peeves.

A few friends and I were talking the other day about the things that really annoy us simply because they drive our dogs CRAZY. I've found that I can't really classify these things as "pet peeves", but I also can't classify them as "people peeves"... so I've settled on just calling them Peeves. Am I missing any?

1. Dogs in cars who bark out the window. Safety hazard for me and Claire!! She gets so irritated and gets all jumpy, and then I have to shield her from bouncing off the sidewalk into the street. Roll up your windows, people, or leave your dog at home!
2. People in cars who bark out the window. Yup. You're an idiot. Show some respect.
3. Small animals with tails. Squirrels. Cats. Chipmunks. Groundhogs (we saw one a few weeks ago). They should hibernate forever. Or at least exist in a wide open field so that Claire can chase them safely without me having to worry about all the traffic.
4. All the traffic. I'm sure y'all can agree, whether you have a dog or not.
5. An inability to climb trees. If she could, it would make #3 a lot easier. It would also be a huge help when the neighborhood kids play frisbee with her and get it stuck waaaay up in the branches.
6. An inability to eat chocolate. I like sharing snacks with Claire. And when I make delicious things like brownies and cookies, it hurts me to see her big brown eyes staring up at me when I know that she can't have the chocolate...
7. The depth of the PB jar. If it were short and stout like a teapot, her tongue could reach the bottom. But instead, she can only get a good half of what's left on the sides, and there's all that PB on the bottom that she just can't reach. It's such a tease.
8. Leashes. Roaming free would be much more fun for Claire, but I just tell her that she's the one taking ME for a walk, and that I'd get lost finding our way back without her. Makes me feel better.
9. Loud people. Calm the heck down!! Bring it from a 10 to a 2!! Claire is getting stressed out, and my ears are ringing!
10. Lack of personal space. Claire and I hate this -- me with strange people (airplanes give me anxiety because of this), and Claire with other dogs (aka: most puppies). Back it on up and trust that yes, we can still see and hear you from an arms' length away.

There are, of course, more things that could be added to this list. Give me some time and you may see a Part 2 sooner or later. Did I miss any big ones?

why TGIF means "thank God it's february"...

I did not intend to disappear for the entire month of January. But sometimes life gets hard and it takes everything you've got to trudge through one more day.

That's how it was for me. And I'm so glad that the month is OVER!!

In addition to my health issues continuing to beat me down, I also found out - just a few days after Christmas - that Claire had a malignant tumor on her paw. She had surgery during the first week of January to remove it, and I was supposed to hear the pathology results a few days later, but the lab was closed for the holidays. During her recovery, she managed to rip her stitches out, despite wearing the Cone of Shame while I was at work. I came home and found little bits of her cast all over the house before realizing the bigger issue: ripping the stitches out had allowed the wound to gape open, exposing her bone. I rushed her to the hospital immediately and she underwent a second surgery to debride, flush, and pack the wound before stitching it up again. I didn't let her out of my sight for the next 12 days to give it time to heal. Of course, on Day 13, when I went into the office, I came home to find that she had managed to rip out the stitches again despite wearing TWO Cones of Shame at the same time. We rushed back to the vet, but thankfully the surgical site had healed enough where she didn't need to undergo a third surgery. By that point, the only open part was the top layer of skin, so that healed after a week of hydrotherapy and some good bandaging by yours truly.

Tough recovery, I'm telling you!

Additionally, I didn't get the pathology results back until just a week ago - exactly one month after the tumor was removed. Thankfully, they managed to get all of it and she does not need to undergo radiation or chemotherapy. I don't think I realized just how much the What Ifs were worrying me; when I heard the results, I literally felt like a weight was lifted off my shoulders.

After all that, however, Princess Claire has a paw that is as good as new! The beginning of this week was a bit stressful for her as we got back into our normal routine. After being with her almost 24/7 for a month, she had a little separation anxiety for the first few days that she was left alone. She seems to be feeling a bit more confident now, but realistically, it may take a little longer for her to feel 100% while I'm at work.

My intent over the next few months is to get back to blogging on a regular basis. Of course, this all depends on how I'm feeling physically, but I'm finally feeling well enough to start doing other things rather than just work and sleep! Good thing that Claire is a snugglebug. I swear, even as I was taking care of her over the past month, she still managed to take care of me.

What a good dog :)

well-matched.

When people ask me what mix Claire is, I like to joke that she's 50% dog and 50% human. But seriously, when I think about how alike we are, I think there's a lot about me that has rubbed off on her over the past almost-four years together. For instance...

1. We have some of the same hobbies: eating, sleeping, exploring, and being with friends.

2. We are both extremely empathetic. Whenever someone is crying and sad, Claire stops whatever she is doing and goes right over to the person to try and make them feel better. As for me, I'm a social worker. 'Nuff said.

3. We love snuggling, but we can't fall asleep unless we both have space to stretch out.

4. We have a strong appreciation for nature, and we love being outside. The weekends have been filled with leisurely walks and romps in the field near my house.

5. It doesn't take much to make us happy. We like the simple things in life.

6. We guard our food. No sharing when it comes to deliciousness! Get your own!

7. We get grumpy when we are tired. And then it's best that we have some quiet time.

8. Two words: peanut butter.

9. We are very sensitive to our surroundings, whether it be the people we're around or the situation we are in the midst of. Change is hard, and it takes us a little longer to adapt - though we always do!

10. We love being around others, but we are most comfortable and happiest when we're with our best friends.

11. When we put our mind to something, we don't stop until we've reached our goal (though for Claire, this mainly has to do with chasing squirrels out of our yard).

12. We're each other's favorite.

hello again!

After a few weeks, I'm glad to report that: we're baaaack!

I got back to the States last week from my missions trip to Uganda, and it's been a tough transition - I'm still experiencing major reverse culture shock. Claire got back last week from overnight camp, and it took her a full week to recover from all of the fun she had with her friends at Bark-O-Lounge. To help us both out, we've been having a lot of quiet time together - long walks to start our days and end our days, and lots of snuggles and smooches. It's really helped us both to get back into a routine.

This transition isn't the only one we're dealing with, however. As I mentioned before, I quit my job right before I left the country. Then I spent a few weeks having life-changing experiences in Uganda. Then I came back and immediately started a new job. Then our roommate moved out, so we suddenly have our house to ourselves again. All of these situations are awesome in and of themselves, but when they all happen within a six-week period of time, it can get a little overwhelming!

Because of all these changes, you will be hearing from us a little bit less this month. My goal is to blog at least once per week in November and then kick it back up to twice a week in December. Stick with us, will you? It's important to me that we don't just disappear from the blogosphere [I just love ya so much, LWC friends!], but I do need to make sure that I'm taking time to process everything from the trip, adjust to my new job, spend a solid amount of time with Claire each day, and still manage to get some sleep. But, like I said, we'll be back to normal in December.

Also, we'll be having a giveaway next week - it's a good one, too! All animal lovers will want to enter - even if they don't have a dog themselves. Now that's saying something, isn't it?! So stay tuned, y'all.

  

catching some zzz's.

So I found this picture and thought it was hilarious, mainly because Claire and I adopt Sleeping Positions #2 and #3 many nights. I have woken up in the morning thinking that I'm cuddling with her head only to find that I've actually been cuddling with her butt. [This is the "not so great" part]. Lately I've found myself sleeping horizontally because she tends to sprawl out horizontally - right in the middle of my bed [see photo below].

People sometimes ask me why I don't kick her out and make her sleep somewhere else. The answer is: I don't want to. Although there are nights where I might be in a not-so-comfortable position, I adapt - because I'm still more comfortable knowing that she's right next to me. You know how little kids have their safety blanket? Claire just happens to be mine. And it works.

  

  

sleeping soundly.

When I first adopted Claire, people kept telling me that, whatever I do, I shouldn't let her sleep in my bed because it will be impossible to change that habit in the future. [Mind you, I had no idea of what I was doing when I first adopted Claire, so I listened to mostly everything that people told me about dogs and training]. Because of that advice, Claire slept in her crate in the living room until she was about six months old.

The first transition came one night when she was horribly sick. I couldn't leave her side because she had an awful reaction to a certain medication, and I had to watch her all night long in case she got worse. She had thrown up all over my apartment, so I put her in the crate to at least keep the vomit contained. Then I moved her crate into my bedroom and laid next to her on the floor until the morning when I took her back to the vet.

The next change happened a few months later. I bought a dog bed for Claire and put it right next to my bed. I think she realized that it was a step up in the world, because she immediately knew that it was her special place to sleep and curled up on it instantly when it was bedtime. What a good girl.

Whenever I fell asleep, I would hang my arm off the bed so that I could touch Claire while she was sleeping on her dog bed. After a couple months, I realized that I never moved during the night because I always kept my hand on Claire. And when you wake up with an arm that is completely numb every single day for a few weeks, you realize that something's gotta give.

That's when I started letting her sleep in my bed. After the first week or so, I noticed that were both sleeping better. While I was reading or checking my email, she would snuggle up with me - but as soon as I turned the lights off, she would move to the end of the bed, curl up, and fall fast asleep.

Claire slept at the end of the bed for awhile, despite my attempts to get her to stay up by me. Our trainer used to say that this shows that Claire respects me. But as time went on, I would wake up and find that she moved during the night; each morning I would find her paw resting on my hand or arm while she cuddled up against the pillow next to me.

Some trainers would say that this is her trying to show that she is "alpha" [a word that I come to hate more and more, since I do not believe that it applies to all dogs or all situations]. Some would also say that having Claire share my bed is wrong because it makes her think that she is my equal. But what it comes down to is that we bring each other comfort. And, you know, I don't see any problem with that.

  

  

love and loyalty.

A friend posted this video on Facebook and I cried through the whole thing. [I know, surprise surprise, right?] And as I try to think of ways to introduce it, I find that I am speechless. The best I can do is to tell you that this video depicts true love. So bring out the tissues and watch. Then share your thoughts - if you can formulate them despite your tears!

  

safety first, kids.

Well, I have finally come to the realization that I am a terrible driver. Case and point: I made Claire get car-sick the other day. Yep... I felt terrible about it. I must have been tapping the brakes too much, because all of the stop and go made her sick.

That got me thinking about how much I find myself doing the Soccer Mom motion, too. You know, where you reach across the passenger to hold someone back from hitting the dashboard. I do it with Claire a lot, especially because she likes to run back and forth from the front seat to the back seat while I'm driving (talk about distracting!); when I stop short, my first instinct is to protect her.

Enter: the Champion Canine Seat Belt System by USA K9 Outfitters. My friend Abby told me about this a few months ago after she had a first hand experience of my driving, so I got one to try out for ourselves.

The harness clasps over your dog's back and then hooks to the seatbelt strap. I clipped the seatbelt strap to the hook next to the headrest in my backseat so that Claire would have an easier time turning around. Though both of the above pictures show Claire lying down, this set up also allows her to sit, stand, turn, and move around the backseat safely. What I love about this seatbelt system is that Claire doesn't get caught up in it - other products that I have tried had her ending up looking like a pretzel when she tried to move around. There are so many different ways to attach this seatbelt system in your car. The harness itself is easily adjustable, which is great for Claire since she has a larger chest (being the amazing mixed breed of lab/whippet that she is).

I've only been using this for the past four days, but Claire got used to it much faster than I thought she would! Lord knows that I feel much better knowing that she is safe and secure in the backseat now while I keep getting used to these crazy Nashville drivers - and they say that Boston is bad! Now if only there was such an easy fix for the carsickness...

  

  

she eats!!

Claire has never been a picky eater. She's like me. If it's edible, we'll eat it. (That's a bit of an exaggeration... I don't want you think I am the human equivalent of a garbage disposal. Because I am not. In case you needed me to clarify). So I became concerned when I noticed that she was having a harder time eating her food: sometimes she would sniff at it and walk away, and sometimes she wouldn't eat for hours until she got so hungry that she had to eat it. Meal time for Claire became work for both of us. I either needed to play games with her and teach her new tricks to use it as a reward, or mix veggies and meat in with her kibble to make it more appealing. Something wasn't right; it was never this difficult before. I went to my friend Erin - mom to Ollie and Darby, who are frequently mentioned in older posts - because she is brilliant and knows a lot about dog-related issues. She suggested that we go to Dizzy's Corner Store because the owner is very knowledgeable about nutrition when it comes to dogs and cats.

Mrs. Dizzy (which is how we kindly refer to her because neither of us are sure of her real name) asked some questions about Claire: how old she is, how much she weighs, what her activity level is, what her health issues are, etc. When I mentioned that Claire has chronic gastroesophageal reflux (GERD) and dry skin, she immediately told me that both are related to her food. Though I was giving her what is marketed as a complex premium dog food without corn/soy/byproducts, it wasn't food that was holistic and all-natural. There is a lot to be said about how dog food is processed - it's like with human food: the less processing, the better. Mrs. Dizzy recommended a simple, holistic, and all-natural brand so that Claire's tummy will start to heal: Pinnacle Chicken&Oatmeal. She said that though I'll start to see immediate results by Claire's reaction to it, the old food I was giving her won't be completely out of her system for about six weeks.

Last night was our first night trying Pinnacle. To help with an easy transition, I mixed 1/2 cup of the old food with 3/4 cup of the new food, and I'll do this for about 7-10 days, slowly increasing the amount of the new food while decreasing the amount of the old food. Claire loved Pinnacle. She actually picked through the bowl and ate the Pinnacle, leaving the old food behind. And this morning, when she heard me call her for breakfast, she came bounding into the kitchen and ate it immediately! I think we've fixed the problem, thanks to Erin and Mrs. Dizzy.

Ah, relief - for Claire AND for me!!
 
   

the one where we were robbed.

Not. Even. Kidding.

Claire and I were out with Josh and his parents on Saturday night at the Franklin Street Fair - it was awesome to spend time with them, and we had so much fun! However, when I got in my car to drive home, I noticed that I missed 10 calls from Lissa. When I called her, she told me to come home immediately because someone broke into our house and we were robbed. The police were on their way. I hung up and sped home (sorry, Mom, I know you hate my driving already - but speeding was a necessity this time) and I honestly don't even remember the drive. I got home and Lissa was waiting with our neighbor, David. When she saw me and Claire, she was so happy because she had no idea that Claire was with me; she thought that Claire was hurt or ran away or was taken by the people who broke in.

Between 6:30pm-8:30pm, a couple kids took a rock from the garden and smashed the double-paned glass door. They shattered the first pane, but then thought it was too much work to try again, so they smashed my bedroom window to climb in the house. They went through our stuff and took two laptops, an iPod, and some jewelry before taking off.

When the police arrived, the officer advised us to stay elsewhere for a couple days. Claire and I stayed with Amy and Kingsley, and Lissa went to stay with her brother's girlfriend. I got back to the house yesterday and spent the day cleaning the house from top to bottom to get rid of the fingerprinting dust (which has embedded itself in the window sill) and shards of glass (which we're still finding, despite multiple attempts at vacuuming and sweeping). We stayed decided to stay at the house last night, and are slowly getting readjusted. It's a terrifying feeling to know that unwelcomed people have been in your space without your permission. Absolutely terrifying.

People keep commenting that, perhaps if Claire had been home, she could have scared them off by barking. I, on the other hand, am increasingly glad that she was with me. I was not going to take her with us because she had such a busy day, but at the last minute, I decided that it would be fun if she came along. It was a God thing. Definitely. Claire could have been seriously hurt during the break-in - after all, these kids haven't been caught yet, and who knows what they were capable of doing. I can deal with things being stolen; materials can always be replaced. If anything happened to Claire, I would be devastated. Thank God that none of us were home when it happened, and thank God that we are all safe. I hope that we will feel secure in this house again soon, but this will take time. I do think that our new alarm system will help with that, though!

But I have to say, though this experience has been traumatic for both of us, we both feel incredibly blessed by all of the people who have helped us during this incredible stressful time. From Josh and David who were here with us on Saturday night, to Amy and Evan who let us crash with them, to our parents who have been helping us figure out all of this insurance stuff, to Jeremy who has been talking to all of the neighbors to find out who broke in, to our other friends who have called and talked to us and given advice, to the ADT sales rep who has set us up with a pretty sweet alarm system... We are very very very thankful.

back to the grind.

After an incredible week-long vacation with my family, I am back! Claire spent the week at sleepover camp at Bark-O-Lounge with her friends and is just exhausted from having so much fun! We are both extremely happy to be reunited, though. I was having some serious withdrawals from my baby. I got back late on Saturday night and she slept curled up right in my arms - so cute! Every time a trip is in the near future, my friend Elizabeth always has to sit and listen to me talk about how I know Claire will be fine while I'm gone, but it's me who has a tough time! If only she could fit in my pocket and come everywhere with me...!


As great as the Thanksgiving trip was, and as wonderful as it is to be back with Claire, it's always tough to get back into a routine after having some time off. Not only for me, but for Claire as well. Dogs are creatures of habit, and they tend to fare better with a schedule. For us, things may change a bit daily, but they mostly stay the same from week to week. Claire has breakfast and dinner around the same time each day. She goes to school on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays. On the days that she goes to school, we sleep in a little later and she gets a biscuit when she gets in the car. On the days that she stays home, we get up early to start the day with a mile-long walk, and she gets a biscuit when I head off to work. When I come home, we work on training for a little bit and then have playtime. On the weekends, we spend the afternoons at the park. Claire goes to sleep around the same time each night, regardless of the day's activities. Our schedule is a bit more flexible than some, but it works for us, and Claire is comfortable with it because she knows what to expect!


This week may be a little difficult as we readjust. For instance, as I type this, Claire is running back and forth from the kitchen to where I'm sitting on the couch and whining to go outside for the third time in fifteen minutes - not because she needs to go potty but because she just wants to be outside; Mondays are usually school days for her so she's not used to spending the first day of my work week inside. My goal is to have her back on track by Wednesday - keep your fingers crossed!

looking for us?

Where have we been? Moving, of course! Claire and I have packed up and left our apartment to move into our very own house! This has been quite an adjustment for both of us, but we are working together to get used to our new surroundings. We have begun a new routine that consists of going for a mile-long walk every night, and I'm hoping to add a morning walk as well (though lately it's been so chilly in the mornings that Claire and I both want to stay snuggled up in bed!). I think our walks have been helpful for Claire to begin to recognize the sights, smells, and sounds that are in our new neighborhood - which will eventually ease her anxiety as she gets more familiar with it all. Anyway, we just got the internet up and running, so as soon as I can figure out how to set up our wireless connection, I'll start posting about Claire's latest antics. I promise!