A Dog's Best Friend

Gus was being a nuisance this spring.  In addition, we had to put him in the front yard while we started the reseeding process of the backyard.  Boredom is an issue for this beast.  My term of endearment for him.  You would think with all these children around he wouldn't be bored.  Daily walks were initiated to help wear him out, to no avail.  Then I was at the commissary and they had femur bones for sale.  Oh yeah!  Score one for mom.  As long as he has one of these big bones, he is quiet.  He doesn't even care if the kids are out in the yard.  He just wants his bone. 

Late Night Snacking....

This is what happens when the beast is let in while I am working downstairs and not ready to go to bed yet!

Do you think he found the snack he was looking for?

I don't think so...
The trash can was remarkably clean by
the time I got upstairs.

BUT !!

This time he didn't get on top of stove
to get these delightful little
leftovers!

A Boy's Best Caddy in Training

When the outside temperature is warm enough and Hockey Player can't be found inside, I only need to look in the backyard.  This has become one of my favorite scenes around my yard.  If Hockey Player can't be on the ice doing what he loves, he turns his focus onto golf. 

Gus loves it! 
I am not sure he will be allowed to Caddy on the pro-circuit!
Only time will tell.

anticipating the tee off !

Yahoo!

Again!  Again!  I think you need to work on your swing!!

Again ! Again!!!

Yes, yes, yes!!! Swing !

Glorious flying ball!

Returning the prize to do it all over again!

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

We are a family that gets into the wearing o' the green.
My Grandpa McCaffrey was first generation born out of Ireland.
I kinda like that little bit of heritage.
This year we are keeping it simple.
Colds and allergies and various other chores to do...we won't have potato soup.
But we are all sporting green.
Dad's Bud even made sure Gus was included in the family tradition.

See the leaves from one of our bushes tucked into his collar.
Memories being made!

Guess what I did today??

I vacuumed our dog! Yep! Sure did.
He was shedding, hair was getting everywhere. We would brush and the hair would fly off him. Kept thinking, would be kind a cool if we could use the vacuum and keep the hair from going all over.
So I tried it.
He let me do it! Okay, someone held onto his collar. Hence, he knew he was caught and didn't struggle. BUT..he did not growl. He did not try to get away. He did not nip at me or the vacuum or the person holding his collar at the time. He just sat there.
I used the vacuum this morning.
Then this afternoon, he stunk. Like barn stink. yech! So we gave him a bath. As the water hit him in the shower, chunks of hair started to fall off of him. I was flabbergasted. I scrubbed and rinsed. Before a few minutes passed, I was covered in hair. I had no idea a bath would cause his hair to just fall off of him.
So we got the brush (defur-inator) and more chunks of hair. Needless to say, Little Princess had the job of keeping the drain clean and free from the hair. Dried him and let him loose. Still lots of hair on the hand after petting him.
We got the vacuum out again. He looks 10 pounds lighter. He wasn't obese. He was HAIRY! He is really calm tonight. No bouncing around or trying to get on the table. Thinking we might need to keep the vacuum out all the time.

64 Degrees and it is Dec. 30 ! !

I am so loving the weather today.
With two sickies in bed with Strep. I have every window and door open today. The house smells of lysol, bleach and the ham in the oven.

I kicked the healthy children outside to play and they all have played out front for much of the afternoon. Street hockey is the theme for the day. When they need to rest they go straight for the legos. Gus is happy as well. He has been tormenting Hockey Player while he tries to play street hockey! He grabs the street hockey ball and goes running. All he needs is a pair of skates. Great defense.

I should have the camera out, but then they will just want to pose and the magic will be lost.

Running...

Running is for some a true love. They can't wait to hit the pavement.
I love the image that my mind creates. I imagine myself running. Long strides, loving it, looking forward to the next run. Alas, it is just my imagination.
Running is hard and in the summer, it is HOT !
I don't like to "glow"....it isn't even a glow I get, it is full fledge soaking sweaty. YUCK !
But I do like running with Gus. I HAVE to keep up. He gets my momentum up, and I go so that means he gets he needs to be redirected or dragged if he starts to sniff. It also means the run/workout ends a lot faster than say walking or yoga or pilates. I can say 1 mile or 1.5 or 2 miles.... then I am done.
Done I say, and I have accomplished something in less time than it takes Fun Mom to shower. I walk a little taller. I gain a little more respect from my children, because their mom accomplished something they thought she couldn't. The stress is beaten out of my neck and shoulders for a few minutes.
I am so glad to have Gus.
He motivates me to get up and out.
He drags, oh I mean, challenges me to go faster than I normally would.
And, I sleep ever so good afterwards... gotta love those early morning naps after a run...or the hard fast sleep after a late night run.

Gus and the girls

Gus has wiggled and followed his way into our hearts. "His Girls" spend their school day with him and he loves every moment of it.
Fun Mom runs and/or walks Gus every day. Part of her PE. He is her protector and partner. He's her motivation for hitting the pavement everyday.



Little Princess likes to sit on the porch swing to read and work on her assignments. Her ever faithful companion and buddy is Gus.

Gus has been Naughty !

Our newest family member is not enjoying the absences of his boy or girl much at all this week.
He has discovered he can jump the fence and escapes several times a day.
He doesn't go far, but I am sure he is wondering where his two play buddies have gone. The rest of us try to spend some time loving on him, but it just isn't the same as the bond he has formed with Hockey Player and Little Princess. Sure hope he stops the fence jumping once they are home and hanging out with him in the backyard once again.
I took him for a walk the other night along with the other 3. I fed him Flutter Nutter's ice cream... FN didn't want it, it was melting faster than he could eat it. Poor Gus, didn't realize my hand wasn't part of the ice cream sandwich. He didn't hurt me, but he was a little sheepish. Then I offered my hand to him to lick clean and he misunderstood again. Boy was he disappointed with me. Licking my hand clean was not something he thought was his job. He was a good dog to walk. He kept pace with me. When I took him off the leash, he didn't run off, just stayed right there. The only problem we had was when a boy came along Hockey Player's age, he started after him. I'm sure he was hoping for some boy time. He came back when I called him.
He has been entertaining himself and us. When he doesn't know we are looking he acts like a complete dork with his bone. Dancing, bouncing and twisting all over the place with his bone in his mouth. He will go to hide it and check to see if we are looking and sure enough we are and quickly changes his mind and heads in another direction. He has loved the sprinklers. He gets even goofier when they are on.
So if you are wondering, he is still fitting in with this family, that long ago decided it wasn't a family made for pets.

We have a new family member! !

And he is 4 years old.
His name is Gus!
I know, I know. All you out there who know me have your jaws sitting on the ground. What was I thinking?
Dad went into the hospital for a second time this summer, only a week and a half after his first visit. Had surgery. The last year, he has not been able to do much with Gus. His friends were actively looking for a new home for him. Dad has been asking me for the last couple of years if we would like to have Gus.
We have tried to have dogs. We have learned we are pet-sitting kind of people.
But a week at my dad's and I fell in love.
Gus has all the criteria, I have kept secretly to myself should we ever seriously consider having a dog.
The criteria:
We are no longer potty training children (we have been done with that for a 1 1/2 years now)
Children are old enough to completely take responsibility.
NOT a puppy...no more potty training for me!
Leash manners
Not a chewer
Good with the kids

Well Gus is good with the kids. Has a strong protective instict. He even tried to protect us from the Big O Daddy O. He got between kids, me and the Dad. But when we hugged on Dad and talked with him, he warmed up to the Big O Daddy O after about 10 minutes. He has to know the person is okay. He runs on the leash with Fun Mom and Hockey Player really well. Now they have a body guard when they go to do their miles or two.
He woke me the other night. I went to put him in the garage because of the barking. Turned out, he was barking because there was some not so friendly visitors at the neighbors. As we struggled at the gate to get to the garage, they were startled and took off. Police believe they were getting ready to rob our neighbors' garage. He has not tried to jump our fence once as of yet. Super gently with the kids.

My favorite first memory... He won't get into the cage in the suburban. So we ask Flutter Nutter to hop in so Gus will follow. FN got real indignant and told me he didn't want to ride in the cage. No, No, you are not going to ride in the cage, just get Gus to follow you in and then you get out. Well it worked, Gus hopped in right after Flutter Nutter! Flutter Nutter hopped out and he was caught! However, he is one smart pooch. The rest of the trip home, he would not fall for that trick at all. We had to help him into the cage by showing his haunches up to the back of the suburban. The last stop, he finally got the picutres and hopped in all by himself. I think he figured, he might as well, make it easy for us.

I must admit it was hard to seprate a man from his dog. I think I was a bit more emotional for me than the others in that regard. Hard to see my dad aging to the point he can't keep up with having a dog. He told me the cats are a perfect for him now. They don't require as much from him. But sweet Daddy's Buddy was quick to tell Grandpa he could come and visit as much as he wanted.