What Ana Does

When we talked about adopting a dog while in Paris, I kept repeating  "we have to fix the fence first before we get a puppy."  I was adamant. This was a prerequisite. Then, we got home and had to wait for the weather to improve, and we redid the bathroom and suddenly we didn't have the budget, time or inspiration to deal with our fence. And our desire to get a new little buddy grew. It had been years since we've been in this house without a dog, so it felt like a piece of the house was missing without a dog. You know the rest of the story ... puppies and ... Bruce ! Always On a Leash In The Yard But it's torture for him, and us, not to be able to run around in the backyard off leash. We've tried it a few times and he almost always makes a run for the hole in the fence and explores the neighborhood -- giving us a heart attack in the process. At the beginning of the summer I started looking at fence prices. I started with vinyl, which was about $8,...

When we adopted Bruce, we promised the adoption group he would be neutered. They even covered the surgery in the adoption price, so it was a done deal. Now seemed to be the right time: he's 4-months, I'm still home to look after him, and June is a nice weather month. So the appointment was made and we went in on Monday afternoon to get it done. Having never gone through canine surgery with any of our former pets, I didn't know what to expect. A medicated dog didn't sound all that attractive. And on top of the neutering, we also had his "dew claws" removed on his rear legs. Dew claws are the "thumbs" about an inch higher up from his paws. The one on his left leg wasn't attached, and dangled, and the vet had concerns about it getting caught on something or him eventually chewing it off (GROSS!). Logistically, the day was easy. I dropped him off in the morning, got a call from the Vet a few hours later about how he faired during the proced...

As is tradition, Bruce comes to the bus stop every morning to drop off the girls. He's still figuring out how to walk on a leash and that it's OK to pee outside. House-training is 100% underway. But it's going to take some time.  Rest assured, he takes a very long nap after we're home.

After a week with seven puppies we were sure happy to wave bye-bye to them. They were cute and cuddly but the POOP. And the barking. They were getting loud. I'm proud to say they all got adopted in just a few hours on Saturday. Including this little guy ... he's all ours! We thought he was prefect for us because he seemed the most interested in us, he almost always used the potty pads, and wasn't one of the loud aggressive guys in the pen. He also seemed thoughtful about the house. And he's just so cute! We named him BRUCE WAYNE BANNER SPRINGSTEEN and he's been doing pretty well. We've given him more freedom around the house and he's chewing just about everything. I've got a puppy book and I'm reading as much as I can. It's not easy. But we're all pitching in and hoping we can raise him right. ;) Related links: More about our dogs

Ok, we're on DAY 6 of fostering SEVEN puppies and I'm really feeling it. The garbage can is packed with gross puppy training pads and I've been cleaning up poop and pee for the last week and ... sheesh ... it's been a whole lotta work. Alice and I have dry, cracking hands from the amount of times we wash them. And there's a smell I can't describe coming from the playpen area. And it's not just me, the girls are a lot less jazzed about the pups than the were over the weekend. And the pups have pretty much had it with their small, enclosed space. They want OUT. We've picked our preferred pup (more soon) and we're just waiting out the clock until the rest of them have their adoption interviews on Saturday. They are ready to be out in the world. And I'm reading " Puppies for Dummies " and trying to start out on the right foot with our newest family member. Still don't think it's the craziest thing I've ever volunt...

Paperwork - In the Details This week is all about paperwork. We need to have all kinds of documents at the ready for our visit to the French consulate next week to apply for our resident visas -- called "Salarié détaché ICT (famille)." These will allow us to get an apartment rental in Paris, and legally live there for the duration of our stay. We've gotten some help, of course, but I can't help but think this is probably a deterrent to a lot of people who think about working abroad. It's a lot of scrutiny, standing in lines, not to mention the language barrier -- these forms don't come in English. I think I have just about everything I need ... all that I have left to gather is passport pictures of all four of us. So Long Dogs Speaking of, so yes, it will just be the four of us making the move to Paris. We've talked to a few folks and they all recommended NOT bringing the dogs. Why? Mostly because there's a quarantine period for animals mov...

This week our neighbor who is fostering SEVEN newborn puppies at her house brought one to them bus stop and it was pandaemonium! Puppy love explosion! Leah With One of the Puppies Not unwarranted ... those puppies were soft and sweet and Oh SO fun to hold. But, HELLO! We're dealing with an 8-month-old puppy at home NOW. Sure, he's not little and soft but he's biting his way through half the house and certainly acting like a puppy. ANYWAY, yesterday Alice was so ticked off I wouldn't adopt one of Ms. Lydie's puppies she got on the bus without talking to me. Sigh. I was ready for another argument this morning about why three dogs in our house was completely insane (two dogs in our house is leaning towards crazy, as it is). But Alice decided this morning, in one of her ruler-mandate-sort-of-ways that our family was "perfect the way it was and I don't want anything new added." Alice Pleased With Our Current Canine Companions So fine. ...

It's very slow, but there's a little relationship starting to develop between these two doggie brothers. Benny's pretty reluctant about this hyper interloper but seems to enjoy being outside more. And Lando just wants to be his best friend. (Sound familiar?) We're getting there. Sharing a Hug Alice says now our family is even: Three girls and three boys. 

If you would have asked me 5 years ago if I'd ever have two dogs the answer would have been a quick no. Even after we got Benny, I still would have answered no. But, as I posted about last week, those feelings have changed. Benny was a good starter dog, but we're ready for a full-fledge puppy. Puppy Snoozing So when I saw a posting about a beagle/mini-whippet mix puppy named Groucho (6 months old) available for adoption I decided to pursue it. Just give it a try. I had a list: Not a yappy dog. No biting. Mostly house-trained. Short haired. But more energy and playfulness. And he's have to have a connection with Dave, the girls and Benny. We met Groucho on Friday night and he fit all those criteria, except the biting thing -- but it was mostly just holding with his teeth (it's a puppy thing). He didn't bark at the door and he was happy and jumpy when he saw us. He was ready to play. We made the next move and brought him home for a weekend tryout -- he nee...

We've been talking, at first jokingly and sometimes more seriously, about getting a second dog. I know, that sounds nuts because I wasn't altogether onboard for the first, but it's true. And oddly, I'm pushing for it. Here are my attempt at organizing my thoughts around this issue. Benny is a wonderful little dog. But he's scared of everything and doesn't seem very happy. I keep thinking a second dog would give him some companionship and challenge him to involve himself more. Maybe learn some play behaviors or commands. We all committed to having this dog, so getting Benny didn't fulfill all our preconceptions of actually getting a dog. If we're going to do it, let's do it 100%. We'd all love Dave to have a dog he can pal around with. Who won't run from the room when he enters it. He takes it personally that Benny is so frightened of him. This whole thing was his idea, he deserves to get the dog he wanted. The girls too were disappoin...

It's coming. The wind made the bus stop extra frigid this morning. Even Benny had his coat on.

So lately I've been thinking about dog poop. My dog's poop, specifically. Since adopting Benny we've been collecting plastic bags to clean up after him on our neighborhood walks. And using plastic bags, or even having them, has never sat well with me. Plastic bags are kinda evil. For years we've been using less and less plastic bags, always bringing reusable bags to the grocery store and pulling out my little reusable tote (always stuffed into my purse) while shopping. But lately, now with the need for them, we've been more lax about accepting them at stores. And I don't like it. Then there's the landfill issue -- another sensitive subject with me. I'm overly-aware of what we throw out. Can I reuse it? Can I compost it? Can I recycle it? Those plastic bags of poop drop right into my trash bin and get taken to the landfill where they'll decompose very very very slowly. I read recently it takes over a 100 years for a plastic bag of dog poop to ...

About one year ago, to the day, we picked up Benny our beagle from the foster home. He'd been out of the research labs for about a month and was just getting used to life as a dog, and not a lab rat. How could we know what we were all in for? The good parts were experiencing a lot of firsts with Benny. The first time touching snow and grass. The first time he ran at full speed. The early thunderstorms that freaked him out. The first hot, summer days when he couldn't figure out that sitting in the shade would be better than laying in the sun. The bad parts, too. House training him (gross!). Finding out just how sensitive his stomach is (vomiting). He's scared of everything! But, overall, he's been a very good dog for us. He tolerates the girls and all their "attention;" Be it, dressing him, chasing him, Alice is particularly fond of rubbing his nose with her finger. He will occasionally snap when he's had enough. But that is very seldom. Otherwise...

We've now had Bennett "the beagle" in our home for the last month, or so. And, boy, has it been a long learning curve. It's day-by-day and we're getting to a better schedule (helps with the housetraining A LOT), which is working. But it's been a struggle. Also, dogs are not very smart. I don't know about these people who write about dogs being intuitive and intelligent. No. They're idiots. At least, mine is. In a cute, lovable, village-idiot kind of way. Here's the breakdown: Good : He loves me and follows me around like a love-sick puppy. This is amusing when I spend an hour on Saturday putting things away, roaming the house -- up and down, back and forth. Not so amusing when he nearly trips me going down the stairs. It's a Tough Life Bad : He is petrified of Dave. It's day by day, but, generally, he runs the other direction. This is especially annoying because he won't come back into the house if Dave's at the door. So, ...

Spends Much of His Day Napping Housetraining a dog is not all that it's cracked up to be. It's a little like toilet training without diapers. The first week Benny was with us we also had Doc and Dixie (my sister's big dogs) visiting and it was a breeze. Benny saw and smelled the other dogs go outside so he followed right along. Sure, he had a few accidents in the house but we thought we had it under control. Wrong. Since then, it's been all falling apart. According to the books, we're supposed to be vigilant, watching him for "signs," but he wanders off to other parts of the house -- and we have other things to do than follow him around. Also, sometimes the signs are no different than his usual activity. Sniff and circle, it's his favorite way to pass the time. And then, HELLO, we find the accident. Argh! I'm sure it's not easy to train outside when it's snowing or below freezing -- which it has been this last week. It's -...

Benny Boy!  The day before ALL my family arrived at my house, we picked up our new, adopted Beagle, who we named Benny. And in the last month, he's been through a lot of change -- with the transition from the lab to the foster house to our house. (PTSD, maybe?) Not to mention the house swelled to 14 people (5 of whom were under the age of 7) and then dropped back to four. So, he continues to be skittish and anxious about, well, everything! The good thing is he doesn't bark much, doesn't chew or bite. He'd only had a few accidents in the house and he's pretty content to be around people and have a LARGE place to roam around. He liked all the little girls, but he continues to like ME the best. Ha! Because of all this anxiety he paces quite a bit. At first, we were sure he was looking for the foster mom. Then, he paced for a place to hang out. Now that everyone is gone, he seems to be looking for all the people. Once we get in our weekly routine, we're ho...

First, you should know that when we got married I made a deal with Dave; "Buy me a house, and we'll get a dog." This was back in my 20s when homeownership seemed a million miles away and nearly impossible. Our path was leading into New York City, so this deal, on my end, seemed pretty empty. Our path lead west instead, and we're in our second house bought together. And he looks at me and says, "now can I have a dog?" Truthfully, I am not what you would call an animal person. We had one dog in my family and that was when I was in kindergarten. He was a huge German Shepard and I was terrified. Terrified! Ever since, I've really disliked dogs, especially when they do stuff like sniff your crotch, lick or bark -- oh, and drool. Gross. But, okay, some of them are kinda cute. In Rhode Island, I babysat a dog for a week and I loved it. Her name was Zoomie and she had a horrible, abused past, so she was especially kind and sensitive if play got too rough...

Here's the dog, with our name on it, heading to the foster home. The program volunteer said he's "extra sweet." Aww, come on home, buddy! Our Dog?  We're working out timing still. And look forward to hear what the foster family says about him. Kids still don't know ... so keep on the DL.

"He doesn't have a name yet, just a number." This is how he got me. I'm a softie, and, apparently that includes to animals, as well. There's backstory coming in a separate post but the NEWS FLASH is this: We might be adopting a dog. A DOG. He's 4-years-old and coming from a research lab. Rest assured, he's TOTALLY healthy -- but, he's had a very, very sheltered life. I won't go so far as say "abused" but not an ideal puppyhood. More on that later. I just feel ready to burst. We're adding another member to the family and I feel like I'm having a baby all over again. We have to buy supplies, get his "room" ready ... I need to read up on dogs books and manuals, because I know nothing. We should see a photo from when he's moved from the lab to a foster home to acclimate to a "home environment." (Awwww.) And we'll treat the first month as a trail period. We know other families who have adopted thro...