Not much to say

Just that he's the cutest dog ever! ;) I love his floppy ears and stocky little body.

Excuse me, did you miss me?

That dog. Our dog. My dog. Or is he? I actually believe that little booger would like to live with my mom and dad. They spoil him rotten with attention. When I came to pick him up today he was like "oh, hey...you're back". He couldn't have cared less if he tried -- which he didn't. And there I was, all weekend, missing him and worrying about him and calling about him. Harumph. Jealousy is an evil monster. :) It does make me happy to know he's so well cared for when we're gone. Stinker.

Stoshy

Stoshy is going off to college this morning. I'm going to miss him more than I can express in writing.

Cujo, pt 2

Well, it happened again the other night. Not nearly as bad as last week. I think Woody is just sleep-aggressive. Any issues we've ever had with him are related to sleeping. I wonder what happened to him to make him so protective of his sleep. I can't bear to think about it.

Andrew talked to our vet about it yesterday. He thinks we should make Andrew's coming to bed a happy event. Tear apart part of a treat and throw it his way and then make him get up to get the rest of the treat. We'll give it a go. Dr. S said he was probably being protective of me but since he growled at me last week too I kind of doubt that's the case.

On a happier note, Woody got groomed yesterday. He's silky smooth! :) He smells good too!

Woody's Second Job

His first job, and what he's best at, is being cute. :)

However his second job, and what he's getting increasingly good at, is shredding/eating paper. It started with him shredding any toilet paper he could get his mouth on.

It progressed to him digging into my bag and eating a $5 bill. We know it was a $5 bill because we found the leftovers -- maybe he should have started with a $1 bill -- maybe not as filling?

Now he trolls around Andrew's office and any eats/shreds any paper he finds on the floor. He's particularly fond of Andrew's address book. What cracks me up is that Andrew doesn't learn his lesson -- he still keeps all of it on the floor. It's like he doesn't believe Woody will do it again. OF COURSE HE WILL! IT'S FUN! :)

I read dogs do it because they're bored. I think Woody does it because it's fun for him. He doesn't like to play with toys -- paper is his toy. The photo above is this morning's "crime scene".

Sad Day

Okay, this post isn't about Woody. It's about Stosh dog. Michele called me today. Looks like Stosh is going to go off to college within the week. Heartbreaking. What can I say about him? He's a kindred soul to Woody. Had a horrendous early life -- Michele found him on I-94 in Indiana protecting his friend, a lab, who had been struck by a car. He had emotional issues (who wouldn't) that make Woody's occasional outbursts look tame. But Andy and Michele took him in and showed him what it meant to trust, to love and to enjoy life. Then, when we moved in next door, I was fortunate enough to be able to spend part of my day, every day, with him. He made me happy when I was sad. Made me laugh when I wanted to cry. He knew when giving him a belly rub would make me feel just as good as it made him feel. And he asked for nothing in return -- except to be loved and accepted.

I had a lot of firsts with Stosh. The first dog I got to dog-sit. The first dog I took to see Santa. The first dog, and only dog, to do a "triathlon" for me. The first doggie birthday, or "Got Stosh Day" I attended.

I've missed him a lot since Andy and Michele moved. I missed walking him. I missed his wet snout nudging my hand to pet him or walk him. I missed seeing him immediately after his summer "puppy cut". I missed cuddling with him on the floor. I just missed him.

I knew he was slowing down. Michele gave me updates and I could see he wasn't his old self when I went to visit. Michele told me a few weeks ago this day was coming soon but I chose to deny it. Couldn't deal with it. How rude when Stosh never put off my pain, my sadness. We're going to Bartlett on Wednesday night to see him. I told Michele I'd be there for them when they make the decision. It's an awful decision. But Stosh has lived 15 long years and he's suffering. It's time to tell him we love him and say good-bye.

On Your Mark...

Dogs mark. Sometimes they even mark inside (which we're none too happy about). Today we were watching Woody as he walked around the house and licked everything. I mean EVERYTHING. He licked my calf. He licked the kitchen floor. He licked the leg on the coffee table. He licked the leg on Andrew's drafting table. Then we watched him as he went up and down the hall and licked the perimeter of the house...then the perimeter of the area rugs. We finally distracted him because I was worried about him licking lord knows what in the corners. I mean, I'm clean but who knows what has built up in the space between the carpet and the walls? I was slightly freaked out so I called Audrey and asked her if Ringo, their cockapoo, ever did it. She said he does it all the time. How bizarro! Blech!

My dog Cujo

We had the oddest experience with Woody the other night. Andrew woke me up at 2:00 am to tell me Woody was growling. He was on the floor on Andrew's side of the bed. His whole face looked different, he was growling and when he saw me he barked. We were so frightened we picked Maxie up and put him in the bathroom -- we were afraid Woody would lunge at him.

I asked Andrew to call Animal 911 -- I wasn't sure if he was sick. While Andrew was on the phone I went back into the room to find him up, wagging his tail and completely back to "normal".

We are going to take him to the vet. Could have been a seizure. Could be a behavior issue. :( Poor little guy. I feel so badly for him. I've been giving him lots of cuddles.

Of Dog and Skunks

I'm at war with skunks. Woody has had two close calls with them lately. The latest was two nights ago. I was throwing some garbage away out back and Woody joined me (he loves to supervise my work) and I heard a rustle in the bush. I turned around and saw a skunk scurry underneath our deck. I yelled at Andrew to close the door and I scooped Woody into my arms (sounds very dramatic, doesn't it?) and ran out the back gate, down the alley to the front door. If Woody had been more curious we could have had quite a situation on our hands.

So I've purchased Critter Ridder which is black pepper and capsacin and sprinkled it out back. We'll see what happens.

Have I mentioned how much I HATE skunks???

Everybody Loves....Woody!

I may be biased (aren't all parents?) but I think Woody is the cutest dog EVER. I looked at him last night as we were making dinner and I said to Andrew "Can you believe our luck that we adopted the cutest dog on the planet?" -- what luck!

Woody has quite a reputation. Everyone who meets him loves him...with the exception of Andrew's sister, Maggie. She's not a fan of dogs in general so it's not a surprise. My brother has held him like a baby (and he doesn't hold babies). People in our neighborhood know him by name and one woman last week said "Woody is my FAVORITE neighborhood dog" and her husband asked her "in the WHOLE neighborhood?" and she said an emphatic "yes". Kids run up to him to hug him and rub his ears. Our upstairs neighbor says he "loves that face". Our cleaning lady loves him and another neighbor, who uses the same cleaning lady, said "if he ever goes missing I'd check Galena's house --she adores him". We'd better watch out. This dog could get quite an ego.

Andrew's aunt, uncle and cousin are visiting for the night tonight. I have a feeling there will be three more people in the Woody fan club. I'm not worried -- there's plenty of room!