Not Staged

I took this photo recently, simply because Miss Betty Sprinkles looked funny the way she was stretched out.

There seems to be a lot going on, though, besides a funny dog position. To the right, you will see Cordelia's head. I guess she was stretched between our two recliners...don't know why.

The best, though, is when you notice Maria has her nose plugged.  Apparently Miss Betty Sprinkles was feeling very much at home and relaxed. Yep...she'd just tooted.

What kind of person writes a post about a tooting dog?!

The Mean Pastor and Our Spray Bottle

Sometimes, when I don't know what I want to blog about, I look through photos to see if I can find something I think you should see. This is one of those times. Let me give you  some background information first.

It started with Bode.

Bode is naughty. Sometimes he is really naughty. Oh sure, he is sweet and lovable and all that, but he can be really, really naughty. My first tendency is to holler at him when he is doing something he should not, like eating plastic things. As it turns out, hollering does not much affect this particular canine.

Then, we were told about the spray bottle. Maria and Eric taught us about use water for discipline purposes, I think. They found it very effective for keeping their bassett hounds from jumping up on them. Apparently we are too cheap to get more bottles so we use the one I keep for ironing clothes. Let'a get real. It doesn't see that much action by the ironing board anyway.

The spray bottle works great on Bode! All I usually have to do is hold it up  for him to see it and he settles right down. However, I often can't remember where we last set it down, but that's another story.

Anyway, this post isn't really about Bode. It is about Mike. My dear, sweet, saintly (ha!) husband uses it more often than he should! And he doesn't just use it on the dog. When I took this photo, he was threatening me with the squirt bottle! That just isn't right, is it? He doesn't just threaten us, either. I have lost count about how many times I've felt the startling cold, streaming bullet as it was aimed at my.....  self. He even shoots his sweet little granddaughters with it! I'm not kidding; he is ruthless!

Maybe you shouldn't mention this to people in our church. It might blow his pastor image!

Similarities Between Bode and God

Driving home from work tonight, a strange thought entered my head. My thought was this... Bode and God have a lot in common.

It's true. Here's a few of the reasons I say this...

• Whether we are gone from him for 3 days or 3 minutes, he is always so happy when we return.
• He loves us, even when we've ignored him all day.
• He doesn't hold a grudge; he's all full of forgiveness.
• He waits for us, and waits for us, and waits for us.
• Bode is always giving us gifts. When we come in the front door, he runs to get his favorite toy and brings it to us.  
• Dog and God use the same letters.

Thankfully, God and Bode are not quite the same.

• God doesn't splatter dog food all over the kitchen floor.
• God loves us more gently. Bode is kind of rough.
• It is appropriate to take God with us wherever we go.
• God doesn't use his big old head to knock everything off the coffee table in one big sweep, just to watch it fall.
• We don't have to clean up the yard after God... or do we? 

 (file photo Oct 2013)

Of note: While typing this post I had to jump up and stop Bode as he was chewing up one of those little blue plastic bags. You know the ones. They are meant to bag doggy doo doo when you take your dog for a public walk. Thankfully, it had not been used. This little side note rather highlights another way that God and Bode are NOT the same.

Anyway, as aggravating as Bode can be, I was feeling appreciative of his loving spirit tonight. 

Someone is Watching

Last evening I thought for a minute that I was actually going to have a little nap in my recliner. The house was quiet. I felt myself fading so I grabbed a blanket, took off my glasses and snuggled down.

Shortly after I closed my eyes I started getting that weird feeling that someone was watching.

I opened my eyes.

I sat up.

I grabbed my glasses.

And this is what I saw...

For some reason Bode had to stop chewing and watch my napping attempts. He just kept staring at me with his toy in his mouth. I felt I had no choice but to reach for the camera. He's just such a dopey dog!  OK, I admit it. He is also very, very lovable. 

Get Well Mr. Wiggles!

Bode spent the  night at the doggy hospital.  He's got some kind of infection and he needed fluids as well as antibiotics.  I am hoping he gets to come home today.  Is it weird that I prayed that he wouldn't be too scared?

I have to say that our house was rather quiet last night.  No one wiggled at the top of the stairs when I came home.  Of course, we also didn't have to set something heavy on the lid to the garbage just to keep him from "snacking".  We didn't have to put the baby gate at the stairs to keep him from running downstairs to chase the cats either.  Nevertheless, I missed him, the big dumb goof.

I took this picture recently, on a day when he was feeling better.  He'd just pulled one of his naughty tricks of dragging his bedding out of his kennel.  I wouldn't mind but when he does that he then chews on it.  Oddly, he never chews on it within the kennel.



Just look at that face, though.

Doesn't he look guilty?

Feel better, Mr. Wiggles.

Sad Eyes

Bumblebee is our grandog and she's been staying with us this past week while her family is vacationing.  She is not allowed on the couch at her house but she knows the rules are different at the grandparents' house.  I am sure she misses her people but I think she's having a good time.  Trust me, she is having a good time.  Really, she is!  Those eyes always look sad.  

Monday Memories

Bode at 9 Months Old

Bode is 9 months old now.  We've had him for 5 months.  Following are 12 of the things I've learned about Bode so far:

1)     He like to sleep in.  As I compose this post he is snoring.  He can sleep in the strangest positions!

2)     He is a "velcro" dog.  He prefers to be stuck to one of his people at all times.

3)     His whole body wags furiously when he greets us.  Mike calls him Mr. Wiggles.

4)     He does not like to potty away from home.  He will hold it and hold it on a long walk but if we stop to talk to someone and he gets all excited, look out!

5)     He get lots of compliments for his good looks.  Seriously, I have had strangers stop their cars to tell me I sure have a good-looking dog.  It happens a lot.

6)     He believes all things are edible...duct tape, razors, plastic bags, newspaper, yarn, measuring tape, underwear, blankets, couches, wood, milk jugs, his kennel, Mike's hat, house plants, Sam's shoes... I think you get the idea here.

7)     He gets diarrhea a lot.  That may have something to do with #6.

8)     He loves practicing his commands, such as "sit", "stay", "come" and "lay down" as long as there are treats involved.

9)     He barks like a tiny girl dog when he wants something.  It is high-pitched and persistent.  Our son-in-law, Eric, was the first to tell him, "Bark like a man!"

10)   He has a very deep and menacing bark when he sees his own reflection in the sliding glass door.

11)   Bumblebee is his best friend.

12)   He loves EVERYBODY.  He enjoys meeting strangers although he is not always appropriate with his greeting.

Thank-you for stopping by. Feel free to use my photos but please link them back to my blog. I am honored if you wish to share content of any of my posts on Facebook, Twitter, etc. as long as it is linked back to my blog.

Lazy Boy

Bode's Slide Ride

It Was Only a Matter of Time

"It's only a matter of time."  That's what my friend, Kerry, recently had to say about us getting a dog again.  We really do enjoy dogs, but after Grady died last summer, Mike and I  decided maybe we shouldn't get another dog.  We wanted to be relieved of the worry, be able to travel more easily, blah, blah, blah.  We didn't even make it a year. 

Meet our new family member...

He is a Hungarian Vizsla (pronounced Veeshla) and I think his name is going to be Bode (pronounced Bodie).  His name is not engraved in anything yet but that is what we've been calling him today.

Here are some pictures from Bode's first day with us...

Bode looking over his new yard.

Bode loving up on Cordelia.

Sam, just waking (he had attended an all-night chaperoned graduation party), finds there is another red-head at our house.  Bode snuggled right up with Sam and fell asleep.

Bode exploring the yard with Bumblebee, who was visiting.  Bumblebee was quite gracious but we gave her lots of love to be sure she knew she was still the princess.

So far what I know about Bode is that he is very sweet, he LOVES Bumblebee, He thinks applying a leash to his collar means he should dig in his heels and try his best to stay planted, he likes to chew, he sits on command, he is 17 weeks old, he likes to snuggle, his eyes and nose are the same copper color as his fur, he is afraid of stairs, he has amazingly silky soft fur, and he seems to be bonding with us just fine. 

I expect there will be days when we wonder what possessed us, but today I feel pretty content.  He's added a happy bouncy feeling to our household already.

Welcome, sweet pup!