I walked into the hallway the other night, where A.J. was lying on his side on the hardwood floor. He had a carrot stick hanging out of his mouth. He wasn’t eating it, it was just hanging there. I pulled on it to make sure it wasn’t stuck on a tooth or anything, but no, …
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.
Holiday Troubles II
December 27, 2014 One Reese’s peanut butter Christmas tree. One nutcracker Snickers bar. Five or six Lindor milk chocolate truffles, wrapped. One package of Jelly Bellies. Some peanut M&Ms. Some Almond Roca, wrapped. That’s what A.J. ate tonight while Greg and I were out enjoying a very nice dinner. I called the emergency vet and …
A.J.’s Second Christmas
December 25, 2014 Today was A.J.’s second Christmas with us. What a difference from last year! Last year I was struggling to walk him down the street. I didn’t leave the house for days after we put up the Christmas tree and put presents around it because I couldn’t leave A.J. alone with all that. …
Boys’ Weekend
November 23, 2014 I got back last night from a four day trip to California for a job interview. While I was gone Greg walked A.J. on some of the trails. Everything was covered in deep snow, which A.J. likes to occasionally pounce into. On at least one occasion during this time he came up …
Nightly Ritual
Every night at bedtime I give A.J. a treat. I used to give it to him to get him into his crate for the night. I stopped making him stay in the crate, but every night he still runs in there and waits for his treat. The other night I decided he needed to do …
A.J. is a Therapy Dog!
September 26, 2014 This has been a pretty exciting week for A.J. Well, probably more for me, A.J. just kind of goes with whatever is going on. Monday we continued our therapy dog training and had our first observation at an extended care facility. There were four teams being evaluated by two observers. One of the …
A.J. Takes the Therapy Dog Test
September 20, 2014 When I was looking to adopt a dog, one of the things I was hoping to find was a dog with the temperament to be a therapy dog. I liked the idea of being able to take my dog to hospitals or nursing homes and help brighten peoples' days. I thought A.J. …
Where’s My Food?
I had been keeping the bag with A.J.’s dry food in it on top of a plastic bin in the garage. I moved the bag into the house the other day. When we went into the garage after our walk yesterday, A.J. ran over and sat on top of the bin.
A.J. Goes Out to Dinner
September 12, 2014 Another stellar A.J. day today! Greg actually suggested we go to dinner someplace where we could take A.J. with us. So we went to Flatbread Pizza. (Greg has made it clear he doesn't actually understand why anyone would want to take their dog to dinner, but because it's something I've really wanted to …
A.J. at See Spot Splash 2014
August 26, 2014 We had so much fun today! A.J. and I went to the Natatorium, Boise’s public pool, for See Spot Splash. I didn’t know how it was going to work or how A.J. would handle it, but he was great. I’m pretty sure today was the best day of his whole life. The …
AJ the Springer 