And Now For Something Completely Different

As my friends know, I'm an Olympics nut. I love watching the Olympics. Winter, Summer, it doesn't matter. So when Chicago, my home town, won the ability to represent the US in the 2016 Olympics bidding process, I was ecstatic. Wouldn't it be cool?!?! So, I logged onto the Chicago 2016 web site and asked to be apprised of future developments and volunteer opportunities. Well, Chicago will be hosting the World Amateur Boxing Championships next month and the powers that be called for volunteers. Not that I care a whole lot about boxing, but, what the heck? It could be fun. Hundreds of young guys from all over the world... It could be worse! There was no Agility class last night (the instructor is at the Terrier specialty show, I think), so I went to the first volunteers' information meeting downtown. A couple hundred or so people of all different walks of life were there - black, white - and everything in between, men, women, young, old! I think the Olympic delegates who attend the Boxing Championships will be impressed with Chicago volunteers!

Can't stop watching it!

This is just fascinating. Have you seen it? Blogger Play is a stream of photos uploaded to Blogger from bloggers around the world. Mesmerizing!

Now, Take Good Care of MY Baby

Here's the good news - Dax is fine. The bad news - her vet couldn't save the tooth. It was cracked all the way down, exposing the root, so what was left had to be extracted. Poor Dax - she must have been in quite a bit of pain and was truly pathetic last night.

Golly is in surgery today to remove two growths. The vet isn't worried about them but wants them gone. As is usual before surgery, Golly was not allowed anything to eat after 7 pm last night, but I had to give her her blood pressure medication at 6:00 this morning. Golly really enjoys her food - REALLY enjoys it. I am not her favorite person at the moment. It will take quite a bit for me to get back into Golly's good graces because she holds a grudge for a long time.

Hope told you about our vet's associate - it turns out that he's having some medical problems of his own, so that may explain his demeanor yesterday with Dax. Today was another story, though. The Golly Force was strong today - he melted into Golly's big brown eyes!

I'm sure that Golly will be fine, but I'm counting the hours until we can pick her up late this afternoon.

Take good care of my baby

It will be a miracle if I have any fingernails left at the end of today. Dax is at the vet's, having dental work done. I'm always petrified when my dogs have to go under anaesthesia.
It doesn't help that a) it's my fault, and b) I think Dax's vet's associate, who did her take-in this morning, is afraid of her.
It's my fault because I let Dax help me vacuum. I know I said I wouldn't, but she enjoyed it so much. When I noticed she had a bloody mouth, I thought she just bit her tongue. Instead, she has a slab fracture of a premolar. Her vet's going to try to save the tooth. I hope she can.
I think the other vet is afraid of her because he didn't so much as touch her this morning. In the past, with our other dogs, we've handed them over and he carries them. Today, he brought out a kennel lead and had me put it on her. He didn't even lead her away, he called out the guy who cleans kennels to do that.
Not a great confidence builder. Later, on my way to work, I drove by the animal hospital again. Just to make sure Dax's vet was there. She was, thank goodness. I think I may be sufficiently paranoid that if I hadn't seen her car, I would have stopped and demanded my dog back. Not too much of an over-protective mom, am I!

This is why you get a dog tag

We had an unexpected visitor in the shop this afternoon. This is Indi. I went outside for a minute and found her wandering in the alley behind the store.
She came with me very happily. She was panting like crazy and obviously lost. She walked rather slowly, especially for a big dog.
I found out why when we got inside - her front paws were both ripped up and bleeding.
We gave her some water and rinsed off her paws. While I was getting the water, Fran was able to call Indi's home because she was wearing a tag. Her mom came, with leash, within 10 minutes of our call, ready to take her to the vet.
It turns out that her family had new flooring installed today and the workmen left the backyard gate open. Indi, a perennial hunter, took off before anyone knew. I don't know how long she'd been wandering - but she was delighted to be caught.
Please get some identification on your dogs! I'd be delighted if you ordered a tag from us, but that's not the point. Get one. Put it on your dog. One phone call could get your dog back to you.

First Fun Match

I've hesitated to start matching Dax in Novice Obedience. She's been wonderful in class, but I had absolutely no confidence whatsoever that she would perform similarly in a different place.
My skepticism has good justification - I can't walk down the street with Dax at heel. She's a wild child everywhere but at home and in class, either agility or obedience.
At some point, however, you have to either fish or cut bait. So I went to a Fun Match on Saturday.
I was shocked. She was wonderful. Everyone around was absolutely charmed by my beautiful, bewildering Bully Girl. If it had been a Trial, we would have qualified. Her heeling was impeccable, her Recall a speedy thing of beauty.
Shame on me of little faith!

Bleeding all over the agility course

You guessed it! My thumb accidentally got between Ceilidh and her Latex Soccer Ball last night, before our agility class even started! Ceilidh's tooth and my knuckle intersected - not bad, but it made a nice gouge. I usually end up with a lot of little scratches but this time there was blood. Enough that I put Ceilidh in the pop-up crate I bring in the building so that I could wash my hands and try to stop the bleeding. (Of course, I didn't even think to put bandages in the training bag.) Ceilidh was looking up mournfully through the mesh while I held a paper towel in place before class, not knowing what was happening, just that it had something to do with her ball. Consequently she wasn't even interested in tugging on it during class, when I wanted her to! But, surprisingly, she had some pretty good runs! Her weaving was exceptional (for Ceilidh) and there was very little sniffing. No, I'm not willing to risk life and limb next week!

Weights and measures

A customer and I were talking in the shop today and he was reminiscing about some trouble he'd gotten into several years before. I don't know exactly what it was, but I got the definite impression he'd gone on an "enforced vacation." And then he looked at me and said "Please don't judge me by what I did when I was young and stupid."
And I told him that my yardstick for measuring people is how they treat their dogs. I hadn't really thought about my answer before it came out, but I've decided I like it.

What a weekend!

If I were the type to get teary, yesterday I would have. My obedience club honored me with the AKC Outstanding Sportsmanship Award. It was a total shock - I'm sure I gobbled like a turkey!

The occasion was our annual club picnic. We couldn't have asked for a more beautiful day - great weather, wonderful food, a chance to get together with our two- and four-legged friends. We always hand out the Club and Class awards at the picnic, so I got my camera ready for the awards presentations. I knew something was up when Fran took the camera away from me, then Mary Ann started reading this speech about the award and how this person deserved it for all the things she does for the club. At some point I realized she was talking about me!

I was touched and honored. Thank you to the AKC and the North Shore Dog Training Club.

I'd like to thank.....

Johann for awarding us the Blogging Star!

Dax the Huntress

Ceilidh and I had an uneventful evening at Agility class last night: we drove to class in Rush Hour traffic (honestly, when is it not?); played with our beloved Latex Soccer Ball while we waited for the Beginning class to finish; warmed up a little; TUGGED on the Latex Soccer Ball before our first run (tugging - yeah!!) which, by the way, was spectacular!; practiced our spins, touches, give paw, dance, lie down, etc., etc., etc., while we waited and waited and waited for the other dogs; Ceilidh no longer interested in Latex Soccer Ball, just want treats and so did only mediocre on the second course. And then drove home in the much faster traffic.

Ceilidh crashed on the couch and I started to unwind. We had to wait for quite a while last night - lots of weave poles and consequently lots of restarts - and Ceilidh requires a lot of attention to help her maintain at least some focus and not try to eat all the spots off the floor at class. All this as a preface to: DAX the Mighty Huntress!

All of a sudden Dax leapt off the chair and stood quivering in front of a cushion, staring at it intently. We picked it up and there was one of the creepiest, crawliest, biggest, ugliest bugs I've ever seen. EEWWWWWWW!!!! A few tissues and a hard-soled shoe later, it was gone. But Dax found it!! What a good girl.

Boston Fresh Roasted Terrier

Ceilidh loves basking, too!

Fresh baked French Bulldog

Dax loves lying in the sun.

Great place to meet guys!

Take notes, all you single young ladies wishing to meet Mr. Right! I found the perfect hunting ground!

Last Friday I went to the Cubs game. Because I love the Cubs, baseball, Wrigley Field, it was my day off, and what the heck!

As it turns out, not a great day to watch Cubs baseball.

But a great day to watch people. A significant proportion of people at Wrigley Field are on the move at all times. It may be true of other stadia, but Wrigley is the only one I know for sure.

The seat in front of me was occupied by a pretty young woman, all by herself. Three different guys struck up conversations with her. In the row in front of that, two young women found two young men.

I'd recommend to women in the market - to to a ball game! Go by yourself, or with one girlfriend. Connections were being made all over.

Except on the field. The Cubs lost miserably.