If Dogs Could Talk

This evening I came to bed at 11:30PM to find that I was going to have a sleeping companion.  Finnegan had gone to bed with Zack at 8:45PM and curled up right beside his boy.  The other pup - Lex - who I am starting to call "old man" because he is starting to act like he is an old man, didn't make himself available to go to bed with Zack tonight.  While Finnegan usually can't wait to go to bed with Zack, Lex is more particular and tends to find someplace quiet to sleep in the house.  As a result, to get him to sleep with Zack, I normally have to call and scream for him.  Tonight I decided he could stay where ever he was.

After Zack went to bed, I went back downstairs to do some additional work and then watch TV.  I did keep any track of Lex.  But as I entered my room in total darkness except from the glow of my laptop as I carried it upstairs with me, I knew there was a puppy in my room.  I could hear Lexie softly snoring as I entered the room.  Sure enough, once I turned the light on I found him lying the entire way across my bed.  Needless to say I needed to re-arrange him so I could actual get into the bed and assume my normal sleeping place.

As I plopped down on the bed I started to wonder if each of the dogs could say just one word, what would it be.  I thought about this for 30 seconds and I knew exactly what Finnegan would say.  His word was so obvious it really didn't take any thought.  Finn's word would be - Love.  There seems to be very little other than love that drives and inspires Finnegan.  Though I have owned dogs for almost my entire life I have never met a dog that so seeks out love more than Finn.  He craves love and he wants to give love.  It is as if he really understands how mistreated he had been as a puppy and just wants everyone to know how grateful he is for getting a good home and a chance at life.

The story of Finnegan's early life is not a pretty story.  I am not sure if I have mentioned it here in the blog before or not.  Finn's entire litter was abandoned, basically thrown out like trash.  Some very nice person rescued the pups and took them to the Max Fund, a no-kill shelter in Denver.  Though because they were so cute those puppies would have been adopted anywhere.  For whatever reason Finn seems to sense what his original fate was and now appreciates every second of life.  His ability to display love and receive affection is remarkable.  So I am pretty sure if he could say one word it would be love.

Now as for Lex, that is a much harder story to tell and a much harder effort to figure out his word.  As I think about it I think his word would be his name.  He would just say "Lex".  I think this because he is such a unique dog.  I have never met a dog that has such a unique personality as does Lex.  He can be very loving and affectionate, but at the same time he is aloof and likes to go his own way.  There are very few words that can describe him as he is totally his own character.  So I really think his word, said with a little bit of snobbishness to his voice would be "Lex".  No other way to put it than that.

The puppy who we lost back in July of 2010 was named Bailey.  His word if would have been fun.  Bailey was all about having a ball or a frisbee in his mouth.  He lived to be a dog's dog and to have fun.  This may sound a bit funny but he took being a dog very seriously and was so strong.  But his goal in life was to have fun - to chase the birds, to catch a ball, to go swimming in a river - that's what Bailey was all about!

I love each and every dog I have ever had.  Life just won't be life with out these beautiful souls in my life.  If you have dogs stop and take a look at them.  Try and imagine what one word they would say if they could say a word.  It's a fun exercise and makes you think of what the essence of your pup is.

With that four-legged thought for the evening I will leave you.  Though I know so few of my readers like to leave comments, if you have a dog and can think of what word it would say if it could say one word, leave a comment and explain what they would say.  I'd love to hear what you all have to say.

Thanks and peace to all! ~J.

The Art of Dancing in the Desert – Or Why Some People Will Think I am a Moron

The title of today’s post does have a meaning. Anyone who reads books about dogs might recognize it as a rip off the book call “The Art of Racing in the Rain”. I just got this book from the library today but because of the subject matter I thought it was apropos title for today’s post. The inside jacket of the “Art of Racing in the Rain” describes the book in this manner. “Enzo knows he is different from other dogs: a philosopher with a nearly human soul (and an obsession with opposable thumbs), he has educated himself by watching television extensively, and by listening very closely to the words of his master , Denny Swift, an up-and-coming race car driver.” “On the eve of his death, Enzo takes stock of his life, recalling all that he and his family have been through: the sacrifices Denny has made to succeed professionally; the unexpected loss of Eve, Denny’s wife; the three year battle over Zoe, whose maternal grandparents pulled every string to gain custody. In the end despite what he sees as his own limitations, Enzo come through heroically to preserve the Swift family, holding in his heart the dream that Denny will become a racing champion with Zoe at his side. Having learned what it takes to be a compassionate and successful person, the wise canine can barely wait until his next lifetime, when he is sure to return as a man.” So why would I rip this topic off – because I am just spending a lot of time thinking of my precious Bailey. I know I have written about him several times before, but given how close we are getting to his 13th birthday, I am realizing how I have been blessed to have this wonderful soul in my life. Though Bailey can’t talk the way that Enzo can in the book he is still a font of wisdom and knowledge. As you look upon his countenance you can see the wisdom and experience in his eyes and his demeanor. You can see the wisdom in the way that he carries himself. It is hard to believe that Bailey has been part of my life for so long. Though he was born on May 15, 1996 – he came to be in our home on July 12, 1996 when he was 8 weeks old. So he has been part of my immediate family longer than any living person. He has been a joy to have and a constant companion. There is so much more I could say – but I have already said it so many times. I love my Bailey! Now – why would people think that I am a moron? Well – I decided that I am going to have a little party for Bailey on Friday – his birthday. So I found a pet store – Pet Outfitters at the corner of Holly and Orchard that sells birthday cakes for dogs. Yes – you got it – I ordered a birthday cake for Bay. With any luck I’ll be able to have some of his puppy friends over to celebrate on Friday. I know Bailey has no conception that it is his birthday – but I just want him to be as happy as a puppy can be because he has earned it. Thirteen years old – it is a remarkably age for a dog his size! Keep in mind that is 91 years in dog years! Our day has been busy as usual. There was lots of work for me to do. This week Zack is going to Sylvan on Tuesday and Wednesday so he went to WCCK today after school. I got the opportunity to go and meet a friend for a coffee break this afternoon at Starbucks. It was really good to get out of the house. Sometimes working from home can be so isolating! This evening Zack and I managed to get Nancy to go out to dinner with us at the local TGI Fridays. That was good as it has been a long time since I managed to convince her to go out with us. Late this evening I spent a bunch of time working in the back yard putting down top soil and grass seed. I have a fair number of dead spots in the yard because the watering was patchy last year. So I am taking advantage of this cool and wet weather to try and get the yard back in shape. We hope everyone’s week is off to a good start. Thanks and peace to all! – J.

The Lives of Dogs

There is the old saying that “people never know what their dogs do when they are at work”. Being a person who works from home I disagree with this statement. I really do know what my dogs do. I thought of this statement today as I watched my “pups” lounge around all day in the living room. My dogs live the good life! They have no responsibilities. They are fed promptly on time every day. They get to do what they want pretty much whenever they want. They force me and Zack to do their bidding – let them out, give them treats, get them water etc. If we don’t get them what they want they start barking at us and won’t stop until we do their bidding. Yeah – they have good lives! Everyday I spend a bunch of time petting and playing with the “boys” (i.e. Bay and Lex). After I take Zack to school I come home and immediately jump into my daily conference calls. Every day around 8:30AM or so, Bailey comes wandering out to me with a toy in his mouth. He wants me to play with him. He will be insistent and continue to nudge me with his muzzle until I give in and start playing him. Forget about the idea of ignoring him as he won’t let me. If I do ignore him there will be hell to pay as he will get pissed off and start doing something naughty. Lex on the other hand loves to go out early in the morning and bark at anything that moves or anything that makes any kind of noise. Once his barkfest is done he needs to come into the house and have some water and then retire to my bedroom for his mid-morning nap. He is so fun as he doesn’t care what anyone is doing he just wants to get upstairs and sprawl out all over my bed. After a while I will wander upstairs to visit with him and he will treat me like he is some king and I am his supplicant. He will only acknowledge me if I do something for him – like rub his ears or scratch his neck. After the morning nap and play period is over, the dogs will normally go outside with Nancy when she goes out for a cigarette. Once they come in from this excursion, they will begin to sun themselves in the living room. They each have their designated position and the order cannot be broken. Bailey must get the leather chair so that he has a great view out into the street. Lex being the younger of the two takes what could be viewed as a secondary position on the big couch. Personally I think Lex prefers this position. Though it doesn’t give him the great view of the outside – I think he loves the comfort of the soft couch. I guess what it all comes down to is that the dogs are really in charge. We people have little say as to what goes on, the pups are treating us like puppets and pulling all the strings. Yep – my dogs have the life!

(Lex on his throne in the living room.)

(Bay on the big leather chair.) On another note - something I have noted about my writing recently is that I really need to edit and re-edit each one of my blog entries. Today I went back and read through many of my blog entries that I have written throughout the last several weeks. I was mortified with what I read! I had so many missing words and incorrect words it was ridiculous. For example – I should have used “an” but instead I had and. It wasn’t that I didn’t know to us “an” it was that I was just typing so stinking fast that I screwed up. I hate when I do that! Please feel free to call me on all of my screw ups as I would love to go back and correct them. I am not asking you guys to be my editors, but just asking you to make fun of me enough that I will improve my own editing. Please be merciless in the e-mails that you send me because I need to write and edit better. The day was relatively low-key. Nothing particularly special went on during the day. Zack had school and I had work. After school Zack went to WCCK. He appeared to have a good time and he at least came home with all of his homework done. I did have one fun activity today in the fact that I spent a bunch of time IM’ing with a buddy of mine in Costa Rica – Ruben. Ruben is one of the most intellectual people I know. He always is reading at least one very intense book if not two. He has a collection of great quotes that he throws out. Including this one from today… “If a man is offered a fact which goes against his instincts, he will scrutinize it closely, and unless the evidence is overwhelming, he will refuse to believe it. If, on the other hand, he is offered something which affords a reason for acting in accordance to his instincts, he will accept it even on the slightest evidence. The origin of myths is explained in this way.” - Bertrand Russell. We had a great conversation and I ended up laughing my ass off. Ruben has that effect on me – he is just a great friend and a good guy. He is coming to the US (New York City) in September and hopefully I will be able to get back to the east coast to hang out with him for a couple of days. If not, I am considering doing Thanksgiving in Costa Rica this year. I am sure Zack would love that! Anyway … we hope everyone had a great day! Thanks and peace to all! 6:45AM Wednesday morning: Just thought I would add some additional commentary about the dogs. My alarms (yes - that is right plural - I need 2 alarms to get my ass out of bed) go off at 6:30AM. Once those alarms go off, the doggies know that I owe them food. It was very funny this morning as Lex decided it would be appropriate to stand on the floor right next to the bed and then jump and put his front paws on my face. Nice way to get the day started - dog paws in your face! I am used to doggie abuse in the early morning as both Lex and Bay think it is their god-given right to come up along side me and continuously nudge me with their muzzles. Though I am complaining about it here on this blog, I won't want to start my mornings any other way! Have a great Wednesday! - J

The Bay-Boo

This morning I was sitting here at the kitchen table beginning the first of something like 9 different conference calls, when the old man of the family came waltzing up to me. He wanted to have his ears scratched. After I rubbed and scratched his ears for a while he plunked down on the floor and put his big ole head right on my feet. I am talking about my Bailey. He is one of the most fantastic dogs in the world! I have had Bailey since July 12, 1996. I remember the day that I got that little puppy like it was yesterday! It was a Friday and I really had no intention of bringing home a dog that day. Little did I know that Patty had the intention of bringing home a dog! We had looked in the Denver Post and found a family that was selling a litter of chocolate Labrador retrievers. Patty had been dead set on getting a chocolate lab because she was in love with Tim and Celinde’s chocolate lab – Jake. The family with this litter of puppies was located in Brighton, Colorado. This was before Brighton had become the little boom town that it is today. Back then it was just a bunch of small little farms located out on the prairie. We went to this place on an early Friday evening after a long day of work for the both of us. It was a small little farm without much around. There were like 15 little puppies running around the place. It was insane. We got to meet the mamma puppy and she looked to be in good shape. She was a little on the old side – 8 years old - to have as large of a litter as she had but all the puppies appeared to be healthy.

(Bay as a young pup on a hike in Deer Creek Canyon)

After looking around for awhile we sat down to play with the puppies. The moment we sat down the decision as to what puppy we were going to get was made. The puppy that was to become Bailey made the decision for us. When we sat down on the ground all of the puppies swarmed around us. One puppy literally fought his way into Patty’s lap. No matter what any other puppy did, the puppy would not leave Patty’s lap. It was like he claimed her for his own – he just won’t move! Though he had been running around like a fiend the moment before and was biting and pawing everything, he was sitting there in Patty’s lap all calm and sedate. Well – you can guess the effect this had on Patty. That puppy was to be our dog. I was very nervous about taking the puppy home that night, but Patty would have none of it. She didn’t want this puppy to be confused with another puppy – even through they put fingernail polish on his toenail. So we ended up bring this little 8 pound chocolate lab home with us that night. Though he was all happy in Patty’s lap he was not a happy camper about leaving his home. He crawled in to the back seat of the car and sat with his paws against the back window and whined the whole time we were driving away from the house.

(Bay high in the mountains near Surprise Lake after a long hike)

Bay’s puppyhood was good and he had lots of fun. He was our “first child” so he was spoiled rotten. He got just about every kind of puppy toy that you could image and he got countless walks. Every weekend I would normally take him with Tim and/or Celinde and their dogs to the dog area at Chatfield State Park. He loved running free and he demonstrated his abilities as a great swimmer. He was a fun loving and happy puppy. There are many stories that can be told about Bailey. I literally could write a book about him. I don’t want to spend all that time right now writing so I am only going to highlight a few stories about this pup. (Bay and Zack posing for a Christmas Card.)

Before we got Devon, Bay had to spend the entire day at home alone. Once he got to the size that he couldn’t squeeze out of the fence we started to leave him out in the yard. To make it comfortable for him I would put his favorite dog bed on the back porch with him. One day I did this and came home to a nasty surprise. It was in the fall and the light was starting to fade when I came home. I went to the sliding glass door to let Bay in and I shook my head. It looked like the entire back deck and a large part of the back yard was covered in snow. I couldn’t understand it. As soon as I let Bailey in I went out to investigate. Yeah – it was white. Yeah – it was soft, but it turned out to be the filling of Bailey’s puppy bed. He had taken his bed and shredded the entire thing! All the filling was covering the entire back yard. It was incredible! Needless to say I was a tab bit angry with my pup at that point. I won’t even guess how long it took me to clean up that mess. Years later when the deck was being replaced, I still found tons of the filling on the ground underneath the deck. I learned my lesson on that one – Bailey never got to have a bed outside again until he was like 7 years old!

(Bay as the wise old dog in his favorite spot in the house.)

Bay has always been one of the strongest swimmers I know. I have seen that dog swim his way out of some amazing things over the years. He just has no fear of the water. One sunny weekend day in spring, I was at Chatfield State Park with some friends of mine – John and Cass White and their Rottweiler named Zeus. Bailey and Zeus were running around playing like fiends as one would expect. We were walking down near the South Platte River and spillway from the dam. For whatever reason, Bailey decided to run down into the water right near the spillway. He climbed up on the top of the spill and was running across it. Unfortunately for him, the water falling over the spillway caused him to lose his footing and tumble over the spillway into the churning maelstrom. I thought he was dead. I figured there was no way in this world that he would survive. I didn’t think anyone or anything would have survived that. I stood there at the edge of the water screaming his name. And then – he broke free of the undercurrent and shot to the surface of the water. Though it was a nasty dangerous situation, this dog was swimming his way out. He was freaking remarkable. I don’t even know how he came up with the capability to get himself out of that mess. Eventually he made it to shore and then looked at me like I was nuts because I was making a big fuss over him. He got somewhat banged up because of the fall, but in the end run he survived without too much damage. Before he got too old, Bay was one of the most marvelous trail dogs. Unlike Devon and Lex who was/is a fiend on the trail, Bay was always very smart about hiking. He normally stayed very close to you while on the trail. Unlike Devon and Lex who constant ran as far afield as they could, Bailey would stay very close and act very protective. He was smart about which trails to take. Whenever we would come to a trail junction he would sit there and wait for me to point which way to go. He didn’t seem to believe in wasting any energy while hiking. He was always smart about it and he would tell you if he thought we had gone far enough. Normally it wasn’t possible to tire this dog out. He would just keep going and going and going. I think the longest hike I ever took him on was 15 miles. We were hiking in the Eagles Nest Wilderness area not too far from this little town called Heeney perched above the Green Mountain Reservoir. We started near the trailhead for Lower Cataract Lake and hiked in for miles along a series of trails until we reached the backbone ridge or the entire Gore Mountain chain. It was a great day of hiking that left us both exhausted but fulfilled. Bay will turn 13 years old in a little over 5 weeks. I know Bay will not live forever, but I can’t help but believe this dog has another 2 or 3 years left in him. He is strong and he loves life. Yes – he can act like an old dog sometimes by sleeping through the majority of the day. But he is still all there – he can hear everything and his eyesight is still good. His back legs have gotten a little weak in the last year – especially since he ruptured 2 discs on his back last year this time. He needed a bunch of surgery to solve that one – but he bounced back. Bay has been a loyal friend and companion to the family for his entire life. He is a member of the family and no matter what – I will do everything to make this little puppy of mine have a happy, joyful and relaxing old age. I am loyal to an extreme and I will express my love and commitment to this wonderful soul without reservation. As for our doings for the day – there here isn’t a lot to say. Zack had school. I had work. Zack went to WCCK after school until 4:30PM. I picked him up and took him to Great Clips to get a hair cut as he looked like he had a mop growing from his head. We had to run another errand on the way home as I needed to buy some photo card stock as I have a card that I want to print and get in the mail within the next day. Zack did his homework and then we went to the mall to try and find a new pair of glasses for him. We got them at LensCrafters and since we got them less then a year ago and we only needed a new frame – we got them ½ off. So it wasn’t too bad of a cost.

(Zack sporting his haircut and new glasses at the mall.)

We had dinner at the food court and now are home. Z-man is sitting here next to me devouring his “fill your hand wiches” for dessert. Anyway – that is our story for another day. Once I get Zack to bed I need to get working. I want to get these presentations finished but that probably won’t be until tomorrow. I am also writing another entry for the Caringbridge site. I might post that late tonight but I am not sure. Until tomorrow – thanks and peace to all!

Jake is Still Alive!

I never write post for the blog during the workday. However, I was so happy with something I found out today I couldn't resist writing about it. Jake the Dog is still alive! Two or so weeks ago I had written about Jake the 16.5 year old yellow lab and how his owners were going to put him down. They decided against it! Jake is still going strong. I actually saw him this morning as I was walking home from dropping Zack off at school. He was out for a walk of all things! He was about 1/4 of a mile from his home with his owner Eleanor. She said that Jake was still showing a lot of strength and determination so the decided to work hard to take care of him and not put him down. I can't tell you how happy that made me feel. I got to pet Jake and cradle his head in my arms. He is such a great dog. Despite his age he can still hear and see. He looked into my eyes and I could tell he was a happy dog! Keep going Jake - you are making us all so very proud of you! Thanks and peace to all!

Funding Max

Zack was off from school yet again today. I am not sure why today was a no-school day, but it was. According to the school calendar today was a K-8 non-contact day. Umm… what does that really mean? I do not know! We started the day in our typical hurried fashion as I had conference calls starting at 7:30AM and running continuously until 10:00AM. This meant I needed to be up at 7:00AM so that I could get the garbage and recycling out, as Monday is garbage and recycling day. After that the dogs needed to be fed and I had to think of a breakfast for the little man. (As you can tell from my prior post – Zack ended up with an omelet for breakfast – again!) Besides my conference calls for the day, I always have a number of reports that need to be sent in e-mail by 8:00AM Monday morning. Thankfully, I had generated most of these reports on Sunday night and I just needed to publish them via e-mail before the review meetings took place. Regardless, the morning was busy and I was constantly on the move from one thing to the next. I managed to keep Zack busy with reading and playing with the Wii Fit until we reached lunch time. We had decided that we were going to do something special during lunch. As you might guess Zack and I are both animal lovers. We love both dogs and cats and feel strongly about trying to do as much as we can to protect and save animals. As we have contemplated what to do with our time and our money over the past 8 months we have decided that we are going to contribute heavily to a local no-kill animal shelter called Max Fund. We will make our contributions of money and time in Patty's memory. This shelter is relatively small in the grand scheme of animal shelters. It is not huge and does not have a large fund raising arm. So they really get by on a shoe string budget. They are frequently in the need of day-to-day supplies to keep the place running. So for my lunch hour today, we decided that we were going to run to Costco and buy a very large quantity of canned dog food and take it to Max Fund as a contribution. As soon as I finished my conference call that started at 11:00AM we were off to Costco at Park Meadows. Our time in the store was relatively short as we knew exactly where the dog supplies are. We filled our cart with 4 cases of wet dog food. Each case weighs about 25 pounds and will feed 50 meals. We checked out quickly and got the dog food loaded into the car for the trip downtown. (I was a little bit silly in the fact that I drove our Honda Civic as opposed to the Explorer. It would have been much easier to fit the dog food into the back of the Explorer!)

(Zack with our 100 lbs of dog food at Costco)

The Max Fund is located at 11th and Galapagos in downtown Denver. I had called ahead and told them that we were coming with a large quantity of dog food. They were quite excited when we walked in the dog with the food. The volunteers at the front desk were very thankful and happy to see what we brought. They definitely made us feel welcome and appreciated for what we brought. We were invited to go through the entire shelter and see all the dogs and cats that were available for adoption. Zack had a wonderful time going into each area of the shelter and seeing the doggies and cats and that were available. Each and every one of them is so precious. Many of them are very scared and frightened as they have gone from good homes to a shelter – how horrible is that. We stopped and petted each one and told them they were good puppies and kitties. Both Zack and I really love animals and it was very tough to see all of them in that situation. But as I walked away, I felt good knowing that not one of those dogs or cats would be killed. That made me smile. In the future Zack and I intend to get a lot more involved in doing charitable things. Today was just a first step in this direction. We will definitely talk a lot more about this on the blog as it is just so important to help out those who are less fortunate than us – whether they be people or animals. If you live in Denver (or anywhere for that matter) consider contributing to the Max Fund. Their web address is http://www.maxfund.org/.

The rest of our day was filled with the mundane activities of day-to-day life. Zack had Sylvan this afternoon. The weather was so warm that I decided to use the grill for our dinner tonight. It was good to be outside cooking as the sun set - it made for a great ending to a busy but fruitful day.

We hope everyone’s week is off to a great start. Thanks and peace to all!

Oh Christmas Tree, Oh Christmas Tree - And a crazy dog!

Some of my most favorite things about the Christmas holiday season are the Christmas trees and the beautiful lights that are all over the place. I love the glow that the Christmas tree lights put throughout the entire house. I cannot stand to have my Christmas tree sit in my living room unlit. The first thing that I do as soon as I get out of bed in the morning is turn the Christmas tree’s lights on. Seeing an unlighted Christmas tree always makes me feel sad and depressed. It is like the spirit of the tree is gone and just a ghost remains when there are no lights. When it is a natural tree that is going to get tossed out after Christmas I think it was even worse when it sits there without the lights turned on. Given that we live in Colorado, we have an artificial tree. When I first moved here years ago, we would get real trees. After 2 years we quickly learned that real trees in Colorado were plain and simply fire risks. With the low humidity in Colorado, real trees tend to dry out and start dropping their needles within 10 – 14 days. If you are like me and like to have your tree up for 4 – 5 weeks, natural trees don’t work too well. This year marks a return to a tradition that we have had since Zack was a baby. We will have 2 Christmas trees in our house. The larger of the 2 trees is located in the living room. It is a seven-footer and it is decorated with over 2000 lights. It makes the entire house glow with beautiful colored light. We have hundreds of ornaments that decorate it and it takes usually several days to get all the decorations on it. The second tree will be located in our family room and it is a dedicated “Winnie the Pooh” tree. We didn’t put the “Pooh” tree up last year because I needed but buy a new artificial tree as the last one had broken. It is just fun having the trees up. On another note… I just had to add this video to the blog. I was sent a link to this video by a good friend. I laughed my ass off when I saw it. It kind of reminds me of my dog Lex. Hope you all enjoy! I find it funny the dogs name is Bailey. My Bailey is now a nice sedentary old dog - but he was once like this nut! Thanks and peace to all!