it's alive

After much TLC, it looks like our roommate's ficus tree is going to survive after all.  The leaves were getting all dry and falling off, but the other day I discovered there was a NEW LEAF!!!  We have a miracle!!!

Whew.  I think this means Dash, Papa, and I are off the hook for this one.  On to the next chewing mishap...

our dog walker

Although we've had a dog walker for a couple of months now, tax season at work has kept me from singing his praises until now.  We found Mark Sedgwick of Walkabout Critter Care through an ad he posted at our vet's office.  As I've said in a previous post, there aren't many dog walkers who take clients in the outer Richmond area where we live (which I think is totally lame).  We were very lucky to come across Mark's card and to hear he was still expanding his pack.

Since I was super busy with work on the weekends, Papa and our roommate interviewed Mark and went through the initial introductions with Dash.  From what I heard the meeting went really well and Mark seemed like a great guy.  I was also pleased to hear his test walk with our mini Aussie puppy wasn't a complete bomb.  He said Dash had a great spirit and that he'd love to work with him more before bringing him into the pack.

I think he ended up taking Dash on two more private Saturday walks to strengthen the bond between them and figure out which treats Dash liked best.  I don't know how Mark did it, but he figured out that bribing our mini Aussie puppy with cooked chicken quelled his wandering (aka spazzy) dog park behavior.  I'm told Dash has better recall by using the treats, and is learning to follow the pack with Mark as his leader.

We currently have the little monster signed up for 2-3 hour adventures to Fort Funston on Tuesdays and Thursdays at $25 a pop.  Mark comes to our house, picks Dash up, takes him out, and drops him off without a trace.  I wish we could afford to send him more days of the week, but for now with the wedding budget this is a comfortable schedule for us.  Sometimes I wonder what they do out there, but for the most part Dash seems more relaxed on those days, and it definitely gives him 2-3 fewer hours at home to destroy the house!

I still haven't met him yet, but Mark Sedgwick has become like our guardian angel in a way.  He swoops in when no one is home and takes Dash out to release some of that never ending energy!!  I'm sure he's saved at least one thing from being chewed to death... and I get to come home to a (relatively) calmer puppy!

nap time

Again,our mini Aussie puppy at his finest - when unconscious!  He looks so comfortable.  If only I could sleep so soundly...

utter destruction

Do you remember that Sesame Street song/game, "One of these things is not like the other..."  When we come home from work it's always a toss up as to what our mini Aussie puppy will have done this time.  By the looks of this picture, there appears to be something missing from our table...

OH MY GOODNESS, DASH!!!  This isn't even our plant.  This is our roommate's ficus tree, which is now gnawed and uprooted, with its pot completely void of all dirt and stones.  My first thought was, will the plant be salvageable?  Can I re-pot it and make it live again?  As you can imagine, there was dirt EVERYWHERE.  Papa Dash and I took a long deep breath and tried to focus on the cleanup.

We swept, and vacuumed, and wiped down the entire living room.  I think it took about 45 minutes or an hour to get it spotless.  Our roommate usually gets home really late so we thought we had ample time to clean up and "remove the incriminating evidence".  Unfortunately for us, he came home early!  We were caught red-handed (or perhaps red-pawed would be more appropriate).  He was, of course, very understanding of the situation.  We are SO lucky to have such a great roomie!  I bought more potting soil and and did what I could to save the plant, but it has been touch and go.  The leaves are all slowly falling off now, and when I chopped off one stem there was no green in the center.  I think it may be a goner... :(

glen canyon

We first learned about the Glen Canyon trail from Papa Dash's cousin, who lives in the area and walks his dog (Cobalt) there often.  Back in the beginning of March we decided to walk the canyon with our former roommate and his new family.  It was a beautiful, sunny weekend afternoon... except that a fierce wind was making it freezing cold!

As one of our friends says, one of the best things about our mini Aussie puppy, Dash, is his "zest for life".  Whenever he meets people, no matter what their mood, Dash is just a fluffy ball of overwhelming love.  He is so happy that his not just his stubby tail wiggles, but his whole body wiggles.  It's so cute!  On this day, Dash was especially happy to have two little kids to go on the hike with.  They had a great time taking turns throwing the ball for Dash and bossing him around.  I told their mom they were going to make great dog owners some day.

Even though we were all pretty chilly, we walked the entire canyon route together and took time to say hello to some of the other dogs and owners along the trails.  One of the nice things about Glen Canyon is that most people walk their dogs off leash, even though I think the signs say leashed dogs only.  Of course there are those hikers (other dog owners included) who you can tell disagree with this practice, but in all the times we've gone there we've only experienced friendly off-leash pups.

Along the way, the kids even climbed a tree... although I don't think the little guy really enjoyed it.  He pretty much went up because his big sister did, then once he got there he immediately wanted to get down.  Again, so cute!

On the other hand, the little lady was quite the adventurer.  At one point she was all the way on the other side of the canyon from the rest of us and would charge along the path even when we stopped.  She also had a fun time rock climbing with Papa Dash and our mini Aussie puppy.  I don't think the cold was bothering her much at all!  Fun times for sure.

easing back into it

Oh man.  I'm so behind on my posting.  The few doggie blogs I follow are blossoming before my eyes and I'm kind of trailing off.  To ease back into posting, here's a simple photo of Dash when I love him the most: SLEEPING!

must- post- soon-

It's no excuse, but wedding planning and tax season at work have been keeping me pretty busy this month.  I have a bunch of pictures saved up just waiting to be shared, including the colossal mess our mini Aussie puppy made when he tore up our roommate's ficus tree.  After April 15 I swear I will go back to vigilant posting.  It's just that long hours on weekdays, Saturday work schedules, plus wedding planning in between equal one tired Mama...