The Terrible Two's

Happy Belated New Year to one and all. I apologize for the lack of updates. You know how life gets.

Today's update is special because it is Curly Joe's second birthday! Or so it said on his adoption papers. I admit, I'd forgotten about it until I got an e-mail from Dogster wishing Curly happy birthday.

At obedience class last year, the trainer said that dogs are still pretty much puppies well into their second year. Well ... crap. I guess we'll have to put up with this a while longer. And by "this" I mean CURLY JOE. There's no end to his energy levels, and nothing ever gets him down. The rest of us are exhausted, but Curly Joe still wants to go go go. I'm grateful for this, of course. He's still a sick little dog in regards to his liver shunt, but he is maintaining very well on his supplements and special food. We ran his labs at my work and his bile acids came in at the high end of normal, so the vet suggested I put him on Denamarin, in addition to the Hepato Support and l/d food. In less than a week, there was a marked improvement in his health. I had thought he'd been looking a little "off" for a few weeks, and that confirmed it. The supplements are expensive, but if he needs them, he's going to get them.

I don't really have anything to report in regards to our little friend, and really, that's the best news. In December, our friend Aed and her two dogs moved in with us for a few weeks, and Curly Joe had a great time playing with them. Not that he doesn't enjoy Tank and Jackson's company, but Tankerbelle is old and arthritic and Jackson has bad knees, so neither of them are viable options for roughhousing. Aed's dogs were perfect for that. Video (and pardon the audio -- we were figuring out what to get from Pita Pocket):

And here he is, frolicking in our (thankfully) only snow this winter:


Last video, me trying to get Freddie to beat up Curly Joe. She loves it.


That's basically all I've got. Want some pictures? Here you go.

Tuckered out while the humans play Cranium:

I took this one when I got home from work this morning. As you can see, he still hates having his picture taken. But it was the best I could do for an impromptu birthday pic!

So that's about it. Curly Joe is doing well and running us all ragged. He is having some dominance issues which I'm trying to clear up. It might just be the new pecking order amongst the dogs, but he does tend to get protective of the strangest things (litter boxes, a pile of laundry, the couch, etc). There were a few recent incidences where Curly Joe and Tank got into a fight while I was at work. Nothing serious, but I still can't accept that kind of behavior from a dog. We'll have to work on it.

We took the dogs to Sauvie Island last summer. This year, I want to take them to the coast. As far as we know, only Tank has seen the ocean, and though we know none of them like to swim, it would at least be nice to get out and enjoy Oregon with the boys.

I hope you are all doing well. Curly Joe sends his love. Or rather, he would send his love if he weren't busy chewing on his Nylabone.

Graduation!

Guess who graduated? That's right, Curly did! I don'the know how, since he was an absolute bastard yesterday. Seriously! I was so embarassed. I'd played fetch with him before we left, too, but it apparently only served to give him even more energy. For class, we did "puppy push ups," which means we reviewed all the commands we'd learned, but out of order. Curly did well on that, but then we went out into the store for more reviews. Except Quinn was testing us, not the dogs. Well, I failed miserably. Faaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaiiiilllllledddd. Curly Joe wouldn'the listen to a single command. Quinn kept laughing and saying he had ADD and I was thinking, "Well, somebody here does, and it isn't the dog!" Then we went back to the rink room and tried to learn heel. I say "try" because CURLY WOULDN'T DO IT. I would lure him with a treat to sit by my leg. He would follow it for a few seconds and then walk off in the other direction. Quinn said it was the hardest thing to learn in Beginner class, so I wasn't too upset about it. It was like the dogs knew it was the last day of class and figured they didn't have to listen to a damn thing we said.

When it came down to the graduation ceremony, Quinn pulled out this yellow chicken and when she pressed the arm, it would play the graduation song. She walked over and gave Nita the Shepherd her certificate and congradulated her and loved on her. Then the chicken went into the chicken dance and she turned it off. Repeat for Ava, the Boston Terrier. Then came Curly Joe's turn. Holy crap, he did it! We did it! I give us an F+.

After "diplomas" were handed out, Quinn brought the graduation cap around and took pictures of all three dogs wearing it. Nita did the best.

Ava wouldn't sit for it, so her mom had to hold her up. So cute.

And as for Curly? Well, I'd been dreading this moment. I expected the Pirate Incident all over again, and that's exactly what it was. He tolerated the hat, but the look he gave me? Ouch.

I've never seen an animal so completely disgusted with me in all my life. And I wasn't even the one who put the hat on him! After pictures, we let the dogs have their final playtime. It was so sad.

Big, Medium, Small: Nita, Curly Joe and Ava get ready to rumble.


I kept encouraging Nita to chew him up, but she was far too polite to try such a thing.


Who's the biggest asshole in class? Curly Joe is! (I'm kidding, my dog isn't an asshole.) When he gets too rambunctious, Quinn makes him take a brief time out. Like when he does what I like to call Boston Bowling. Ava seems to enjoy it (fall over onto her back and slap Curly Joe's face with all four of her paws), but Curly gets overstimulated. Look at this face. This is the look of a dog on the edge.



And here is Curly Joe watching Nita walk out of his life, probably forever. *tear*

I admit, I teared up at graduation. Not because I'm overly sentimental, but because I was thinking about how far Curly Joe has come. A year ago he was just a sick little puppy that nobody wanted. Eight months ago, he was in critical care. Just one phone call away from being euthanized. And now look at him. He's in his doggy teens, he's got a forever home. His liver is still fucked up, but he's doing well on his special food (and the Hepato Support and 3V). He has two big brothers and is well on the way to becoming a kick ass therapy dog. Incredible adventures, indeed.

Before we left, I told Quinn Curly Joe and I would be back for the Intermediate class. I just have to figure out how/when I can work it into my schedule. And then, because he's such a good little dog, I bought Curly Joe two presents: a new toy, and a box to put it (and the rest of them) in.

In exactly a week, Curly Joe's Auntie LaShea (foster mom) is going to be here! I can't wait for the reunion. Hopefully he doesn't shame me again....

To be continued...

Obedience Class - Week Seven

Today wrapped up the last-but-one obedience class for Curly Joe. I feel like we just started and learned absolutely nothing, but obviously that's not true.

Next week is graduation! Bring your family and your cameras! Quinn says she has lots of fun stuff planned, and she makes the dogs wear silly graduation hats. After the pirate mishap, I'm pretty sure Curly Joe won't want anything to do with the hat, but we'll see.

Today, we went out into the store and practiced all the things we've learned so far; mostly the proper way to greet people and dogs, and the "leave it." And, most important, loose-leash walking. Curly Joe is aces at this inside the store, but when we walk outside, he's pulling like he's gunning for first in the Iditarod. As usual, there was nobody in the store except for employees and our classmates, but that's fine.

Once we were back in the "room" (rink), Quinn had us work on three new activities, all involving the Stay command. First, we had to put our dogs in the Sit position, then tell them to stay. Then we were to turn around. If the dog moved, we say "uh uh," put them back in stay and repeat the command. Curly Joe did really well at this. Then we did the same thing except crouching down and tugging on their leash. If they stayed, that was good. If not, try it again. Third, we crouched down and messed with our bags or a chair.

After that, Quinn talked about grooming, nails and ears. She had us sniff our dog's ears to see if they smelled bad. I sniffed Curly Joe, not wanting to get into that whole "I have no sense of smell" thing. I'm a little jealous because says one of her dog's ears smells like chocolate. Okay, I'm a lot jealous.

She asked how often we trim our dog's nails, and I said every couple of weeks. "I either get him while he's sleeping, or my sister holds him on his back." For some reason, everyone thought this was hysterical. Every time Quinn looked at Curly Joe, he would flatten his ears. She said, "I love how his ears fall when I look at him. He looks like Yoda!"

I think she's sweet on Curly.

As for grooming, she went through brushes and combs and said how much she loves the FURminator. Heehee.

At the end of class, we had Play Time. There was a black lab puppy present for the entire class. He belonged to the trainer-in-training, and his name was Happy. He had on a little vest that said, "In training - please don't pet me," and pretty much slept the entire time. Quinn let him loose to play with the others, and Curly Joe immediately latched onto him. Happy was probably around seven or eight months old and was still bigger than Curly. Ava (the Boston Terrier) launched herself at me and landed on my chest. Then she ran off and drank water the rest of the time. Curly Joe was the most annoying dog there, and Quinn had to keep breaking them up. And here I'd played fetch with him before class and everything!

Anyway, that was pretty much the gist of it. After class, I got worksheets (and coupons) for weeks 2 and five, which I'd missed (and made up). Curly Joe was so worn out, he slept the whole way home.

Once we got home, Sis and I took all three dogs for a walk together. I love a good, mismatched set of mutts.


See you next week!

Obedience Classes - Weeks Five and Six

We missed last week's class. Don't judge me.

Obediently, I called Quinn right away to set up a time to make up last week's class, and Curly Joe and I arrived a half hour early to class this afternoon. Quinn said that Week Five is the easiest class to make up, so that made me feel better. We worked more on the on-leash "come" command out in the store, except this time, after Curly Joe had obeyed the command (and I marked the good behavior with an enthusiastic "yes!"), I had to make him sit before I put his lead on and then give him a treat. No problem. Curly Joe is happy to do anything and everything if there's something delicious on the other end of it.

Next, we went to the small animal section and worked on Curly Joe staying in the "stay" position while I tried to distract him by talking to rats and hamsters. He did well with that, too. And that was pretty much the gist of it. At 4:30, Ava (the boston) and Nina (the GSD) showed up and we got down to brass tacks.

This week, we learned two things (well, ok. More than two, but I'parallel get to that later.): how to act appropriately around people and other dogs. Quinn told us to take the dogs out into the store, and if we came upon a customer (or an employee) who wanted to pet our dogs, we were to put them in the sit/stay position and have them sit calmly while the person pet them. If the person wasn't interested in petting our dogs, we were to reward the dogs anyway with a pat on the head. Figures, there wasn't anyone in the store. Well, there was one woman pushing her kid around in a shopping cart but she looked like she'd rather slam her hand in a car door than pet one of our dogs. Which is kind of weird because she was in a pet store. But I digress. I found some employees to sic Curly one (haha) and he did ok. He gets overexcited when you give him attention. Totally fine to come and sit on command, but once you lean over to pet him, he loses his shit. A couple of times I had to walk him in a circle and try again.

For the dogs, we were to put our pooches in a sit/stay and have them wait until we told them to "go play" or "say hello." Then they were allowed to go over and sniff or play with the other dog. After a few seconds, we were to say "Let's go" and walk away, even if the dogs were still playing. We ran into Nina and her mom a couple of times, which made me happy. I miss my Lukenstein, so I have a soft spot for Nina the GSD.

After that, we all went back to the "rink" and Quinn talked to us about nutrition and dog food and also which bones were the best to give our dogs. (She recommends Nylabones and marrow bones, if anyone's interested. Rawhide = no no.)

That was pretty much the class for the day, and Quinn ended it on a fun note (as always): the shake command. She loves to teach tricks, which is something I was never into except that Tank picked up on the "paw" thing really quick and we made a little game out of it. He'll keep giving you one paw then the other, then the other again, then the other until the world ends. One of the techs at my vet's office saw him doing that and said, "Are you shitting me? He's river dancing!"

Where was I? Oh, right. So Curly doesn'the know that one. Quinn showed me how to teach him to do it by having him sit and then holding a treat out for him to nibble while she used her other hand to kind of poke at the back of his leg. When he lifted it to get away from her, she said, "yes!" and fed him the treat. She did this one or two more times and then had me try it.

The pointy-eared bastard refused to give me his paw. He nibbled at the treat but when I poked at his leg, he glanced down at my hand like he was two seconds away from biting it off. I badgered him into obeying once, but after that he was done with it. I wasn'the going to bother, but now I'm going to keep practicing this trick just to spite him.

Lessons were over, then came the fun part: PLAY TIME! This time, Quinn had us put the dogs all in a sit/stay and then we told them to go play. And boy, did they play. The really great thing for me over these last few weeks has been to see Nina open up and enjoy being a dog. Her "owner" only got her about a month ago, and at first (at class), she was hesitant and unsure of herself. When we let the dogs play, she didn'the really know how to react and was very twitchy and nervous. This afternoon was the first time I'd seen her flat-out enjoy herself. She played with Curly Joe and Ava and even managed to pin Curly Joe once or twice. Curly will bash the hell out of tiny little Ava, but with Nina, he's all, "OH MY GOD PLEASE DON'T EAT ME."
Rolls over onto his back and stops just short of pissing himself. But Nina just played and played. It kind of made me feel bad, though. At home, Curly Joe doesn't have anyone to rough house with, as Tank is almost 12 and just wants to hang out with me and chew on a bone. So Curly has no one to play with (most of the time - Tank does tussle with him), and Tank doesn't get a moment's peace. Then we get to class, and he has so much fun tumbling with these two other dogs.

Anyway. Ava's mom said Curly Joe had the cutest face she's ever seen on a dog. If I had a dime for every time someone told me that, I'd be rich.

After class, I told Quinn that I was interested in training Curly Joe to be a therapy dog, and wondered what/if there was anything I should be doing in addition to this class to prepare him for it. She asked what sort of therapy I was interested in and I told her I wanted to take him into nursing homes. She said that I should really work with Curly Joe on calm behavior, not jumping and staying on a sit/stay position. She also said to get him used to being around wheelchairs and elderly people. I told her my mom was disabled and Curly Joe was used to being around her and her chair, and she said that was perfect and to work with him on sitting politely next to my mom while she pets him. This will be tricky because my mom (even though I tell her repeatedly when we come over to ignore the dogs until they calm down and NOT to let them jump on her) let's the dogs go nuts when they see her.

Quinn also said that she focuses a lot on the CGC in the intermediate class (which I'd already planned on signing Curly Joe up for), and that I can check the calendar and come take Quinn also said that she focuses a lot on the CGC in the intermediate class (which I'd already planned on signing Curly Joe up for), and that I can check the calendar and come take the test with Curly. It's ten bucks and even if he doesn't pass, I'll still get an idea of what we'll need to work on. Basically, Curly Joe would get the same test as the other dogs, except that since I want to take him into nursing homes, they would throw in a person on crutches or in a wheelchair for when Curly has to walk through (and obey me in) a crowd. with Curly. It's ten bucks and even if he doesn't pass, I'll still get an idea of what we'll need to work on. Basically, Curly Joe would get the same test as the other dogs, except that since I want to take him into nursing homes, they would throw in a person on crutches or in a wheelchair for when Curly has to walk through (and obey me in) a crowd.

And that's pretty much it. Two more weeks left, can you believe it? I can't. I don't want it to end.

I realized something in class today: Every week I agonize over how much Curly Joe still has to learn, but I realized from something Quinn said that it's not like he has to learn EVERYTHING we go over by the next class. I've been so busy thinking I have to get him 100% on everything every week that I get overwhelmed and frustrated. And that's no fun for Curly Joe.

On the way home, he passed out in the back seat. I'd taken him and Tank out into the big yard before class and played fetch with him for 15 minutes. That, plus play-time with Big and Small (Nina and Ava), really wore him out. SUCCESS!

LaShea (Curly Joe's auntie and former foster mother) is coming to Portland for a visit in a couple of weeks. I put in for vacation time (what a luxury! I love my job!!!!) so we'll all have plenty of time for fun. I just really hope I will have worked with Curly Joe well enough to not shame myself when she gets here...

See you next week!

Obedience Classes - Week Four

Well, we survived Week 4! That means we're halfway through the class. Seems to be going by really fast, and I know I'm not putting enough effort into Curly Joe's training. After today's class, I've gotten a bit of my confidence back. Sis came with, as we needed to do some shopping. The deal was, she would go to Costco to pick up our cat's meds and injections. She sat in the class for a little bit and then went out to run errands.

Today we learned Stay. Curly Joe caught in pretty quick (as he's wont to do when food is involved). Next, Quinn had us go out into the store to practice the "come" command. Curly Joe and I went first. I took off his leash and she clipped a really long lead to his collar. The lesson was to show Curly Joe a treat, then walk five or six isles down and turn around. When I was ready, I was to say, "Curly Joe, come." As soon as he started to move toward me, I was to mark the behavior with an enthusiastic "Yes!" and then grab his collar when he got to me, give him a treat and then wait for Quinn to come over so I could walk back and do it again. Mina (the shep) went next, then Ava (the boston terrier). I love Mina to pieces because she reminds me of Luke; just this giant ball of happy with ever so subtle undertones of batshitcrazy. She moves like she has no idea who's controlling her body.

But I digress. Quinn had us do this twice and then head back to the "rink."

I forgot -- earlier in the class, Quinn had had us walk our dogs down a couple of isles where she had planted "booby traps." Bags of treats or toys all along the isles, and we were to walk the dogs along and tell them to "leave it" when they went for something. Curly Joe did really well at this, too. He wasn't really interested in grabbing anything; he was just sniffing at them.

So after the "come" lesson, we went back to the "rink" and learned some more doggy stuff. I have to work with Curly on the "come" command, especially outdoors. When we're outside, he very rarely comes when I call him. Neither does Tank, but that's mostly because he's going deaf. But I'm trying to train Curly Joe to watch me when we're out there, and I think it's working. I loose-leash walked him around the yard before class (and also played fetch with him for about 20 minutes), and I could see out of the corner of my eye that Curly Joe was looking up at me from time to time. He knows to sit when I give the hand signal, too. I need to work with him more on the "down" signal, though. But anyway, I have to think up an "emergency" word for Curly Joe. It's the word I use when it's serious and I need him to come Right Now. There's more to it, but for the life of me, I can't remember. Even with the meds, I have trouble keeping things straight.

After class, Me, Curly and the boston terrier stayed behind to make up Week Two, which was "sit" and basic behavioral problems. Curly Joe knows sit, so we skipped that part, but every problem Quinn asked about, Curly Joe had. Embarrassing! Nipping? Check. Jumping? Check. Digging? Check. She gave me tips on how to deal with all of these things, and I brought up Curly Joe's penchant for cat-chasing, and also how I don't like how he plays with Tank (bites his "ankles"). The cat thing, I basically have to teach Curly Joe that, when a cat comes into the room (or runs by), he gets yummies if he doesn't try and chase them. With the nipping, I just stand up and ignore him for 3-5 minutes when he nibbles. It'll be a lot of work, trying to cure him of these habits, but I'll do it.

While Quinn was talking, I suddenly heard a bang behind me. I turned around and there was a giant Akita staring at me. After the lesson was completed, I walked Curly out into the store and we ran into the Akita and her "sister," a giant Newfoundland mix (who I wanted to hug and squeeze squish her ooshy face). Quinn was behind us, and she walked up to the Akita and gave her a big hug and said, "I love you I love you I love you!" Every Akita I ever saw when I worked as a tech was a big old 8-ball (bite/attack without provocation), so ... I guess there are nice Akitas out there in the world. I started to pull Curly Joe away, but Quinn asked me to leave him for a minute so she could see how the two big dogs did with him. They were mostly like, "Son, I shit bigger than you." Curly Joe, for his part, seemed really, really intimidated by them but completely unable to resist interacting with them. This mostly involved him walking under them to sniff around. When the Newfie turned to have her turn at sniffing, Curly Joe fell over onto his back and exposed his belly to her.

When they have off-leash play at the end of class, Curly Joe always rumbles with Ava. I'm positive this is because he either likes being the Big Dog, or he's afraid of big dogs. Poor Mina the Shepherd wants to play but Curly's too busy rolling Ava like a bowling ball. To Ava's credit, she never backs down from Curly Joe.

So all in all, the lesson went well. After class, Sis and I did some shopping. She insisted I get some smaller tennis balls for Curly Joe; she says the regular sized ones are too big for him, but I disagree. Plus, I'm worried hell shock one the smaller ones. We'll see.

I, again, forgot to talk to Quinn about eventually training Curly Joe to be therapy dog. D'oh.

To wrap things up, here are a few more recent pictures:

See you next week!

P.S. Playing fetch before class paid off: Curly Joe was more well behaved this time around, and towards the end he was just flopped out on his side. Exercise GOOD!

Countdown to obedience

In two days, Curly Joe and I start obedience classes. I haven't taken a dog to obedience classes in ... over 20 years. This ought to be fun. I dosed Curly with Frontline last night and trimmed his nails the night before last. That was a surprise; normally he kicks up a big fuss, but he was lying on the frontroom floor, basking in the warmth of the pellet fire, and I figured I'd play with his paws. He protested a little at first, but once he realized I was trimming his nails whether he liked it or not, he just lay back down. LaShea and Chad did a great job of desensitizing him when he was a puppy, but now that his health is better and he's found his place in the house (i.e. Dennis the Menace), it's a toss-up whether or not he'll let me cut his nails.

I'm interested to see how he'll do in a class setting. The last time I took him to Petco (the classes are at Petsmart), he was really intimidated. I think the smells overwhelmed him because when we all met up in Colorado last August, he did just fine when we all went inside the Stanley Hotel.

I'm interested to see how I do, too. I'm pretty shy and being out in public usually freaks me out. I'm not good at small talk and never know what to say to people, so I'm really hoping Curly Joe doesn't pick up on any of my anxiety.

Class starts at 4:30, so I want to be up in time to take him for a walk or at least play with him out in the yard before we go. You know, to burn off some of that extra energy so he'll pay attention in class.

The vet wants to see Curly in soon to recheck his bloodwork. Thankfully, I get free labwork through my job, so I can pretty much get any tests I want and not have to worry about breaking the bank. Hopefully he's doing ok. Or as ok as a dog with a messed up liver can be. He's still a little porky, so I need to really step up on the walks. I've lost ten pounds in the last month, so I'm really motivated now to keep us all up and moving. Especially now that our nails are all short and pretty.

Recent pictures (as always, click to enlarge):

I slept on the couch a couple nights (days, whatever) last week because I wanted the warmth and comfort of the pellet fire. The boys fell asleep as soon as they settled down in their bed.

Last week, we got a package from LaShea and Chad and in it (amongst other things) was a DVD Chad had made from when they were fostering Curly Joe. We finally got to see his curly ears!!!! I haven't had time to watch the whole thing, but what I've seen so far is both adorable and hysterical. It's really sad because Curly Joe lived outdoors for so long, he didn't know it was okay to come in the house. He'd follow their dogs (Samus and Sheba) to the door and then sit down. Gahhh. Of course, he doesn't have that problem anymore. He runs everywhere and usually doesn't stop until he hits something.

The other night, I swear to god, he said "Murphy."

For the rest of us

Happy Festivus, everybody!

Curly Joe wasn't feeling well last night. He vomited (food) three or four times and was really restless. I've only had him for four months, so I'm still learning how to read him. My other dogs I had for 12 years or more and I knew them better than the back of my own hand. When they weren't feeling well, I usually knew why and what to do for them. Curly Joe has a serious liver problem, and it's something I've never encountered before. I can't tell when it's just a bad puppy day and when it's a bad liver day, so when he isn't feeling well, I have to work hard not to freak out.

My main concern last night was cleaning up the puke before Curly Joe inhaled it again (gagggg), but his gums were nice and pink, he wasn't dehydrated and he didn't react when I palpated his abdomen. I know for a fact he's peeing and pooping okay, so that wasn't the problem. It looked like there were bits of paper towel in his vomit, so I figured it was just regular old garbage gut. He didn't eat dinner and he didn't eat breakfast this morning, and that was fine. One thing I learned working as a vet tech, when an animal vomits, you put them on NPO for 24 hours. When I fed the inmates this evening, Curly Joe ran upstairs and sat by his bowl, so I knew he was feeling better. Not wanting to push things, I gave him about a quarter of what he normally eats. He ate slowly, but finished it all, so I think he'll be ok.

I was really nervous because with all this snow we've gotten, I'm pretty sure we couldn't have made it out to the vet if it had been serious.

This afternoon we had some fun out in the big yard. Since we got him, I've been nervous about letting Curly out into the big yard because the fence on the south side of the property is old and our neighbors' dog is always getting through somehow. I was worried Curly would find the hole and escape. However, I keep forgetting that dogs need a pack, and that wherever Tank goes, Curly follows. Tank has never run away once in his life (except for the time he jumped out my window -the day after he was neutered- ran to the front of the house and sat by the door to wait for me); he's only interested in sniffing, so I know that he'll stay in the yard and hopefully so will the puppy.

At any rate, Sis and I were out in the yard trying to fix a busted pipe. The dogs busted out of the yard and ran around in the snow. They were having so much fun, I didn't have the heart to make them go back into the little yard. And really, Curly Joe isn't going to learn anything if I don't let him get out and explore.

We haven't had any water here for a week and we ran out of wood pellets the other day. With all the snow/ice/more snow we've had, we haven't been able to get to the store. This afternoon, a guy from the plant nursery across the road helped dig us out of the driveway and put our snow chains on, and my sister was able to drive to the little store a couple miles down the road. She bought pellets and a few provisions, so tonight we and the animals were nice and toasty warm. I think it was a combination of good, strong heat and an afternoon frolicking in the snow that made Curly Joe sleep so much. He's been quiet all night, but still frisky and lovable when you say hello to him. For my part, I was so unbelievably relaxed (and, more importantly, warm), I dozed off in the middle of the Bruins/Devils game.

I'm sad that I won't be able to make a special First Christmas for Curly Joe, but the important thing is that he's even here for his first Christmas. Honestly, animals don't give a shit about holidays. It's just nice to include them in our celebrations, and I know my mom was really looking forward to us coming up to her house for Christmas. I was going to buy the dogs some new toys (since Curly Joe hoards them), too. I guess I'll just have to tell them Santa caught an updraft and won't be able to stop by until the weekend.

Pictures? Okay!

My car is under there. Somewhere.




It's like he fell asleep mid-scratch.

I have a ton more, but snow is snow. I spent 26 years buried under the stuff every winter, and when I moved out to Portland, I thumbed my nose at the thought of buying a snow shovel. Boy do I wish I had a snow shovel right now. Portland doesn't have very many plows (it hasn't snowed like this since the 60's), and they don't use salt for environmental reasons. They put down some sort of de-icing chemical, the purpose of which seems to be to make the roads five times slicker than actual ice, so when it does snow, the whole city shuts down. Growing up in Chicago, in all the years I was in school, we never once got a snow day. When we started attending the local community college, my sister and I went to class when it was 80 below (with the wind chill). We went home for lunch between classes, got stuck in the driveway, a neighbor dug us out and we went back for the rest of our classes. We had to scrape ice off the inside of my car before we left. There was a giant hole in the driver's side floor, over which I put a piece of wood, but slush splashed up into the car anyway. Never once owned a pair of snow chains. Since they refuse to salt the roads in Portland, if you don't have chains or an SUV, you're pretty much screwed until the bad weather passes.

Normally I wouldn't mind, but when I have to miss work or when one of the animals gets sick and I can't get him or her to the vet, well. I take issue with that. Global warming, people. It's not going to get any better. Salt the fecking roads. One week a year isn't going to do much damage.

For all that I bitch about the snow, at least Curly Joe is having a blast. I don't have to work until Saturday, which means I get to spend lots of quality time with my dogs. There's a six pack of Svengoolie (courtesy of my friend, Adoresixtyfour) waiting for me up at my mom's, and it's KILLING me that I can't go up and get it. And, you know, see my ma. Needless to say, old Sven would have been lovely to have around this week. Sven, the dogs, a lapful of cats, a bottle of IBC root beer and a roaring pellet fire. I guess I'll have to stick with hockey, something I haven't been able to watch since I started working the night shift. The Winter Classic is coming up in a little over a week; at least I have that to look forward to. I was born in Michigan (45 minutes south of Detroit) but grew up in Chicago. Though I am a Red Wings fan, I'm still a little conflicted as to who I should be rooting for.

At any rate, Curly Joe hopes you all have a merry Christmas and a kick ass new year. So do I. Thank you to everyone who has supported Curly Joe and to everyone who reads this. Here's to hoping I'll be updating this blog for many years to come.

December Pupdate

Curly Joe's first Christmas is rapidly approaching. Personally, I'm a bit of a grinch about Christmas. After our dad died, my sister took it upon herself to decorate the house for the holidays. We haven't had any sort of Christmas (with a tree and presents) in seven or eight years, but this year my sister is determined to go all out: dig the tree out of storage, string up some lights and ornaments, put some twinkle lights out front. Me, I just want to get a leg lamp and stick it in the front window. My south-facing bedroom window faces the road, and I think it would be hysterical to put a leg lamp there. None of our asshole neighbors would get it, but we would. I actually got my sister a mini leg lamp a few years ago, but the cats spend a lot of time curled under it for warmth, so the stocking has gotten a bit ... furry.

But I digress. Oh, hey. Curly Joe finally (just now) chewed through his fire hose and pulled out the squeaker. Garbage time!

Curly continues to do well. He raided the garbage quite a few times last week, so I've been worried he'll have a flare up or something, but he seems to be okay. He's still on L/D, Hepato Support and the 3V supplements. Every now and then, he'll eat around the Hepato Support capsule (I just stick it on top of his food) and I'll have to yank open his gob and cram it down his throat.

Saturday, Sis and I took Curly Joe on an outing. I can't say what we did because it's a surprise for LaShea and Chad, but Curly had a great time and met a lot of nice people, including Dr. Brown. She is the doctor I met last year (through my regular vet) who did acupuncture for Lady and Meathead. It was good to see her again, as she was on maternity leave for a while, and we didn't have a reason to see her after Meathead died in July. She introduced us to a massage therapist (whose name I've forgotten), and we chatted for a bit. Everyone had to stop and say hello to Curly, which is pretty much par for the course with this guy. He's irresistable. When it came time for Curly to [do that thing that's a secret], he wasn't happy about it at all. Afterwards, we went back over and continued talking with Dr. Brown. She said a lot of nice things about me and my sister and how we have the island of misfit toys except for animals. And also the fountain of youth because our animals live so long. "Curly Joe, even if he doesn't get his liver fixed, will probably live to be 15 and they'll go, "Well, he's starting to get a little bit of a limp.'" Oh, I hope.

Sis mentioned how I wanted to get Curly Joe trained for pet therapy, and the massage therapist said that he would be perfect for it and I should definitely look into it for him. That made me so happy. For one thing, now I know I'm not biased; there really is something about Curly Joe that draws people to him. I mean, all dogs are wonderful, but Curly Joe is special somehow. At home, he's hyper, obnoxious, jumping all over Tank, but when we're out in public, he's all quiet and submissive. I dunno what that's about, but I'm going to roll with it.

At any rate, here are some recent pictures and video of Curly Joe:

On our way to [the thing].
Afterwards, I stopped at Petco to replace the leash Curly ate last week.


Curly Speak is funny.

Yesterday, Curly Joe was frolicking around the office with a toy in his mouth. He was play growling at Tank, teasing him with the toy. This went on so long, we tuned them out. Tank, who had been silent the entire time, got fed up and went, "ARF!" and Curly Joe dropped the toy and went, "Damn." I keep telling Tank to kick his ass. I hope someday he'll take my advise and put that little dog in place.

November Pupdate

Not much to report on the Curly Joe front, except that he has learned how to bark and has taken up the unfortunate hobby of digging holes in the landscaping. See?



He has also learned doggy laughter, which I haven't caught on video yet. I do have some new photos, though:

Hanging out on the front porch with Tank.


Snoozing (with Tank) by the warm and cozy wood-burning stove.




Caught in the act.

A few seconds after that last picture was taken, Tank taught Curly Joe a thing or two about inappropriate touching.

I'm still looking into puppy classes for the young'un. It's hard to find something to fit my schedule, since I work nights. I'd love to take him to a dog park soon and just let him loose. He has so much energy, it exhausts me just watching him zoom around the yard.