As the days go by with Mommy stuck in bed because of her foot surgery, I amass a larger and larger stash of cat toys next to her. I love all my little toys. Mom says that I like ‘catnip’ tea, because I suck on every cat toy in the house. Sucking on things makes me feel much better and I figure since it makes me feel better, I will bring them to Mom to make her better.
The Zoo is kind of funny when it comes to toys. Charles steals the biggest toys in the dogbox to play with (sometimes they are bigger than him). Louise likes Charles little tiny tennis balls to chew on (which freaks Mommy out so she watches very carefully to make sure nothing is swallowed). I prefer small soft toys – the smaller the better. Mom says “to each their own,” whatever that means.
The 3 dogs and the cat-dog all want my lunch. It is kind of hard to ignore all the salivating stares when you are trying to have a bite to eat. They always have been beggers, but now that I have limited mobility, they all seem to push me around a lot more. They aren’t getting the exercise that they are used to, and just like me, all they want to do is eat right now it seems.
Oh, those begging eyes, Louise! I know that you want to go for a walk, but it still going to be a while. Good thing that I know how to resist those pitiful stares, well sort of.
(P.S. Do you notice Mini asleep in Charles bed in his exercise pen? She uses it much more than he does. Hahaha)
Mom has been lying down on the job for 38 days now because of her foot surgery. She thinks that it will be 18 more days before she can sit at her desk again (she hopes, she hopes). That would be 8 weeks of having her foot in the air. We hope she is right, but we kind of like this lying down thing. We get to be in the middle of everything.
She is the luckiest Mom because she has three doggies protecting her legs from any bad things, like cats coming up on the bed to bother her.
Louise thinks she is a small dog and tries to cuddle up as tight has she can to Mommy’s good leg. It gets a little crowded.
Mom is lucky that Sofie mostly stays on the floor because, with 2 computers, 2 dogs on the bed, a leg cast, a giant leg pillow, and all her files and crossword puzzles, there is hardly room for her on this little bed.
We love the pink snow when it falls. It looks like the white stuff put it isn’t cold. We don’t know if Charles ever saw pink snow before because he tried to eat it. Pink snow makes us happy. Do you have pink snow? This is our friend Amy’s yard (she’s a yellow lab). She has lots of trees that line her drive. We only have one cherry tree and it is little and get’s white flowers, not pink. Pink snow is slippery and Mommy worries that we are going to slip. Mommy always worries.
The temperature went from cold to hot in a moment. I didn’t bring water and all the dogs’ did was pant and eat grass on our long walk today. Maybe I have 3 sheep instead of 3 dogs. I wonder if the grass tasted cool and moist, quenching their thirst until we got home to the water.
In case you were wondering, eating grass is fine for dogs. In my review of veterinarian and journal articles, no one really knows (or agrees on) why they do it, but they all say that it is not harmful. Basically, it has no nutritional value (sort of like iceberg lettuce). There is speculation that dogs eat grass when their tummies are upset, which I know is true. Mine have always eaten grass when they want to barf (especially Sofie). But, I also think they like the taste. Squash had a particular onion grass that he preferred each spring on my neighbor’s corner, and I find that Louise enjoys the same grass when it comes up.
The cats like grass too. We actually grow it indoors in hopes they will leave the houseplants alone. It doesn’t keep them from eating everything else, but they have fun with it. I know that the houseplants make the cats barf, but interestingly enough, I don’t find the grass does. Go figure?
My only concern with grass eating is when people starting putting all those chemicals on their lawns (which I hate). I make sure to keep the dogs off those surfaces so that they don’t get chem-paws, and so they don’t ingest the pesticides and other things that are just plain deadly.
Charles is a big knee-spooner. He gets in the turn of your knees and hangs on for dear life. It doesn’t matter if Mini Cooper or Nine wants the spot. The knees are his. Sometimes I do find Mini and Charles cuddling at the foot of the bed, so he obviously does move at some point.
First is it is 75 degrees then it is snowing. This is the craziest winter ever. Louise and Charles soak up every sun ray they can get. This must be a black dog thing because blond Sofie is hiding in the shade and it isn’t even hot out yet.
Mom had her long-Janes (thermal underwear) on because it was 18 degrees F (-8 C) out, but Mother Nature has been fooling us with warm days and nights all winter. February was the warmest month ever in the Mid-Atlantic and the weather people say this is the earliest spring in over 100 years. The cherry blossoms are out, and they are predicting the National cherry blossoms (in Washington DC – 50 miles away) will peak around March 14 (usually they peak in April). That is just crazy!
Mom is trying to teach Charles how to sit with us for her famous Picture Moments. He does not listen to any commands and while we sit so beautifully and wait for her (applause and treats for Louise and me), he goes and goes and goes. Mom just keeps picking him up and putting him in between us until she can get a shot of all 3 of us together. Maybe by next Xmas he will get what he is supposed to do.
Forsythia, azalea, daffodils, crocus, cherry blossom, and hellebore. Even the maples are budding. Oh my! Official spring is still 3 weeks away.
What kind of mischief did you get into today? – Sofie Bear (the poser)
Louise has been knee begging forever. That is when she quietly places her head on your leg and opens her big brown eyes really wide to say “please!” This particular picture, looking down from where I am seated, is of her daily (always around 3:30 PM) begging to go for a walk. She gets tired of me sitting at my desk and decides it is time for me to get up and be with her. If I don’t respond she starts knocking my hand up when I am trying to ‘mouse.’ The funny thing is that Squash before her used to do this same thing. He would decide it was time for an afternoon walk and he would push my hand away from the keyboard with his big furry head. Once he passed over the rainbow bridge, Louise started doing this. She pushes my hand, but she is more into placing her head or paws on my leg.
“I wish I could accommodate, but dogs are not on my work schedule until 4:30, Miss Louise. You should know that after 7 years at the Zoo. I do love to look into those beautiful brown eyes, however, so don’t go too far.”
DogDaz Zoo 