The "other" man in my life

Sorry, Andrew. I have a new man in my life. His name is Woody. Tonight, while making dinner, I was making faces at Woody and he was staring back at me and Andrew said "you never look at me like that...you've NEVER looked at me like that". To which I replied "nope". I love this dog. I love him so much I can't stand it. I want to make the rest of his life as healthy and happy as it can be to make up for all those years of being mistreated. So nope, I never look at Andrew like that because he didn't spend most of his life in a cage and wasn't given up by his first real family (although maybe they might wanted to have given him up from time to time)and I can't believe that this 30 lbs of fur, floppy ears and fun is all mine (well, 50% mine -- but all mine in my head!). So I don't mind that he tries to kill me at least 10 times a day by being underfoot and that most of my clothes need to be completely rolled before I can leave the house. It's worth it. It's totally worth it.

To Poop or not to Poop, that is the question

Woody may be the most high-maintenance dog when it comes to pooping. First of all, when it comes to walking, he's like Goldilocks. The temperature, apparently, has to be "just right". Not too hot, not too cold, not too wet -- judging from last night and this morning, apparently sunny, breezy and 70 degrees is optimal walking weather.

Secondly, the quality of the grass -- it can't be too high, too bare or too wet. He simply won't go if the grass is wet -- or covered with snow. He'd rather debase himself and poop on the sidewalk than have his precious tushy touch snow.

So, I think we probably need to move to San Diego -- I believe that would be the optimal weather for him. He may have started his life out in a cage but in his head he's been a Rockefeller his entire life. What a prince!

Fight against fur

In my Beagles for Dummies book (yes, I do consider myself a dummy when it comes to dogs) it says Beagles shed...a lot. This is an understatement. I just took my furminator comb outside with Woody and he now has a sibling of equal size. WHERE does a dog that small get so much fur? He does it to vex me because he knows I can't stand dog/cat hair in the house. I swear, I could take him outside now, 10 minutes later, and I'd have 3 beagles.

The photo above is his "shelter shot". It's the photo posted on the West Suburban Humane Society website when I first saw him. Love at first site!

My first post

This blog is about my dog Woody. He's a Beagle/Bagle. He's approximately 8 years old and a former lab dog. He was tattooed and debarked. If that's not bad enough, since he was stuck in a cage for so long he ground down his teeth. IN SPITE of his troubled past he is a happy, healthy and well-adjusted dog. He LOVES people. He doesn't love other dogs. He tolerates them but mostly he's just scared of them. He peacefully co-exists with our 16 year old cat, Max. Max would be his BFF but Woody won't let him get close enough.