Here’s a little something MamaLiberty wrote while looking at pictures like these and thinking about dogs past and dogs future.
You Know It’s Time To Get a Dog…
When an inch of soup is left in the bowl and you are too full…
A walk to the mailbox is just a walk to the mailbox…
The first piece of toast in the morning gets burned a little… but you shrug and eat it anyway.
The antelope steak is a little too big for one meal… but not enough for two.
Your feet are cold under the desk…
Nobody in the world cares if you spend an extra hour in town… and nothing is waiting for you when you get back anyway.
Waking in the night, you hear the sound again…
…and, looking down to where the dog used to be, you realize that you are all alone and will have to get up yourself to find out if it is just the wind…
—–
Got anything else to add to MamaLiberty’s list?
Me, I’m feeling under the weather, both literally (six days of rain, snow, sleet, and bone-numbing damp cold and no sign of a break) and figuratively (in the sense that this damn weather has got me feeling weak and wimpy).
I try to work, but things that should take minutes drag out for hours — then aren’t good when I finally get there.
I might not have much for you for the next few days. So in the meantime, have some more great dog stuff:
(A day-brightener from EN.)
My old feral foster dog Frosty snoozing in Cabin Sweet Cabin. (And Ava’s tail.)
Speaking of Ava, this is so exactly true of her:
Sunny and 73 in Waukegan, IL on the 15th of March. Unheard of. Just finished 5 miles on the bike and starting to get back in shape again. Eat your heart out Claire. Wish u were here to share the good weather with us. This has been the mildest winter in a long time.
That Idatarod starter kit is really funny. We’re working on getting a dog right now. Just waiting for one we want. I’m thinking we won’t see the cat for at least two weeks when the dog comes home.
Thanks, Claire. The dog brain thing is really funny.
I’m going to try hard to be rational about finding a new dog… after all, that’s a long term commitment and not to be undertaken lightly.
But I’m really afraid that the first pair of begging eyes to catch my attention is going to short circuit all the good intentions. I’m going to be a sucker for it… and there isn’t much I can do about it. 🙂
“Whotta hangover!” No, it would be a *real* hangover if there were a puddle of barf on the floor below the dog’s head.
See the things you learn in a college education?
I love the Iditarod starter kit — I saved the pic.
Have you heard lately, or at all, how Frosty is doing?
What Mac the Knkfe wrote, x2.
“perception is reality” is a theme I’ve been noticing a lot lately. Claire being waxed is in there too, I don’t miss that feeling.
I hope the new dog owners are prepared for a higher dog food budget going forward:
How Quickly Can Price Inflation Explode to the Upside?
http://www.economicpolicyjournal.com/2012/03/how-quickly-can-price-inflation-explode.html
Dog dumping in the countryside is likely to pick up again. The small bright side is, getting a free dog somewhere is going to get easier.
Idatarod starter kit – hahaha.
Hope you feel better
Never have to worry about “when is it time to get a dog”. Always have at least two around. In fact, “Nana” sitting next to me right now. Just had her dinner and is waiting for me to get off my duff and take her outside.
Do know a gentleman who won’t get another dog because it was so difficult for him when his last dog was killed.
Feel better! It’s hot, humid, and buggy here already. I don’t know if that makes you feel any better about your weather, but…I’d probably trade for a few days. 😉
Anyway,
a timely post today, Claire. I’m getting my new puppy in 2 weeks. I can’t wait. The house has been dog-less for 8 months and it’s time. We’re calling her Denali, after the mountain in Alaska.
I’m sorry to hear that you’re under the weather. Hope you’re shining again soon!
I also have a multi dog household … when Angel Ginger died in April 2010 after a short bout with lymphoma … I wasnt about to get another dog … St Francis and Angel Ginger conspired and sent Corey to me… the new dog’ NEVER replaces those who are gone … I still think of my Ginger every day, and often ‘feel’ her spirit … I cant imagine being ‘dogless’ though… or ‘catless’ ….
Hope you feel better soon, Claire! Its springtime with a vengeance here in SC, 85 degrees today … everything blooming, bees buzzing …
Speaking of dogs … Sweetie the heeler seems to still be doing well in her new home … fingers crossed and prayers continue ….
You know when it’s time to get a Dog…
…when you see a dog with real sad looking puppy dog eyes looking at you and looking like he saying “Take me, keep me” and… oh so gently giving you licks on the face because he loves you.
(Found on a forum, but it speaks really well about this.)
When your wife catches you browsing rescues on Petfinder, and you stammer… “I’m just looking…. it doesn’t mean anything…really..”
If you have the Blah’s you might need some soup? Whenever my Dad had the Crud he would cover up with a bunch of quilts and sweat it out. Thanx for sharing the dog pictures.
When you find yourselves willing to compromise between the best dog she ever had (Beagle) and the best dog he ever had (Newfoundland) …
And the compromise isn’t “we just had that one, now we get the other”.
There was a lot of Craigslist and animal shelter online trolling. Via http://animal.discovery.com/breed-selector/dog-breeds.html I found Chesapeake Bay Retreivers. They turn out to have those “extremely desirable” Newfoundland genes 😉 . We got a wonderful half-Chesie rescue who quickly won our hearts and is rapidly growing out of her fears. (Is there a lower form of life than puppy/dog abusers?)
My dog Molly sleeps with her head straight down too sometimes. Until that pic I’d never seen another dog do the same. No idea what it means or how they stay asleep that way either.
Mamaliberty said: “I’m going to try hard to be rational about finding a new dog… after all, that’s a long term commitment and not to be undertaken lightly.”
It has been my experience that you may not always get the dog you want, but you usually get the dog you need. Mine are a motley pack of mongrels that I wouldn’t part with for anything. Life without dogs? Not possible!
Ohhh, all the good dog comments. I meant to come back in and answer the lot of them. But it doesn’t take long to get behind on a comment thread around here.
Still, I’ve had a ball reading these comments — and if I were awarding prizes, surely one would go to TFA303 for the biggest laugh.
Feeling better today, thank you. We got a break in the weather — just a dry spell between storms (another is on its way in and next week looks a lot like this one), but it helped a LOT. And a little rest helped me avoid that cold that was trying to catch me.
Pat — Frosty’s doing great. She was adopted by a friend, so I get to see her occasionally. She’s still extremely shy (as ferals always tend to remain), but she’s got a happy home on 80 acres.
Glad to hear Frosty is doing well. (I still _had_ a photo of her till I lost ALL my pix a month ago. Bummer!)