“Dogs have given us their absolute all. We are the center of their universe. We are the focus of their love and faith and trust. They serve us in return for scraps. It is without a doubt the best deal man has ever made. ”
— Roger Caras
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I agree with you there, Caras!
We are going to visit my in-laws this weekend, with the primary aim of meeting baby Georgia! FINALLY! I am so excited. Thanks for all of your advice about Pyrrha and the baby; I will strive to make Pyrrha feel loved and not incite any jealousy between her and her new aunt. I hope it all goes well and that Pyr doesn’t play too roughly with her. Will be coming home with lots pictures! Have a great weekend, everyone.
While leaving Pyrrha for the long weekend was difficult, I am very grateful that we were able to travel without her. The whole trip would have been way too stressful for her, and so I’m again thankful for her foster. We picked her up last night and she was busy romping with all of her shepherd friends, including the sassy Onyx. Her brothers, Ammo and Archer, were also there but recovering from heartworm treatments, so I don’t think she interacted with them much. They are very shy and withdrawn boys and broke my heart a little. I hope they can find a good home soon.
Sadie! Look at that FACE.
So, even though we were without Pyrrha for four days, we weren’t completely deprived of canine company, because we had cousin Sadie in Ohio. Sadie is my aunt and uncle’s precious pomeranian-corgi mix. She’s about six years old and ALL puppy. I don’t think I’ve ever met a full-grown dog who acted so much like a puppy still.
Sadie in Uncle Mike’s yard.
She loves to pounce and prance. My aunt likes to say it looks like she’s always walking on very high heels. She’s very devoted to my Aunt Shelly, who might be the only human in the world to her. But she’s very sweet (if perhaps rather slow). Having her around was a welcome distraction!
More on Pyrrha’s readjustment to come… Still getting used to the regular routine myself! Hope all in the U.S. had happy Memorial Day weekends.
Doca Pet High Tea Feeder. If we do get a big dog (like a GSD), I’m in the market for an elevated feeder. This one is so sleek–and expensive! Sigh. (Dog Milk)
Robert Clark. Photographer Robert Clark’s glamorous studio shots of show-worthy pooches. (Afghan hounds are always the most fun to photograph.) (Pawsh Magazine)
I was also tagged by Volunteer 4 Paws (formerly Inu Baka). I’m kind of new to the realm of blog tagging, so bear with me; here are my answers. Since I don’t have my long-awaited dog yet, these answers are about me.
What keeps you up at night? What if my future dog is evil? What if he/she cannot be trained? What if I fail my future dog? What if my future dog doesn’t love me? And so forth.
Who would you like to be? A fraction of the fullness of the glory of God.
What are you wearing right now? Skinny black jeans, black high-heeled oxfords, terra cotta blazer from the Gap, cashmere blend sweater from Banana Republic.
What scares you? Losing my family.
The best and worst of blogging? The best of dog blogging, specifically, is the wonderfully warm and helpful community I’ve found here. I started from ground zero in my dog knowledge and everyone has been so encouraging to me along the way. Keep that advice coming! I lap it up. The worst of blogging is the nagging feeling that it’s just an exercise in perpetual vanity. I actually feel less that way about this blog, since Doggerel is an educational venture; my personal blog is another matter…
What was the last website you visited?Miss Moss, one of my favorite non-dog blogs.
What is the one thing you would change about yourself? Just one? Well, that I would worry and fear less.
Slankets, yes or no? Yes, if they come with night cheese.
Tell us something about the person who tagged you. Thanks for the tag! I’ve enjoyed reading your blog since I started my journey in canine education and look forward to continuing to glean from your wisdom in dog caring, raising, and loving. Your giving heart and insightful nature is inspiring to me!
“Another human being will never bring us to the same unqualified, unconditional regard that a dog does. Our full immersion in language brings with it qualification and condition; once we enter the world of signs, we can never again be so single-minded.”
Happy weekend, everyone! Hope it is restful. I may be arranging a small play-date between Bo and Zoe while their owners are out of town. Should be fun! Let’s just up the Bo-ster isn’t too rambunctious for Zoe, the dignified older woman…
I read a selection from Pack of Two in the wonderful anthology, Dog Is My Co-Pilot several months ago. I liked the late Caroline Knapp’s gently humorous and honest style. In that excerpt, she talks about the prejudice that a single woman with a dog faces over a single man with a dog. I don’t have the quote in front of me, but the jist of her argument is: People watch a single man playing with his dog in the park and think, “That’s so sweet. Look at them having a great time together.” But people watch a single woman with her dog and think, “Poor lonely woman. She is projecting on that dog. She must really want a baby.” Kind of funny, but true! The injustice!
Anyway. I was happy to find a copy of Knapp’s full book, Pack of Two, which tells the story of her breakup with two significant relationships: Her long-time boyfriend and alcohol. Knapp decides to make a better life for herself as a single woman. On a whim, she adopts a sweet and wolfish-looking German shepherd mix, whom she calls Lucille.
Lucille quickly becomes the center of Knapp’s entire universe. The rest of the book is split into meditative chapters about the profound emotional roles that dogs play in our lives. This is primarily a book about a woman’s deep and ineffable bond with her dog. While Knapp does mention a few men, it is a book by, for, and about crazy dog ladies.
Knapp is a skillful writer and the book was enjoyable to me. I also identify as a Crazy Dog Lady and found myself nodding along with many of her points. My only reservation with the book is that a lot of it comes across as Knapp trying to make excuses for her undying attachment to her dog. She writes as if she needed to apologize or compensate for something. Clearly, she has faced judgment from a lot of people because of her unwavering devotion to her dog, and she writes about that, but she doesn’t seem to have been able to get over it quite yet. It’s kind of a small complaint, because I really did enjoy this book, but it just left me hoping that Knapp found a place of contentment with herself and with her love for Lucille.
“Try to say what you love about your partner, or what it is about someone that produces in you an intense state of erotic excitement or longing, or even how it feels, precisely, to have a fever–soon it’s obvious that we, too, are only partial citizens of the world of language. Something is always escaping; dogs are a kind of figure, an extreme example of that difficulty, and it makes them all the more cherishable.”
Merry Christmas and happy holidays, everyone! I will be back at the blog in January. Looking forward to a much-needed vacation with family and friends down south. Hope you all enjoy very peaceful, happy, and dog-friendly holidays!
Casey, who belongs to designer Betsy Maddox. Source: Design*Sponge
Dog-related links from around the Web this week!
Tips for the First 30 Days of Dog Adoption. Practical and accessible advice for that first month with a new dog. This is a list I’ll certainly be returning to. (Petfinder)
Nail Clipper Desensitization. A step-by-step process of trying to get an anxious GSD to reduce her fear the dreaded nail clippers. This is one aspect of dog grooming that I am not looking forward to, so I appreciate articles like this one! (Peaceful Dog)
Guess the Genotype: Breakdown of Alleles. A scientist’s cleverly organized explanation of the genes that make our dogs look the way they do. (Musings of a Biologist and a Dog Lover)
Doggerel 