Category: Pets
Posted by Tricia at 11:06 pm
Jay has been on a business trip this week. He doesn’t do many of these, but when he goes, we have a routine of sorts that we follow, and generally we all do pretty well. All of us except Lucy.
Have I mentioned Lucy is a high energy dog? No? Well then I’ll say it: Lucy is high energy. Yes. And that might be the understatement of the year. She is young, and she is a lab. ‘Nuff said. She is sweet, but she needs her exercise, which consists of running endless trips across the backyard to leap in the air and catch a frisbee. Jay is the frisbee-thrower in the household. Try as I might, I cannot begin to tire Lucy out with my frisbee-throwing (it’s pretty poor, folks). So, when the daddy is gone, Lucy’s exercise is the shoe this mommy lets fall. Mostly because I am just lazy like that.
But also because today I have been running kids to co-op (after stopping to photograph the local wildlife which we found in our garage this morning), getting in a couple hours of readin’, ritin’ and ‘rithmetic before dropping the eldest two at piano lessons so I could take the younger two along on the weekly grocery run as well as the final Party City errand before the big Pirate Birthday tomorrow for the 3 year old.
Arriving home, we slammed down some Boston Market, ran Abigail to her volleyball practice and after getting back home again, I calculated that we had a big enough window of time before needing to pick her up to take a stroll around the neighborhood and hopefully help poor Lucy who has been absolutely stir-crazy the last couple of days without Jay home, to run off some excess energy.
The boys grabbed scooters, I got Josiah buckled into his stroller, and off we went. The walk started out promisingly enough. Jonathan listened carefully to my instructions about holding Lucy on her leash, and the two of them led our small parade. I’d have had him push the stroller, but we felt his inability to see over the top of it could present a hazard for both him and the baby. (Oh, if only I’d known.) Nicolas chugged along on his little scooter, I brought up the rear of the party, pushing Josey in his new set of wheels.
All went well in front of me; I recall watching my big boy of seven with great pride as he carefully walked this dog who weighs more than he does and is far stronger to say the least. She, for her part, walked politely next to him, behaving almost like the lady that she is not. It was a beautiful picture….and one that could not last.
We had traveled only two house-lengths when Jonathan and Lucy stepped around opposite sides of a road sign in the middle of the sidewalk, and tried to keep on walking despite the leash remaining behind them, tangled around the sign. The dog panicked and began jumping around trying to free herself. Jonathan reacted likewise and began swatting at Lucy with what remained in his hand of the dog leash. The stronger of the two finally disentangled her part of the leash from the sign and began bounding up the lawn of the house we were stopped in front of. Poor Jonathan held faithfully onto the leash, and for his troubles was dragged across the grass for some ways before Lucy stopped again and commenced jumping around as though she’d gone crazy, no doubt additionally riled by the sounds of our neighbors’ dogs inside the house barking excitedly.
And then the Poster Mommy of the year made a really stupid move. I stopped pushing the stroller since Jonathan needed my help. What I failed to do was to put the brake on, so as I ran to rescue Jonathan, poor Josiah rolled off the curb, tipping over as he went down, smashing onto the pavement. (Yes, don’t you all want to come and leave your children in my care now?) Since I had to make a decision between the screaming baby, and my seven year old continuing to yell for help, I ran to the baby, righted him and the stroller, kissed his finger which, he told me quite tearfully, had a big “cratch”, assured myself he had not hit his head, and ran to assist the seven year old who was still laying on the ground while the dog jumped around him like a spooked horse.
About this time (baby still screaming, dog gone mad, older son frantically trying to hold onto crazed canine) whom should walk up but the kind neighbor from two doors down, who does not have any children of her own, but has somehow managed to live with a lab for 10 years now. She had a concerned look on her face (wonder why?) but was really sweet and asked if I could use any help. With her assistance – during which she assured me Lucy was very normal for a young lab, we got things to a calmer state (though the dog would no longer submit to Jonathan leading her leash) and finally set out again. The rest of the walk went without incident, and actually turned into more of a run; I spent a good part of it jogging along next to my dog at a nice clip. Lucy was obviously happy, began panting somewhat heavily as she ran, and seemed as though she was really getting a good workout, the liar.
As soon as we walked through the front door of our house, she ran and grabbed the frisbee off the floor, bringing it to me as if to say, “That was fun, but this is what I really want to do!” and proceeded to pester me for the remainder of the evening. Which really wasn’t gracious of her after all we went through, now was it, dear readers?
While I was out and about with my progeny a few weeks ago some total stranger walked up to me, looked at my four children and asked “What – do you live in a shoe or something?”. Funny, funny guy….not. I might have called him an idiot (or worse) in my head while outwardly ignoring him. But well, he was right, sort of.
I am not old. I do not live in shoe. I do not have more children than I know what to do with. But Lucy, the dog…she is certainly giving me a run for my money.
September 10th, 2008
New Pets!
Posted by Tricia at 10:41 pm
On Tuesday mornings the children and I head over to our home school co-op. While there, they take classes in various subjects from teachers who are wonderfully nurturing as well as experts in their field – we theoretically could have signed up for endless classes, but limited our choices to some arts, science, and a Kindergarten concepts class for Nicolas. Which has been a real hit. He is enjoying his sweet class with nine other K-ers, and they have been studying worms these past two weeks, much to his delight.
The highlight of the unit on worms was yesterday: at the end of class, each student was gifted with his own “worm habitat” which comes complete with two of the little critters inside!! For those of you who are wondering, “worm habitat” appears to be a fancy term for a box of dirt and newspaper shavings – observe:
The addition of two worms to the household means we are now up to five pets, almost a zoo by most standards, but still admittedly not nearly as lively or exciting as Melissa’s house of pets (though I don’t think even they have worms yet)!! Nevertheless we all gotta start somewhere. And so I give you the two newest additions to our family:
Indiana Jones and “Short Round”. Here they are in their habitat posing next to the worm breakfast of champions.
And here is one of the little guys sticking his head out for a peek at us…I’m not for sure, but I think that is Indiana.
So Melissa, if you’re reading, I feel your pain, Honey, I really do. Jay has already laid plans and is quickly executing on a project to bring even more wildlife into this house. About which I shall have pictures and info aplenty to share next week. So maybe you and I could see about going in on a nice, little pet-free cottage somewhere? Some quiet place with no wildlife, no poop, where we would bask in the peace and quiet and CLEANLINESS of it all….and then more than likely become bored silly in a matter of minutes!
Posted by Tricia at 11:32 pm
once the new fence is up. Poor doggie.
Posted by Tricia at 9:13 pm
…..Lucy!!
At least, that’s what we voted last evening to name this furry creature who appears to have taken up residence here at House of Horne.
Personally, I am a bit dubious that the name will stick. We’ve been calling her Dixie for six weeks now. And despite a very democratic process there is one member of the household (who shall remain unnamed) who, every time the dog is referred to as Lucy yells “No! Her name is Dixie!” A real team player, that one.
So anyway, we shall see. Since we came up with this name ourselves, there will be no prizes given to our wonderful participating readers. Sorry, folks. But kudos to everyone who chimed in – we have loved reading your interesting suggestions. I think it is fair to say that Lucy received the greatest amount of positive reaction, so in our book you are all winners!
Here’s to many happy years with ole Dixie, er…I mean Lucy!!
Posted by Tricia at 11:02 pm
It is my delight to show you the newest dog to make the Happy Ending’s Page on Lone Star Lab’s website!!
Sweet baby Lulu has been adopted, and not just by any family, but a great family whom we happen to know and love! And whom we never anticipated would have any interest in a tiny lab puppy. But…we are completely thrilled at how this all turned out. My children, who had a hard time saying goodbye to Lulu, are so excited for their friends who now have a dog of their own to love. And they are more than a little happy that now they will get to watch Lulu as she grows up.
Me? I am happy for all that and more: we are back to just one crazy puppy at the Horne house, and for now, that is quite enough for us!
Posted by Tricia at 2:09 pm
As of today, we are the proud adoptive family of one sweet little yellow lab. Her name has been Dixie, which we like ok, but we are trying to determine if we can come up with a name we like better, that fits her perfectly, and that everyone in this family can agree on. Probably not on that last count, but it’s worth a try.
So…..all of our wonderful readers: will you please help?? Submit your best pick for a name for our new dog, and the lucky winner will receive…..um…..well….the SATISFACTION of knowing you helped the Hornes find the perfect name for Dixie, also known now as, “What’s-her-name”?? In addition, “What’s-her-name” will send you a letter expressing her personal thanks, signed by her very own self.
Dixie is, and probably at full-size will remain a rather petite-ish lab, topping out at probably 55-60 pounds. She’s a very pale yellow lab, “blonde” in color with brown eyes and a nose. She is loving and sweet, and can catch a frisbee like no dog we’ve ever been around before. For seven months old she is pretty well-behaved. She loves car rides, practicing her obedience training moves, catching frisbees from Jay, and pretending she is a lap dog.
If it is any help, here are some names that were put forth by various people around here as good possibilities. My personal favorite is Lucy, chosen because it was the name of the littlest girl in one of our favorite stories: CS Lewis’ The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe, but Jay feels uncomfortable with that name because his paternal grandmother was named Lucille. Ah well….
Other possibilities which we cannot get unanimous agreement on include:
Maisie, Trixie, Tansy, Rosie, Sweet Pea, Pixie, Myrtle, Chloe, Charlotte, and Shiloh.
So come one, everyone, send in names!!! Little Miss “What’s-Her-Name” patiently awaits your wonderful suggestions!
Posted by Tricia at 9:32 pm
Is there anything cuter than a fat, roly-poly puppy with big paws, a sweet face, floppy ears and soft, soft fur?
I saw this little face (the dog’s, not Josiah’s!) on a shelter website early in the week. Lone Star Labs told us they would love to pull her from the shelter but only if a foster home was available. Most people aren’t too enthusiastic about fostering a puppy; sure they are cute, but they are also a mess! But we said yes, why not? Hmmmmm.
Yesterday, Marsha of LSL arrived with a second crate, bag of puppy food, puppy biscuits, and some chew toys for the newest foster to play with. Today the two little boys and I picked up Lulu from the vet’s office and took her through afternoon carpool to the delight of all the schoolchildren!
Well, she IS a really cute puppy. And the children are having a ball with her. Dixie is not so sure about the little encroacher, and we have had to closely monitor the two girls when they are together. But we have no doubt Lulu will find herself a loving home VERY quickly. Till then, we are soaking us up some puppy love! Updated to add: Check out who made the Lone Star Adoptable Pets Page!!
Oh, and by the way, the only thing cuter than a little roly puppy, is the man of your dreams holding that puppy!
Posted by Tricia at 10:39 pm
Today Josiah awoke with a bad stomach virus, and spent the day on an air mattress in the living room, alternately getting sick, crying because he felt so miserable, and falling asleep with the exhaustion of it all. We have had several sick wards in the living room already this year, but this was one was a little different, because today, in the middle of it all, was Dixie the pup, who lay near Josiah’s side through much of the day. And who even several times attempted to lie almost on top of Josiah on his air mattress, perhaps in an effort to help him know she really, really wanted to be as close to him as possible, and comfort him in his distress. Sweet doggie.
Posted by Tricia at 5:42 pm
I know, Gentle Readers: this has become a dog blog. Bear with us please, if you will. Bwahahahah!
Remember that cute puppy we fostered over the weekend? The one whom another family with four children had already committed to adopting? Well, in a very surprising turn of events, they decided not to keep her after all. Tuesday while I was at the dentist, I got a call from one of the Lone Star workers who knew we’d really enjoyed Dixie while she was here. They asked if we might like to have Dixie back, since we knew her better than any other volunteers in the program right now, assuming Gordon found other foster arrangements. (Nothing against sweet Gordon – we think he is a gem, and as soon as he fattens up he will be busy with his calendar-modeling career!). We said yes, we’d love to foster Dixie again, so on Tuesday night another nice volunteer picked up big Gordon, and yesterday we brought Miss Dixie back to our house.
She initially displayed that boundless puppy energy just like the previous time she was dropped off to stay at House of Horne. It tapered off significantly within a day’s time, which it has again today. For a seven month-old lab, Dixie is surprisingly docile and calm; she can play really hard, and then come inside and flop down for a nap. She is super-gentle with our children and will eat a tiny piece of “kibble” from Josiah’s little clenched fingers without so much as nicking him. This afternoon, he sat on her and pretended he was a cowboy and she was a horse. And she never even moved to get up, just politely pretended along with him that she was the best 43 pound horse ever. What a sweet girl.
Sadly, Dixie has a bad little cough she needs to get over. So we will be keeping her at least until she can get healthy again, and then we will see….for now, we are so happy to have her back.
Posted by Tricia at 8:24 am
Gordon joined our household last night as our newest foster doggie. He is a big boy, with a block head that is too large right now for his somewhat skinny body. We are working on helping him gain back the weight he needs to be a healthy size for his large frame. He is really a beautiful dog, but doesn’t photograph well at all, in my honest opinion.
Late last week, I saw Gordon’s picture on a local shelter’s website; he and another dog Skye (she is the pretty yellow lab second from the top of the page) were both scheduled for euthanization due to their “time being up”, and no one having claimed or adopted them, and the facility being too full. I called and spoke with one of the shelter workers who confirmed these were both wonderful dogs who would likely make great family pets, and she hated to see them put down. I called some of the Lone Star volunteers and they were able to pick up both Gordon and Skye and give them another chance at finding homes.
Perhaps he still has some anesthesia in his system from his recent “snip” surgery, but Gordon is about as mellow as they come. He is very calm inside, and quite gentle with the children. After walking peacefully around the house, investigating each corner, he seems content to lay nearby and watch the goings-on of our household. If you call him, he plods over to plunk his head in your lap and get his ears scratched. This is one sweet dog, and we are glad to be able to help care for him as he looks for a new family. Here is Nicolas offering Gordon a treat: the dog waited patiently while Nicolas said “Stay” about a million times before putting the treat on the ground in front of him, and even then didn’t pounce on it until he was given the “ok!”. Good Gordon!
Posted by Tricia at 4:29 pm
Miss Dixie has joined us just for the weekend.
She is a seven month old yellow lab with a lot of puppy energy. Despite her level of activity she doesn’t knock the children over in her exuberance, merely leaps in the air beside them, reminding me of a playful dolphin, only with fur. And on land. Without fins. Okay, so maybe not so much like a dolphin after all, but hopefully you get the idea.
Such exuberance means it is very hard to snap a good photo of her, especially given my camera’s inability to grab a focus in fewer than 6 seconds, but I did my best. No worries that we will be tempted to fall in love and want to adopt her: she is already spoken for by a family with four children ranging in age from 9 years on down to 2 years. Go figure.
I must add that Abigail is simply beside herself with excitement about a puppy in the house – upon arriving home from school and seeing Dixie her face lit up with happiness. Despite my initial desire to adopt only a dog who was an adult, I am finding myself open to the idea of a puppy again someday. Maybe.
Posted by Tricia at 6:27 pm
Little Miss Goldie is a tired doggie tonight, but she was certainly a hit at her first adoption booth earlier today.
Though a little nervous, she really worked the crowd of people, greeting everyone who came by and usually receiving pats and affection for her troubles. Her section on the webpage (she is third from the top) has been updated with some of the newer photos we took just yesterday, and I do not think it will be long before she has someone come along who falls in love with her.
Until that time, we continue to enjoy her presence very much.
3/31 Update: Goldie’s new owner picked her up this evening. She is renaming her “Grace”…and we hope they will be very happy together.
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