It’ll Have to Do . . .

Time was flying by for me but probably not for Allie.  It was the last day before she chose to fly off to Utah a day early (to hang out with friends as well as a missionary can).  So we filled our day with . . .
yard work . . .

some puppy lovin’

a last meal at the restaurant of her choice

being set apart . . .

and packing.

It was a hard day, if you want my opinion.  The wait was nearly over.

A New Dog!

We are the worst pet owners ever.  After nearly 10 years, it was time for our puppy to be groomed!

We had enough of the shaggy look, not to mention the matted fur under her ears and snarls we could not unsnarl.
The deciding factor for this cheap family was that I won some dog grooming at a service auction thanks to awesome visiting teachers, much to the chagrin of those who would have picked the piano lessons.
We decided on a day and I lured the puppy into the car .  .hehehe

She’s a social dog so she figured she was going to go play.  Little did she know the jaunt would be life changing!

I left her in my friend’s good hands and went home to await the call that the deed was done . . .

She warned me that we would not recognize our puppy and she was right!

Not only were the snarls and tangles and matted fur gone, but her behavior changed.

At first she seemed to be a bit embarrassed . . .

but all in all, she had increased energy and we were all quite happy with the results.

The great reduction in fur about the house, this will definitely be happening again!  I’m certain that I was the biggest winner at the service auction.

Animal Fanatic!

One of my hubby’s endearing qualities is that he loves so many things. . . his enthusiasm is contagious.
He loves animals and that translates into several hobbies, one of which is taking photos of animals he sees in the wild.
The wild would include our front lawn.


I’m not sure how well the picture turned out, but it was fun watching him.
Apparently our dog enjoys animal watching too. . .

if only you could see her tail wagging!

Let’s Go on a W

If we say the word “walk” out loud, our puppy gets SO excited.  Because of that, we talk in code. . . instead of walk, we say “w”  Pretty amazing, aren’t we?
We are lucky to have access to an area where we don’t have to keep her on a leash so we open the door and she talks off. . .

There is lots of trails and spots where a pup can explore.  We don’t even have to scoop her poop

However, she has the habit of rolling in the dirt and bringing home sharp, prickly weeds on her undercarriage . . .

requiring a bath and use of a few brushes (which she does not care for much.)

A Proud Father Moment

Yes, I do realize that our dog is not our child.  But we also have no children at home . . . sometimes you have to substitute!
It was quite obvious that our puppy found something interesting to her in a wood pile. . .


Upon investigation, Paul discovered that a rock pigeon was in there.  He debated whether he should save the bird or not (they like to nest in the entire neighborhood’s eaves).  But before he could come to a conclusion, our puppy flushed the bird and the rest is history. . .


But all she did was catch and kill it.  Then she lost interest.  (But her favorite things EVER are feathers.  She will bring a single one inside to chew on.)
Paul’s eyes welled up with tears. . . it was so cute.  (No picture of that. . . sorry)  He was so proud of our puppy.  Her first catch in 8 years.

Whose Walking Who?

We, meaning Paul, Chocolate (our puppy) and I went for a walk. . . with the goal of Paul setting some traps.  (He would then the next morning check to see what he had caught, identify, photograph and release the critters.)

As always when Chocolate joins us, she runs circles around us.  (She’s off leash).  She runs and runs and runs.

Hills don’t phase her unlike me who uses the excuse of getting a great shot of the hood for a breather!

It is sad to see what people dump. . .

After a wet winter, there were lots of pretty blooms (pretty good for the desert, eh?)


Oops. . .I lost my man and the dog. . .

He was just off setting traps off the beaten path . . .don’t want to catch a pesky human!

Chocolate always finds us, but we sure wore her out with this trek!

Thinking about adopting a cat?

When the kids were younger, they wore us down one year and they each became a pet owner. They each wanted a different kind.

Jennifer had been a previous cat owner, but we believe that poor Tiger was dinner for the coyotes. So it was time to replace her beloved pet.

A friend's cat had kittens, so we adopted a fine looking young female, already named Oreo.

Adorable!

who could resist a kitten such as this?
We later found out from the vet that Oreo was NOT a female. (Lesson learned here . . . never trust an 11 year old girl who swears she knows these kind of things!)

Oreo could be found everywhere

with the movies or in a box

near the fish bowl or in the CLEAN laundry

Oreo also LOVES to be up high

Jennifer claims that she picked the BEST pet of all. She loves Oreo. She had to leave him behind when she left for college and then a mission. So we get to enjoy Oreo.

Or do we enjoy the cat???

Here's my couch

And the blinds . . . .

What does Oreo think of this? I hunted the critter down and this was the opinion I was given:

Oreo napping on top of my pantry - I don't think he cares.