TBT

This is my first TBT post and I know I'm a day early but 8 years ago today I was in the Grand Canyon with Sam and Sloan. For those who don't know, I lived in southern CA for 3 years: June 2004 - May 2007. On May 19, 2007, I loaded up Sam and Sloan in my rented SUV and we started the drive from Corona del Mar, CA to Charlotte, NC. May 19th is the birthday of my next door neighbor from CA. We still say in touch and as I was wishing her a happy birthday yesterday, it occurred to me that 8 years ago yesterday I left my most favorite place in the whole world. It still makes me sad to think about that day but when I get sad I remember this quote: Don't be sad that it is over. Be happy that is happened." And I am so happy that it happened! Prior to moving to CA, Sam and Sloan didn't get very regular walks. My house in Charlotte had a nice, big fenced yard and that's where they spent most of their outside time. When we moved to CA, the weather was so perfect all the time and the views were so nice, I started a tradition that I still do to this day. My dogs get walked every morning before I go to work. (and now they usually get 2 walks before I go to work. :))

My professional life while living in CA was not ideal and didn't provide a lot of happiness. I'd been in accounting recruiting for almost 20 years. I was burned out and starting over in a job environment that was less than ideal. Where we lived more than made up for it though and I knew we wouldn't be there forever so I tried to take advantage of it every day.

I still go back and visit every chance I get. The last time I was there was May 2014. I wish I could've gone again this year but so far it just hasn't worked out. This girl loves southern CA and I miss it every day.

So the first picture below is my TBT pic. Sam, Sloan and I are in the Grand Canyon. I'd not seen it before (neither had they - hehe) so we took a little detour on our road trip. 3000 miles.... adding a few more wasn't a big deal. The other pics are of Corona del Mar. Now you see why I miss it so. Here's to TBT.

Mother's Day gift from my dogs

I got a great Mother's Day gift from my dogs today and Willow and Moose had a great time. First of all, Moose got great news earlier in the week: he is heartworm negative. When adopted him in October, he was HW+. Because he was HW+, we have been restricting his activity. He's been getting "slow kill" heartworm treatment so he isn't supposed to run or jump around because that type of movement could cause the heartworms to break off from his heart, get into his lungs and basically suffocate him. He hasn't been allowed run and zoom around. Until today.

This was all set up perfectly. It was early this morning and I wanted to take some new photos of our dogs so I grabbed my camera and took Willow outside. I think I had snapped 2-3 pictures of her and then Don came down the street, just getting home from his run. Willow got really excited when she saw him. She perked her ears up and I snapped a few of those pictures and then she ran to great him. She is a really big dog to be running fast (and running isn't something she does often or for sustained periods of time.) I am really surprised there isn't a ton of camera shake b/c I think I was laughing at her. I love that I was actually able to get some "action" shots of her.

After Don and Willow got to the driveway, Don started petting her which she LOVES. If you look closely (or perhaps not too closely even), you'll see her fur floating off through the air. I snapped a few more pictures of her looking really silly and really happy.

All the while, Moose is sitting at the front door patiently watching all of this. Don went and let him out (this was the first time he'd been let outside in the front yard.) It isn't something we need to do regularly but he was very well behaved.

He and Willow immediately started posturing and I knew a game of chase was going to ensue. This is the first time they've actually played and acted like dogs in this manner. It made my heart smile. However, our large yellow dog didn't last very long. Fairly soon she was over by me wanting the crazy brown dog that was bouncing around to leave her alone.

One of our neighbors was walking up the street with his dog so we took our dogs Willow and Moose in the house. Both took a nap. :) It was a very nice Mother's Day moment for me. I am so grateful for my Mother's Day gift from my dogs.

Happy Birthday Moose

Happy Birthday Moose!! His actual birthday was yesterday so I took a few pics of him then but the weather is so beautiful again today, I grabbed my camera and took Moose outside for another photo session today too. Days like today make me long for a nice fenced yard. I'd love to let him roam around so I could really get some decent shots of him. As you can tell from his expression most of the time, he becomes bored very easily when I'm trying to do his portrait. I would like to get some full body shots of him but the leash I have is only so long (about 25 feet maybe) and him being out of reach is not a good thing so I learned today. Our neighbors behind us were out with their dog and their yard isn't fenced either. Moose saw the dog and wanted to go say hi so he took off. I got a hold of the end of the leash with one hand (my camera was in the other hand.) He was dragging me through the yard so I had to put the camera down and grab the leash with 2 hands. I finally got him to stop after he'd made it all the way to their driveway. Crazy dog!! My lower back will be feeling this little escapade of his for a few days I'm sure!

These are the shots I got of him today. I really want to improve my photography skills so I am trying to practice a lot!

Snow Day

We are having a snow day here and based upon Moose's behavior, I don't think he really likes the snow. I don't think he likes the way it feels on his feet. He seems a little unsure as he walks across it and he is hesitant to go outside. He is snoring behind me right now and sounds very content! He has short fur, I think he prefers being warm and cozy inside. He might be hoping this is our last snow day of the year! Willow on the other hand loves it when we have a snow day. She wants to play in it. We only have about an inch of snow so there isn't a lot of snow outside for taking pictures and it's really slushy so I've pulled out the camera inside.

Moose, part hound?

So here are pictures of Moose and Ollie. We adopted Moose from Lab Rescue of NC. He is 7. We've been trying to figure out what he is mixed with. Ollie pictured on the left is (I think) a Tree Walker Coonhound. Moose, we are fairly certain is part hound. He has longer ears than a lab, shorter fur, and longer legs. In this picture his ears look longer than Ollie's. I'm not sure if that is because Ollie's are cocked a little bit. Moose is just longer and leaner than most labs I know. His personality also reminds me a lot of Ollie.... they can both get into some trouble if allowed :) which also reminds me of my first dog Sloan and she was a lab and wemieraner mix. She was crazy wild until she was about 8. I was hoping that Moose might not have the lab shedding gene. Unfortunately he does. We still love him and all his craziness!

	Moose
	Moose's best impression of a treeing walker coonhound

an update on Moose, our latest rescued dog

On October 2nd, we added another rescued dog to our family and we're calling him Moose. I have vet records on him that say he is 7. He acts like he is 4 and I am convinced he is part hound dog. His nose gets him into trouble a lot. I found the remains of 2 banana peels on the floor two days ago. He was smart enough to not eat the stems. There was absolutely no trace of any bananas and I found most of the peel but I do think he ate some. He loves his walks and he knows to sit when we come to an intersection or anytime we are crossing the street. He'll sit for a long time too - until I say "let's go" he'll just sit and look around. He really is a good dog. I wanted a lap dog and I definitely have one now. He is pretty good at staying too unless it is meal time. We are still working on improving those manners. He's a great dog and we are so happy we rescued him.