Adding To Our Pack

It's been a few months now but I'd like the world, or at least anyone still reading this blog, to meet the newest member of our pack, Geno.

Geno became a family member on November 24th when Kelly found him posted on a pet rescue website here in NC.  Kelly had been looking for a new friend for Libby for a few weeks.  We had a few characteristics we were looking for: house-trained, male, good with other dogs and one about half the size of Libby. He seemed just right.


When Kel brought him home he was nervous and scared.  Poor guy was shaking on the car ride but after a few nights he settled right in.  He is a lapdog for sure.  Loves to cuddle and will follow us from room to room.  I think it's just in case we are going to get something to eat.  This dog loves food.  Though he definitely doesn't savor his meals.  He inhales them.

Our first major decision with him was what to rename him.  He was originally named Danny but that just didn't suit him.  I convinced Kelly that Geno was a good name.  My motivation was it sounded Italian and it's the nickname of one of my favorite hockey players, Evgeni Malkin. 

In the few months we've had him now he's been doing great.  Him and Libby are getting along fabulously.  She is patient with sharing her toys and her chair with him.  Sometimes she beats him up a little in the yard as revenge but he knows he can come up on the deck and that is the safe zone. 

He does have a few quirks.  The first time our friend Steve came over he barked at him every time he got up to go into the other room.  Our trip back to Pittsburgh for the holidays seemed to help socialize him immensely.  He got along well with Bella, my sister's dog, and being around other people helped him a lot.  Like Bella he too is a destroyer of stuffed toys.  We'll have to adjust our buying habits when we want to spoil them.

I have to say I am really glad we got him.  I think it's good for Libby while we are at work all day to have a playmate and he is a very loving dog, unless your a squirrel.  He hate squirrels. 

You're Not Helping

While I am not particularly a fan of spending hours of my precious weekend raking leaves into giant piles and dragging them to the curb, it does make for some fun times outside with Libby.  She's not the best helper.  To her the blue tarp I use to haul the leaves from the backyard is nothing more than a giant blanket to ball up and play in. 

Libby also loves to play the fun game of hide her toy in the pile when my back is turned.  There have been numerous occasions where, upon dumping the colorful payload off at the curb, I discovered that a tennis ball has come along for the ride.  I've learned it's best not try and throw the ball into the backyard by launching it over the house.  Last week, when I tried this lazy approach, the ball bounced off the top of the roof and bounced back down landing perfectly in the gutter.  It's still there today.

 

 

Barking in the Park

There are moments in life that I wish would last forever.  Last night, sitting in the outfield bleachers on a gorgeous summer evening with my wife and my dog watching a minor league baseball game was surely one of those moments. 

Anytime Kelly and I go out and leave Libby home alone I always feel a little guilty.  So whenever there is an opportunity to take her with us we take advantage of it and the Durham Bulls Bark in the Park event last night was just a spectacular time. 

Bark in the Park night is becoming an increasingly popular event at baseball stadiums throughout the country, both in the major and minor leagues.  If you love dogs and baseball like I do it's about as good as it gets.  The pooches are kept in the outfield section and there were dogs of all sizes and breeds in attendance, some even sitting in the actual seats with their companions.  It was especially entertaining when the PA announcer called for the crowd to get loud and cheer on the Bulls and the dogs joined in the cheering by barking their support.  

Libby had a great time meeting all the new four-legged friends and scavenging  the ground for any peanut shells or spilled nachos that were to be found.  I enjoyed being hit in the head by the tail of a friend pup sitting behind me as he wagged on with joy. 

The announced canine crowd was estimated to be around 500 and proved so successful that the Bulls are now going to be hosting a third Bark in the Park night this season on August 7th. We will be there one again I'm sure.

Dogs of Burma

 

While I very much enjoyed my time in Burma, I did get a little sad at times seeing all the street dogs and not being able to interact with them.  Resisting the urge to pet the pups when they'd approach with their tail wagging was very difficult.  Due to the possibility of rabies and the general unsanitary condition of the Yangon streets, it just wouldn't have been a safe decision.

And there were a lot of dogs roaming free.  At night we would see them running in packs on the streets, during the day they would lounge about trying to escape the hot sun.  Sometimes they'd be difficult to spot and I almost stepped on a grey puppy because he blended in so well with the sandy ground.

There were a few dogs who looked well taken care of.  The two I snapped a picture of outside the reclining Buddha were being cared for by the local monks.  I wondered if they were a long lost distant cousin of Libby because they were scavenging in a garbage pile licking the last crumbs of a potato chip bag. 

Unfortunately it seemed like everywhere we walked there were either pregnant or nursing dogs.  I'm sure spaying and neutering is not a priority in a country where many children go to bed hungry at night.  It really broke my heart seeing one of the pointy-eared pariah dogs sitting in one of the monastery gutters trying to both escape the heat and find any morsel of food in the discarded wrappers.  If I would have gotten him on video I surely would set a Sarah McLachlan song to play in the background. 

Good to the last lick

One of my Dad's pet peeves is putting anything in the recycle that hasn't been rinsed out.  When Libby goes to live with my parents for four months, she's got any peanut butter containers taken care of.

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