Ahhhhhh, Spring!

When a young dog's thoughts turn to digging up and burying bones.....

And his mother's thoughts turn to ......

Arrrghhhhh, MUD!

I wonder....

Sometimes when I'm walking Ray, he stops to sniff a patch of grass and his tail starts to wag. I always wonder which of his girlfriends we just missed. Was it Halle or Sasha?

After the Sleepover

After his sleepover Wednesday and Thursday, Ray was tired. When he got home Friday night, I fed him, he went outside, dug up a bone and we played keepaway for five minutes. Then Ray hit the hay. He woke Gregg up at 5:30 the next morning by banging on the kitchen door. By the time Gregg got downstairs, Ray was back in bed, sleeping. Gregg came back to bed. Ray pounded on the door again at 6:30. I went downstairs to let him out. By the time I got there, Ray was back in bed. I rousted him out and MADE him go outside to pee, then fed him. Ray was back in bed by 7:00 and didn't get up again until 11:30. After a short walk, he slept most of the day away.

Sunday, Ray was feeling more the thing. We went for a long walk around the lake and he slept until the afternoon when he was ready for his afternoon walk (sometime around 3:30 or 4:00 is when he starts whining). Sandra, my neighbor across the street, (for a photo see http://www.raytheblinddog.com/2009/07/pullet-has-limp.html) didn't realize that Ray had settled on such a strict schedule for himself and chose this time to come over for help with some knitting. Ray loves Sandra (yes, I know, he loves everybody, but he really loves Sandra). He jumped his front feet up on her lap and snuffled at her neck and face. Sandra, being a good dog mom, pushed his feet off of her lap and talked soothingly to him to try to calm him down. Ray jumped his front feet up on her lap again. Sandra pushed him back down. Ray the Relentless did it again with similar results then paced and whined while we sat on the couch working out some knitting instructions. He grabbed some bamboo knitting needles off the coffee table and tried to chew them, I grabbed them and put them back. He put his head in Sandra's knitting bag and came out with a ball of yarn, I grabbed it and put it back. He grabbed the sheet of instructions that I was reading and flapped them up and down, I took them back. He walked around the coffee table and tore up an anniversary card we had received a few days before (from Sandra- I didn't actually notice him doing this, I just found the pieces). All the while he was whining.

I showed Sandra what to do and while she worked, Ray jumped his front feet up on my lap and gave me the evil eye. I was really, really trying to ignore the attention-seeking behavior but gave in and got up to get my running shoes. I sat down and tied on my shoes then explained the next row to Sandra. Ray untied one of my shoes. I retied it and got up to get his leash. I sat down on the couch again, slipped the collar over Ray's ears, and explained the next row to Sandra while Ray whined and paced dragging his leash behind him. It was very distracting but Sandra handled it well and knit on until she was comfortable enough to continue on her own. We left the house together. Sandra went home to knit. I took Ray for his walk.

Jean and Gregg Go to Paris. Ray goes to a Sleepover.

For our 20th anniversary, we spent two days in Paris....Virginia. It's a lovely little hamlet (with emphasis on little - population 53) consisting of a block and a half of houses and a four star inn (as rated by happy customers).

The Inn where we stayed in Paris

Two days to unwind without animals or worries.

We had a lovely time avoiding people and driving around the countryside. Virginia is beautiful in the springtime. We missed that by a couple of weeks. Instead we enjoyed the slightly austere and quite beautiful view of straw-colored rolling hills dotted with little patches of snow remaining from the Big Dump.(see photos from the Big Dump http://www.raytheblinddog.com/2010/02/hello-from-north-pole.html).

Gregg looking unworried.

The view from the end of the street in Paris.

During our travels, we met a lovely man who, along with his wife, spends his time (when he is not working as a lawyer) rescuing exotic animals. He and his wife have 24 animals including emus, a llama, alpacas, goats (Nubian and LaMancha), a spotted ass, a miniature horse, and a goose. Every day after work, Animal Rescue Guy drives from the D.C. area of Virginia to his farm to feed the animals. I love meeting people like this. They reinforce my belief that people are fundamentally good. Although his stories of the conditions of the animals when he and his wife adopt them make me believe the opposite. A conundrum.

Animal Rescue Guy

Ray spent two days at Just Fur Pets with his friends at a sleepover. I dropped him off with food, treats, and his pillow and jammies. I had two ways of thinking when I dropped Ray at the daycare/kennel. He spent so much time in a kennel as a lad that, I figured, either he would be totally at home and think nothing of it, or he would be stressed out at thinking he was returning to life as a homeless dog. But Ray loves daycare at Just Fur Pets. He knows all of the people that work there, they all love him and take good care of him, so really I had no qualms when I dropped him off. A few pangs at parting but no qualms. As usual he was happy to go, strained at the leash to get in the door, and didn't look back when I handed him over. What a good dog.

I found that, even on vacation, the pets crept into my thoughts. There was a kennel just down the road from the inn. I thought how great it would have been to be able to leave Ray there then fetch him up in the morning to take him for a walk. We made a stop at the State Arboretum of Virginia

Gregg at the State Arboretum of Virginia

where they allowed leashed dogs and had riding trails and places to park horse trailers. I thought how much Ray would love THAT and wondered what he would do if he ever met a horse.

The inn had a fenced garden out back where I kept seeing cats stalking little critters. I thought how much Hugo would love it out in that huge back yard full of rustling little animals. Our room had a long, bench-like, padded window seat where I spent most of my room-time knitting. I thought how much Moonie and Hugo would love to have a window seat (now I think on it, Ray would love a window seat too). So even though I was away from home, I wasn't really.

After two glorious days of puttering around the countryside, Gregg and I returned to our life in the mayhem that is the greater D.C. area. We stopped at home where we unloaded the car. Gregg stayed behind to feed and fuss over the cats, who were thrilled to see us, while I went to retrieve the dog. Ray gave me quick lick on the face when he realized I had come to take him home, then greeted the woman entering the store behind me like he hadn't seen her in decades. Everything was normal.

I received a status update from Chance. (He has promised me photos of Ray's sleepover and I will post them as soon as I get them.) Chance said that on the first night when Ray realized he wasn't going home at his usual time, he was a bit puzzled. Then he accepted life as it was, and he was fine. Chance said, "I took him for a walk before I left. The four restaurants were cooking so there were a lot of food smells. Ray stood still with his nose in the air for about 15 minutes just sniffing then I took him inside and he settled down for the night."

As I said before, a good dog.

The grass IS always greener...

The LaMancha goat (apparently no ears are a tipoff to this kind)

The alpacas Cinderella (white) and Cappuccino

Larry the Llama with friends in background

Big Boy (goat), Larry, Cinderella, Cappuccino (behind her) and Coco (at far left)

The Spotted Ass and Sheila the Emu (below)

VIDEO ALERT - Ray at the Dog Park

I've made up a song that I sing whenever Ray and I go to the dog park. Ray hums along (he whines) when I sing it. I can't tell if it's because I'm making his ears bleed because my singing is so bad or because he knows we're going to the park and can't wait to get there. I sing it to the tune of "Going to the Chapel of Love". It has a few stanzas that I sing over and over.

"Going to the dog park and we're

gonna play with Nikki, and we're

gonna yell at Pepper, and we're

gonna see Che- er- er- ry.

Oooohhhh we really love it and we

Go there everyday and we're

going to the dog park to play.

Oh oh oh oh

Going to the dogpark and we're

gonna have a good time and we're

gonna yell our heads off and we're

gonna run arou-ou-ou-ound.

Ooooooh we really love it and we

go there everyday and we're

going to the dog park with Ray.

I'm not going to quit my day job.

Not Dead, Just Sleeping

Ray is always a bit worn out after the dogpark. He likes to go outside and take a nap in the sun even though it's only 45 degrees. I check on him constantly to make sure he's still breathing. Sometimes it's really hard to tell.

Ray the Stalker

This weekend was somewhat nice. At least, the sun was out. So Ray and I took off for a quick trip to the dog park. Ray did his usual; made a quick scan of all the dogs, picked out the one he liked, and hounded the CRAP out of the dog for the entire time we were there. Usually, if it's a big dog, he follows it around, yells at it, and if he can get close enough, tries to get his mouth on it. If it's a little dog, he yells at it, tries to hit it with his paws, and tries to get his mouth on it. He doesn't want to hurt it, he just REALLY wants to play with it.

This weekend was Simon's turn. Simon, a Jack Russell Terrier was too smart for Ray, though. Usually the little dogs head for their owners and hide between their feet (Ray is not fooled). Simon would scamper away, lose Ray, then come back to his owner while Ray tossed around trying to find his potential friend. When Ray would pick up the scent, Simon would do the same thing again. He would watch Ray get closer and closer then take off just as Ray would find him, lead him off then come back again. Usually I stick around and make sure Ray doesn't bother the dogs too much but I figured Simon could take care of himself so I wandered off.

I made the rounds of people I know then started to head back towards Simon's owner. When I got close, I heard someone ask her, "What's up with that dog?" "Oh that's Simon's stalker," she replied.

Simon's owner heard me laugh and said to me. "I think Ray is looking for a Mini-Me." I looked at Simon and realized that she was probably right. Ray had found his Mini-Me.

Ray and Mini-Me