Tag Archives: dogs

April 22, 2013 · 11:09 am

A Situation, or Life with a Lab.

Time: 6:45 am

Gary: Nooooo! Uch, now YOU get it.

Me: Ummm… you would be talking to who?

Gary: No, I am not kidding, you get it.

Me: (walking into the bathroom where I see both Gary and the Iko looking into the toilet) WAIT, I need to get a camera.

What, you thought I was going to stick my hand in the toilet to get that bone? Yeh, right! Yes, that is what that was, a bone. I have had people guess it was a sock and a condom. Seriously? A condom in my house? With my sans uterus, way past childbearing old arse?

Gary: She needs to get that out of the toilet. Go ahead Iko, you dropped it in there, now you get it out.

Iko: Gives the universal Lab look of ‘are you f’in kidding me’, turns around and walks out of the bathroom.

Me: Guess that leaves you, my sweet. Don’t worry, I just cleaned that toilet… um, when was that again.

He is hard pressed to believe I did not put the dog up to this… perhaps that will make him think next time he leaves the seat up ; )

2 Comments

Filed under absurdities, animals, carry a camera, humor, Iko, relationships

Tagged as bathroom, dog bones, dogs, labrador retriever, Labs, men and woman, pets, toilet, Toilet seat

April 7, 2013 · 10:15 pm

Just pee on it and walk away

We came across this piece on the street and I am still wondering why I did not buy it. I am thinking I need to go back next Sunday in the hopes the vendor will be there.

I have read a lot of dog philosophy over the years, but none is quite as perfect as this.

2 Comments

Filed under animals, art, carry a camera, humor

Tagged as dog wisdom, dogs, NYC, street art

January 13, 2013 · 11:20 pm

Mom Fail

Packaging. It can be so deceiving. At first glance the red and white box simply seemed to be the inhaler I had just picked up from the pharmacy, so it went in the ‘to pack’ pile for my son’s semester abroad.

Ok, so it was the dog’s ear drops instead. Hey, she never let’s me get near her with them, anyway. Someone might as well use them.

I know, a wheezing American in Spain would probably not have seen the humor in that.

Mom fail or honest mistake?

Iko Geico

Labragoat strikes again! I need puppy insurance!

If we had Allstate this post would not be half as funny.

2 Comments

Filed under animals, Iko

Tagged as dogs, geico, insurance, puppies

April 30, 2012 · 9:50 pm

Time to Cry Tuesday – Two Alarm Dinner

I am a good cook. No really this is not a joke. I am really a good cook. And I enjoy it. But my kitchen is, well I guess you would say, a little challenged.

I have the fabulous Chambers Stove that you see in the picture above. I adore it from a design point of view. It is actually the reason I bought my house. I loved the charm of it. But the one problem is that if you use the broiler it heats up the griddle on the top surface and seeing that there is no fan above it the kitchen gets hot enough to set off the smoke alarm.

Ok, to set off 2 smoke alarms. One in the kitchen, one in the entry hall.

No biggie, right?

Unless you have a dog that has a strange neurological response to the sound of the alarm.

Which I don’t anymore. Iko is cool with it. But Mel? OMG, she would shake like her body was plugged into a socket. We used to have to take her outside and walk her around to calm her down.

So today when I used the broiler and set the chain of alarms off, my first reaction was to run and hug the dog. Who looked at me like, ‘Hey, what the hell is up with you and shouldn’t you get the broom and hit that thing to shut that incessant noise off?”

That Melly ghost just hung in the room for a second and made me realize how I will never stop missing that old girl.

5 Comments

Filed under Iko, mel, pets, Time to Cry Tuesdays

Tagged as chambers stove, dogs, fire, Smoke detector

March 29, 2012 · 8:49 pm

Kissed by the Vet

I know, not the most flattering angle, but this was a picture that had to be taken. Iko had a vet visit today… conjunctivitis this time. Seriously, what did she share a towel with her bunk or something? Jeez.

Anyway, the famous Dr. Anne of saving Mel’s life when she diagnosed her with diabetes fame, could not resist the extreme cuteness of this animal. So, she warned me that she was wearing lipstick and then planted one right on her forehead. This looked somewhat more ridiculous than when she got into the food coloring and was sort of tie dyed for the week.

How can you not love a vet that kisses your dog?

2 Comments

Filed under Iko

Tagged as dogs, Food coloring, pets, Tie-dye, vets

January 23, 2012 · 10:44 pm

Time to Cry Tuesday – Dog Walkin’

Balance has been restored. After months of walking sans canine, I am happy to report that the puppy had her last shots on Saturday, making her walk-worthy. I am not sure I can express this feeling of getting on with my life. For so many months my daily living was turned upside down. Floods, office renovations and the loss of my first dog took their toll on me in ways I did not fully realize until today –when the last piece of my routine was restored.

It was pretty emotional to walk with this new pup. It was hard to think about how many times I walked that route with Mel. How much a part of my life, and the neighborhood, she was. Today, as I walked down the street a man got out of his car to greet Iko. A friend emailed to say she had seen me walking a puppy. One of Gary’s tennis friends told him he saw us walking and how happy he was for us to have a dog again.

Funny, you go through your day and never realize the impact you have on others. There was a Mel-sized hole, not just in our home, but in the neighborhood. Those are some pretty big paws for Iko to fill, but I think she will do her best to rise to the occasion.

Yes, I know this photo should be titled ‘Giant woman walks minuscule dog’. There is something about the angle of this shot that looks something like a B horror movie, but I sort of like it. Especially because Iko is anything but minuscule. Weighing in at 31 lbs at 4 months we are anticipating that the trainer was our best investment. Nothing worse than an 80lb dog dive bombing you from across the room or dragging you down the block.

As the mail carrier said to me when she met Iko the other day, “What a wonderful testament to how great a dog Mel was that you were able to get another so soon.”

To my old girl Mel, there will never be another you and we will miss you forever. But I am pretty sure that you would rather look down on me walking with a puppy than being alone. You were just that kind of dog.

4 Comments

Filed under animals, Iko, mel, Time to Cry Tuesdays

Tagged as balance, dogs, loss, pets, puppies, walking

July 6, 2011 · 10:22 pm

Doggie Dress

Let me say that again… doggie DRESS!!!

Seriously?

Here is an open note to people who dress their dogs in clothing.

Don’t.

Additionally, Kids on leashes, dogs in strollers = not ok.

Thank you.

6 Comments

Filed under absurdities, animals, carry a camera, humor

Tagged as dog clothing, dogs, kids on leashes

December 27, 2010 · 7:37 pm

Time to Cry Tuesday – Old Dog in the Snow

This old girl has always loved the snow. She would be the first one out the door and the last one back in. But 11 some odd winters have played havoc on her old bones and for the first time she had a really hard time this year. Granted we got slammed with a foot and a half and moving around was hard for everyone.

But her heart wanted to bound while her body knew it did not have it in her anymore. Don’t be too sad. She had a modified snow day. And she seemed content to lay in the sun in the front hallway for the remainder of the day watching the weather through the glass.

But I will tell you that first thing this morning when she woke up and went to the back door I could absolutely read her mind, “And I am so supposed to go out and pee in this how?”

5 Comments

Filed under mel, pets, Time to Cry Tuesdays

Tagged as aging, dogs, pets, snow, weather, Winter storm

July 13, 2010 · 11:12 pm

The Morning Walk and the Garbage Sentry

Every morning I start my day with a walk. I take the dog, or she takes me, and we both make sure that the other gets a little exercise before getting down to the business of the day. I play little games with myself to stay entertained. Some days I set out to connect with at least 3 people on my walk since I work alone and feel the need for eye to eye contact. Ok, so that is a little weird.

But not as weird as today’s garbage find. This was not the first stuffed animal that got tossed today but it was surely the most majestic. This time of year in the suburbs it is not odd to find all sorts of things you would find in a cluttered kids room out in the trash. This phenomenon is what is known as the room purge. It is done when the kids leave for camp. While they are not present we dump all the crap they will never miss.

As I stopped to take this picture with my phone, the dog did a little business of her own. A car passed by while she was in mid-squat and then stopped at the corner and stayed there. I did not think much about it as I sent the picture to both twitter and facebook on my phone. Yeh, I know, no need to comment on the tech addiction.

As I neared the corner the woman rolled down the passenger window and shouted out at me, “Don’t you think you need to go and pick up after your dog?” Mind you, I have the little plastic bone with the doody bags on the leash, I ALWAYS pick up after my dog.

Me: “Um, lady, she only peed”

Lady: “Oh, never mind.” And she drove away.

How’s that for some human connection. Jeez!

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