, since he spends half of his life on his back with his paws in the air, and already knows rollover. What could be so hard about getting him to stop mid roll, right?

Well now.

It took all of about three minutes for Caleb to get frustrated with me and stomp off. Luring did not work because he thought he knew what I was asking and just rolled over and then pouted at me when I would not hand over the treat. The book suggests stopping him with a hand on his midsection if he tends to roll all the way over, which sounds easy enough, but for some reason I just could not keep the treats and clicker ready in one hand and guide him with the other. I think maybe I need to work without the clicker until he gets a vague idea of what I am asking him to do, so I no longer need to keep my hand on his midsection. I really like using the clicker, though. I need to mull this one over a bit more.

I did manage to get Caleb to come back and we reworked the tricks he is consistently successful at, so as to end it on a fun and happy note. Then we ended our little session with a nice game of chase the laser pointer. At least I got that part right. :-)

On a side note, I found out today that Caleb will be able to come back to work with me by the end of the week!! The short version of the story is this: The company I work for is very dog friendly and owns many of the buildings we work in, but they also lease space in other buildings that are owned by other entities. I work in one of the leased buildings, and last week we got an email stating that due to a dog related incident, dogs we no longer allowed in my building effective immediately! There are only a handful of employees who regularly bring their dogs in, and we all know each other. So immediately we got together to try and figure out what happened. We all decided that whatever happened, it did not involve any of us (As we would have been informed by HR that our dog was no longer welcome at work - if they knew who the culprit was). It took me the whole week, but I finally found someone who knew what had happened. Apparently, someone walked into a conference room and found a large pile of fresh dog poop, with no dog or owner in sight. This means one of two things, either the dog was being allowed to roam (which does happen, but is very rare) and found an unused conference room to do his business, and the owner never realized that an accident had occurred, or much worse, the owner knew their dog had pooped in the conference room, and for some unfathomable reason, did not clean it up. Whichever it was, they ruined it for all of us. To make matters worse, we are all sure it was someone who does not bring their dog in regularly, because, and I'm sorry there is no delicate way to say this, it was a big dog poop, and all of the regular office dogs in this building are small to medium sized (Caleb is the biggest at 26.5 pounds). The dog ban is still in effect in that building, but I found out today that my team is moving to a different, company owned, building!! We move on Friday, so Caleb will be back to work next Monday! Hallelujah!

On yet another side note, I manged to get my html badge on the side of my blog where it belongs! Hooray!

NaBloPoMo: 101 Dog Tricks!

Well, I may not have figured out how to get the HTML Badge into a gadget on the side of my profile, but I may have a theme for this month: 101 Dog Tricks!

I could not help myself; a couple of the blogs I follow mentioned buying this book to work on tricks with their dogs, so I decided I needed to give it a shot as well. Especially since Caleb has not been able to come to work with me lately (I think that will be a post for another time, but suffice it to say we are both having a tough time with the transition) and he can use all the mental stimulation he can get right now.

The book came in the mail this evening, and I had admittedly forgotten that I had ordered it until I noticed the package on the table. In reading the first couple of chapters, one thing is abundantly clear: We need to re-learn "drop it" and "give". I had been using the two interchangeably, and to do the kind of tricks she is teaching, we need to be solid on the differences between the two, and we are most certainly not. Corgi Momma Fail #764 (But who is counting, right?).

So, you can look forward to reading about the trials and tribulations of trying to learn the difference between "drop it" and "give"....and maybe by the end of the month we will have learned a new trick or two.

One can hope, right?

NaBloPoMo: Well, that did not take long, now did it?

By day two, I've managed to mess something up. I guess I hit save, rather than post last night...

*sigh*

But at least I found a nifty NaBloPoMo button! We shall see whether I ever manage to get it over to the side of my blog, where it belongs.

Oh, and I see that Betty is also doing NaBloPoMo! Yay, Betty! You will have to stick around for another month! I am relieved!

NaBloPoMo? Oh No!

When I started this blog it was really just to have another medium to gush about my adventures with, lessons from, and complete love for Caleb, because I was starting to think that if I did not tone down the madness, my friends and family were going to have me committed. As it turns out, the vast majority of the population within my vicinity does not, in fact, need hourly Caleb updates (Who knew?). So, I went in search of like minded folks and found them on Mycorgi.com and later on Blogger.

For months, I poured out my soul without ever publishing my blog, and secretly followed blogs related to all things corgi. Just knowing you were out there made me feel less crazy.

Then to celebrate Caleb's one year with me in San Jose, I decided to do a countdown to the anniversary, and was so excited about it, I posted a quick blurb on MyCorgi.com letting folks know about my little blog.

That was the beginning of the end. In a good way.

I am not going to admit how many blogs I follow daily, but I will tell you, I have met so many wonderful people and puppies through your blogs, I feel honored to share in your adventures with them. Thank you, my fellow dog lovers, for sharing your stories and hearts with me, and giving me the courage to do the same. I enjoy it so much, I have decided to participate in NaBloPoMo. One blog a day is definitely going to be stretching it for me, not because I run out of things to say, but because I seem to lack the ability to write concise blogs and I do not want to scare away the handful of faithful readers I have! Ha, ha!

So, here's the official first entry for NaBloPoMo! I promise I will try my very hardest not to write a novel every day, and if you are one of my faithful readers who comment all the time (First of all, corgi kisses to you!), please do not feel obliged to comment on my daily rants; I know you're out there, honest!

Happy Halloween!

Momma, there's a LOBSTER on my HEAD!

Don't worry, folks, no corgis were injured in the making of this Halloween blog, he only had to wear the costume for five minutes while I took pictures! Caleb's pride recovered quickly with a handful of yummy new treats, but no amount of bribery could make him pretend he enjoyed looking like he was being eaten by a muppet.


I hope everyone is having a safe and happy Halloween, and don't forget to keep the treats out of reach of our furry children!

A JulieandCaleb First: A Reader's Poll!

Rather than going on another rant about a dog related news story (Which, admittedly, I'll probably still do, but hopefully to a lesser degree), I thought I'd poll my fellow bloggers and dog aficionados on the latest dog related hysteria going on in Northern California.

At the end of September, a man was riding his bike with his two (leashed) Siberian Huskies on a public trail in San Jose. Somehow, a woman who was jogging on that trail got tangled in one of the leashes, fell, and hit her head. She was conscious and talking immediately after the accident happened, and the man who was riding the bike stayed with her until the ambulance arrived. The poor woman died later the next day.

The name of the man riding the bike is unknown, but the police have ruled the accident just that; a horrible, tragic, accident. Nobody is exactly sure what happened to get her tangled up in the leash, but I have to imagine that since the police have already closed their investigation, they got enough information from the woman before she died, or from the paramedics who responded and talked to her, or from the doctors who were treating her at the hospital, to determine that the unnamed man had committed no crime.

But that's not enough for some people.

The family of the poor woman is actively trying to hunt down this man, to "hold him accountable", which we all know means sue him until they have taken everything away from him including the roof over his head and the dog food out of the bowls, but I'm not going to say much more about them than that. I hate the litigious society we have become, but I also cannot imagine the pain the family is going through, I have never lost someone like that. Although I can say now that if I were, God forbid, ever in a situation like this that I would not start looking for someone to sue, I really have no idea what the experience is like and therefore no idea what I would do. Is it feasible that in my blinding pain and anger at losing someone that I would look to lash out? Absolutely. So, I'm going to leave the discussion about the family right there.

Instead, let's talk about how the people of San Jose responded to this tragedy.

The city council is in active talks right now to determine whether tougher leash laws are needed. To do what, you might ask? Apparently, according to a segment of the population of San Jose, if there were tougher leash laws regarding riding your bike with your dog, this accident would never have happened.

God help me, this makes me want to beat my head against a wall. Before you know it, someone is going to get the bright idea that they can prevent head injuries from ever happening, as long as we are all mandated to wear helmets all day long, no matter what we are doing! Mowing the lawn? Helmet! Washing your hair? That's what the slots in the top are for, to let the water in!

Oh shoot, this sounds like a rant, huh? Oh well, I tried.

I do not, and would not, ride my bike with Caleb. One, he has no legs. Yes, he is a corgi and can run like the wind when he wants to, but he is also low to the ground, would be too hard to keep an eye on, and also has the attention span of a gnat. He zigs and zags and stops dead in his tracks whenever something tickles his fancy that he wants to investigate further. Me on a bike with Caleb has disaster written all over it. But that is just me. I also know people who have trained their larger dogs to run beside the bike while on leash, and they keep up just fine. Another neighbor has trained his dog to walk tied up to the baby stroller on the right side.

Folks, you can't legislate accidents away (Now would be a good time to imagine me flailing my arms above my head ala Kermit the Frog when he gets all riled up. I have given up on my attempt not to rant). Creating tougher leash laws directed towards people who ride their bikes with their dogs will not save lives, bring that poor woman back, or lessen the pain the family is going through. All you can take away from this tragic event is that life is precious, you never know when your time is up or who will pass next, so for the love of God, hug your loved ones, cherish the time you have, and pray for as much time as God will grant you.

Annnnnd now for the poll. You thought I forgot about the title of this blog, right? What do you think? Would you ride a bike with your dog running beside you on a leash? Do you think a leash law directed towards people who do is a good idea? Leave a comment!

My Baby is Famous!

After the Bay Area monsoon, I decided poor Caleb could use a a few...or eight...hours at Downtown Dogs (aka Doggie Daycare, aka Caleb's FAVORITE PLACE EVER, aka The Reason I Can't Quit My Job Because They Don't Do Charity Babysitting). When I walked in to pick him up last night, I did a double take; the posters for the yearly Halloween and Micro Study Picture Day were plastered about, and lo and behold, Jen has used a photo from last year's Halloween Picture Day.


That handsome corgi dressed up as an adorable pumpkin is none other than the beloved one himself, Caleb!

So me being me, what's the first thing that comes out of my mouth (at pitch and volume slightly higher than is appropriate, mind you):

My Baby is FAMOUS!

*Sigh* Thankfully, the good folks at Downtown Dogs are used to these sorts of dog induced hysterics, and they just laughed at me, but good grief I was embarrassed. Seriously, they need a pill or something for whatever I have.

And to top it all off, I'm going to be out of town the day they're doing this years Halloween pictures. Grr!! Thankfully on her website she has a couple of family photo days scheduled in November...maybe I'll skip Halloween pictures this year and drag Caleb AND Boyfriend to get family photos done instead. Hmmm.....

An Open Letter To My Neighbors

Dear Neighbors and Fellow Dog Owners,

I missed you this morning. You know, the morning of the first big storm of the season, the storm that is supposed to rage on for the next day and a half, the storm that seems to show no interest in your puppy's need to do its business and get its exercise for the day? You know what that means, don't you?

Buy yourself a pair of galoshes and a bust out your umbrellas and WALK YOUR DOGS.

Neighbors, we all live in apartments or condos, here. We don't even have yards for our dogs to do their business in, never mind the fact that a dog cannot get the proper exercise it needs cooped up in a apartment. The vast majority of the apartment managers and home owners associations around here have weight and breed restrictions, and we have pretty much been limited to dogs that they classify as "small" breeds (Obviously, whoever They are that make these rules, never had corgis. Ha, ha.).

Neighbors, let me remind you: that classification of "small" breed, does not absolve you of your duty as a dog owner to give your dog the exercise it needs, in any weather. We live in California, for crying out loud, what is the worst that is going to happen? We're going to get rained on! Oh, the horrors! I hate, hate, HATE getting my feet wet, so when I adopted Caleb, I ordered galoshes before the first rains ever made an appearance. Problem solved. Yes, we both still come back looking like drowned rats even with the jacket and umbrella and hat and whatever else I can think up to wrap up in. But when we're done, Caleb has had his exercise, done his business, and is ready to settle down for the rest of the day or evening, after a vigorous toweling off, of course.

Neighbors, please do not be one of those dog owners, the oblivious ones who leave their poor dogs locked up all in the apartment all day long, then come home and decide the weather is not agreeable enough for you, so you throw another wee wee pad in a corner and ask your dog to go there, instead. Those dog owners are the reason our non-dog owning apartment neighbors hate us, they assume all small dogs are barky, neurotic, and untrained. Those dog owners are the reason I have to go to obnoxious lengths to get my security deposit back, because apartment managers just assume that all dogs are going to mess in the apartment and destroy the carpet and even seem offended when I challenge them to show me any damage my dog has done to the apartment because as far as they are concerned, all dogs destroy apartments.

Neighbors, I know it can be tough. This morning I stayed in bed an extra twenty minutes praying for a break in the rain. My bed was nice and warm, I had to go to work, and taking a nice jaunt around the block with crazy winds and pouring rain appealed to me about as much as a stick in the eye. But I did it anyway. Because I am responsible for my dog. In any weather.

Please, do the same for your dog.

Regards,

Julie

PS: Nice Lady with the little Miniature Schnauzer named Sophie, I saw you this morning. All wrapped up and still soaking wet walking around with Sophie so she could do her business. This letter is not for you. You, I like. We could be friends...if I could get Caleb over his weird thing with Miniature Schnauzers.

Cool October Weather

*Disclaimer*

I am a born and raised Californian. While I am not your stereotypical California nutcase, I do classify 'cold' as anything below about 65 degrees. You may begin your guffawing now. I would wilt and die if I lived anywhere where it snows.

It has been starting to get chilly here in Northern California. Despite loving the warm weather, I was ready for a change (Tone down that guffawing, you people with your real, distinct seasons). This may have something to do with the two pairs of boots and three sweaters I recently purchased, but that's beside the point. Time to bust out the electric blanket! Hooray!

Guess who else was ready for the cool weather to arrive? Sometimes I forget that poor Mr. Caleb has a nice double layer coat on, whether it's July or January. Yes, Caleb is definitely a cool weather kind of guy. He and Boyfriend are kindred spirits in that regard. In much the same way that I get cold when it gets below 65, Boyfriend starts complaining that it's hot if it gets much warmer than 65 degrees. We're quite a pair, yesiree. Now with Caleb in the mix, the balance of power has shifted to the ALL AIR CONDITIONING, ALL THE TIME team, and I can be found wearing hoodies year round.

This week, I noticed that Caleb's sleeping preferences have changed with the weather. In the summer, he likes to be as spread out as possible, on the floor, and preferably next to the sliding glass door. On the nights I would invite him to share half take over my bed, he'd snuggle up next to me for an ear or belly rub, then as soon as he was done, move as faaaaaaar away from me as possible and stay there for a couple hours before leaping off of the bed to look for a cooler spot.

Now that it has started cooling down, I have noticed two changes. Last week, when I invited him to share half take over my bed, he stayed next to me for most of the night. When he finally decided he needed to sleep elsewhere, he moved to his foofy pillow in between the side of my bed and door to the bathroom, far away from the drafty sliding glass door.

This was the other change:

Yes, the Beloved Fuzzy One has decided the floor is too drafty this time of year, and he has moved to higher ground. He is going to have to bust out the same corgi powers of persuasion that he used against me to keep the air conditioning running this summer to convince Boyfriend that it is perfectly reasonable to allow His Fuzziness to claim a spot on the couch during these drafty months.

I would bet on the corgi, if I were you, folks.

Bark in the Park!

Caleb and I just came back from Bark in the Park, it was fantastic! He did really well, although he pulled the entire time we were there. I was able to practice a few commands with him in all the hullabaloo (sit, down, watch), and he did really well bringing his focus back to me when I asked for it. But when I was not asking for it, it was PULL, PULL, PULL!

I read an article last night by Ian Dunbar talking about fading the food lure. He suggested making the thing the dog wants the reward for doing what we want him to do. So I practiced at Bark in the Park asking him to sit / down / watch, then made the reward taking off to say hello to the nearest dog wandering by. It worked very well, and reinforced in me our need to get out more often to different locations with larger groups of dogs. Now, as for heel....well, heel takes a lot of work when we're not surrounded by hundreds of friendly people and dogs who want to say hello, so I just put his harness on so his neck would be ok, and focused on commands I knew he'd have a good chance of succeeding at. Less stress for all involved. :-)

There were TONS of cute doggie related goodies, but I managed to control myself.


The Breakdown:

• Bought a car magnet that says: 'BAN STUPID PEOPLE, NOT DOGS'. :-)

• Donated some money to the German Shepherd Rescue of Northern California. I have already decided that I am adopting a German Shepherd from them roughly the day after I buy a house with a yard! **must keep saving**

• Got Caleb a sample of some all homemade all organic dog food. Caleb LOOOOOOVED it, but I am NOT buying it. It looked life barf and was even more expense than the expensive food I already buy for him. Besides, do not get me wrong, but just how much knowledge does one well meaning lady running a business out of her home have about dog nutrition? It's great that the food is organic, but is it a balanced diet? I am willing to bet NO, just because Caleb ate it up. If he could live off of McDonalds french fries and cheeseburgers, he'd be one happy puppy. Unfortunately for him, he has an overprotective and slightly obsessive momma, so he gets Wellness dog food and treats. Mmmm...healthy!

• Speaking of Wellness, we got lots of free treat samples, including an entire full size bag of Wellness Pure Rewards Training Treats! Yaaaay! I love the Wellness brand, and Caleb loved the treats. Score!
  

• Got an inside look at my puppy! I stopped at a tent for one of the local vets and after making sure I brushed Caleb's teeth, he asked how his ears were doing. I said as far as I could tell they were great, clean and no smells. He asked if I'd like to see for myself, so naturally I said, YES! Yes I would! He had a neat little camera machine that looked right in his ear (Dr. Vet Man: Wow, that's a great looking ear! Me: Why, thank you!). Caleb did great on the first ear, and whined a bit for the second ear. The second ear was just as clean and healthy, I think it just took him a second to realize what was going on (Caleb:....waaaiiitt....what are you putting in my ear?? Ack! Get me outta here!). Anyway, I thought it was neat. Caleb got some cooked chicken, so he got over it quickly.

• Collected lots and lots of business cards, handouts, and website info! One of the handouts was a list of all emergency vets in the area. I came home and put them in my iphone. I had never thought about it before today, so if you do not know where the nearest emergency vet is in your area, look it up now! Quickly! Another handout included national pet poison phone numbers and information. Don't worry, you don't need to look it up, here it is:

ANIMAL POISON HOTLINE: 1 (888) 232-8870

PET POISON HELPLINE: 1 (800) 213-6680 WEBSITE: WWW.PETPOISONHELPLINE.COM

• Disclaimer: The Pet Poison Helpline apparently charges a 35 dollar per incident fee payable via credit card. They also have a facebook page, if you'd like to check them out. I have no idea what the difference is between the two, or if the Animal Poison Hotline also charges, but even if it did, if Caleb got into something that I was freaking out about (knowing how I am about him), I would mail them a blank check to get them to help me with my puppy, so a 35 dollar fee seems reasonable.

That was about it. There were lots of demonstrations that I kind of wanted to check out, but I think the temperatures went up at least 20 degrees in an hour, and I was with my Mom (NOT a fan of the heat and she just had a complete knee replacement a couple of months ago, so she's still healing), so we threw in the towel and went home to the air conditioning.

We're going to hole up in the apartment for the rest of the day. I got the new Dan Brown novel when it came out this week, so three guesses what I'll be doing for the rest of the day...

Love, Love, LOVE

1. I love, love, love my blogging friends. I've never met most of you, yet our insane love for all things corgi drew us from the wide world of the interwebs and brought us together; to laugh, cry, agree, and disagree on everything from our shared obsession to our everyday lives. You. Are. Awesome!

2. I love, love, LOVE the amazingly talented Kazzie. We were talking about her art projects from high school, and her current assignments for her art classes, when the topic turned to (who else?) Caleb! Next thing I know, I find these on her facebook:

Step One:

Step Two:

All together now: EEEEEEEEE! Kazzie says the canvas is about 2 ft tall, so I'm definitely going to have to rearrange the stuff on my walls to make room for it. I can't wait to see it completed!

A Rant, In Which I May Lose Friends

Alternate Title: A Rant, In Which It May Be Discovered How Dog Crazy I Truly Am

In the name of full slightly more disclosure than usual, I should tell you that:

1: I am the child of divorced parents
2: I watched this show long before it became tabloid fodder
3: I will get it out of the way right now and say that yes, the way the kids are being treated is arguable worse, but I don't want to argue about it, ok? The comment moderation force is strong with me, so you can save any smarmy comments lambasting me for my topic choice.

*sigh* Ok, now that we're through all of that:

I am so pissed that Jon and Kate (yes, of Jon and Kate Plus 8) are getting rid of their German Shepherds. There, I said it. I feel better now.

No, no I don't.

I wholeheartedly and emphatically believe that your kids shouldn't be punished for your failed marriage. I do not fly the 'Stay Married No Matter What' flag. You're not doing your kids any favors, because by the time you are nearly-but-not-quite-in Divorceland you're no longer focused on being good parents anyway, because one or both of you is in a near constant state of meltdown. So instead, I proudly fly the 'Stay Functional' flag. Do what you have to do to have a healthy, functional family. No matter what. Even if it means getting a divorce.

Healthy, functional people grow up out of divorced households all the time.

How many healthy, functional people do you know who grew up in a household where everyone, including the kids, knew these two needed a divorce, but instead they just made each other, and everyone around them, miserable until the kids could escape?

So I'm not going to launch into an in depth analysis of whether I think Jon and Kate should be getting a divorce; or whether I should be blogging over the trauma that the poor children will have to endure because of their parents choice to split, instead of railing on these people for flaking on the 15 year commitment they signed onto when they picked up their German Shepherd puppies. Which will commence...right now.

In the grand scheme of things, at least these dogs came from a reputable breeder who was willing to take the dogs back, no matter what. They will be re-homed and maybe they'll be able to stay together (I'm hopeful, especially after all the public brouhaha that this is stirring up). But that's almost beside the point. Or, my point, at least. Why do people think animals are disposable, or make good pawns in a divorce? I hate, hate, HATE people who get a dog and as soon as their life circumstances change, the first thing to go is the dog. Not because it is the RIGHT thing to do, (and sometimes as painful as it is to admit, there are times a dog should be re-homed) because it's the EASY thing to do. If anything, the divorce made the dogs an inconvenience.

You. Made. A. Commitment. To. An. Animal. That. Completely. Depends. On. You.

There is no room in that incorrectly punctuated sentence for inconvenience. Dogs are not kids, and they should not be confused as such, you are correct. But they are a commitment, and if you asked those kids, they would probably agree that they are part of the family. And wasn't the whole point of the kids staying in the house while Mommy and Daddy take turns living there to keep things as consistent for the kids as possible? How is ripping their dogs away from them helping that consistency?

You have inordinate amounts of money. You have a throng of people to help take care of your sparkly mansion and your human brood. And you mean to tell me that two German Shepherd dogs proved to be such an inconvenience that you had to rip them out of the home they grew to love and from a whole herd of kids who adored them to send them back to the breeder, because that was what is best for them?

You, Sir, are an Ass.

Thunder and Lightning

We had another California first for Caleb this morning: Thunder and lightning!

Thunder and lightning are rare where I live, so I have an odd fascination with it whenever it does make an appearance. It woke me up at 4:45 this morning, and after peeking out on the patio to see what I could see (Admittedly it was hard to enjoy...what with my mother's voice in my head screaming at me to get back in the house and behave myself, and all...), I started to worry that Caleb may get upset by the commotion, so I hurried back in to scoop him and put him on the bed with me. After he got situated, he was asleep 20 seconds later. So much for thunder and lightning related hysterics!

After a few more hours of sleep we both grudgingly got up early to make it to Caleb's grooming appointment. No, Caleb does not need to go to the groomer, all they do is wash him, brush out enough fur for two or three more corgis then trim his nails, all of which I could technically do, but there is an unfortunate lack of windows in the bathroom at my apartment...I have a hard enough time keeping the humidity from the shower out of my bedroom (even with the bathroom fan going full blast)...and the prospect of eau de soggy dog permeating my apartment for a month afterward is less than ideal. Plus, I love these little old ladies who groom and love on him, and he smells WONDERFUL afterward, and always sports a snazzy new bandanna when I come to pick him up. So off to the groomer we go!

I picked him up a few hours later, all clean, smelling wonderful, and sporting a new blue bandanna, and off we went to meet up with my friend Kazzie and her dog, an Aussie Shepherd / Lab mix named Lexi. Poor Lexi has had a couple of crappy dog related incidents (pit bull gnawings, to be exact), and this was the first time she'd spent any time with any other dogs since that incident. I am happy to report that Lexi and Caleb got along swimmingly! There was only one growly moment when Lexi tried to stick her nose in Caleb's ear when he wasn't looking; I think he was more startled than anything else, but we handled it, moved on, and everyone had a great time. There were plenty of people outside of the coffee shop that stopped to admire our friendly puppies, and another person brought his newly rescued terrier mix over to say hello to us as well. Gooooo Team Rescues! While Kazzie and I got to catch up, Caleb helped himself to Lexi's cup of water. When I offered to share some of the treats we brought, Lexi took it from my hand, dropped it on the ground and kicked it out of her way. Kazzie and I sat there for a second, mouths agape, then collapsed into hysterics. What can I say, you cannot argue with a girl who knows what she wants, and what she does not want. I wish we'd caught video of that! After coffee we went to the Los Gatos Creek Trail. After getting hopelessly lost and querying both the iPhone AND Kazzie's brother, we finally made it and had a nice walk around the lake. I think we are going to try to do things like this more often, Lexi needs more good doggie interactions, and Caleb can always use more socialization.

Of course, in typical corgi fashion, Caleb just had to pull something. I made it all the way to the end of our walk with a nice clean (but really pooped out) puppy, until I turned my back for one second to say my goodbyes and Caleb decided he was going to rest in the shade UNDER the front of my truck, IN a mud puddle. *EPIC SIGH*

Side note: Bark in the Park 2009. Be there or be square. If you happen to be in my vicinity, that is.

Labor Day Weekend: Status Update

Cleaning?

Check.


Cat Naps?

Check.


Corgi Naps?


Check.


JulieandCaleb Photo Fail Number Seven Thousand Four Hundred and Thirty Two?

Check.

I had a feeling when I saw that picture of us at the San Diego Dog Beach that that would be THE JulieandCaleb picture. Caleb does not like the camera; which is really too bad, he's the photogenic one of this duo.
Oh well.

Hope everyone is having a great Labor Day weekend!

Photobooks and Prayers

My photobook came in today! It looks great, I'm definitely going to consider doing another one the next time I take a big trip or decide to create another Caleb compilation. I'll have to take a picture of Caleb posing with it and post it tomorrow.

In non-dog related news, my Second Mother (Darcy's Mom and Raf-the-most-adorable-child-ever's Grandma) has a very uplifting blog (Side note: Have I won the 'Most Links in a Sentence' award yet?) that never fails to get me thinking. Today it was on Pslam 11:

Psalm 11

For the director of music. Of David.

1 In the LORD I take refuge.
How then can you say to me:
"Flee like a bird to your mountain.

2 For look, the wicked bend their bows;
they set their arrows against the strings
to shoot from the shadows
at the upright in heart.

3 When the foundations are being destroyed,
what can the righteous do ?"

4 The LORD is in his holy temple;
the LORD is on his heavenly throne.
He observes the sons of men;
his eyes examine them.

5 The LORD examines the righteous,
but the wicked and those who love violence
his soul hates.

6 On the wicked he will rain
fiery coals and burning sulfur;
a scorching wind will be their lot.

7 For the LORD is righteous,
he loves justice;
upright men will see his face.

I won't rehash her blog (Because I couldn't do it justice, and you should read it yourselves anyway), but I read this Psalm and immediately thought of the people in my life who are having their foundations rattled like it's 1989: my Grandparents and their struggles with my Grandfather's Alzheimer's, my Mother's slow recovery from knee replacement surgery, the all too many friends and family members who have been touched in one way or another by cancer, serious illness, or the death of a close friend, all within a short period of time.

It seems like a lot of us are having our foundations rattled lately. Good thing God provides earthquake insurance.

Back to Work

Well, it had to end eventually. After a gloriously productive and fun filled week of doing everything BUT going to work...I had to go to work today. Poo. I have to say that it is surprising how much work you can get done when you do not have to go to work! But alas, kibble costs money and Boyfriend nixed the idea of being my sugar daddy.

Today at work, Caleb met a new friend. A coworker from the company's office in India came to visit our offices in California for a few weeks, and he mentioned that Caleb was the first office dog he has come across, making him the Official Office Ambassador! Caleb greeted him in traditional corgi fashion: By dancing about and then rolling over and demanding a belly rub.

After a day working side by side, however, he did finally ask about his decidedly UN-Corgi like trait:

Coworker: 'Does he EVER bark?'

Me: 'Not unless you bark at him.'

Caleb may not bark, but he will climb in your lap if he decides that is where he should be, and can cover you from head to toe in corgi fur before you can say 'Welcome to California!' Thankfully Caleb's new friend is a dog person; although I am very good at keeping the lap shenanigans to a minimum while at work, the corgi fur coat he'll be leaving with is unavoidable.

Why is it is so hard to go back to work after such a nice vacation? Well, for one thing, despite all that I got accomplished, there was also a fair bit of lounging about...

..For all of us.