Scratcher of heads, rubber of bellies
I’ve thought about photographing this sign many times while walking Ellie past the baseball field to the dog park, but never have. I was struck by how lovely the park looked on a foggy winter night but the camera was at home, so after we finished our walk Ellie settled in on the couch while I grabbed my camera and headed back out.
I had some time off coming in December but took one of the days a bit earlier than expected when I woke to snow coming down. I sent a quick email to work to let them know I wasn’t coming in as I wanted to take Ellie out in however much snow we got. I always enjoy seeing Ellie in the snow, as it reminds me of the day I started thinking about getting a dog while playing with sweet Porter from next door.
The snow stopped falling right after I decided not to go to work, so there wasn’t much on the ground when we went on our walk to the dog park in Irving Park, but we had a good time nevertheless. I brought my camera (the little EOS M, just stuck it in my coat pocket) and took a few snaps of Ellie enjoying one of her favorite activities, snapping sticks in half with her jaws.
Chomp chomp!
I suppose everyone thinks their dog is the best dog in the world, which is rather unfortunate, as we actually have the best dog in the world. Three years ago today, we added this wonderful girl to our family. At eight years old, the gray has spread further around her mouth and to her eyebrows as well, but Ellie is the same lovable goofball she was the day we met.
What a blessing to come home each day, met by Ellie dancing in joy!
The dog park section of Irving Park is surrounded by old oaks and maples so a couple of weeks ago I took Ellie up for a photo shoot in the fallen leaves. One of us was a little bored by the lack of running and/or hedgehogs.
Sentient or not, Ellie’s stomach got upset after the 4th of July weekend and Monday morning and evening we had the pleasure of cleaning up after she pooped in the house. Sometimes she gets diarrhea like this when she eats something she’s not supposed to, but to the best of our knowledge she’s had no misadventures lately. My wife moved her right away onto a bland diet of rice and chicken and she regained control of her bowels.
It’s possible it’s stress related from all of the fireworks activity. When it got loud on the evening of the 4th I closed all the windows despite the heat to help deaden the sound and ease the nerves of the cats who were hiding under beds and couches. Ellie didn’t show much outward sign of distress, and although she would look up at me when a boom was especially loud or close, she always settled back down when I told her it was OK.
If she thought it was doggie Armageddon, she didn’t seem too concerned that she wasn’t being raptured, so long as we were together. That is unconditional love.
I’ve made a couple of modifications to our morning ritual of treats for the pets. We had started giving Ellie Checkups once a day, a white dog-shaped treat that is supposed to be good for her teeth. When we discovered this is by far her favorite treat of all, instead of giving Ellie a charcoal dog biscuit in the morning she now gets her white bone.
And oh how she loves them! When I open the door to the closet where we keep them, she runs into my office and quickly lies down on her dog bed, so intently focused that she doesn’t move apart from her big black tail which wags furiously.
My wife takes her about once a week to doggie day care so she can spend the day socializing with other dogs. She normally enjoys this and doesn’t need any encouragement to go out the door, but one day my wife was running ahead of schedule and was ready to leave while I was still feeding Scout her treats, and thus before Ellie had gotten her highly anticipated white bone. When my wife called her, Ellie got up and started for the door but then returned to me and half-sat and half-stood, torn between obeying my wife’s call and waiting for her treat, as if she were being controlled by two minds.
I think her stomach has become self-aware.
Boolie 