Watertime!

Here is a video of Addy and Wrigley at "water time" which always immediately follows outside time. Every dog comes in from outside and instantly wants to drink a small (desalinated) ocean of water. Also, we used to have three of these dog water bowls, but two have broken thanks mostly to Wrigley's carelessness about where he is flinging his body at any given moment. So, right now we're sharing. Everyone in my house is having "wait" heavily enforced these days because I do not like being mobbed by a virtual sea of dogs for something as simple as tap water or walking through a closed door. It is not that exciting that you can't wait a second, dogs!

The Friendliest Dog in Town

A friend turned me on to this video made by John Shipe for his song Pit Bull Blues. I love this song and have it on my ipod and it definitely reminds me of my pups. I had never seen the video before, though. Enjoy!

One Widdle Olds

Well, I am just squeaking this entry in, but HAPPY BIRTHDAY, ADDY MAE! According to the papers that came with her when she was adopted, Addy is one year old today! As a treat, yesterday I took her over to Sirius Cooks where we picked up some goodies and the kind ladies there gifted Addy some home made dog ice cream (which she loves, but has barely put a dent in). Last night, the whole pack (including the cats, but not including the humans) feasted on home made stew and I swear Addy flopped onto the floor of her crate after finishing in a blissful food coma.

I can't wait to see what this year has to offer Miss Addy Mae. Life is great. :)

The Great Prodini

Well, the Brown Dog Dad is out of town this week at San Diego Comic Con, so I am left to manage the pack on my own. No problem unless I come home to find a raging thunderstorm (it was FINE by my work, 6 miles away) and an escaped Probert. I cleaned up his mess, took 20 minutes to try to bend his crate back into shape, and decided to try out his new sedative for the remainder of the storm. I gave him the minimum dose and boy, that stuff works good. Probert walked into a wall at one point. So, I stayed on the couch with him all night to keep him quiet and still and safe.


Oh, I guess I should mention that he has a new sedative because we had a recheck with the vet on Monday. Everyone is happy with his progress and he is completely off the old sedatives (no one thought they were very effective). He has the new ones only for super scary situations and nothing during the day other than his clomipramine. So far, so good?

Woo woo-ing

A short (but typical) conversation with my friend, Wrigley Beans.

FAIL

I don't have anything to say today, so here is a picture of Wrigley from a few years ago. :)

Ahhhhhh....

This past weekend, I accomplished what feels like a major life goal when I purchased a $30 hammock off of craigslist and set it up in the backyard. The dogs are mostly confused by the hammock and Addy prefers to lay under the hammock rather than on it. My stepdad does say that gravity is stronger around a hammock and I must believe he is right because Addy and I napped for at least 2 hours yesterday.

Maizy's approach is different. She prefered to circle around and around and around and when that didn't get her into the hammock or, alternately, me out of the hammock, she chose to try gnawing on the edge. That didn't work either, it just got her told to "knock it off."

How I get into the hammock, and so troublingly far away from her may forever remain a mystery to Maizy, but she sure makes up for it by being cute.

Home Again

Hello friends! I was out of town this weekend in NYC to go do some yoga and visit with some dear friends. I had a great time, but missed the pups (and the BDD) so much! I wish I could bring Maizy and Addy to NY sometime. They would love to walk around and explore. I couldn't believe all of the badly behaved dogs that I saw this weekend, though. Living in a city where walking your dog is a necessity, you'd think that it would be people's first priority to keep their dogs under control during walks. Apparently not!

Anyway, as a result, I don't have any new dog stuff to post about, so I will share this video that I took last week. In it, I am working on a no-handed headstand, a pose that has been perfected by my teacher, Sri Dharma Mittra (who I was in NYC to see) and which is a major work in progress. The reason for posting the video, however, is to show you one of my regular home yoga practice companions, Miss Addy Mae, who in this video, is happily chewing up her tennis ball rope toy. RIP, toy.



That Addy, always stealing the show. :)

Canine Karma

Both Sprite and Princess have tagged us to post a picture that hadn't been posted before and tell the story behind it. I couldn't pick just one picture, though the first is definitely my favorite and one of my favorite pictures of me and Maizy (I actually may have posted this in an early entry, so my apologies if I did). It is a picture with a story.

In the summer of 2007, I had decided to go and participate in the Global Mala project in Philadelphia. As it was held outside, I checked to see if dogs were allowed because it is a shame to spend a lovely summer day outside with no dogs. As it turned out, they were! I wasn't really sure how Maizy was going to behave as this was a different kind of outing for us, but I brought her along and hoped for the best.

Thinking back on the event now, I realize that this day should have been my first clue that Maizy is a born emotional support therapy dog. The Global Mala event is a hatha yoga practice that includes 108 full sun salutations (what I affectionately call the "yogic squat thrust" for simplicity's sake).

In the past, I had participated in Yoga Malas and completed all 108 sun salutes with much focus and little physical problem, but this time was different. I enjoyed every second, including many, many breaks where I cozied up with my best friend. Other people would come over and sit down with Maizy and she helped them enjoy their breaks. She allowed everyone to enjoy slowing down, even if it was just for a few moments.

She was a good girl the rest of that day, with one initial exception in my mind. We had all gathered around under a tree to chant the gyatri mantra, complete with accompaniment on harmonium, when a squirrel started creeping down the large tree towards our group. With a mighty "woof woof woof" (nicely disturbing the meditative atmosphere) Maizy hopped up to chase off the intruder. I had to take her away from the goup and give her time to calm down so that she wouldn't bother anyone any further. After the chanting was over, I made a sheepish comment to a friend (then more of an acquaintance that I looked up to a lot) about Maizy's interrupting the chanting, embarrassed by her "bad" behavior. Without a second thought my friend looked at Maizy and said something that quickly changed my perception of canine behavior forever, "Protecting the group. Such noble dharma."

Comfy Cozy

Yesterday I looked over and saw Maizy in full flop on the love seat, her favorite place to lay. She typically arranges the pillows and slipcover into this unsightly mess.


At some point she had gotten down and the BDD had taken up residence on the loveseat, but rather than move to the couch, Maizy claimed this stray throw pillow.


Don't think that worked out quite how she had planned.

Bonus flopping comes from kitty pack member, Hannibal, who has apparently claimed this little file tray that I cleaned out on my desk. Guess I'll need to find a new place to put my paperwork.

How I Spent My Fourth of July

It was a nice long weekend for me, though I really didn't make it out of the house much due to having a 55 lb pit bull practically stapled to my body 80% of the time. Our neighborhood had firecrackers and fireworks going off literally all day on Saturday, much of Sunday, and it's only now starting to taper off. This is not Probert's idea of a Good Time. No no no. As I think I have probably mentioned, part of Probert's abuse as a pup involved fireworks, and he clearly remembers them well (and not too fondly).

Distracting himself with a delicious treat.

So, we hung out in the house. A lot. The only time I got out on Saturday was in the morning for a yoga class and in the afternoon to take "the girls" (Maizy and Addy) for a walk. The girls were mostly unphased by the warzone-like noises going on all around us (during the daylight) with the exception of a few very loud "booms" that caused Maizy to woof once. We had to hang back to avoid some firecrackers going off right in our path and the ladies were very well behaved the whole time. I was proud of them.

Ears plastered back.

Probert spent much of the day hiding and cuddling and pacing and some drooling, but overall, I think he did well. He even fell asleep a few times. We spent our evening piled (me, BDD, and all four pups) into the bedroom watching Star Wars movies. I guess not the worst way to spend the day. :)

"Can you guys keep it down, please?"

Children's Book: Max, The Shelter Dog

I haven't read Max, The Shelter Dog, but it looks like a cute gift for the children in your life! Anything we can do to educate children about bully breeds and animal rescue at an early age is worthwhile!


"Max, The Shelter Dog" is the story of an energetic and playful pup surrendered to a shelter by his owners, as told from a dog's perspective. Max is heart broken as he struggles to run after his owner as she flees through the shelter doors. Left behind, Max has no choice but to endure his journey through the shelter system in the hopes of finding a forever home.

Through Max's ordeal, children learn compassion, strength of will, and hope. They will come away with a new appreciation and respect for all sheltered animals. Children are our future, and it is my hope that through Max's story they will be the next generation of leaders who will help put an end to shelters all together.

Be prepared to take a journey that will touch not only the heart of a child, but that of any adult who loves animals, especially pit bulls.

Showing Off

A video I took this morning of Addy showing off her new trick, "Beg" and the final version of the "High Five." I could happily stay home all day and take cute videos of Addy. :) I can't decide what to teach her next. Any suggestions?