Octoberfete!

Happy Thorsday, little friday, Thankful Thursday, last day of business for the inlaws’ company and more.   The girls have a little request for Shadow, related to the current flux in his life.

So, I’m going to cut to the chase.  There’s a lot to celebrate this month, and while I can’t pretend this will be the year I get my act together and have a great paw-ty for everyone remembering and celebrating, this CAN be the year I make a list so we can truly plan out Octoberfete for next year!

Please leave a comment with the date(s) and what you celebrate or memorialize in October, and I’ll follow up with a master calendar page at a later date.  (Like…  September X, 2014?)

Baby Shadow 2 and Pop 2005

I am quite thankful for the time spent with my inlaws.  When I first went to work there, on Thursdays, there were three married couples and a total of 8 – EIGHT!! – Moores working in the same business.  I’ll miss the impromptu family lunches – like today’s – just because Uncle’s wife (the fabulous artist who did the painting of the fur-girls and the hydrant) called and suggested I call in the order to Tubby’s and she’d pick it up.

And there’s a fun slice of life in podunk.  I called.  Got asked to hold on… and before I finished ordering the first sandwich, I realized I was talking to a friend’s younger sister…  who knew which order was the Knight’s and joked that she might have to slip in some hot peppers (on egg salad with relish on white toast) in there for him.  She didn’t, but I’m content to sacrifice Nordstrom’s for happy little bonds, such as a sandwich shop where everybody knows your name/voice – and what your husband orders.

Don’t forget to leave your October dates to remember in the comments!

Remember When…

Christmas Day 2007 - Sissy, me, Mugsy

I’ve said over and over that I’ve been truly blessed with exceptional dogs in my life, from Mopsy – the buff cocker my parents had when I was born – right on through the current fur-girls.   Add in my horses, fish, rabbits and cats, and I’ve said good-bye far too often to devoted pets who brightened my life.

Sue and I want to honor all of our gone but not forgotten pets later this month on our Dogs n More blog.  Please follow the link for more information, and/or send Sue or me a photo and information on your special memorials.  

Young Shadow II and Fred in 2005

Four Corners

Saturday afternoon, we took a little road trip to the Knight’s favorite nursery, for mums.  Are they supposed to come back every year?  Ours sure don’t, but we do have that critter problem…

If you start at the top left corner and move clockwise, you have a nearly blue for Fred (and he’s buried just to the right there), very red for Mugsy (buried to the left of the right-most white post), purple for Sissy, and PANK for Gretchen.  The order was also pre-ordained; the boys’ flowers were – of course – placed in the corner nearest their graves, Sissy’s went next to Mugsy’s because she was Mugsy’s baby sister, and well… you do the math.   That meant Gretchen’s flower could only go in the remaining corner.

I’m just glad it suited the Knight that the red and fuschia flowers were planted as far apart as possible.

See?  Gretchie’s flowers really are the right hue.

I had started admiring this, that and the other varieties of mums, when the Knight rather firmly stated that “we” already knew which colors we were getting.  Really, I asked?  Yep.  We have four dogs…    Fred wore Kelly Green, but when a friend made him one of her custom, hand-sewn collars and leads, she, a Tarheel, added the Carolina Blue accent, and it stuck.

November, 2005 - baby Shadow on the left

Look CLOSELY at Fred’s neck.  Because my boy was so jowl-ly and fluffy (he truly had that Basset undercoat!), that’s the ONLY photo where you can see any of his beautiful collar.  And sadly, there’s no link to my friend’s business, because she moved back to Carolina, had a baby, etc.

December 2007

Anyway, Mugsy wore Christmas red and green, because he was my first Christmas present from the Knight.  The fact that he rocked ’em with his white body didn’t hurt either.  (Poncho crocheted by Mary.)

You know that the girls wear purple and PANK, so that’s that.  I was moved to no end that the Knight still thinks of us as having four dogs.

Now, before I get all misty, tune in tomorrow for photos from a couple of great doggy-ish packages that arrived yesterday.  I’ll try to get that post up in a timely fashion, before half the world has moved past Thursday.

She’s a Wild One

… with an angel’s face…

The Knight found this hat Saturday, and I couldn’t help myself; it came home with us.  Gretchen was surprisingly content to wear it.    She does prefer to wear it MUCH further back on her head (more like a collar), but she actually wasn’t pleased when we took it off of her so she could go outside. 

Happy Dogs on Thursday to you.   Please pop over and read the great post on protecting your pets in the event that they get lost.  For the record, our girls are micro chipped and registered with Home Again. 

Today is also Shadow’s birthday.   I believe he’s three, but it might be four.  He’s not very happy with the birthday ‘do MJ got him on Tuesday.  She asked the groomer for a summer cut, and well…

You decide.  Here’s another photo of Shadow, with his more natural look:

Taken 11-07

10-2008

Now, it might feel cooler, but the poor boy isn’t happy at all.  Their other sheltie is getting groomed today, and I sure hope Nick doesn’t get scalped too!

Happy little friday!

Evidence and Expectations

She’s no angel.  Last night, I allowed Gretchen a moment with her spoils, just to prove my point.  Bad idea.  A few hours later, I was in the bathroom and heard the Knight speak sharply to the wee one, twice.  I wasn’t surprised when I returned to see my Creatively Dyed cashmere blend on the other end of the sofa, but Gretchen was in the floor playing with a non-knitting toy.  My girl has expensive tastes.

The girls are at work today, and will be again tomorrow too.  Neighbor Dude came and got Sissy for me when I pulled in, and she and Shadow were playing happily when Gretchen and I came in.   Next thing I knew, Dae had rushed out of his office and was speaking firmly to Shadow, Sissy was in a submissive pose, peeing, and Gretchen was climbing up my leg.

A switch flipped in Shadow’s head when Gretchen came in, and he decided to guard her from Sissy.  After some alpha moves by Dae, the Knight and me, Shadow settled into an uneasy watchdog roll, and Sissy eventually got comfortable enough to engage in play with her little sister.  He and Dae soon headed home for a long weekend of RVing, but we’re going to have to be sure to put Shadow in his place in the future.

Today’s Dogs on Thursday post is REALLY about a business I hope you’ll consider next time you need pet collars, tags, etc.  Pet Expectations EXCEEDED my expectations!  We’re big on harnesses in our house (for the dogs, people!!), so I began looking for a wee one for Gretchen.  I’m now sold on Lupine and their guarantee, so off I went to find a special pattern to match the adorable leash Nichole sent Gretchen.  I found it elsewhere, placed the order, only to receive an email (AFTER the Paypal payment had been accepted!) that there would be about a ten-day delay as THAT style/pattern wasn’t REALLY in stock.  Hrmph.  At least the vendor gave me the chance to back out, so I did just that.  Google led me to Pet Expectations, and now, I can’t imagine buying Lupine or tags anywhere else. 

If you have a standard monitor (say… 15+ inches?) that’s probably about life-size Gretchie there, sporting her new harness.  This vest or “step in” style is what Mugsy’s internist recommends to avoid trachea trauma AND to prevent the reflex that all dogs have to pull harder when their throat has something (collar?) pressing on it.  That size will likely fit her for life, and thanks to Lupine’s guarantee, will be her regular-wear harness for the rest of her days.  We do have plans for a 3/4″, sturdier model when she’s full-grown, for playing in the surf and more strenuous activities where we’ll need more control.

However, as delighted as I was to find the matching harness and have it within two working days, the real find was the Remembrance keychain.  The two tags are identical on the one side, and the back of each features each boy’s information.  Blue for Fred and red for Mugsy, although the one I order for the Knight must be different…  GREEN for Fred (that was Fred’s primary color, with blue as his second option), and the red for Mugsy… 

The keychains are warrantied for life too.  If you look back at the “group” photo, you’ll see a couple of freebies too.  Each month, many Lupine vendors offer a free keychain with purchase (with strings attached, in many cases), and Pet Expectations also does a free pen of the month too.  Did I mention the great customer service?  I also ordered wee bones with each dog’s name and the Knight’s cell phone number on them, and they’ll go on their collars just as soon as I remember.  Sissy’s current collar is embroidered with the same info, but that collar is about to become her spare.

I know this was a long one, but really, Jill of Pet Expectations is a gem I needed to share with you.  (Lupine AND Jill offer cat products too, my feline lovin’ friends!)

Have a great little Friday and don’t forget to visit the other Dogs on Thursday!

No Dogs

Ironically, this is indeed my Dogs on Thursday  post.  I’ve mentioned to a few of you, and others have read comments from those in the know, so an explanation is in order.

That was taken a few weeks ago, when ALL the dogs decided with the Knight was the place to be.  Take a good look, because until the inlaws take vacationyou won’t see it anymore.   For reasons known only to himself, Dae – the FIL – announced to the Knight on Monday that our dogs needed to start staying at home.  Now, I’d discussed with BOTH of my inlaws that as soon as the weather turned just a bit warmer and we were able to get the pen renovated, they would be staying at home.  But no, he couldn’t wait, so sweet Sissy is in her crate, and Mugsy is most likely on the sofa, a few feet away.

Shadow (the sheltie on the right for the newer readers) is perhaps suffering most.  He belongs to Pop, Dae’s father and the founder of the family business, so it’s not likely that he’ll be told to stay home.  Instead, he looks in every corner for his playmates, and will come rest his head on my knee.  We’ll share a sad moment together, and he’ll crawl under my desk for a pout.  Wish I could join him. 

Never fear; the inlaws will soon take to their RV and head to Georgia for a week, and my babies will return to the office.  Pop has been a delightfully wicked ally.  He asks Shadow loudly, “Are you lonely?” or “You miss your playmates?” always within his son’s hearing.  

For history’s sake, Fred never spent much time at the office.  He got sent home too, by the same man, for similarly unknown reasons.  Mugsy never came to the office unless he needed to – to go the vet – until Fred died.  I thought everyone was enjoying Mugsy and Sissy, and it seems I was mostly correct…

This isn’t what I’d planned for DoT, but I under-estimated how closely you really do follow goes on here, in my little blogging corner of the world. Thank you for that, and for caring. Later today, I’ll post about my fun night last night.

Feeding Time at the Zoo

Photo courtesy of MJ. 

What you see above happens EVERY morning, as soon as all three dogs arrive at the office.  Sometimes, Mugsy and Sissy arrive first and have to wait for Shadow, and sometimes Shadow has to wait on us, but once the gang’s all here, my father inlaw comes out of his office (the door is shut these days, to keep a little girl away until she is 100% housebroken), and three Milkbone biscuits are broken into two pieces.  Each dog must sit up (as in on his/her hind legs) to receive its portion, and then the whole sequence repeats.  It’s very cute.  

As you can see, Mugsy is cheering Shadow on, but Shadow is a bit encumbered by the 10+ pounds with a grip on his harness!  Actually, I think Mugsy is screaming, “Hurry up, will you!?  I want my second bite!”

And THAT is dogs on every weekday, here at the office.

Howdy, Neighbor!

We now return to Dogs on Thursday, already in progress.

Blogland, meet Abby. Abby, meet blogland.

No, no, read the title folks. Calm down. You’ll likely get advance notice if/when we make an addition to our family. This is our dog sitter’s new baby. She’s a bitty, wee, one pound chihuahua, and her human parents couldn’t be more excited. She will come visit our household tomorrow evening. The Knight has seen her, as Neighbor Boy had to pick her up from his girlfriend’s work on Monday (Neighbor Boy also works with us, in addition to his dog sitting duties and our shared volunteer work at the firehouse), so Abby got to ride in the Knight’s work truck across town.

I’d actually planned this post several weeks ago, when I learned the arrival date of the little pup, and as we work through our grief, it’s time to celebrate the living. Mugsy is settling in at work better than expected, so my evil plot to make it a permanent “visit” won’t be met with an resistance by the inlaws. In fact, my father inlaw has been able to use Mugsy’s cute little “groundhog” begging pose to teach Shadow (the Knight’s grandfather’s sheltie) to sit up too. Evidently, like people, dogs have different learning styles. After nearly two years of trying to teach Shadow said trick, he pulled it off successfully after mimicking Mugsy yesterday. (This photo documents one of the earliest attempts. Note the “cheat” with Shadow’s paw bracing against my father inlaw’s arm!)

Shadow thoroughly enjoys having Mugsy here too, and wanted to make sure EVERYONE got that. This morning, he refused his biscuit until Mugsy arrived, so that they could eat together. Seriously. How sweet is that?! There are two darling photos trapped in my phone of Mugsy in Pop’s lap (TRUE job security, when he has the man whose name is on the front of the building wrapped around his little nubby tail), and of Mugsy and Shadow napping together. The Knight says the quality is too poor to share, but we’ll see about that.

This seems like a good time to mention that progress continues on Fred’s Garden. Perhaps after this weekend, it will be ready for a photo shoot. I don’t know that we’ll get any flowers planted this fall, but the Knight has mulch plans for Saturday. It has been a great source of grief therapy for the Knight, and will be a lovely memorial for all of us.