Here’s goofyhead’s latest photo. He loves to play fetch, but seems to forget that he’s supposed to give me the ball back.
Took him to the vet a few days ago and learned that he weighs 61-flippin’ pounds now. 61! Sure enough, I almost threw my back out on Saturday when I tried to lift him into the tub.
BTW, Tara doesn’t even weigh 61 pounds.
This is a clip from Dog•E, a new movie with a black lab that gets mixed up with a bunch of robots. You can imagine there are some communication issues, and in this scene, trust also seems to be a problem.
As the kids would say … SRSLY WTF?
I call this photo “The Accused & The Evidence.” Yep. Sparky ate a hole in the drywall. Again. Second time he’s done this in about 3 months. So, he’s back in my dog house.
The amazing thing is that he did all this in the 30 minutes between the time Cari and the kids left for school/work this morning, and the time I came out to my office. The room was fine when they left — and the big hole was there when I showed up. And the dumb dog had a look on his face that told me he knew he had screwed up big time. But he’s like a crack addict who knows it’s wrong, but still can’t stop.
And it’s not like there’s nothing else around to chew on. He’s got three chew toys in the room, and I give him a rawhide chew (chicken flavor!) every night when I’m going to bed.
I love him, but he sure is a dumb dog. And he’ll probably be out of the proverbial dog house tomorrow. Cuz I’m a softie that way.
While the rest of us have to wait another ten days, Sparky got his Christmas present tonight: Dog Bed 2.0. (Only $20 at Costco!)
The little pad he’d been sleeping on was a) pretty darn dirty, 2) getting too small, and 3) pretty pathetic in terms of padding. He absolutely loves this one, and has been on it almost non-stop since we gave it to him. That’s good – less time in my office, crawling around the computer cables, etc.
The family will be surprised to see this photo. I have matching black desk accessories: a briefcase and a dog:
Sparky isn’t usually allowed in my office, but it was either let him in tonight or listen to him b*tch and moan outside the door. I’m a softie, so he’s in. I think they look nice together down there on the floor, don’t you?
Slowly but surely, our puppy is learning to enjoy water and playing with water. His current hobby is attacking the sprinklers while they’re active in the backyard.
No, not me, but thanks for thinking that.
I mean Sparky, our 4-month-old, soon-to-lose-his-manhood, doesn’t-like-cameras-in-his-face puppy. Shot this one a week or two ago, along with some funny video of him having a hissy fit because I kept putting the camera close to him. Such a shy little thing he is…..
How does something like this happen?
There’s a story in our local paper that talks about a Petland store in Pasco that recently sold four puppies that were sick with Parvo. Two of the four have died. Yikes!
Here’s the part I don’t get:
It’s unclear whether the puppies were infected at the store or before arriving in Pasco from a Midwest supplier, Washburn said. The local Petland no longer will take puppies from that supplier, she said.
A Midwest supplier? I guess I never thought about it much, but … a Midwest supplier? So, like, there are dog factories and distribution chains just like we have with food, toys, furniture, auto parts, and everything else? Do they ship these dogs in big 18-wheelers, too? I’m not one of those animal freaks all of a sudden, but that just seems strange to me. But I suppose pet stores need (animal) inventory just like any other place….
Still, when all of the animal shelters in the Tri-Cities are overflowing (wish I could find that link) with unwanted pets, what on earth are people doing buying dogs at a chain pet store that come from the Midwest?
This whole thing is bizarre … maybe it’s just me?
[where: 5109 N Road 68, Pasco, WA 99301]
I just remembered a week or two ago that I have a personal account on YouTube (in addition to the @U2 account and several other blog-related accounts). Since I recently bought the latest and greatest version of Apple’s iLife software, and since we recently got a puppy, I combined those two into my very first uploaded video on YouTube. (I’m such an early adopter.) It lasts a minute and there’s audio. Here it is:
Meet Sparky.
Sparky might have a new name soon, because some family members apparently aren’t sold on that moniker. We chose it because we brought Sparky home on the 4th of July, and things like “firework” and “M-80″ don’t sound right, and “firecracker” takes too long to say. I like the name Sparky. Seems to fit him. And U2 fans might even know the subtle U2 reference in the name, too. (Shhhhhh.)
Anyway, Sparky is the greatest dog in the world.
Sparky waited the entire drive home (about 15 minutes) before jumping out of the car, going into the backyard, and taking care of business. Way to hold it, Spark!
Sparky loves his (fairly) big backyard and doesn’t seem at all like the type of dog to try digging a hole under the fence.
Sparky obeys lots of commands. He stops whatever he’s doing when you say “no.” “Sit” and “lie down” mean the same thing — namely, get down and roll over and show my belly so they’ll scratch me and I’ll like it. Sparky still needs some work on “come here” and “go get it/fetch.” I’m not sure he realizes that he’s a retriever.
Sparky survived his first night sleeping in a new crate/house at a strange house, with strange people, with fireworks and firecrackers going off all night long, and didn’t have any problems at all. No barking, no crying, no trouble sleeping. (Sparky is a first-class sleeper.)
Sparky came bounding across the yard first thing this morning when I went outside to see him.
Sparky likes to chase ants and flies, and eats those roly-poly bugs whenever he finds one.
Sparky is going to be an outdoor dog because Mrs. McGee gets eaten alive by fleas, and already got two bites yesterday while playing with Sparky. We’ll bring Sparky in to sleep when it gets really cold in the winter. (When flea season is long since finished.)
Mom and Dad love Sparky to death. Son does, too, but is a bit hesitant with him. Daughter is glad we have Sparky, but won’t get anywhere near him.
