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Favorite Cricket Memories

14 Friday Oct 2016

Posted by SaraS in Dogs, Outdoors

≈ 1 Comment

Tags

camping, hiking, pets

We had to say goodbye to Cricket on October 8. Ever since then, some of my favorite memories of that little dog have been percolating through my mind and I found I just had to write them down.

Back when I started this blog, I remember trying to define what it was supposed to be about, and why I wanted a blog in the first place. Why not just keep friends and family updated on my life with Facebook, after all? And I know, I know, I hardly ever post here (I have great intentions…alas). But as I put it then, sometimes a Facebook status is just not enough. This is one of those times.

Roughly in order of oldest to newest, but no guarantees. Memory can be a fragile thing.


Her Name was Not Babette

The humane society where we adopted her had named her “Babette”, which was a terrible name and did not fit at all. She had only been there a few days and didn’t know that name. I had thought of the name “Cricket” as a dog name years before and had never had the opportunity to use it.

The name fit her perfectly. It was a sign that this was meant to be.

Water is Wet, Who Knew?

Fox river trail in Illinois. Not sure when — maybe soon after we adopted her in 2002? Out on a walk with just me, Cricket, and Bailey. Bailey distracted me for a moment and her leash slipped out of my hand. She ran — full throttle — down the river bank, chasing away an entire flock of ducks and Canadian geese. The birds squawked as they rushed into the water. Cricket didn’t know about rivers and water. She dashed right in with them and was shocked when she got wet. I caught up with her as she was emerging out of the water, shaking herself off and looking both extremely proud that she had taken care of those pesky geese, and a bit surprised to discover that water is wet.

I took her back to the same spot the next week. This time, she stopped right at the river’s edge. I guess she remembered the lesson of the previous week.

“I’m Sorry, Cricket”

I still lived in Illinois and my very young nieces were visiting at my parents’ house. I think the youngest, Caity, was a toddler, maybe two or three? Cricket raced back and forth in my parents’ living room. This apparently frightened Caity — I remember her saying “she’s too fast!” As she raced by, Caity reached out and just barely touched her tail. My sister (her mom) immediately told her that “you don’t pull dogs’ tails!” and insisted that she apologize to Cricket. And she did. I had to hold Cricket still for a moment so that Caity could say, “I’m sorry Cricket.”

I’m not sure that Cricket really cared but I found it hilarious.

I can’t remember if it was the same visit or not, but at one such visit, she curled up in the girls’ doll bed.

Cricket made herself comfortable on the doll bed

Cricket made herself comfortable on the doll bed

Little Dogs CAN Hike!

Sometime in 2006, not long after moving to Montana, I hiked with Cricket up Crazy Canyon all the way to the top. Near the top, people heading back down with their big dogs saw her and expressed such surprise that a little dog could hike up the mountain. Their surprise amused and puzzled me. She was young then, she had perfectly good legs, of course she could do the hike! It never occurred to me that this was unusual.

The next day we were both a bit sore and stiff, since we were not really used to that kind of a hike.

Yes, a little dog hiked all the way up here!

Yes, a little dog hiked all the way up here!

…But that Meadow is Like a Jungle for a Little

In 2010, at the end of a camping trip in the Sapphire mountains, we went on a long, somewhat spontaneous hike. We crossed a beautiful meadow full of tall grass. Cricket began stalking some tiny butterflies fluttering among the grasses.

I also remember on that hike — the grass was taller than she was, and wet with morning dew. The ground through the meadow was soft and marshy. All the big dogs (and people) could stride through the grass unhindered and just get our ankles wet. Cricket had to plow right through it. She hopped along, popping her head above the sea of grass to see. She eventually wore herself out since she had to work ten-times (maybe more) harder than everyone else. Renee finally gave her a ride on the top of her backpack.

Hunting butterflies

Hunting butterflies

Finally needed a little ride

Finally needed a little ride

The Little Dog on Big Dog Duty

In 2011, Renee and I went backpacking in the Pintlers with all the dogs (Abby, Sirus, Myka, Darwin, and Cricket). We saw horse trailers at the trailhead, so we leashed the big dogs as a precaution, as they would bark at horses, which can be dangerous for all involved. So Cricket was the only off-leash dog.

She quickly realized this and she took over all the “big dog duties” as we hiked in. She scouted up ahead on the trail, she ran in the direction of squirrels and chipmunks, she scampered up big boulders along the edge of the trail for a better view. By the time we got to our campsite (I think it was around 9 or 10 miles in), she was completely exhausted. But so proud of herself!

Doing big dog duty on the backpack to Oreamnos Lake

Doing big dog duty on the backpack to Oreamnos Lake

She loved climbing boulders!

She loved climbing boulders!

She was still exhausted the next day!

She was still exhausted the next day!

Sun Worshipper

She loved the sun. She loved it a little too much — her nose used to get sunburned in the summer. At our house in Missoula, she loved the big patio that got too hot in the summer. We had to keep an eye on her to make sure she didn’t overheat!

She was really good at finding good spots to lay out there as well. She got into the planting boxes (at times when we didn’t have plants in them yet). We used to have a small pot with a wooly thyme plant that she loved to curl up on. Fortunately, wooly thyme is a ground cover that can handle people walking on it, so she didn’t hurt the plant at all. Alas, I can’t find any pictures of that. We left that plant behind when we moved to Washington, so Cricket lost that particular seat.

Sunbathing on the patio with Darwin

Sunbathing on the patio with Darwin

That's sort of an odd herb in our herb box...

That’s sort of an odd herb in our herb box…

Your nose is burning! Get out of the sun, you silly dog!

Your nose is burning! Get out of the sun, you silly dog!

Water May be Wet, but that Isn’t so Bad!

Even though Cricket didn’t much like the water (see the “Water is Wet” story above!), Renee started working with getting her to do better crossing creeks and even occasionally swimming. She got much better — she started crossing on her own, although she had great balance and was always on the lookout for a nice, dry log.

I remember on a camping trip in the Skalkaho area, all the big dogs leapt across the creek while running around. Cricket was running with them, and she didn’t even hesitate — just plunged right in and swam to the other side! Then she realized she couldn’t easily climb out on the other side, so she had to swim back to get out.

Wading in a creek on a camping trip

Wading in a creek on a camping trip

Expert Backpack Rider

As Cricket got older, she couldn’t always walk or hike as long as everyone else, so she learned to ride in a backpack. For a long time, we only needed this on longer hikes, or walks in cold weather. Her feet used to get cold and she hated wearing those little doggie booties (she was really good at getting them off!)

She relaxed easily in the backpack. sometimes looking like she might even fall asleep.

Totally comfortable in backpacks. This was a Montana hike several years ago

Totally comfortable in backpacks. This was a Montana hike several years ago

Just last April on a neighborhood walk.

Just last April on a neighborhood walk.

Completely comfortable

Completely comfortable

This Old Dog is Not Ready to be Old

Eventually we had to bring the backpack even on short neighborhood walks. We would go her pace for a bit, letting her stretch her legs and sniff, then pack her up so that the rest of the family could walk a little quicker and get some exercise

On a Saturday in late September, just a couple weeks before she died, we took all the big dogs on bike rides to let them run, then we took Cricket on a walk by herself, for some one-on-one time. We didn’t bring the backpack since we could go her pace and just as far as she could go.

She came out of the house spunky and full of energy and wanted to run. I momentarily dropped her leash and she took off, so I ran alongside her all the way down our street. And she ran! Not as fast as when she was young, but she ran.

It was a brief walk since she burned her energy right at the start, but so worth it for her to be like a young dog again, even if only for a few minutes.

We had no idea we’d being saying good-bye to Cricket so soon after this moment. I’m grateful that the day worked out the way it did, giving her (and us) this brief moment of exuberance.

Good Things in 2013

05 Sunday Jan 2014

Posted by SaraS in Dogs, Outdoors, Trips

≈ 3 Comments

Tags

camping, Chile Peppers, Gardening, hiking, rivers, snowboarding

So I already mentioned a couple reasons why I won’t miss 2013. The start and the end of the year were tough, to say the least.

But, to be fair to 2013, it wasn’t all bad. We had some good times in the last year…some really fun events and trips. I flipped through all the pages of my journal over the last few days just to remind myself of this…

Winter

Last winter was the year I learned how to snowboard! I remember feeling a bit ridiculous as I signed up for lessons at Lost Trail Powder Mountain. Who learns how to snowboard for the first time when 42 years old? Especially when you never even learned how to downhill ski, either?

I remember seeing little tiny toddlers scooting about on their adorably tiny skis and feeling somewhat jealous. Their parents had the right idea! Those kids probably wouldn’t even remember the painful falls (not to mention that they didn’t have nearly as far to fall!)

One of my first runs when I was off the bunny hill

One of my first runs when I was off the bunny hill

Spring

Renee spent much of the springtime helping Carolyn and Ally get their Potomac house ready to sell. I came out there a few times on the weekends to help as well. I think the day I remember the most was when Ally and I ripped out old, icky carpeting.

This all paid off in the fall when the house sold, and Carolyn and Ally treated us to a terrific weekend in Big Fork as a thank-you for the help!

Cricket and Tango hanging out at the Poto house while we did renovations…

Cricket and Tango hanging out at the Poto house while we did renovations…

Later in the spring, we took a trip back to my hometown, Batavia, Illinois. Renee got to meet my sister and see where I grew up. It was the longest trip we have ever taken in our trailer. It was also the first time we ever did the real “RV” thing, staying in RV parks with hookups rather than dry camping. I have to say, I can see the appeal of traveling this way instead of staying in motels!

Batavia windmill, down by the Fox River…

Batavia windmill, down by the Fox River…

Of course, we also did quite a bit of planting and garden prep in the springtime…which led to our best vegetable garden ever!

One of our pepper plant seedings in March

One of our pepper plant seedings in March

Summer

The summer was very busy and just flew by in a blink. Some highlights…

In June, we went white-water rafting on the Lochsa river in Idaho.

On the Lochsa!

On the Lochsa!

We also spent an afternoon at the shooting range, where I got to fire a few different guns and discover just how bad my aim was…although I did manage to hit a few! The holes marked with “S” were mine.

The holes marked with "S" were mine!

The holes marked with “S” were mine!

In July we took a terrific trip to Glacier National Park. I think this status I posted on my Facebook sums it up:

It was a fabulous trip. 12 days, nearly 70 miles of hiking, 11,000 feet of elevation gain, about 10 or so bear sightings, a few ptarmigans, some deer, three moose, a couple marmots, and too many waterfalls, mountain sheep, and mountain goats to count

As part of that trip, we trekked the long uphill to Ptarmigan Tunnel, which was incredible. Who came up with the idea of blasting a tunnel right through a high cliff face?

Carolyn at the tunnel!

Carolyn at the tunnel!

Otokomi Lake

Otokomi Lake

The people who rented my house on the other side of town decided to relocate to Portland, which caused me a few day panic. Much to my surprise, just a simple “For Rent” sign brought in the calls and we had new renters so quickly that we really only had time for a few quick repairs and touch-ups. This was a pleasant surprise, as I expected it to take much more time.

Finally, the summer ended with Renee’s 50th birthday celebration. We camped for the weekend up at Tally Lake near Whitefish. The camping trip was great, Tally Lake is a really nice lake (it actually made us want a boat), but the highlight of the weekend was zip lining at Whitefish Moutnain.

Renee and I zipping through the trees

Renee and I zipping through the trees

Did I mention our gardening success this year? We harvested about 17 pounds of peppers (anaheim, ancho, and bell peppers) and 19 pounds of tomatoes. Our freezer is still packed with roasted peppers, just waiting to be used on our favorite pepperoni, green chili, and mushroom pizza.

One of our pepper harvests weighing in at about 3 pounds

One of our pepper harvests weighing in at about 3 pounds

Fall

Fall has always been one of my favorite seasons. It came quick in 2013 since the summer flew by so fast.

In late August / early September, we decided to trade in our 22-foot Jayco trailer for a new Lance truck camper. It was an adjustment to lose storage space, but we are hoping we can now be more mobile on our camping trips and get into more remote areas than we could with the trailer. The Lance may be smaller, but it is a definite upgrade in quality.

We only had time for a few short weekend trips with the new camper, but we’re looking forward to some longer trips in 2014.

The new Lance camper!

The new Lance camper!

Later, in September, we decided it was time for a second vehicle. We bought a 2011 Nissan Juke. We want to use the smaller car for most of our around-town driving and even for driving to the ski resorts in the winter to save on gas. So far, the all wheel drive has performed great on the snowy and icy roads.

The new Nissan Juke!

The new Nissan Juke!

Later, in November, Carolyn and Ally took us, Martha, and Nancy on a trip to Big Fork as a thank-you for our help with the Potomac house. We had a great weekend exploring little shops and staying at the Mountain Lake Lodge.

So, I guess I have to admit that 2013 wasn’t all bad. I’m still hoping that 2014 will be better, though!

Goodbye, 2013

01 Wednesday Jan 2014

Posted by SaraS in Dogs, Medical

≈ 2 Comments

Tags

brain surgery, Poodles

So here is a fact…I didn’t post a single blog entry in all of 2013. How did that happen?

I can’t say that I’ll miss 2013 very much. There was definitely some good stuff that happened in this last year, but the year was bookended by huge, major, difficult events.

The year opened with losing our sweet standard poodle Sirus. She got sick just a few days into the year, on January 4. She passed away just a month later, on February 6, after a long, difficult fight with an autoimmune disease.

Beautiful portrait of Sirus

Beautiful portrait of Sirus

The year closed with the discovery of Renee’s brain tumor early in December and the surgery to remove it just five days before Christmas. Not to mention sudden changes in my professional life, as my home-based technical writing / business analysis position will be eliminated by June, so I need to find something new in this new year.

Diagram of the brain showing where Renee's tumor was

Diagram of the brain showing where Renee’s tumor was

I’m not a particularly superstitious person, but that seems like a awful lot of bad luck for one year. Particularly one that ends in”13”!

I am optimistic that 2014 will be much, much better than 2013!!

Bicycling with Dogs on a Beautiful Pre-Winter Day

17 Saturday Nov 2012

Posted by SaraS in Dogs

≈ 2 Comments

Tags

Bicycling, bicycling with dogs, labrador retriever, Poodles, WalkyDog

So this picture of Renee and Myka turned out pretty nice:

Renee and Myka

Renee and Myka

However, taking that picture caused a small amount of trauma. The very next picture on my camera roll is this:

Blue sky and a lamppost

Blue sky and a lamppost

You can see the really beautiful blue sky…along with that little bit of a lamppost…

What Happened…

So, here’s how this happened. Today was a beautiful day, so we took Darwin and Myka on a bike ride. All was going very well; those two dogs love bicycling with us. They love to run all out, especially early on.

Down by the park, Renee wanted to work with Myka’s turns for a few minutes, so she pulled into the parking lot and did some loops. Darwin and I pulled off the path to wait.

Waiting

Darwin Waiting

It occurred to me that this was an ideal time to get a few pictures. I don’t often have the opportunity to take pictures during these rides, so I leaned the bike against my body and pulled out my phone.

All was going very well and I got a few great shots as they rode towards us and then passed us.

As they passed us, Darwin decided that we were done waiting and it was time to start running, as he usually follows Myka on our rides. So he started running after them. Unfortunately, I didn’t have a tight grip on the bike, so it fell over and began, in Darwin’s mind, chasing him. He ran in panicked circles, dragging the bike behind him as I frantically told him to stop and attempted to catch him. The Walky Dog bar that we use scraped along the concrete; I’m sure the sound just added to his panic.

The chaos seemed to last a long time, but was probably only a few seconds. Apparently I somehow hit the camera button on my phone and took that shot of the blue sky and lamppost.

After a moment, Darwin did calm down enough that we could continue the ride. I gave my bike a quick inspection, but everything seemed mostly okay. I think the brakes might need some adjusting. The Walky Dog bar actually took the brunt of the dragging and seemed fine, although the bracket needs to be tightened back up.

Darwin seemed a little skittish when we started riding again, but after a few minutes with no more trauma, he settled into his normal biking groove. This is a very good thing; because of his very issues, we don’t have a lot of options for good exercise for him. Bicycling gives him a good long run, so I was relieved that the experience didn’t freak him out too badly.

Rest of the Day

We finished our ride, then dropped off Darwin and Myka and took Abby on a ride. Then it was Sirus’s turn, although she doesn’t like to go as far or as fast. Finally we finished up with a short walk for Cricket (Sirus came along since she had a shorter ride).

Despite the short trauma, it was a beautiful day to be out the with the dogs! A few more pictures are below.

seconds before

Seconds before the incident

Earlier in the ride; this picture I took while riding.

Earlier in the ride; this picture I took while riding.

Abby taking a break during her ride. You can tell it was a warm day today since she had to lay down in the river!

Abby taking a break during her ride. You can tell it was a warm day today since she had to lay down in the river!

Darwin’s Interesting Day

09 Friday Mar 2012

Posted by SaraS in Dogs, Outdoors

≈ 4 Comments

Tags

labrador retriever

Darwin waiting for more fetch

This is Darwin. He is our “special needs” dog. He is usually a good dog at home, but he has issues with other dogs (other than the poodles and Cricket) and with people he doesn’t know very well. In these situations, he gets very barky and anxious. Since he is a medium sized black dog, he can often look a little threatening when he does this.

We’ve done a lot of work with him on this — including working with a professional dog trainer — but most of the training is really more about how to manage him rather than necessarily curing his issues. He has shown some improvement and has been a little easier to manage, but he still has his issues.

Today, he had a few experiences that were very new to him…and he actually did quite well.

So, this morning was hectic and chaotic. Renee had an early appointment and had to rush out the door. I went into my home office and started work, completely forgetting that today was an Alpine Canine day. They come and pick up the dogs in a cute little bus and take them on a three-hour hike. This has been especially great since my foot surgery since that has made it much harder for us to hike the dogs ourselves.

Alpine Canine Bus

The orange Alpine Canine bus

Normally on Alpine Canine days I put Darwin in his kennel ahead of time so that he is out of the way when they pick up the other dogs. I also lately have been working in the living room for an hour or so in the morning, so I see the bus pull up.

But in the chaos of this morning, I completely forgot all of this. Until about 9:15 or so when all the dogs started barking wildly. I “ran” to the living room (more like a fast hobble) and was surprised to see the Alpine Canine bus parked in the driveway. The hiker picking them up, Jeremy, was already at the door.

The first thing that came to my mind was not the fact that Darwin was running around free, but rather getting collars on the poodles. I grabbed the collars and opened the door so that I could start sending out the dogs as I put on their collars.

Then Darwin started barking, alarmed to see a stranger standing at the door.

The next thing I knew, he dashed out the door and started running towards the bus. I’m not sure if it was because he wanted to go hiking too, or he heard the other dogs on the bus barking, or maybe he just wanted to know why there was a strange vehicle in the driveway.

Jeremy, the Alpine Canine hiker, rushed right after Darwin and somehow — I’m still not sure how — got him to stop running around the yard. Then he scooped up the dog and carried him back to the house. I wish I had a camera in that moment for the look on Darwin’s face as he realized that a complete stranger had not only touched him, but picked him up and carried him.

Once Darwin was safely back in the house, we finished getting collars on the poodles and they went off on their hike. Darwin seemed a little bummed to see the bus driving away. I still couldn’t believe that Jeremy had been able to wrangle him and carry him so quickly.

Later in the day, while the poodles were still on their hike, we took Darwin and Cricket on a short walk to a nearby school so that he could play fetch and get a little exercise. I still can’t go on long walks all the way to the river, but this at least gives him time to run around a bit. And he loves fetch.

Darwin and Renee in the park

Darwin and Renee in the park

When we finished with the fetch, we let him carry his tennis ball as we walked home. It sometimes seems to help; it is sort of a “binky.” Plus if he does decide to bark, at least it will be a little muffled.

We passed an elderly woman who noticed him carrying his tennis ball. She stopped and approached us to comment on this and say hello to Darwin. And for the second time in the day, he surprised me. He didn’t get upset and start barking when she walked up to us. He actually stood there wagging his tail and looking friendly.

He only got a little concerned when she held out her hand. He backed up and barked (muffled by the tennis ball), but he settled back down as soon as she backed off. We chatted for a few more minutes and then continued on our walk home.

He’s still a special needs dog, but it was encouraging to see him do well with a few new experiences.

Trapping Rant Part 2

19 Sunday Feb 2012

Posted by SaraS in Dogs, News, Outdoors, Rants

≈ 1 Comment

I just realized I never followed up on my previous post regarding KPAX’s special report on trapping.

I think this page is the summary of part two. They did at least acknowledge concerns about pets getting trapped, but it was very brief. Overall, I wasn’t especially impressed with their “special report” on this issue.

But in related news, this Saturday the Humane Society here in Missoula is hosting a workshop on releasing your pets from traps. The workshop will be put on by Footloose Montana, a non-profit organization fighting against trapping on public land. They were (briefly) mentioned in the KPAX piece.

Renee and I are definitely planning on going to this…hopefully this will help us keep all our dogs a little safer when out in the woods.

Trap Workshop Poster

Trapping Rant

07 Tuesday Feb 2012

Posted by SaraS in Dogs, News, Outdoors, Rants

≈ 1 Comment

Last night, our local CBS channel (KPAX) had a “special report” about trapping on public land on the ten o’clock news. It turned out to be just “part one;” the second part should air tonight. Part one made me extremely cranky, especially right before bed.

Here’s the story. The text on this page is most of what they covered in the story:

Trapping Remains Hot Topic – Part 1

They spent most of the time talking to trappers and people who support trapping as a “traditional way of life.” They alluded to people who oppose trapping, but sort of implied that the opposition is mostly concerned with the animals that are being harvested via trapping. They didn’t mention at all that much of the opposition is about safety of the people and pets that are also out in the public lands.

For example, the trapper they talked to said he didn’t see that this was any different from hunting or from hooking a fish. And, from the perspective of cruelty to wild animals, that’s mostly true – the animal ends up dead either way. I would point out that at least the hunter or the fisherman normally kills the animal cleanly, not leaving it to perhaps suffer for hours or days. But set aside that issue for a moment. 

My big issue is that I don’t want to see one of my dogs get caught in a trap. I’ve heard too many horror stories. The trapper they interviewed sounded relatively responsible, but not all people doing this are going to do things the right way. Some will set their traps right near trailheads, for example. What a lazy way to “hunt!”

Then there was this quote from a Montana Fish, Wildlife, and Parks spokesman:

We certainly respect the opinions of those people that are opposed, there are differing opinions on hunting, fishing, trapping – you name it. That’s personal opinion and some of it’s the result of information they’ve heard that maybe correct, or incomplete or inaccurate information. It’s a value thing and people have different opinions which they’re entitled to,” he added.

Nothing in there even hints at the fact that people might be opposed for safety reasons, not because of “differing opinions on hunting.” And I totally don’t get the “value” thing. Yes, I value my dogs being alive and safe and unhurt. Is that what he means by “value thing?”

And again the trapper they interviewed:

It’s the perception that we’re these people that are beating animals over the head with a club – and that’s not true,” Kempthorne told us.

No, actually, I didn’t have that perception. I had the “perception” that you left dangerous traps (perhaps even baited with food) in areas where pets out for a hike in the woods might stumble over them and be hurt or killed. And nothing in the interview or overall report did anything to erase that perception of trapping.

Anyway, I suppose I will tune in to the news again tonight for part two, and see if the “special report” gives a fair hearing to the other side, and clarifies the reasons people oppose trapping. But so far, I was not very impressed.

It was Totally the Cat’s Fault!

09 Wednesday Nov 2011

Posted by SaraS in Cats, Dogs

≈ 2 Comments

Tags

danger cat, rat terriers, vet bills

It all started with a cat learning how to use the dog door and ended with an expensive vet bill. Well, that may be bit of an exaggeration, but not much.

Pippin has been slowly checking out the dog door for coming into the house. He likes being out in the backyard, and he likes his luxury kitty apartment, but sometimes he also likes to come in the house. He expresses this desire by using the barbecue grill as a stage; he gets up there and yells and yells and yells until we open the door for him.

Then he just stands there for a minute, as though he isn’t really sure he wants in or not. He just wants the option to come in. Once he is in, he hangs out for a while before sitting at the back door and yelling again to be let out.

He sort of reminds me of this.

So we started encouraging him to use the dog door instead of just yelling. I’m not sure whether or not this was really such a good idea, but file it under “it seemed like a good idea at the time.”

He might have figured it out anyway since his cat apartment also has a pet door installed, but it is a smaller, lighter one. The dog’s door is big to accommodate the standard poodles and it has two flaps to better keep out cold air. Still, once he got the hang of of the kitty door, it seemed likely that he would figure out the big dog door too. He’s certainly watched the dogs go in and out often enough.

Distracted by the Cat!

So Monday night we decided to run over to Noodle Express for a quick dinner. There are a few quick tasks we always do on the way out the door to make sure the dogs don’t get in trouble. The most important one is to lock the kitchen trash can in the bathroom to keep the dogs from getting into it. They are very good at knocking it down and having their own personal doggy feast. Usually they like to drag all the trash into my office to munch on. I’m not sure why my office is such a great place for trash eating. Darwin’s crate is in there, so he has to sit there and watch them chow down right in front of him, which always struck me as sort of mean on the part of the other dogs.

Anyway, we started getting ready to head out. I grabbed a coffee mug and a glass off my desk to put in the kitchen (just in case), intending to put away the trash next. On my way to the kitchen, I saw Pippin outside the dog door, standing up on his hind legs and poking at the door with his paw. Apparently all the time watching the dogs run in and out was starting to click. You could almost see the wheels turning in his little head.

We both stopped what we were doing and watched him examining the door. He didn’t try going through just yet, but he was definitely thinking about it.

An Express Exit from Noodle Express

We were getting pretty hungry for dinner, so we left Pippin to continue figuring things out and we headed on out to dinner. Ordered our usual rice bowls (I think they recognize us there) and two slices of their terrific chocolate mousse pie.

I’m not sure what made me think of it, but about halfway through dinner, I said “Did we put away the trash?”

Renee looked up from her rice bowl in horror and shook her head.

“Oh crap.”

We quickly realized that Pippin had distracted us during our normal pre-leaving tasks.

We got “go” boxes for the rest of our rice and had them package up the mousse pie to go. Renee drove like a maniac to get home. I hoped that the dogs hadn’t had time yet to notice the unguarded trash can.

When we pulled into the driveway, we knew we were in trouble. No dogs in the window watching for us. That was never good news.

I hurried in to the house. Sure enough, the can was knocked over and trash spewed all over the dining room carpet. Abby was in the bedroom; she doesn’t usually get involved in this. Strangely, the usual suspects (Sirus and Myka) were not in the room. Cricket, on the other hand, was standing right in the middle of the mess.

Not Innocent Dogs

These dogs are not innocent in matters of trash

Despite her small size, Cricket is not innocent when it comes to trash. I used to have a lightweight plastic trashcan, and she could grab the bag in her teeth and pull the whole thing over. I switched to a heavier metal can like we have now and she couldn’t do that anymore, but she could still sometimes get on her hind legs and grab at any items up near the top. She’s probably the one who taught the poodles to even notice the trash can in the first place.

Sirus and Myka were out in the backyard for some reason. Maybe they had eaten enough and just weren’t interested. Or they were startled out of their feast by Pippin actually coming in through the dog door, for he had finally managed to do it. I looked in my office to see if they had hauled any trash in there, and saw Pippin sitting comfortablely on my desk. He had also left a light paw-print on the lid of my closed laptop.

Here’s Where the Story Gets a Little Scary

We cleaned up the mess (the vacuum was more than Pippin could take and he bolted back through the dog door) and tried to relax the rest of the evening, but we were concerned. The trash had contained two quart-sized bags of old gorp leftover from our summer backpack trips. Peanuts, raisins, dried cranberries, and M&Ms. All things that aren’t good for dogs.

Sure enough, at three in the morning Cricket got up and started vomiting. Cleaning up dog vomit is never pleasant, but this was especially awful smelling puke. We stewed for a few minutes. Could we wait till morning, or should we just accept the cost of going to the emergency vet clinic? She sat uncomfortably in the bed and shook, not wanting to lie down and relax.

We decided it was emergency and got up to take her in. I was still on the phone with the vet clinic when she threw up bloody bile in the kitchen. Definitely an emergency now.

It was $95 up front at the emergency clinic. After a quick exam, the doctor said they would do an x-ray to check for any foreign objects, then provide some sort of charcoal treatment to bind up the rest of the trash and keep her from absorbing it, and then set her up with IV fluids so she doesn’t get dehydrated. We had to leave her there. We went home and went back to bed, although I really didn’t sleep all that well.

Cricket stayed at the vet hospital all day Tuesday. They told us she vomited again in the early morning (around 7 and again at 7:30). They didn’t want her to come home until she had kept food down for several hours, so she had to stay there Tuesday night as well. They told us we could come visit with her, but we figured that would just get her stirred up and then upset her more when we had to leave her there again.

Darwin wasted no time taking advantage of his sister’s absence; he tried to squeeze into her spot on the bed. This was OK at first because he curled up small. As the night went on, he sort of uncurled and stretched out and hogged a large portion of the bed.

Did She Learn Her Lesson? We Sure Did!

Finally this morning she was ready to come home. Apparently she was actually pretty good in her kennel and did not bark and cry as much as I would have expected. The doctor did say she started yapping at her when she didn’t get as much food as she wanted.

She was happy to see us when we picked her up, but then turned her head away to shun us. She was very angry that we took her to that place and left her there. She seems to have forgiven me more quickly than Renee; I’m not sure why. Maybe she expects less from me?

It would be really nice if Cricket learned a lesson from all this and would stay out of the trash from now on. After all, getting into trash just leads to bad things like vet clinics in the middle of the night, IV fluids, and sitting in a kennel all day. Unfortunately, I’m sure she has made no connection between the trash and the hospital stay. If she had the opportunity, she would do it all over again.

Hopefully we’ll do a bit better at staying vigilant when it comes to dog-proofing the house on the way out the door.

On a final note, I do know that the other dogs enjoyed some of that gorp as well. I’ve found plenty of evidence when poop-scooping the backyard, mostly in the form of undigested peanuts. But they seem to be doing OK and suffering no ill-effects, at least so far (fingers crossed that it stays that way).

Cricket and Darwin’s Dance

27 Thursday Oct 2011

Posted by SaraS in Dogs

≈ 2 Comments

Tags

dogs playing, labrador retriever, rat terriers

cricket_and_darwin_dancing.jpg

Cricket is an eleven-year old rat terrier / chihuahua mix. While she is still very spunky and active (and she loves to hike!), she isn’t usually very playful with the big dogs. She does like the role of the “play police” when the other dogs play though; she likes to run over and bark at them.

But every so often, she gets in a frisky mood and likes to play with Darwin, the youngest dog in our pack. This is always amusing to watch because they are so strange when they play with each other. Darwin likes to play very rough with the other big dogs (see this video from last May for example).

But with Cricket, he takes a completely different approach. It seems to involve licking her head a lot to get her attention, but he does seem to understand that playing with a small dog is a totally different thing than playing with someone his own size.

It cracks me up when she gets up on her hind legs so that she can bop him in the head with her paws. Sometimes she uses the sofa for some extra height.

I was actually able to catch just a bit of it on video today. This is very rare, as they usually stop the instant I pull out the camera, but for some reason today they actually kept going for a minute or so.

If for some reason it doesn’t play correctly within the post, click here to view it on YouTube.

A few more pictures from a few days ago…

playing_on_sofa.jpg

come_on_and_play.jpg

Image

Photo of the Day: Dogs at the Window

20 Thursday Oct 2011

Tags

Poodles, rat terriers

DSC_0002 by SaraS
DSC_0002, a photo by SaraS on Flickr.

Via Flickr:
Abby, Sirus, and Cricket keeping an eye out on things outside.

Posted by SaraS | Filed under Dogs, Photo of the Day, Photography

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