Thursday, October 31, 2013
Sunday, October 27, 2013
Walking in the Fall
It's been a while since our last post. To update you, Jackson has been a great addition to the family. We have been walking regularly resulting in a happy dog and a healthier family.
Long walks have been a bit more difficult to accomplish lately. The days are shorter, eliminating morning and evening walks on week days for me (my wife still walks in the afternoon with Jack). On weekends, I try to push it a bit with at least three 2 to 3 mile walks (with occasional jogging). I try to increase the ratio of walking to jogging each time and generally, Jackson loves to jog along.
I'd like to keep going at a nice pace (for me, that's not real fast), but we now have a new seasonal obstacle - the Fall Leaves. It seems every pile of leaves is a new adventure to explore along the way. And I don't know how he has it in him (he's a little dog), but he seems to leave a "calling card" at every pile. And he's serious about these stops. He slams on the breaks as if each pile of leaves is a different experience from any of the prior ones.
At least in Fall, his "leave behinds" seem to disappear in the piles. When winter comes, I imagine, evidence will be much more colorful.
Update- Jackson has yet to start his "Master's Degree", but I hope new details about his start date will be available soon.
Long walks have been a bit more difficult to accomplish lately. The days are shorter, eliminating morning and evening walks on week days for me (my wife still walks in the afternoon with Jack). On weekends, I try to push it a bit with at least three 2 to 3 mile walks (with occasional jogging). I try to increase the ratio of walking to jogging each time and generally, Jackson loves to jog along.
I'd like to keep going at a nice pace (for me, that's not real fast), but we now have a new seasonal obstacle - the Fall Leaves. It seems every pile of leaves is a new adventure to explore along the way. And I don't know how he has it in him (he's a little dog), but he seems to leave a "calling card" at every pile. And he's serious about these stops. He slams on the breaks as if each pile of leaves is a different experience from any of the prior ones.At least in Fall, his "leave behinds" seem to disappear in the piles. When winter comes, I imagine, evidence will be much more colorful.
Update- Jackson has yet to start his "Master's Degree", but I hope new details about his start date will be available soon.
Sunday, August 4, 2013
Life Saver
It may be a stretch to say that the collision of our family and Jackson may have been a life saver, but let me try to explain it.
Recently, I found out that my brother was diagnosed with diabetes. Fortunately, he caught it earlier enough to where change of diet and some medication should keep it under control. But this disease is common on our mom's side of the family. So, I guess this news was not a huge surprise but a huge shock.
In my life, I have been lucky to come across some wonderful people who have had an influence on my life. There is no better way I could express it than quoting the lyrics from a song written for the musical "Wicked" called "For Good."
"Who can say if I've been changed for the better.
I do believe I have been changed for the better.
Because I knew you
Recently, I found out that my brother was diagnosed with diabetes. Fortunately, he caught it earlier enough to where change of diet and some medication should keep it under control. But this disease is common on our mom's side of the family. So, I guess this news was not a huge surprise but a huge shock.
In my life, I have been lucky to come across some wonderful people who have had an influence on my life. There is no better way I could express it than quoting the lyrics from a song written for the musical "Wicked" called "For Good."
"Who can say if I've been changed for the better.
I do believe I have been changed for the better.
I have been changed...
For good".
Music and lyrics were written by composer Stephen Schwartz
There has been no person who has entered my life who had influenced me that my sweet wife. And our kids are such a great influence on me too. My daughter, so talented and gifted, got physically fit in her 20s, became a vegetarian and has remained healthy and fit by exercising and diet for well over a decade. My son, so smart and funny, has been active for a while now, but recently had the strength of character to become fit. So he runs several times a week. My wonderful and brilliant wife has always been healthy. I used to be jealous of her that she could eat whatever she wanted and maintain her teenage like figure. In reality, she just eats right. Always has. She loves veggies, eats the right portions of healthy food. She seems to always know when to stop eating - even sweets.
When she heard about my brother, she took it upon herself to make sure I changed how and what I eat because she loves me and wants to keep me around for awhile. I just love her.
So what does any of this have to do with Jackson?
Our trainer at Petco always advocated that we take Jackson for walks in the morning and another in the afternoon - each for about an hour. My wife has been doing her part. Most days, she's walked with Jackson for at least a half hour or so.
I was off from work a few days a couple of weeks ago and no longer had any excuse not to walk with my wife and Jackson. And many days I have. I actually looked forward to doing so some mornings.
Jackson usually forgets his "loose leash" training until he starts to tire out. Then he walks the rest of the way without pulling too much.
Unfortunately, my wife's knee was acting up and didn't feel good enough to walk, so Jackson and I went on our own. I noticed that Jackson got use to the loose leash deal sooner. I listened to the music that I love on my shuffled playlist. The song I quoted before randomly played. Somehow, my mind shifted to deeply listening to these lyrics and thinking about those people in my life who have made me who I am...the people who were there when I needed them the most; my family, my friends and especially my wonderful wife.
I am very grateful and very blessed.
Happy Anniversary, Sweetie.
Happy Anniversary, Sweetie.
Monday, July 29, 2013
Friday, July 12, 2013
Favorite show
Recently, Jackson stopped in his tracks because something about the show on TV attracted him. He couldn't turn away.Jackson's favorite show
Saturday, June 1, 2013
Jackson, The Valedictorian
In addition to this nifty "diploma" (suitable for framing), he was given a great assortment from the Petco "Treat Bar".
This will surely go down as one his proudest days!
Saturday, May 25, 2013
Leave it
Our training sessions have been going very well. My daughter was visiting and came along last Saturday to both witness and participate in the session. The 3 main new behaviors we were there to learn were to walk on a leash without pulling, "wait" by the door until "okay" is said and "leave it" during a walk. So if I put the 3 things together, I'd attach his leash at the door and say "wait," say "okay" to proceed, then later go for a walk where he is walking at the same pace as me and tell him to "leave it" if he gets distracted during the walk.
Our trainer suggests a morning routine that begins with taking Jackson outside to "do his business" then taking a 1 hour walk, then feeding him. This routine would be repeated in the evening. It sounds like a wonderful plan - unless you normally can barely wake up at 6AM as it is. I'd have to get up at 5. RIght!
Of course, my wife, who gets up at least 15 minutes earlier than me and is on her feet all day, could easily fit this into her schedule. Right! Although, to her credit, if the day doesn't tire her out too much, she'll walk with Jack for a half hour or so in the afternoon.
At this point, we usually skip the long walk part and go right to feeding.
Now it's quite clear that an hours walk would do me and Jackson a lot of good. No question that kind of activity would get me the kind of condition like I was.....let's see how long ago it's been since them....well never, now that I think about it. But that's no reason why Jack can't get the exercise he needs. Maybe I'll try to train him to be like the dog from the Jetsons
Friday, May 17, 2013
Conquering Fear
When I was a kid about 100 years ago (or at least thats some times how it feels) I grew up in the Northwest corner of the Bronx called Riverdale.
We moved into a pre-World War II apartment complex that had a dozen or so individual buildings, each 6 floors and each with 5 apartments on a floor. We lived on the 5th floor, apartment 2. On the 4th floor of apartment 2 was a kid 6 months younger than me who had a terrier for a pet. I think it was a Welsh Terrier, but I could be wrong about that.
It seemed logical that we would become friends - best friends in fact. As best friends do when living right over and under each other, we'd go to each others place to play. Most of the time, he'd come to my apartment or we'd go to the playground. The thing was, I was very afraid of his dog - not just his - all dogs. I don't know the reason. There was probably a traumatic experience I had as a toddler that I can't remember, but I feared dogs.
When I'd ring his door bell, the dog would start barking. I hated that. The door would open and I'd walk in sideways with my hands up (like I was under arrest) until they controlled dog. Then I'd relax. The dog's name, by the way, was not politically incorrect at the time and I don't think the name represented any sexual preference of political view. I can't recall if the dog was male or female, but I do recall the dog's name was "Gay".
I don't remember the turning point or the what came over me, but one day, I went downstairs, rang the door bell and when it was answered, I immediately knelt down and started to hug and play with Gay - the dog. From that point on, Gay and I were best buds.
I don't recommend that if you are afraid of dogs that you should go up to the 1st Pitbull you see and try the same thing. In fact, the conquering of this fear did not really extend beyond this dog for quite awhile.
A few years later, my parents bought us a dog, but I'll leave that for another post.
It seemed logical that we would become friends - best friends in fact. As best friends do when living right over and under each other, we'd go to each others place to play. Most of the time, he'd come to my apartment or we'd go to the playground. The thing was, I was very afraid of his dog - not just his - all dogs. I don't know the reason. There was probably a traumatic experience I had as a toddler that I can't remember, but I feared dogs.
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| Welsh Terrier |
When I'd ring his door bell, the dog would start barking. I hated that. The door would open and I'd walk in sideways with my hands up (like I was under arrest) until they controlled dog. Then I'd relax. The dog's name, by the way, was not politically incorrect at the time and I don't think the name represented any sexual preference of political view. I can't recall if the dog was male or female, but I do recall the dog's name was "Gay".
I don't remember the turning point or the what came over me, but one day, I went downstairs, rang the door bell and when it was answered, I immediately knelt down and started to hug and play with Gay - the dog. From that point on, Gay and I were best buds.
I don't recommend that if you are afraid of dogs that you should go up to the 1st Pitbull you see and try the same thing. In fact, the conquering of this fear did not really extend beyond this dog for quite awhile.
A few years later, my parents bought us a dog, but I'll leave that for another post.
Thursday, May 16, 2013
Changes since last post
It's been almost a month since my last post and so much has changed.
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| Jackson, the guard dog |
We started our training classes 3 weeks ago. His trainer thinks he's really smart. I'm not totally sure what she thinks of me. I hope she thinks I can be trained too. We started with "sit" and "down", progressed on "come", but having some trouble with "leave it", not jumping on people and walking on a leash without pulling. It's all based on giving him a treat and praise when he does what is asked. He anticipates the treat and pretty much sits whenever he thinks he's going to get a treat.
I'll post after our next session and let you know if I've progressed. Jackson, he's teacher's pet- but only for an hour a week.
Friday, April 19, 2013
Wednesday, April 17, 2013
Saint Jackson
To say we lucked out with the dog we adopted is an understatement. To say we were blessed - well that might be a slight overstatement - but it's much closer to the truth.
My wife has been trying to train Jackson to go "into his house" (his crate). Anytime when "his people" are all out of the house or bedtime, he stays in "his house". He goes in fairly reluctantly, but he doesn't put up too much of a fuss.
Lately, we've noticed that during the day, when he needs a nap, he'll walk into his house voluntarily and nap, then come out when he's rested.
Now you may think this is no big deal. Most dogs have their own bed where they go to rest and sleep. But our experience with our last dog was not like that. Every time we'd give Ollie a bed or some kind of stuffed pillow to lie on , he'd rip it to sheds instead.
So, what happened last night seemed remarkable. It was time for bed. Jackson was semi-sleeping on the couch. I figured I'd carry him and put him in his crate. But as I got up, his head popped up. Instead, I called him to come with me into the kitchen. He followed me. I said "time to go to your house." He freely walked ahead of me and walked right into the crate. I think he would have latched himself in if the latch was on the inside of the door (and he had thumbs).
To us, this was amazing.
My wife has been trying to train Jackson to go "into his house" (his crate). Anytime when "his people" are all out of the house or bedtime, he stays in "his house". He goes in fairly reluctantly, but he doesn't put up too much of a fuss.
Lately, we've noticed that during the day, when he needs a nap, he'll walk into his house voluntarily and nap, then come out when he's rested.
So, what happened last night seemed remarkable. It was time for bed. Jackson was semi-sleeping on the couch. I figured I'd carry him and put him in his crate. But as I got up, his head popped up. Instead, I called him to come with me into the kitchen. He followed me. I said "time to go to your house." He freely walked ahead of me and walked right into the crate. I think he would have latched himself in if the latch was on the inside of the door (and he had thumbs).
To us, this was amazing.
Friday, April 12, 2013
Training
I downloaded an app from "Canine Academy" that helps you train a dog.
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| Sit, Jackson. Smile ! That's a good boy! |
We'd walk him for 20 minutes every hour or so. He'd say little "hellos" to ground cover, bushes, mailbox posts and trees along the way, but he can go for days without pooping.
At some random point, after being out all that time, he'd find a spot in the house when no one is looking and relieve himself. It's like he wants his privacy.
This part is baffling and makes it very difficult to develop a morning routine. We get up early enough and would like to feed him, take him out to do his business and go to work. But half the time, he's not yet on this program.
Now we don't know what Jackson's prior life was like. After all, he was rescued. Maybe he was mistreated when he had an accident or maybe people who were home-bound and couldn't get out much had him. He is crate trained for sure...he never messes up his crate.
So thinking like a human, I figured if he needs his privacy, we would have to find a way to let him be. We don't have a fenced yard, so I got a 40' nylon cable that I suspended about 6 feet off the ground (tall people, beware). His leash attaches to a wheel that rides this cable and he can go all over the backyard without us fearing he'd run away. Now we can feed him in the morning, hook his leash to this cable and give him some privacy while we get ready to go to work. It produces results.... about every other day.
I'm afraid someday, he might explode and that would not be pretty.
We bought a bottle of this stuff that is supposed to make him go where you spray it. Jackson completely ignored it.
My daughter was home last weekend and took him for a 2 mile walk before he finally "did his thing". I don't know if he understands the relationship between going out on his leash and the bathroom thing. I know it would be very healthy for us to go on 2 mile walks every morning, but we can't get up so early to do that and still get to work on time. My train is at 7AM.
I recently celebrated yet another birthday (they seem to happen more that once a year now - don't know how it could be) and my kids got me and Jack a double series of dog training lessons at the Petco nearby. I was told that their trainer has a great record of success.
As luck would have it, the ARF rescue van was in the Petco lot. I took Jackson over to visit and the people who remembered him were happy to see him. Jackson and I proceeded into Petco where our kids were signing us up. Of course, this is a very dog friendly environment. Dogs are all over the place. As we were exploring aisle 5, Jackson decides to leave Lake Erie behind. How embarrassing. Guess it just proves we signed up just in time.
So as we go through the lessons, I'll report on how it goes.
Final thoughts....don't touch anything on the lowest shelves of a pet store that welcomes dogs.
"Clean up on aisle 5"!
Tuesday, April 2, 2013
New recliner and first bark
A week before we got Jackson, we purchased a new recliner. Delivery was on March 16. To make sure Jackson didn't run out the door (not that he would), we put him in his crate as the delivery man knocked at the door. Nice, he was early. We let him in and inexplicably, Jackson started to bark.
What was it about this guy that unsettle Jackson? He didn't look particularly menacing. He wasn't a big kid. But he barked.
The only distinguishing feature was that he wore a baseball cap - a Yankee cap. It was clear that Jackson was not a Yankee fan. Why else would he bark.As soon as he left, Jackson stopped barking. Hmmm.
Thursday, March 28, 2013
What's in a name
It's Sunday, March 10 around 11AM. This dog and our family has bonded. He hasn't made a peep (a sound type peep) since we had him. He has made the other kind of peep in little spurts at every tree and mailbox we'd come across. But no sounds.
As a family, we had been grappling with determining a name for him since we got him. Everyone had an idea but no consensus. After all we live in democratic family. We had a million names tossed out from typical little dog names like Buddy to ferocious dog names like Spike and Killer to names memorializing dogs and people who have left us like my sister-in-laws late dog Rocky thinking we could keep up the Stallone naming franchise by calling him Rocky II or after my late dad (Hy didn't seem like a great name and Hyman was absolutely out).
Our son's favorite was Carmello since the Knicks were doing so well this year and it sounded a little like his color, but had luke-warm support within the family. We looked at other names that referred to his color like Rusty, Red, and Fire (couldn't call for your dog "Fire" without upsetting the neighbors). Apple had appeal from 2 standpoints - The color and the tech company our family was so firmly intrenched with. After all, he had a chip implanted in case he ran away. That made me think of names like Mac, iDog and iMutt. Mac received a few head nods but no serious consideration.
Our daughter suggested a couple of names from her favorite TV shows- Bates (from Downton Abbey) and Dexter. Most of us liked Bates, but Dexter (the story about a serial killing) was quickly vetoed by my wife. I later thought of Sextimus the Silent from "Once Upon A Mattress" but that probably wouldn't have gone over so well.
Having just gotten past the economic budget cuts referred to as the "Fiscal Cliff", our daughter imposed a deadline. If we didn't come up with a name in 1 hour, she was going to arbitrarily name him with a name so obscene that it would force us to reach a compromise. Our son called this "The Naming Cliff".
So now, down to serious business with a horrible result from not acting and not being willing to compromise. We tried ballots. Nothing. We tried writing our 5 top names each to see if we could reach a consciences. Only "Baxter" (kind of like "Dexter" but without the killing associated with Dexter) made everyone's list but at number 5. No one really liked it.
Why is a name so important? In an earlier post, I mentioned that our family's 1st dog was renamed "Ginger". When we got her at a year old, her prior owner named her "Shiksa", which in Yiddish is a derogatory name for a non-Jewish woman with loose morals. When we got her, we were living in San Antonio Texas perhaps 1 out a thousand people knew what that meant. We thought it was a funny name so we keep it. Later we moved to Las Cruces New Mexico where perhap 1 out a 10000 people might understand the meaning. Then we moved to Midland Texas where maybe 1 out a million might know it's meaning. So we saw no compelling reason to change it.
But then we moved to Barrington Rhode Island. Now the odds were perhaps 1 in 5 people would know what it meant and might be offended. We couldn't be yelling for "Shiksa" to come home without getting a bunch of stares. So we looked for names that were had a similar cadence and sound and came up with Ginger.
Being faced with this "Naming Cliff" now just a few minutes away, we forced ourselves to settle this. Somehow, a new candidate came to the surface. "Jackson". This made some sense. The dog was from the south, General Jackson was from the south. His tentative name was "Bo". Bo Jackson was a famous dual sport athlete (not that our dog knew how to play- upcoming post explains). But several of us still liked Bates.
We beat the "naming cliff" deadline. His new name....Jackson Bates.
As a family, we had been grappling with determining a name for him since we got him. Everyone had an idea but no consensus. After all we live in democratic family. We had a million names tossed out from typical little dog names like Buddy to ferocious dog names like Spike and Killer to names memorializing dogs and people who have left us like my sister-in-laws late dog Rocky thinking we could keep up the Stallone naming franchise by calling him Rocky II or after my late dad (Hy didn't seem like a great name and Hyman was absolutely out).Our son's favorite was Carmello since the Knicks were doing so well this year and it sounded a little like his color, but had luke-warm support within the family. We looked at other names that referred to his color like Rusty, Red, and Fire (couldn't call for your dog "Fire" without upsetting the neighbors). Apple had appeal from 2 standpoints - The color and the tech company our family was so firmly intrenched with. After all, he had a chip implanted in case he ran away. That made me think of names like Mac, iDog and iMutt. Mac received a few head nods but no serious consideration.
Our daughter suggested a couple of names from her favorite TV shows- Bates (from Downton Abbey) and Dexter. Most of us liked Bates, but Dexter (the story about a serial killing) was quickly vetoed by my wife. I later thought of Sextimus the Silent from "Once Upon A Mattress" but that probably wouldn't have gone over so well.
Having just gotten past the economic budget cuts referred to as the "Fiscal Cliff", our daughter imposed a deadline. If we didn't come up with a name in 1 hour, she was going to arbitrarily name him with a name so obscene that it would force us to reach a compromise. Our son called this "The Naming Cliff".
So now, down to serious business with a horrible result from not acting and not being willing to compromise. We tried ballots. Nothing. We tried writing our 5 top names each to see if we could reach a consciences. Only "Baxter" (kind of like "Dexter" but without the killing associated with Dexter) made everyone's list but at number 5. No one really liked it.
Why is a name so important? In an earlier post, I mentioned that our family's 1st dog was renamed "Ginger". When we got her at a year old, her prior owner named her "Shiksa", which in Yiddish is a derogatory name for a non-Jewish woman with loose morals. When we got her, we were living in San Antonio Texas perhaps 1 out a thousand people knew what that meant. We thought it was a funny name so we keep it. Later we moved to Las Cruces New Mexico where perhap 1 out a 10000 people might understand the meaning. Then we moved to Midland Texas where maybe 1 out a million might know it's meaning. So we saw no compelling reason to change it.
But then we moved to Barrington Rhode Island. Now the odds were perhaps 1 in 5 people would know what it meant and might be offended. We couldn't be yelling for "Shiksa" to come home without getting a bunch of stares. So we looked for names that were had a similar cadence and sound and came up with Ginger.Being faced with this "Naming Cliff" now just a few minutes away, we forced ourselves to settle this. Somehow, a new candidate came to the surface. "Jackson". This made some sense. The dog was from the south, General Jackson was from the south. His tentative name was "Bo". Bo Jackson was a famous dual sport athlete (not that our dog knew how to play- upcoming post explains). But several of us still liked Bates.
We beat the "naming cliff" deadline. His new name....Jackson Bates.
Monday, March 25, 2013
SURPRISE!
Our daughter is real pet lover. She lives about 250 miles away, so we don't get to see her that often. She has been challenging us to get a new pet since Ollie died.
As luck would have it, she was coming to visit that very same evening. Our son was going to pick her up in the city. We all decided not to tell her about our new addition so we could see her reaction. Our hope was that our son would not have that "smirky" expression raising questions on their ride home. She's pretty sharp about picking up on those "tells". Our son naturally has a "cat ate the bird" expression whenever he's trying to keep a secret.
At 8PM, they were home. I was in the family room with "Whatshisname" in our old broken recliner waiting for her to say hi. When she saw this dog, she screamed both in shock and glee. Shock because "Whatshisname" and Ollie (and "Ginger" too) are/were of the same size and general color. She thought Ollie came back from the dead. Glee because she really wanted us to get a dog (don't exactly know why unless it's some kind of payback for something we did to her when she was growing up).
"Whatshisname" had been ours for 6 hours by then. Everyone immediately fell in love with him. He hadn't made a peep during all that time. I wondered if he was unable to bark (wouldn't that be great)! You could tell he felt he was at home already as he explored his new digs.
But what were we going to name him?
Stay tuned.....
As luck would have it, she was coming to visit that very same evening. Our son was going to pick her up in the city. We all decided not to tell her about our new addition so we could see her reaction. Our hope was that our son would not have that "smirky" expression raising questions on their ride home. She's pretty sharp about picking up on those "tells". Our son naturally has a "cat ate the bird" expression whenever he's trying to keep a secret.
At 8PM, they were home. I was in the family room with "Whatshisname" in our old broken recliner waiting for her to say hi. When she saw this dog, she screamed both in shock and glee. Shock because "Whatshisname" and Ollie (and "Ginger" too) are/were of the same size and general color. She thought Ollie came back from the dead. Glee because she really wanted us to get a dog (don't exactly know why unless it's some kind of payback for something we did to her when she was growing up).
"Whatshisname" had been ours for 6 hours by then. Everyone immediately fell in love with him. He hadn't made a peep during all that time. I wondered if he was unable to bark (wouldn't that be great)! You could tell he felt he was at home already as he explored his new digs.
But what were we going to name him?
Stay tuned.....
Friday, March 22, 2013
Were we out of our minds?
When I woke up on March 9, I had no clue what was in store. For over a year, our kids would tease us about surprising us with new dog. "Oh no," we'd say. We had the freedom to go wherever we wanted to, whenever we wanted to, without making arrangements for the care of a dog (not that we often went anywhere, but now we had the freedom to do so). No early morning or after dark in the rain or snow dog walking, no more waiting and waiting for the a dog to do his business. No more expensive dog food. No more beauty parlor appointments to have the dog groomed, no more furniture destruction. NONE OF THAT! In fact, the closest we'd come to considering one was when we saw the cutest little rescue dog on a local Sunday morning news show segment called "Furry Friend" that featured a couple of pets each week. We'd get pulled in - then look at each other - and just say "No way".
It was late morning when my wife and I went to do our typical Saturday errands - food shopping, cleaners, etc.
The supermarket we went to shared a parking lot with Petco. I had no interest in food shopping. So I dropped my wife off and drove to another center a few blocks away to the dry cleaners. As it so happened, there was an Animal Rescue van in the parking lot. When I returned, I got bored listening to how bad the Mets were going to be this year, so I found my way over to the van...just to see....pass a little time.....that's all.
As I timidly approached, one of the volunteers was exiting the van with a Beagle mix on his leash. The dog was very sweet but beagles have a reputation of being barkers. That's not for us. Ollie was a barker. We like quiet. But I was invited in to see the other rescue dogs and cats that were in the van.
In the first cage, I came across a Terrier Mix. He was a little over a year old and as cute as a button. He was so friendly. I was asked if I wanted to take him out of his cage. Reluctantly, I said yes. I held him for a while then was asked if I wanted to take him out of the van for a walk. Ok. So we left the van.
We took a stroll in the parking lot and I was sure I was going to show him off to my wife. Trying to be cool, but excited inside, I brought Elroy back to the van and told the volunteer I'd be back.
I found my wife in the back of the supermarket. She was surprised that I would even consider the idea of another pet. I told her there were actually 3 or 4 dogs that we might consider. So, after leaving the supermarket we went to the van to take a peek. Elroy was in the 1st cage so I pointed him out right away. She noticed how cute and friendly he was. She also noticed he was a little perkier than we wanted. We tried perky - it didn't work for us.
In the next cage, there was a similar dog, estimated to be about 1 year old, a rescue from Alabama. He was a reddish tan terrier mix with a little white whisk at the top of his head. He had an underbite. They called him Bo.
He didn't make a sound.
He hardly moved. We took him out of his cage. He was very sweet.
We made the mistake of having hyper dogs. Bo seemed nearly lifeless. Yes. This seemed perfect. But were we really ready to try this again? The ARF people suggested we take an hour to make our decision.
We went home and asked our son what we should do. He has very good instincts and he would surely let us know if were out of our minds.
First, he didn't believe that we'd consider another dog. Then, he was very excited that we might. We all went back to the van to take another look and decide.
We were not completely sure what to do. So how did we decide?
It was late morning when my wife and I went to do our typical Saturday errands - food shopping, cleaners, etc.
The supermarket we went to shared a parking lot with Petco. I had no interest in food shopping. So I dropped my wife off and drove to another center a few blocks away to the dry cleaners. As it so happened, there was an Animal Rescue van in the parking lot. When I returned, I got bored listening to how bad the Mets were going to be this year, so I found my way over to the van...just to see....pass a little time.....that's all.
As I timidly approached, one of the volunteers was exiting the van with a Beagle mix on his leash. The dog was very sweet but beagles have a reputation of being barkers. That's not for us. Ollie was a barker. We like quiet. But I was invited in to see the other rescue dogs and cats that were in the van.
In the first cage, I came across a Terrier Mix. He was a little over a year old and as cute as a button. He was so friendly. I was asked if I wanted to take him out of his cage. Reluctantly, I said yes. I held him for a while then was asked if I wanted to take him out of the van for a walk. Ok. So we left the van.
We took a stroll in the parking lot and I was sure I was going to show him off to my wife. Trying to be cool, but excited inside, I brought Elroy back to the van and told the volunteer I'd be back.
I found my wife in the back of the supermarket. She was surprised that I would even consider the idea of another pet. I told her there were actually 3 or 4 dogs that we might consider. So, after leaving the supermarket we went to the van to take a peek. Elroy was in the 1st cage so I pointed him out right away. She noticed how cute and friendly he was. She also noticed he was a little perkier than we wanted. We tried perky - it didn't work for us.
In the next cage, there was a similar dog, estimated to be about 1 year old, a rescue from Alabama. He was a reddish tan terrier mix with a little white whisk at the top of his head. He had an underbite. They called him Bo.
He didn't make a sound.
He hardly moved. We took him out of his cage. He was very sweet.
We made the mistake of having hyper dogs. Bo seemed nearly lifeless. Yes. This seemed perfect. But were we really ready to try this again? The ARF people suggested we take an hour to make our decision.
We went home and asked our son what we should do. He has very good instincts and he would surely let us know if were out of our minds.
 |
| Whatshisname, our new attempt to be successful dog owners |
We were not completely sure what to do. So how did we decide?
- Obviously, we seemed to think if we found the right dog, we wanted to have one.
- Is the third time the charm?
- We choose lively dogs in the past, this one seemed timid.
- This dog ate regular supermarket dog food.
- He wasn't a puppy.
- Not likely to shed much.
- This is a charitable act and we felt good about adopting.
So we collectively took deep breaths and agreed to adopt the dog formerly known as Bo. But Bo sounded too much like No and if we decided to do this again, we were going to have a trained dog somehow. It turned out that Bo was just the name the Animal Rescue gave him. They didn't really know his name, so we could name him whatever we liked.
We drove home. He didn't throw up. I guess he wasn't nervous.
Next - "Surprise". Stay tuned....
We drove home. He didn't throw up. I guess he wasn't nervous.
Next - "Surprise". Stay tuned....
Tuesday, March 19, 2013
My very own chair
I don't consider myself a selfish person. I believe I am considerate of others and, for the most part, am willing to give more than what I wish or expect in return.
In my life, I'd never had a recliner. A recliner symbolizes "your spot" in "your home". It is rarely to be shared. Everyone knows who sits in the recliner.
When we moved to Long Island, we needed some new furniture. We bought a new bedroom set replacing the one we bought 20 years earlier. We needed a new kitchen table, some living room furniture and, for the first time, this new house of ours had a family room.
So we drove to the nearly Seamen's Furniture store looking for some pieces and saw a tan leather recliner as a floor sample. It was post Ginger and we didn't really think we were going to get another dog, so we had no reason to think it would be abused.
For years, sitting in that chair was like going to a totally different place in my mind. Add a remote--heaven.
Then came Ollie.
When he took over, that became his chair. Yes, he let me share it but when he was home alone, it was his spot. But Ollie loved to lick the leather and scratch at the cushion and over time, the area he scratched started to wear away. Eventually, holes replaces the worn areas and this little spot of solitude became an embarrassment.
We knew we needed to replace the chair but while we had Ollie, there was no reason to do that.
We kept that chair for a full year after Ollie passed challenging ourselves to find a new recliner but hoping it would somehow magically appear. We weren't looking for one, we just wished we had one. This past Christmas, I received some universal gift cards and we decided it would go towards a replacement chair.
We started looking on New Years day but weren't convinced we saw anything we liked enough at the right price. In early March, we looked at that old recliner and made the decision we had to get rid of the old chair. It was beginning to lean to the right (not my political position) and just looked horrible.
So that weekend, we were committed to find the chair. At the price we wanted to pay (somewhere between free and cheap), we found a few chairs that we liked but weren't the right color or were too "man cave" type (built-in cup holders and coolers). My wife also notice one thing in common with inexpensive recliners-- their feet. They all had these cheap feet. Not like the feet on regular furniture.
So using that as our "quality" standard, we restarted our search for inexpensive recliners without cheap feet.
As we were about to give up our search for the day, we decided to look at one more store - Macy's Furniture Center. Most of their recliners were priced higher than we wanted to spend. But just as we were about to give up, we saw it....an inexpensive recliner without cheap feet. We scheduled delivery for March 16.
In my life, I'd never had a recliner. A recliner symbolizes "your spot" in "your home". It is rarely to be shared. Everyone knows who sits in the recliner.
When we moved to Long Island, we needed some new furniture. We bought a new bedroom set replacing the one we bought 20 years earlier. We needed a new kitchen table, some living room furniture and, for the first time, this new house of ours had a family room.
So we drove to the nearly Seamen's Furniture store looking for some pieces and saw a tan leather recliner as a floor sample. It was post Ginger and we didn't really think we were going to get another dog, so we had no reason to think it would be abused.
For years, sitting in that chair was like going to a totally different place in my mind. Add a remote--heaven.
Then came Ollie.
When he took over, that became his chair. Yes, he let me share it but when he was home alone, it was his spot. But Ollie loved to lick the leather and scratch at the cushion and over time, the area he scratched started to wear away. Eventually, holes replaces the worn areas and this little spot of solitude became an embarrassment.
We knew we needed to replace the chair but while we had Ollie, there was no reason to do that.
We kept that chair for a full year after Ollie passed challenging ourselves to find a new recliner but hoping it would somehow magically appear. We weren't looking for one, we just wished we had one. This past Christmas, I received some universal gift cards and we decided it would go towards a replacement chair.
We started looking on New Years day but weren't convinced we saw anything we liked enough at the right price. In early March, we looked at that old recliner and made the decision we had to get rid of the old chair. It was beginning to lean to the right (not my political position) and just looked horrible.
So using that as our "quality" standard, we restarted our search for inexpensive recliners without cheap feet.
As we were about to give up our search for the day, we decided to look at one more store - Macy's Furniture Center. Most of their recliners were priced higher than we wanted to spend. But just as we were about to give up, we saw it....an inexpensive recliner without cheap feet. We scheduled delivery for March 16.
Sunday, March 17, 2013
Our history as dog owners
By way of background, animals and us - well we tolerate each other.
Our family has had 2 dogs - each for over 10 years.
Our first one was given to us by a colleague when our daughter was just 4. My friend travelled too frequently to keep her 1 year old dog and wondered if we would like to have her Pekepoo. The next day, we all went over to see if it could be a good match (like there was any chance an adorable 4 year old and an adorable little dog weren't going home together). On our trip home, she threw up in the car - I guess she was nervous.
We were living in San Antonio at the time. The dog's name was.....well 2 years later the dog's name became Ginger. She was spunky and very lovable but she shed her hair like the leaves from the trees fall in late October. We discovered that some of our family was quite allergic to her. So Ginger was confined to areas where shedding could be controlled. But by doing this, she became more of a border than a family pet most of the time.
When she passed on, we decided that maybe we were not "dog people". We went years without one and really didn't feel like we wanted to get another.
Meanwhile, my wife's sister and brother both had dogs - multiple dogs. They'd get on the floor and play with them enjoying them more than people. They loved being licked and didn't mind where their dogs were in the house. My brother in law's dog was well trained. My sister in law's dogs were...let say they were more free spirits. But in that house, the dogs ruled.
One weekend in August 2001, our nephew came to visit for a few days and somehow got us thinking about becoming dog owners again. I insisted that if we were to consider this again, it would have to be a hypoallergenic breed that we could train so he could be part of the family. No gates, no barriers - just a fun and loving family pet.
After some research, we decided on a Miniature Poodle. They have hair instead of fur and don't shed. We found a breeder nearby and went to visit. She had a few of the cutest little puppies to meet. The first one was very shy and hardly moved much at all. The second one was very playful and seemed to be full of personality. We decided to have lunch and discuss our options.
So we went to a nearby Olive Garden and discussed what to do. I voted that if we were going do this, we should choose the more lively one. Ultimately, we convinced ourselves that - yes - we could be a dog family and chose the "spunky" one. Deciding on a name was easy. It would be "Ollie".
We went back to the breeder and got Ollie. He threw up on the way home in the car - I guess he was nervous.
Paying for a AKC mini poodle was only a portion of what we had to pay. There were all those dog things. A crate, food, toys, leash, collar, treats and all those vet bills.
We had no idea what to expect when we got home, but Ollie was probably just a typical puppy. But we'd never raised a puppy. He was a pooping machine - in the crate, out of the crate - everywhere but outside. He seemed defiant - like he'd intentionally pee on the rug in front of us but would wait till he had our attention before doing so. Oh what did we do.
We paid money to dog trainers and classes. We bought books. Don't get me wrong, he was very cute and could be very lovable but he was always trying to get the upper hand. He'd steal slices of pizza, jumped in the middle of a dining table and eat what ever was there, tear up napkins, dig holes in and lick to soaking our fabric furniture. Of course, he had a digestion problem and required special canned dog food only available through the vet ($$$$). That prevented him from being borded just anywhere. Every 6 weeks, he had a standing grooming appointment.
He ran away a couple of times and we actually hesitated trying to get him back. But we did feel responsible for him and would always find him.
We set up gates and barriers to confine him to a couple of rooms - not what we hoped for. One night, after he was a few years old, my wife and I went out leaving Ollie protected by gates. It was Mother's Day. When we got home several hours later, we were unexpectedly greeted by him at our front door. He had knocked down one of the gates. So we did our snooping to see what was destroyed. To our amazement, we found nothing damaged. No accidents. Wow, did he turn a corner? Did we misjudge his obedience?
As my wife got into bed, she felt extreme dampness. Oh no! Ollie marked that side of our bed as his territory. This was on top of him peeing on her foot one time while she was on the phone.
So we continued barricading a couple of rooms where he couldn't much more damage or where there was vinyl flooring until one morning, inexplicably, he was gasping and panting. It was obvious (even to us) that something was wrong. The only 24 hour emergency vet was about 15 minutes away. I drove over as I could hear him struggling to breathe. But when I got to the vet's, he was lifeless. it was too late.
We thought that would be the end of us and dogs.
Our family has had 2 dogs - each for over 10 years.
Our first one was given to us by a colleague when our daughter was just 4. My friend travelled too frequently to keep her 1 year old dog and wondered if we would like to have her Pekepoo. The next day, we all went over to see if it could be a good match (like there was any chance an adorable 4 year old and an adorable little dog weren't going home together). On our trip home, she threw up in the car - I guess she was nervous.
 |
| Our 1st Dog a.k.a."Ginger" |
We were living in San Antonio at the time. The dog's name was.....well 2 years later the dog's name became Ginger. She was spunky and very lovable but she shed her hair like the leaves from the trees fall in late October. We discovered that some of our family was quite allergic to her. So Ginger was confined to areas where shedding could be controlled. But by doing this, she became more of a border than a family pet most of the time.
When she passed on, we decided that maybe we were not "dog people". We went years without one and really didn't feel like we wanted to get another.
Meanwhile, my wife's sister and brother both had dogs - multiple dogs. They'd get on the floor and play with them enjoying them more than people. They loved being licked and didn't mind where their dogs were in the house. My brother in law's dog was well trained. My sister in law's dogs were...let say they were more free spirits. But in that house, the dogs ruled.
One weekend in August 2001, our nephew came to visit for a few days and somehow got us thinking about becoming dog owners again. I insisted that if we were to consider this again, it would have to be a hypoallergenic breed that we could train so he could be part of the family. No gates, no barriers - just a fun and loving family pet.
After some research, we decided on a Miniature Poodle. They have hair instead of fur and don't shed. We found a breeder nearby and went to visit. She had a few of the cutest little puppies to meet. The first one was very shy and hardly moved much at all. The second one was very playful and seemed to be full of personality. We decided to have lunch and discuss our options.
So we went to a nearby Olive Garden and discussed what to do. I voted that if we were going do this, we should choose the more lively one. Ultimately, we convinced ourselves that - yes - we could be a dog family and chose the "spunky" one. Deciding on a name was easy. It would be "Ollie".
We went back to the breeder and got Ollie. He threw up on the way home in the car - I guess he was nervous.
Paying for a AKC mini poodle was only a portion of what we had to pay. There were all those dog things. A crate, food, toys, leash, collar, treats and all those vet bills.
We had no idea what to expect when we got home, but Ollie was probably just a typical puppy. But we'd never raised a puppy. He was a pooping machine - in the crate, out of the crate - everywhere but outside. He seemed defiant - like he'd intentionally pee on the rug in front of us but would wait till he had our attention before doing so. Oh what did we do.
We paid money to dog trainers and classes. We bought books. Don't get me wrong, he was very cute and could be very lovable but he was always trying to get the upper hand. He'd steal slices of pizza, jumped in the middle of a dining table and eat what ever was there, tear up napkins, dig holes in and lick to soaking our fabric furniture. Of course, he had a digestion problem and required special canned dog food only available through the vet ($$$$). That prevented him from being borded just anywhere. Every 6 weeks, he had a standing grooming appointment.
He ran away a couple of times and we actually hesitated trying to get him back. But we did feel responsible for him and would always find him.
 |
| Ollie |
As my wife got into bed, she felt extreme dampness. Oh no! Ollie marked that side of our bed as his territory. This was on top of him peeing on her foot one time while she was on the phone.
So we continued barricading a couple of rooms where he couldn't much more damage or where there was vinyl flooring until one morning, inexplicably, he was gasping and panting. It was obvious (even to us) that something was wrong. The only 24 hour emergency vet was about 15 minutes away. I drove over as I could hear him struggling to breathe. But when I got to the vet's, he was lifeless. it was too late.
We thought that would be the end of us and dogs.
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