Earlier this month my friend Pete was gracious enough to play Santa at PetSmart to raise money for the rescue group Brian and I volunteer with. Here’s a slide show of the pics:
Dogs
18
Dec 10
Favorite Places
Every Thanksgiving we escape civilization and head somewhere in Southern Utah with friends. It’s a great chance to get away and recuperate before the holidays get crazy. This year we headed down to what is quickly becoming my favorite place in Utah… Bluff. Never heard of it? That’s not a surprise. It’s in the far south eastern corner of the state. Miles and miles from anywhere worth noting.
The attraction is both the remoteness and the fact that the canyons surrounding Bluff were once home to the Anasazi. Their former dwellings and artwork are accessible from a number of hikes just outside of Bluff.
Plus there are a number of geological wonders nearby too, like Valley of the Gods, Muley Point, and the Comb Ridge.
Another perk is that the area is extremely dog friendly. Somehow the landmarks here remain under the control of BLM, not the Park Service. Meaning that you can hike just about anywhere with your dog.
Just don’t go during the summer months when it will be unbearably hot for you and your dog.
Last time we passed through, we stayed at the Recapture Lodge. It’s dated, but clean, dog friendly, and very affordable. Since we were staying with a larger group, we ended up renting the West House available through Recapture Lodge. It was shockingly affordable and also dog friendly.
If you do go to Bluff, keep in mind that there’s no grocery store. The Twin Rocks Cafe is open most days and has good diner food (and Navajo taco pizza for the more adventurous). Comb Ridge Coffee has a simple but great breakfast on the weekends. The place not to miss though is the San Juan River Kitchen. Their mushroom sandwich blew me away last year. Sadly, they opted to take Thanksgiving weekend off.
All the more reason to plan my next trip down to Bluff.
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Dec 10
Updates and Changes
It’s been a long time, so I thought I’d give a quick update. In November, Stevie and I passed the Delta Society pet partners evaluation. That means Stevie can now go into schools and hospitals to help cheer people up with the kind of love only Stevie can give.
While we wait for all the paperwork to go through, Amos is using Stevie as his own personal furnace.
(No comment on Amos’ ear fetish.)
Over the summer, we took in a new foster dog named Hazelnut. She was a total sweetie, and we fell in love. Unfortunately, she had some aggression issues that we just couldn’t address. She’s been boarding in Ogden for the past few months, but yesterday, she went to the Longmont Humane Society in Colorado. They have an amazing program to work with dog-aggressive dogs, and I’m sure she’ll respond so well.
I know it’s for the best, but we’ll still miss her.
Of course, in exchange, we agreed to take Sammy, a geriatric little min pin with food guarding issues. He has no issues with cuddling though.
This foster… he’s going to get adopted!
26
Jun 10
Hazelnut!
Brian and I picked up a new foster dog this past week. She is a stumpy little pit bull, basset hound mix, and she’s a total love bug. Somehow she’s been at the county shelter for the last three months. She was one of the Salt Lake Pit Crew dogs. Unfortunately, space at the shelter is tight right now, and she had a deadline of Friday to find an adoptive home or be taken by another rescue group. I saw her pic on Facebook and just couldn’t say no.
She’s adapted amazingly well to life post-shelter. She gets along well with all the other dogs, although Izzy hasn’t been all that nice to her. While she lacks a bit in manners, she’s remarkably chill and relaxed in spite of all the new things she’s encountered in the last 48 hours. She even seems to be house trained.
The only thing she isn’t so good about is staying in her crate. She busted out of it the first time we used it, but we’ve been trying to entice her with treats and chew toys. By the end of this weekend, I’m sure she’ll love it.
Unlike my other two fosters, I fully expect this one to get adopted. Right now she’s under quarantine, but next weekend she’ll be at PetSmart ready to meet her forever people!
11
Jun 10
Birthdays and Other Days
This past week Stevie turned one, and we move on from the period of house training, chew toys, and puppy food. Stevie was my first puppy, and I had real qualms about being able to do a good job of getting him to the one year mark. If you’ve read anything by Ian Dunbar, you’ll know that puppyhood is a time when one wrong experience or misstep can wreck your dog for life.
Fortunately, Stevie has made it through with flying colors. Sure, we still have a lot of things to work on. He has a bizarre obsession with chewing up plants. His downs and stays are atrocious. But generally, he’s a great dog. And now that he’s one, we’re in the terrain that I know. We can officially apply to come a therapy dog team, although we’re not there yet. I guess the point is that I’m breathing a sigh of relief that we made it this far and that we’ve done just fine.
Of course, one milestone makes me think of another. Next week it will have been four months since Boo passed away. A lot of things make me think of Boo. This past weekend we happened to be staying in the exact same cabin in Escalante that we stayed in with Boo last October. Last night I found his Snuggy in the back of a drawer.
It’s hard to know the best way to memorialize a dog. There are always people who will think you’re nuts for doing it all, but you can’t deny experiencing grief and wanting a way to express it.
A couple of months ago I came across a woman who makes pet stepping stones. I ordered one, and I’ve put it in a sunny corner of my yard where Boo used to sit and nap for hours on end.
I think it turned out quite well. I still haven’t figured out what to do with his ashes, but I smile every time I see his little stepping stone in the yard.
2
Jun 10
Afternoon Nap
The best part about this picture is that when I took it my camera gave me a closed eye warning. Thank you, camera!
13
May 10
Stevie’s 15 Minutes
Stevie’s story is featured on Pawesome.net this week.
In other news, Izzy is also being cute. This one is for you, Julie.
11
May 10
The Garden This Year
Our puppy Stevie is a total love bug in so many ways, but not at all towards plants. It started out with just a nip at the plants last summer, but at some point over the winter, he turned his vengeance on a blackberry bush, three lilacs, and a grape vine.
This spring he moved to the broccoli. Apparently, he has a particular fondness for the pots that can be planted and pulled out several of my starts to get at the fibrous material. In an effort to salvage what was left, I got plastic netting and bamboo stakes. It might have worked, but apparently the bamboo stakes are also fun to chew. So we had to get out the big guns…
We’ve now got metal fencing all along each of our backyard boxes. I’ve planted two of them with strawberries and rhubarb, so I’m really hoping this will work out. I don’t think I can give up on my love of either strawberries or puppies.
Over the weekend, Brian and I tried to get to the Wasatch Community Gardens Plant Sale, but when we got there at 8, the line was streaming down the block. It was almost as if they were handing out Wiis or tickets to big summer concerts, but no, it was all for tomato seedlings. We ended up at the Live Green Festival instead and found a nice assortment of plants there. I got so many greens that I plan on eating salads every day in June and July.
