Today we went for our usual walk. We hadn't gone very far when AJ stopped to take care of business. I dutifully took a Mutt Mitt out of my pocket and started to clean up. (Have I raved yet about Mutt Mitts? I order them by the hundreds, I won't use any other kind of …
Author: ajthespringer
A.J. is my dog. One of the things I did while on an extended break from my career as a technical writer and editor was adopt this totally crazy and adorable dog. He's provided me with an incredible amount of frustration and entertainment. And as you can see, he's also provided me with a large amount of writing material. I'm back at work now, but plan to keep the stories coming - maybe just not as often.
Catching Up
Wow, has it really been three years since our last blog post? So much has happened in AJ's life in those three years. Time to get caught up. We moved! Our last post was in August 2021. In October of that same year, we moved to a new house. We all know dogs aren't crazy …
The Wedding
I thought about titling this blog entry “AJ the Ring Bearer.” But as you're about to find out, he was so much more. In December 2019, while we were all vacation in Hawaii, my stepson proposed to his girlfriend. The wedding planning started the day we got home. The plan all along, even before we …
Mortal Enemies
On April 29, 2020, AJ got into his first serious dog fight. Although, to be honest, it wasn’t much of a fight. We had just arrived at the park, AJ was still on leash, and another dog ran over and attacked him. AJ wound up with stitches over his eye and a few puncture wounds. …
AJ 2020
It’s been quite a year, hasn’t it? One thing we’ve heard throughout this year is how lucky the dogs have it. All of a sudden their people are home with them: All. The. Time. This is a great thing for dogs. People are also spending more time outside, which means more dog walks. And pet …
We Forgot Someone
There was a time, in A.J.’s first year with us, when I had to walk him by myself. He wasn’t the most well-behaved dog on leash (to put it mildly), and I had to tough it out through walk after walk, every day, with this awful-to-walk dog. There were no leisurely family strolls through the …
That’s Dinner?
I’ve been traveling a lot lately. It’s not unusual for me to go on a couple of business trips every year, but I’ve been on three trips in the past five months. When I’m away Greg takes care of A.J., shuttling him back and forth to daycare, walking him, and feeding him. While they both …
Holidays 2018
It's been another fun holiday season with A.J.! Ornaments The first year A.J. joined our family, the few times we left him home alone we put a fence around the Christmas tree. The tree and all its ornaments survived nicely that year. That hasn’t always been the case since then, and this year was no …
Halloween V
Most people with dogs know that Halloween can be an adventure. People ringing the door bell and knocking on the door all night, the door opening and closing, strange people standing on the front porch; it’s a very confusing night for dogs. Years ago, A.J.’s first Halloween with us was a lesson in door etiquette. …
AJ Goes to Work
Last week people on my team at work flew in from around the country. While everyone was here we decided to take a little time out from work and get outside to see some of the beautiful outdoor sights around Portland. We chose Multnomah Falls as our destination. The Falls are about a half hour …
AJ the Springer 