Lambiedog

Trick or treat

Once again, Willy was a hot dog for Halloween, and I was a plain dog.

  We both got treats though. 

New sibling idea is floated

    On our weekend walk with Teresa, we stopped to see the animals at a pet rescue.

I was not that interested, but my owner seemed activated.

 

Life is good as it is; why add another baby? Am I not enough dog for my family?

Wherein I horn in on a playdate

Dexter and Blue are best friends.

 

They tolerate me when I show up now and then at their daily get-together.

Mein host, Lambie

We had a small gathering the other evening in honor of Cali's owner, Margaret, who is moving away.

I was all nerves before our guests arrived.  I hoped it would be a nice balance of people and dogs.

When they arrived, it turned out that the dog contingent was minimal.  Margaret had left Cali at home. Dolce did attend, but although quite relaxed, she was not at her most lively.

 

Though I was outnumbered species-wise, I circulated among the guests, keeping the social ball rolling and the glasses filled.

I wish I could find it easier to relax in these situations, as Dolce seems to do so effortlessly.

Whirlwind weekend

    Every couple of months our empty nesters group gets together.   It was our turn to host.

Then it developed that Thomas and his colleague, Dusty, would be in town and staying with us that same weekend.

 

It was a party, through and through.  My cup ranneth over.

Dogs in arms trend spreads

 
    

Bo

Bo, Kerry's dog, died last night. He was much loved, and will be sorely missed.

Patient trainer

Kate has been working on training her dogs.  She is very diligent about it.

Ordinarily, I would not describe myself as having any interest in being trained.  But whenever I see there are treats involved, I am struck by the compelling nature of Kate's work.

Possible role for me as stressbuster

    As students return to school after spring break, I have been evaluating an interesting career direction. My inspiration was a holiday happening at Columbia University, where, as a 'stressbuster' for students preparing for finals, Columbia puppies were brought in for petting.  Long lines formed for a chance to pet the puppies.

    That gave me an idea:  Why not sign myself up to provide the same service?  Puppies are cute, but so am I.  And, as a man of the world, I think I may provide a more nuanced petting opportunity than that delivered by young pups.  With student finals coming up in the next couple of months, an enterprising dog could capitalize on all the freefloating anxiety out there.

    Some naysayers may look at my track record and temperament, and argue that I am too laden with freefloating anxiety myself to function well as a stressbuster for others.  But let's look more closely at what makes me nervous and what doesn't. The record shows that I love being petted by strangers.  I just don't like them picking me up and carrying me. 

    Look at the images below and you can see what a natural I'd be as a petting Stressbuster.

 

    My contract will just have to provide for a bodyguard on hand to keep people from picking me up.  Also, there will have to be a clause giving me approval over any sweater I am asked to wear.

Encounters with small dogs

I was happy to encounter my old consigliere, Bruno, at the bluffs the other afternoon.

       

We had a few moments to sniff each other and catch up, but then Bruno had to leave.

It's not easy for me to get into a social mood, so I didn't want to waste the moment.  I squared my shoulders and moved on to find another small dog I could socialize with.

Fortuitously, I immediately encountered a petite dog with an eastern-sounding name -- Satchi? Sushi? -- who was receptive to my friendship.  We played for a while near his owner.

 

But then Satchi, too, had to leave.

Before they left, his owner took some photos of us together.  Maybe Satchi's a sentimental guy like I am. 

 

I wonder whether he, too, spends hours poring over his photo albums.