When we first brought A.J. home as a one-year-old, he tried to get attention by crying. He cried A LOT. That included waking me up in the morning when he decided it was time to get up. But I slowly taught him that whining was never going to get him what he wants, and he eventually stopped crying …
All Grown Up
Holidays with A.J. have always been an adventure. His first Christmas with us resulted in a trip to the emergency vet after he managed to eat an entire loaf of raw bread dough. (And this was shortly after he’d eaten his breakfast plus three whole sausages my step-son snuck to him without my knowledge.) We …
Just a Little Attention
We put up a Christmas tree over the weekend. Normally changes around the house don’t seem to bother A.J., but this time, well, he was a bit … needy. We went for our usual walk on Monday morning. After lunch I needed to leave to go finish my Christmas shopping. Normally when I leave A.J. …
Sore Paws
A.J. was not a good boy this morning. And, as sometimes happens when A.J. is not a good boy, he wound up spending some time with his veterinarian this afternoon. Instead of going for our morning walk I took A.J. to the park where he could run off-leash. It was a beautiful, sunny morning. …
The Hawk and the Crow
Dog walking in the winter can be quite the chore. Rain, snow, freezing temperatures, biting winds…it’s not always a pleasant experience. But sometimes you get to see the most incredible things. We’ve seen a coyote hunting in a field. We’ve watched deer wander across the trail. We’ve seen bald eagles perched in trees or soaring …
Emergency Haircut
A.J. got a haircut the other day. It wasn’t planned, and it wasn’t a very good haircut. The reason he got a haircut is because, once again, he wandered into someplace he shouldn’t have. We took a different path on our walk than we have been. It was very cold outside, so partway through …
Giving Thanks 2015
There are many people out there who have conversations with their dogs. And no, I’m not talking about the people who talk to their dogs (we all do that, don’t we?), I’m talking about the people who truly believe their dogs talk back – as in, they hear an actual voice. Now, as long as …
DIY Dog Door Insulation
Several months ago, at the cost of many hundreds of dollars, we replaced an entire exterior door so we could give A.J. a dog door. The first company I talked to about replacing the door said I had to buy my own dog door. Then they’d order the door and put the dog door in, …
Grandma’s Blanket Part 2
A.J. has a cousin. She’s a cat named Betty, and she belongs to my younger brother. (Or my brother belongs to her; it’s hard to tell with cats.) A.J. has never met his cousin Betty, and never will. Betty is a rescue cat, and my brother would rather we not try to figure out how …
Grandma’s Blanket
Some of my warmest memories from childhood are from Grandma and Grandpa’s house. There was always Juicy Fruit gum in the drawer, cookies in the cupboard, and those little mini boxes of cereal for breakfast. Grandpa did a lot of puttering around. He couldn’t hear anybody other than Grandma, and he clicked his false teeth …
AJ the Springer 