Thursday, February 23, 2006

Two dawg, one cat nights

Winter finally has arrived in northeastern Louisiana.

And with it, we've discovered the true meaning of "three dog night."

Lindsey says that means it takes three dogs on the bed to keep you warm.

We're experiencing a similar reaction.

We call it the "two dog, one cat night."

When the temperature outside dips below 40, the two border collies and the calico cat all find warm places on our queen-sized bed.

It's bad enough that they park themselves politely when we first go to sleep.

Then they stretch out.

When they're asleep, they're as dead-weight as a bunch of concrete blocks on the bed. You can't budge. You can't change positions. They've got you locked down.

At least once each night, I'm awakened by Lindsey's gruff, "ROUX! OFF!"

She's the worst bed hog -- she stretches out, managing somehow to cover about six square feet of bed space.

I finally took half a Tylenol PM past night and wasn't awakened once by "Gumbo, MOVE" or "ROUX! OFF!"

Couldn't have been that I was in a drugged sleep. Maybe it was just warmer...

Wednesday, February 15, 2006

The spark

Sometimes the world weighs so heavily on your shoulder, you lose the spark.

The spark, as I call it, is the degree of creativity that allows you to see the exceptional in the ordinary, to celebrate and observe life as it is.

After a seminar today where the facilitator lit a veritable fire under my bee-hind, I came home to the spark.

How ordinary is it to walk into your house, and have your dogs at the door, waving their tails in a joyous salute to your arrival?

How exceptional is it that anything or anybody would be so totally filled with joy at the sight of you?

Thursday, February 09, 2006

Survey says?

The American Kennel Club recently announced survey findings concluding that dog owners look for canine qualities in their human partners. Highlights include:

* 33% of men said the number one canine quality they wished their women had is “always being in a good mood.”

* 66% of dog owners said they wouldn’t even consider dating someone who didn’t like their dog.

* 18% of dog owners said they either have included (or would include) their dog in their wedding ceremony. (Someone very close to me included her dog in her engagement picture....)

* Sixty percent of dog owners said if they split up with their significant other, they’d definitely get the dog.

In addition, below are qualities/traits that singles may find appealing and a dog that possesses said qualities.

Loyal- German Shepherd Dog, Norwegian Elkhound
Sense of Humor- Boston Terrier, French Bulldog
Good Listener- Poodle, Portuguese Water Dog
Athletic- Border Collie, Doberman
Faithful Servant- Labrador Retriever, Golden Retriever
Non snoring- Dachshund, Parson Russell Terrier
Ideal couch potato to watch sports- Bulldog, Pomeranian
Intelligent- Wire Fox Terrier

Wednesday, February 08, 2006

The spotted dog jar

A few weeks ago, I found a cookie jar on eBay that looked a lot like our spotted dog Gumbo.

In the bidding process, I discovered the person selling it had border collies, and was also involved in border collie rescue.

We corresponded. I won the cookie jar for a remarkably low price -- guess there's not a lot of demand for spotted dog cookie jars.

When it arrived, I could hear something rattling in the box. I feared the worst -- a zillion pieces of spotted dog pottery.

But the jar was intact, and the rattling was a box of maple-flavored baby teething biscuits. The seller sent it as a gift to Gumbo and Roux, saying it was her border collies' favorite treat!

I vowed to always have a jar full of treats, and Lindsey and I have been experimenting with some homemade dog biscuit recipes that go beyond our world famous "Gumbones" that dogs will jump on top of the refrigerator for.

A new peanut butter recipe has been a big hit, as has one that uses sweet potatoes.

Now, these are dogs who turn up their noses at a regular Milk Bone, so you know this stuff has to be pretty good to capture their imagination.

It has taken absolutely no time for us to teach this command:

"Who wants a cookie?"

They beeline to the spotted dog jar!

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