Tag Archives: dogs

Silent Protest

20 Monday May 2013

Posted by in Riggins

≈ 2 Comments

Tags

, , , , ,

imageAs you know, or surmised by the lack of posts last week, I was sick.  Sicky sick sick.  I really dislike when I don’t feel well.  It throws me off my routine and there is nothing worse than getting back into a routine after spending two weeks switching between lying in bed and lying on the sofa.  My goal was to get back to Runyon come hell or high water this past weekend.  I didn’t care if I was still coughing or not.  I was going to get off my tush and start moving!

Sat I got everything together and Riggins and I headed out to the hill.  Once out of the car and on the road Riggins made it clear that he was not on board with my plan.  He lagged behind and even came to a stop, looking at me as if to say, “you are crazy if you think I’m going a step further.”  People who passed looked at him with sad eyes and then angrily at me as if I was forcing this poor sickly dog to take another step.  Frankly, that may have been his plan.  There is nothing he likes more than human attention.  After a few steps I gave up and did some shorter and flatter paths around Runyon.  Riggins couldn’t have been happier to do those.  He galloped along as if nothing was wrong.

Sunday was a new day.  TODAY we were going to make it up and down the hill on our normal path … or not.  Again Riggins refused to move faster than a turtle taking the time to look up with pathetic eyes to each human who passed him.  Again I gave up and did the secret loop.  The secret loop isn’t really secret.  Although the few times I’ve done it I’ve seen no more than 2 other humans on it.  Runyon can be packed with people and the secret photoloop is still deserted.  It’s possible that the reason for this is the big “no trespassing” signs you go by to get to the path.  The signs I ignore.  Frankly the signs confuse me.  It’s obviously a path.  There are park trash cans dotting it and someone even took the time to put plant markers up.  Not to mention there isn’t just one but two park benches tucked away so you can sit and meditate in the silence (or if you are me force Riggins to come close so you can take your picture together).  So really someone besides me is walking past those trespassing signs.  It’s possible that it is public property kept up by the folks who own houses around there.  My theory has always been to act like you belong and no one will question you.  So that’s what Riggins and I did.  At one point (although not in the no trespassing zone although obviously headed that way) a ranger cruised by and waved at me.  I considered that the “all clear” signal and carried on.  (Please note I in no way suggest that you should do something unlawful like pass no trespassing signs and/or ignore “dog on leash” signs.  In fact if this is an officer of any kind then I deny that any of this story is anything but fiction.)

Today, Monday, I didn’t even try the hill.  Instead Riggins and I walked around Silverlake image (30)and then went to that dog park.  His favorite dog park.  He grumbled a bit at first when he realized he wasn’t going to be able to play until we made the loop around the “lake” but that is normal behavior.  By the time we turned the corner on the 1/2 point he was a full speed trying to get to the park part as soon as he possibly could.  Once at the park he seemed to be happy as a little lark, canoodling with people and dopily following other dogs running in circles.

So the question becomes what was Riggins problem?  Why did he refuse to go up the hill this weekend?  I have lots of theories but since he doesn’t speak English he isn’t much help in clueing me in to which one is right.  Here are my thoughts:

*  He doesn’t feel well.  He has shown some signs of having a tummy ache.  Then he doesn’t.  So this is a coin flip.

*  He didn’t think I feel good enough.  Possible.  I went to Bar Method yesterday and, for the first time ever, had to leave class part way through.  I knew I wasn’t doing well when I looked in the mirror during butt exercises and watched the color drain from my face right before things started going blotchy.  Since the next step was to pass out I choose, instead, to lay my head on the bar and then exit to the sofa in the waiting room until I felt good enough to drive home.  I’m going back today.  I REFUSE TO GIVE UP.  NEVER SAY DIE!

*  He was being a brat.

*  He wasn’t happy with the heat.  I’m leaning toward this one.  Riggins does not do well with the heat and although it wasn’t horribly hot this weekend we have had a few days of super heat and that puts him in “time out” mode.  I always forget how much he gears down over the summer until the winter comes and he peps up again.  His unhappiness with the heat seems to get more pronounced the older he gets.  This may just be signs that he wants to stay far away from the hot.

* He misses his buddies.  We haven’t had a dog on vacation with us this past week and Riggins seems a little mopey.  In his heart Riggins is a pack dog and would be happiest if everyone he loved (human and dog) lived with us and all slept in a pile on my bed.  He stepped it up on our walk when a group of dogs came by and took off to be part of the bunch.  He is also super happy at the dog park where he can spend his time following dog after dog until he is distracted by a human he thinks needs to pet him.

Those are my theories.  What do you think?  Either way we are getting back on that hill this weekend (as long as it’s not too hot) and I am going to Bar Method all this week …. all without passing out and/or dragging a dog on a leash behind me.

CHALLENGE ACCEPTED!

 

The Call of the (Urban) Wild

29 Monday Apr 2013

Posted by in Riggins

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

, , , , ,

Riggins harmonizes with sirens.  Not all sirens.  They have to be a specific pitch, but if they are he joins in as they zoom past.  This often happens in the car which amuses those around us.  You can’t make him stop even if you wanted to and why would you?  He is helping out our brave fire fighters, cops, and paramedics.  Here he is yesterday afternoon.  Note that Morgan and Miles (more on him in a second) think Riggins has lost his marbles.  Isn’t he the sweetest boy in the entire world?  I like the moment when he stops and snaps back to being Riggins.  It’s like he goes from Superman to Clark Kent in a blink of an eye.

Riggins and Miles fight for Wendy snuggle time.

Riggins and Miles fight for Wendy snuggle time.

Now the promised scoop on Miles.  Miles hung out with us on Sunday.  I nicknamed him Miles the Sweet because that is what he was … sweet.  He is part golden retriever, chow, and something else I can’t remember.  A true loveable mutt.  His fur is like silk so you can’t stop petting him which is a-okay with him.  He also smiles when he is happy (aka panting) which means if you look at him during a smiling moment, he will burrow his way into your heart.

Morgan, a notorious other dog hater, was mean at first but warmed up fast to Miles.  The two of them ran an uncountable number of circles around the backyard.  Morgan would follow Miles to the end of the earth … air humping him the entire way.  Morgan doesn’t know how to hump right.  This is a good thing as I never have to pull him off a dog … since he is never on one.  He skips the “mount” part and just stands behind the dog humping the air.  It is pretty darn funny.

Miles face looks a lot like Riggins did when he was a puppy.  It made me love him even more.  When looking at the pictures how do you tell Riggins and Miles apart?

  1. image (8)Miles has dark brown/black eyes while Riggins has pumpkin colored.
  2. Riggins has white on his chest and paws while Miles is all black.
  3. Miles face is tinier and younger looking than Riggins sharp angled snout.
  4. Miles has long flowing fur while Riggins‘ fur is shorter and lays close to his body.
  5. Miles is tinier than Riggins.

Miles, Riggins, and Morgan were the Three Musketeers yesterday.  Minus the time Riggins was howling and the other two thought he was bonkers.

Wendy’s Life Choices – An Interactive Discussion

24 Wednesday Apr 2013

Posted by in Riggins

≈ 4 Comments

Tags

, , ,

wendy dogsI think it is fair to say that, although happy, I haven’t exactly made what some may consider the “right” life choices.  If you would have asked me as a college student where I would be at 39 the answer would have included a home, husband, kids and a brilliant career.  I have none of these things.  Oops.  So where do I go from here?

I propose the following …

MOVE TO A LOCATION WHERE I CAN HAVE SPRAWLING LAND AND RESCUE/LIVE WITH APPROXIMATELY 10 OR SO DOGS.

Your assignment:

  • Give pro and cons to this lifestyle.
  • How can Wendy earn a living given the above scenario?
  • Brainstorm on how Wendy can own a chunk of space that is both crazy woman and dog friendly in an area that is still close enough to a Target and movie theatre that Wendy won’t go even crazier.

An United Stand

22 Monday Apr 2013

Posted by in Riggins

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

, , , , ,

Clean and Cuddily

Clean and Cuddily

As you know Riggins and I have had a doggie guest for the last few days. As a three-year old the unfortunately named Lousy, has the extreme energy level of a much younger Riggins. Recently Riggins started limping a bit so I put him on a long/walk and hike time-out. He has been spending his exercise time out in the backyard chasing squirrels or at the dog park. Lousy, on the other hand, needs some extreme tiring out. I have been taking him running around the neighborhood or around the Rose Bowl trails and up Runyon. Both dogs, no matter what their exercise routine, have spent valuable time outdoors and then feel like their indoor time needs to be spent snuggling next to me. Needless to say the two creatures needed a bath to make cuddle time more bearable for their human.

Normally, when I’m doggie sitting, it is an extra service and cost for me to give the dog a bath. This time it was on me! As I told my mother Lousy’s cleanliness was more for my sanity than his parents. I had hoped that Lousy would be a better bath candidate than Riggins but alas, I believe Riggins’ water anxiety was shared by his almost half-brother Lousy.

Almost half brothers united in their fight against the man (aka me).

Almost half brothers united in their fight against the man (aka me).

After coming back from the hill with Lousy I started to get the bathroom ready. Riggins immediately knew what was happening and took a solid stance on my bed. Lousy followed his lead and held firm at his own bed. When I went go get them I managed to get Riggins to budge and leave the protection of the bed/throne only to have him make a beeline for Lousy’s bed where the two of them put up a united front. It was the first time both of them could be found on that bed at the same time. If they were going down they were going to make sure they went down together.

I finally got them both in the bathroom closing the door and locking them into their destiny of being clean. First I got Riggins all bubbly and let him out of the shower into the bathroom, to chill for a while. His special shampoo (Yes he has special shampoo. He is a very fragile baby.) requires a 10 minute soak before washing off. While Riggins was in time-out bath mode, I got Lousy into the shower. As I washed him he pressed his nose against the corner of the door and wall sucking in the smell of freedom leaking in from the outside. Riggins stood on the other side of the door, their two eyes were locked on each other. I couldn’t tell if the two of them were plotting my punishment for forcing them to become clean or if Riggins was talking down his little buddy letting him know it would all be over soon. Once Lousy was finished I rinsed off Riggins and let the two loose. They ran around the house like they were on fire until they calmed down and accepted their fate as clean and wet creatures.

BATH PTSD

BATH PTSD

They may not have been happy with the whole ordeal but based on the muddy color of their bath water I would say my actions were necessary. Now both are clean and can be cuddled without me looking like I had been wrestling around in the dirt … well at least for right now.

Good Listening Skills – by Riggins

17 Wednesday Apr 2013

Posted by in Riggins

≈ 3 Comments

Tags

, , , , , ,

As a former salesperson I’ve sat through oodles of sales meetings.  Ask anyone who has been to those with me and they will be able to tell you that I think they are crap.  The most valuable thing about sales meetings is the bonding time between you and your co-workers. This is especially valuable for those working outside of the home office.  The meeting themselves …. zzzzzzz …. snore fest.  Even those portions I’ve had to lead as a sales manager were useless.  Something about the stale air of a conference room makes everyone zombies.  Anyway, most sales meetings include a guest speaker/teacher who will impart his/her selling skills to the group.  This usually ends up in the good kids nodding their head in approval, the annoying kids fighting back saying it won’t work in our industry, and the bad kids (aka me) figuring out more effective way to pass notes to other bad kids.

I remember being in a classroom like setting at a conference and being given a test by our guest sales guru.  It was to show us how good of a listener we are …. good listening = good selling to this specific gentleman.  My friend, who was sitting in front of me, and I started laughing.  Laughing out loud … we were going to fail … we knew it.  I continued to giggle while taking the test as I could hear him mumble, “always,” “of course,” “sure,” “yup,” etc.  By the time the guru got to the part of the “lesson” where he asked us to raise our hands depending on how we answered I was in stitches.  Of course most of the room went with the correct answers while my friend and I decided to just be honest.  “Do you interrupt people while they are still talking?”  Our hands go up …. “I mean if they haven’t got anything good to say that isn’t our problem.”  “Do you sometimes judge people based on what they first say to you?”  Our hands go up … “To be fair it isn’t sometimes it’s always.”  It continued like that until a VP asked if we needed to be separated.  HA HA HA!  We were grown adults being separated in school like kindergarteners.  Sadly it wasn’t the only time I’ve been told I couldn’t sit by someone specific during a conference.

Given my poor listening skills I shouldn’t be surprised by Riggins actions on the hill today.  Please view the video below.  Note at the very beginning Riggins is the black spec near the top of the hill.  He is hard to see because of his coloring so you have to look carefully.

photo (1)(We are currently dogsitting an adorable puppers, Lousy.  I’m told that name was his dad’s idea.  I can’t make fun.  If it had been totally up to me Riggins name would have been Poopers.  Lousy is part pointer and part pit.  That makes him Riggins 1/2 brother.  Riggins treats him just like a younger brother.  I had to remind Riggins that when he was 3 he had as much, if not more energy than Lousy.  Like any little brother Lousy crawls all over Riggins and snuggles his way under Riggins and into my lap.  He is definitely a cuddle monster!)

Every Man For Himself

29 Friday Mar 2013

Posted by in Riggins

≈ 1 Comment

Tags

, , , , , , ,

If you read/watched yesterday’s blog you know that Riggins and I are doggie sitting a 6 month old lab named Snowbell.  Ask anyone who has ever had a 6 month old puppy and a 6 month old human baby which is harder, that person will say the dog.  At this age a lab is a ball of hungry energy.  In fact, this will be a short post since Snowbell is trying to jump into my arms while I type this …

photo (11)Normally Riggins will spend 1/2 of the night in his own bed before moving to mine EXCEPT when we are doggie sitting.  When we are doggie sitting he sleeps with me from dusk until dawn.  I’m sure it’s his way of showing the visiting dog that he is the king of the castle.  So last night Riggins jumped up in bed with Snowbell not far behind.  Eventually, after some laps around the room, up the bed, and over my body, Snowbell found a spot at the foot of the bed and fell asleep.  Like any baby she was restless all night, and jumped all around eventually re-landing in a similar spot, always with her head on my ankles.  After awhile Riggins had had enough.  He threw up the white flag and made a beeline for his own doggie bed.  He didn’t even look back.  Just went AWOL without a thought of the men he was leaving behind!  Loyalty to his master be damned.  The kid was tired and had enough of this foolishness. That left Snowbell and me to fight for real estate on the bed.

image (8)In the morning Riggins jumped up and laid down next to me … as if I wasn’t aware that he was a traitor.  It was about that time that Snowbell realized there was no reason she should sleep on my ankles when she could just as easily just sleep so her entire body was on or next to me.  I hung out there for a while listening to two dogs snore in stereo before giving up myself and starting my day.

Snowbell went to Runyon for the first time in her life today.  She was thrilled.  In fact I managed to poop her out.  Even if it was for a very short amount of time.  I see a trip to the dog park is in our future this afternoon!

HAPPY WEEKEND!

Not a Lab

20 Wednesday Mar 2013

Posted by in Riggins, Uncategorized

≈ 3 Comments

Tags

, , , , ,

I feel like I’ve written about this before but a quick search proved me wrong.  So here we go …

image (4)Yesterday I was looking at Riggins vet bill, from his accident, and realized they labeled him a Retriever, Labrador Mix.  To be fair Riggins has been to this emergency vet before so it is possible this was the label they original gave him on our first visit when I was sobbing and unable to speak.  You have no idea how much it chaps my hide when people demand Riggins is part lab.  He isn’t.  If you look at him he doesn’t even look like a lab.  It’s his color that throws people.  Big black dog = lab, to people.  That’s just not correct.

Riggins mommy was a German Shorthair Pointer while his dad was a Samoyed.  This blows

people’s minds to the point that they don’t believe me and argue that fact.  Which leads me to the statement, “I saw his mom and dad in person.  Did you?”  Grrrrrrrrrr.  Riggins body type is straight from his mommy while his hair (including the fact that both are big sheeders) and personality is a mix of both breeds.  You can watch videos of what is typical for each breed at the Animal Channel link that is found on the breed pictures here.  If you watch the video you will learn that German Shorthair Pointers are a hybrid of many dogs including dalmatians which means black, instead of brown, is one of their colors.  In fact, there is a black dog in the German Shorthair Pointer video that looks a lot like Riggins.

So there you go.  That’s the answer of what Riggins is.  Now if you were someone I met on the street and/orsomeone I was on a first date with you would now tell me I was wrong and fight with me about it.  Don’t fight with me about him not being part Lab.  First of all you are wrong and secondly it’s like you have never seen a lab before.  Of the two of us I’m the dog expert here so back off!

Speaking of the vet and Riggins accident I wanted to give a shout out to the people thaimage (8)t helped us.  First of all the Eagle Rock Emergency Pet Clinic was amazing (minus the whole lab thing).  I imagine it’s a horrible job.  The graveyard shift at a place where only really sick and hurt animals go?  No thanks!  The 4 people I came in contact with including the front desk woman, two vet assistants and the vet herself, which were all not only professional but super kind.  The vet in particular put me at ease due to her knowledge and her wiliness to give me as much information as I wanted and needed.

Secondly, I need to give a shout out to Dogvacay.com.  This is the site where my dog sitting profile is located.  When I informed them of the problem I had on a meet and great they were appropriately horrified.  I had actually written the CEO and he answered personally and quickly.  Their insurance woman was incredibly nice and all seemed to be very worried about Riggins.  If you need a doggie daycare and/or somewhere to keep your puppers overnight check them out.  If you use the promo code IHEARTRIGGINS the first time you book an appointment you will get $10 off.

image (5)Since I didn’t want Riggins off leash with other dogs while he is still healing we skipped Runyon and the dog park today and instead went for a walk around the Rose Bowl.  It was torture for Riggins as he kept trying to stop every human and make him/her pet him.  He was also tortured by the gang of mom’s and their strollers since many children were riding along eating snacks.  Snacks at nose height for Riggins.  No snacks and everyone was too busy exercising to pet him??????  Horrible!

(Still haven’t forgotten about number 39 Act of Kindness.  It’s coming.)

39 Acts of Kindness – 12, 13 and 14

28 Thursday Feb 2013

Posted by in Uncategorized

≈ 5 Comments

Tags

, , , , , , , , ,

Are you guys sick of these posts yet? We are a third of the way to 39! Just hold on a bit longer.

Thursday’s Wendy Kindness Bombs:

photo (7)*12 – Good Morning Donut. This morning instead of hitting snooze when my alarm went off I rolled out of bed. Half asleep I pulled on my running gear to get ready for my first Kaboom! My goal was to get to the corner (a few blocks away) donut shop, pick up a donut, and then get it to the elementary school (Different school from kindness number 10. My area is loaded with the things.) crossing guard who boldly protects young ones and their growing minds from the cars zooming through a very crowded intersection. It didn’t make sense to take my car. I’d just be driving into the horrible school drop off/work commuter traffic. It is very walkable, it’s just that length that seems silly to be walking without Riggins. Unfortunately, this was an act of kindness I’d be delivering without the dog. Food, crowds, children and Riggins are a recipe for disaster. Better for him to stay home. So I tucked my house keys and a buck into the weird little pocket found in most work out pants, hit shuffle on my iPhone and went for a jog. I opted for a chocolate bar. I figured that was a flavor that most enjoy. I managed to hold off buying one for myself. Aren’t donuts just the most delicious and evil high calorie things on the planet? I could really go for a chocolate donut with chocolate frosting and coconut topping right now! The sweet crossing guard seemed shocked by my delivery but after a beat was all smiles!

*13 – After getting home I rounded up Riggins to go for a walk and to stop by his favorite (and the most disgusting) dog park. Upon opening the garage I saw a bag of clothes that I had packed up awhile ago but had never made the effort to load up and take over to Goodwill. Today was the day! Riggins waited patiently in the car as I made the delivery.

*14 – Tea at the Bar. I often go on hot tea jags. It doesn’t seem to last long but while I’m in it I’m the biggest hot tea supporter you’ve ever meant. I’m currently in a tea phase. I had gotten into the habit of having a glass of red wine every night and although some Americans and most Europeans would say that’s perfectly fine it felt like it was becoming a habit that I needed to break. So I’ve swapped my nightly delicious red wine for a soothing cup of tea. To help in my transition I ran to the grocery store and bought a yummy green tea/berry flavor. Once home I realized the box looked mighty familiar. After searching through cupboards I found a number of boxes I had hoarded from my last tea kick. So, I decided to share the wealth and put together a “To Go Tea” tray for my friends at Bar Method. I’ll drop it off tonight and hopefully there will be enough for the class I attend, along with the two after that.

photo (5)Last night since I didn’t have any cake cookies to make I decided to take a break. I grabbed my tea and settled down in the sofa to catch up on some of my DVRd shows. Riggins took advantage of this opportunity and laid down with his head in my lap and fell asleep. Then started snoring. It was so cute! I wanted to share it with you. Turn your sound up and enjoy the very dark video below. You can’t see anything so here is a picture of his sleeping position post video when he woke up and decided I was a better suited to rub his chest than be his pillow.

Acts of Kindness Roll-Call:

To be continued …

39 Acts of Kindness – 9, 10 and 11

27 Wednesday Feb 2013

Posted by in Uncategorized

≈ 1 Comment

Tags

, , , , , , , , , , ,

KABOOM!  That’s the sound of a Wendy Kindness Bombs going off.  Here is what happened today:

*9 – More cookies!  I thought that another little boy deserved some yummy cookies after schoolphoto (6).  (And the red velvet cake mix was on sale.  It’s always on sale have you noticed that?  I think it is because although everyone says they love red velvet it just doesn’t taste like anything.  Not only does it not taste like anything it is an obnoxious color whose deep dark pigment gets on EVERYTHING in your kitchen.  Have you ever made red velvet cake balls?  I have, and let me tell you afterward my kitchen looked like I had slaughtered live beasts.  I think it is a big hoax and the person who invented the flavor is cracking up about the whole thing.   I say all of this knowing that I just gave it to someone but I think the recipient family are red velvet fans.  I did add some vanilla to the mix to give it a flavor kick.)

*10 – Speaking of school … I stopped by my local elementary school and donated two reams of paper.  My mom was an administrative assistant for an elementary school for years and she seemed to love when people donated supplies.  The folks at the school seemed genuinely happy and as I left where saying, “we can always use things like this!”  Although I don’t have children and therefore no children in school I feel a kinship to this one as Riggins and I often walk by and the kids in the playground run up to the fence to say hello to the doggie.  Hopefully the paper won’t be used to print homework on but instead something fun like flyers for a carnival.

*11 – Speaking of homework … I’m helping tutor one of my good friends in Algebra.  She is taking a course in college right now.  I really like algebra.  I think it would be a little too much to say I love it but I “really like” it.  It is, by far, the best of the maths!  Now I haven’t done any algebra since high school (I received enough AP credits that I didn’t have to take it in college) so it has been a loooong time since I’ve solved for any X, Y, or Z.  I was hesitant to help at first but she seemed desperate, so I volunteered.  It has been going pretty well and every week I stop by her house to go through a chapter with her.  Granted the first few times I sighed saying, “really smart people would just use a fancy calculator for this.”  Now I’m back in learning mode!  (My friend is gracious enough to feed me a delicious home cooked meal each week so I am technically getting paid in food for my time and knowledge.  Last night it was super yummy chicken, veggies and rice.  Still … I’m counting this as an act of kindness!)

photo (5)There is one person who isn’t really on this kindness train … Riggins.  He seems to feel I’m spending way too much time doing nice things for other people and not enough time doing nice things for him.  He is truly a spoiled only child.  He decided to teach me a lesson by chewing up one of my St. Patrick Day headbands while I made red velvet cake cookies last night.  Little stinker!  He hasn’t chewed up a non-dog toy item in a really long time.  Riggins destroyed that headband.  I had originally purchased two rainbow (I cut off the four-leaf clovers protruding from the top because they annoyed me) headbands for Dee Dee and me to wear during the color run (http://tinyurl.com/aujmymj) but that just didn’t work out.  My new goal was to wear one to our St. Patrick’s Day festivities and give my extra one to a friend.  There is no more extra one …. sorry!  Enjoy the picture of Riggins shamefully wearing the non-gnawed on headband.

Acts of Kindness Roll-Call:

To be continued …

39 Acts of Kindness – 6, 7 and 8

26 Tuesday Feb 2013

Posted by in Uncategorized

≈ 8 Comments

Tags

, , , , , , , ,

I’m on a roll now! You can’t stop the niceness from oozing out of me. Here are today’s Wendy Kindness Bombs:

photo (4)#6 – Treats for the postman. I had decided to leave a refreshing drink and a nutritious apple for my mailman and then glanced over and saw the M&M’s (the other day I raided the 99 cent store while on the hunt for niceness ammo) staring at me and had to throw them in. No one deserves chocolate more than that poor man. Every single time he comes to my door to bravely bring me my mail Riggins charges into the screen door aggressively barking as if the mailman was Satan himself. I definitely needed to include the chocolate!

#7 – Treats for two cuties. Last night I backed some delicious (I sampled one so can say this with certainty) chocolate chip cookies for two sweet boys. Today after school they will come home to a yummy treat! I didn’t want these to be just any boring cookie so I made them cake mix cookies. Although there are many different versions of this recipe on Pinterest I used this one http://tinyurl.com/b8kmhzr, because it was easiest. Personally I thought there were too many chocolate chips but I have a feeling the boys won’t have a problem with that.

#8 – Treats for the puppers. I’m sure by now you realize that my love for dogs is greater than my love for some humans. This makes it super easy to do nice things for them! I packed up some doggie treats and added a note letting owners know they should take one for now and one to hand out on the trail. This morning as we entered Runyon, Riggins and I duct taped the bag to the announcement board at the trailhead. I grabbed a few treats and gave them out to the owners that where around. Their dogs seemed mighty appreciative! Why the owners and not the dogs themselves? Glad you asked. Because Riggins forgot we were doing nice things and lashed out at one poor sweet dog as I was trying to give him a bone. Riggins can sometimes be protective of his treats and his water bowl. Apparently he felt he deserved the entire bag of treats and there was no reason he should share.

Speaking of Riggins look at that picture of him with the treat bag. Have you ever seen a more pathetic look on a dog’s face? He was in trouble for not obeying me earlier in his photo shoot. I felt so bad after seeing the picture that I not only gave him a treat but played the ball game with him in an attempt to get him to perk up. (Video of the ball game below for your enjoyment.)

I’ve packaged up a couple more Wendy Kindness Bombs that I need to drop in the mail. I’ve decided that I’m going to delay posting about things I mail to give them some time to get to their recipient.

(I wonder if that last paragraph will get me on some sort of government watch list.)

Acts of Kindness Roll-Call:

To be continued …