a typical saturday with my girl.

We have a routine, Claire and I. Saturday mornings are a little rough, since she wakes me up between 5am-6am to eat breakfast, then again between 7am-8am to go for a walk, then around 9:30am to see if I am wanting to play yet, and then one last time around 10:30am. And by then, I'm up.  Next, we hop in the car to make a run to the library in addition to other errands, and we swing by our favorite bakery, See Spot Eat to pick up some organic and freshly-baked treats for Claire (check out their selection - it is amazing!). We usually run home after that to drop off the library books and such, and while I clean up around the house a little bit, Claire chews on a bone or plays with some toys. Between 2pm-3pm, we head to the dog park for a couple hours. And when you frequent a park as much as Claire and I do (4-5 times a week), you can count on running into at least one person - and dog - you know.

Claire at the dog park!

Today, when we arrived, Amy was there with her great dane, Kingsley. Kingsley and Claire are so cute when they play together, because Kingsley is HUGE but often forgets his size. Claire loves to be chased, so she'll run as fast as she possibly can while Kingsley lumbers after her. Claire will run so fast that she will leap over other dogs who are in her path, cut through groups of people, and run under benches. Kingsley, attempting to follow in Claire's footsteps, dodges around other dogs, runs into people, and tips over benches. And it is hilarious to watch them! They were having such a great time today while Amy and I were hanging out.

Kingsley, Claire's boyfriend :)

Once Amy and Kingsley left, Claire took a little break by digging a hole so deep that half of her body disappeared into it. I attempted to catch this on video, but by the time I got it working on my phone, she was done. Don't worry, I'll get it next time. All of a sudden, Claire stopped sniffing around her freshly dug hole and just stared at the gate with her tail wagging. Then she ran and disappeared into a crowd of newcomers. I was watching to see what had her so excited, and then all of a sudden, she emerged. Who was in pursuit? Her best friend, Ava.

Ava and Claire after a play date.

Ava is a yellow lab who is about six months younger than Claire. They have been playing together since Ava was just a teeny thing. And, boy, do they love each other! They have play dates often, and tend to just wear themselves out! Ava's parents, Amy and Cope, live in the same apartment complex as we do - and we are going to miss them so much when we move! So I was just as happy as Claire to see them at the park today. Ava and Claire frolicked, tumbled, chased, dug holes, and sniffed around together for two hours. They were both a complete mess afterward, but at least they had fun! The bottom half of Ava was brown from rolling around in the dirt, and Claire had paw prints and drool from other dogs all over her!


When we came home, I cleaned her up, and we both had dinner. Then she curled up in her favorite spot on the couch and promptly fell asleep. There is a saying among dog owners: "a tired dog is a happy dog." And tonight, this is especially true.

Sleepy girl...