Dog Person

I've never been a dog person, mostly because I'm allergic, but there are a few dogs I've liked, one was a Boston Terrier.  I had a dream about a Boston Terrier last night.  It came to see me and demanded to cuddle with me. It kept pushing up against me. I couldn't get away from it so I petted it.  Then it started purring like a cat.  I'm allergic to cats too..

R.I.P. Jake

My header dog Jake had to finally be put down last Friday.  He just got too old to walk.  He wasn't my dog, he was my friend's father's dog, who adopted him.  Then when the father died Jake went to my friend.  And now he's gone to that place where all good pets go when they die.

He was a good dog.  He didn't jump on people, he wasn't out of control, and he didn't bark very often.  He measured his barks.  He was a friend to all who met him. Too bad all dogs aren't more like he was.

R.I.P. Jake. 

Commuter Dog

This bumper sticker reads, My money and my kid go to the University of Montana.. It seems that everyone and their dog are stuck in traffic these days.

I rode my bike to work today. I need to get used to it because of the traffic congestion. And actually it was nice. It's going to rain the rest of the week so I have to decide about that still. At lunch I rode the bike over to a sandwich shop drive through. Did you know that some fast food drive throughs won't allow bikes..? It's not the customer image they want I guess.

So I was going to ride down to the river and eat my lunch but I decided to go to the park instead. My mp3 player was locked up so I just sat there on a bench by a softball diamond and looked at a chain linked fence while I ate. I had a "Russian" sandwich, but I don't know why they call it that. It was pretty much just a turkey sandwich with some roast beef also.. Is that what they eat in Russia?

As I sat there a guy showed up on the field with a soccer ball. Great big field and one guy with a soccer ball. I was thinking, it's too bad he doesn't have anyone to kick the ball back and forth to. Then another guy showed up. Soon there were a whole bunch of guys, who came from all directions and they set up goals and started a game. I sat and watched from behind the chain linked fence, and for a while I kept score.

Finally I decided to move out from behind the chain linked fence to get a better view. So I sat with my back against a tree and watched the game. Each player had his own body language, but there was one guy who seemed to be a natural for the sport. A short guy who seemed to always be in the action and making goals. His movements were fluid and smooth as if he'd been playing soccer his whole life. (or football, call it what you will)

Finally I looked at my watch and got on my bike and rode back to work. Don't these guys have to work? I thought as I left.. Are there that many people who can just go to the park and play soccer in the afternoon? Perhaps they are all stay at home Dads and get babbysitters while they play..

I took pictures of the guys playing soccor but the Commuter Dog picture was better. I feel just like that retriever when I drive my car home from work these days.

Dog photo contest

So we've entered this picture of Jake the dog (my header dog) in a dog photo contest at Jake's master's bank. You could win dog treats and stuff. I've taken a lot of pictures, but I've never entered any in a photo contest.. So how cool would it be if the first "contest" I enter a photo in wins dog treats!.. :) That would be perfect for my resume...

Well ok,.. it's not exactly a very high level photo contest, but you gotta start somewhere right?.. And if I don't win anything, I can say, I entered a dog picture in a bank dog photo contest and didn't win anything. And that's almost as good as winning dog treats!

That doggie in the window

Notice the doggie in the window. Good boy.. Good boy.. He's a good ski dog...

Dog person

I love this bumper sticker.

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But what if your dog thought you were an idiot?

Dogs and cats

This drawing caught my eye yesterday as we were looking through student artwork. I think I know that dog on the left...

Dog snowshoes

It's been a hard winter and it's just getting started. It's been very hard on dogs too. Here's a picture of Max in his winter coat complete with racing stripe, although he wasn't in much of a hurry to go anywhere. Max is also sporting some very nice looking dog snowshoes custom made by his owner. He's a lucky dog as it was very cold today, around 10 degrees F. (F for F'n cold) I think Max would have been just as happy to stay inside by the fire today.

I was going to remove Other Peoples Dogs from my blog and I started doing that but It's kind of important to me for some odd reason. Just not presented well.

On the other hand it's only so important to me. I've been told that I need a dog. Like if I had a dog I wouldn't be so screwed up.. or something. I wrote about it (You Need a Dog on the sidebar) but I read what I wrote and thought, Man I really am screwed up... Maybe I do need a dog...

But I can't really see myself making dog snowshoes and dressing up a dog to go for a walk. Not that other people shouldn't...

Hands on my hips

The dogs that live across the street next to my mailbox hate me. And the thing of it is, I'm not very fond of them either. The wolf dogs that live behind me don't hate me, they aren't crazy about me but they don't hate me. They've been trained and their owner refers to them as "guard dogs". They're kind of isolated though and don't have much to guard. They never leave their yard. So I don't know what it is about the dogs arcoss the street other than they haven't been trained and are allowed to act however they want. They never leave their yard either.

Everyone in my neighborhood has dogs in their yards, and a couple of my neighbors have dogs in their houses. I'm not sure what's better and what's worse. I live on a corner lot and have a pretty big yard. One time I stayed home sick. I was really sick. I never call in sick when I'm not sick. But for some reason I had to go out to my car to get something. This was just after 8:00 am when usually I'd already have gone to work. One of my neighbors let their dog out. A great big yellow dog. It trotted across the street to my yard and went to the bathroom with master watching. I was a little shocked. I walked out in that direction and put my hands on my hips. The master, a woman called the dog and it trotted back in the house as she held the door open for it. I had to wonder if this was their routine each day after I left for work.

But the dogs across the street are fenced in with a chain linked fence. The corner of their yard is right next to my mailbox. So every day when I go and get my mail the dogs bark and growl at me when I go to get my mail. They start the moment they see me. The "master" of them, this old guy, is usually out in his back yard smoking a cigarette. When he hears them barking he will wistle as if he's controling them. He never comes over to talk or anything. I guess I'm just a problem for him. I'm the reason his dogs go off. It's like he can't decide what's worse, me or his dogs, but we both annoy him.

Dog sunbathing

When I got to work, Jake was taking a sunbath in the bay. He looks like he's dead but he's just resting.

Our house

Our house, is a very very very fine house, with two dogs in the yard, life used to be so hard, now everything is easier... Hum along!..

Guard dog

Back at the salt mine,.. team mascot Jake pulls guard duty in the art department. Don't let his posture fool you, he's a real sleeper. No wasted movements. He knows exactly when to jump into action. Notice his summer do. I've been giving that some thought myself. Might go to his barber.

Yard art

I think I've finally figured out why dogs always chase me while I'm riding my bike. They want to take it!

Well this is kind of a nice piece of yard art.. lawn art,.. outside of the bubble/ bicycle log yard art. My friend was telling me that when I get old I'll make yard art... with my power tools... Something I can stick in the lawn. It's just one of those quirky things that old guys do.

I haven't come to that yet, but I'm starting to show interest.

Sick as a dog

Sorry that was the only thing I could think of to name this post. Mom is fine and was released from the hospital today. They left an IV thing in her arm and so I had to remove it when we got home. We called and they told us how to do it. It was no big deal really as I got the bleeding stopped. The care at the hospital was outstanding actually.

I got off of the elevator on the wrong floor once today and took this picture. No this isn't my mom.

Jake

My friend's father Russ recently died. Before Russ died he asked my friend to look after his dog Jake. So now some mornings we have a mascot at work. You can tell Jake is still a little sad but I think he's slowly coming out of it.

Clean up your dog

Here is a sign at a school yard in Montana. I wonder if they hired an artist from the University to make this one?

How many leaves have fallen?

Almost all of the leaves are on the ground in my home town. People rake them into the street for the city to come by and sweep up. It makes great big piles of leaves. I don't have big piles of leaves like that where I live now. I remember as a kid jumping into these big piles of leaves and how much fun it was. You could hide under them and get them down the back of your shirt. They have a smell that you don't forget. It was nice to smell that smell again.

I went for a walk Saturday afternoon with my mom. Some people would rake the leaves into the street and others would not. Some places the sidewalk was clear of leaves and other places it wasn't. Mom would drag her feat through the piles of leaves as she walked. It made a sound, whoosh whoosh whoosh, as she walked along, and it left a trail in the leaves. I could smell the leaves as she walked.

I looked down at a clear spot on the sidwalk and saw the footprint of a dog in the concrete. It reminded me of those dinosaur footprints in the river bed that later turned to stone. The leaves reminded me of a distant time too. My childhood.

Someone's dog left its foot prints in this sidewalk in 1918. There's a date stamp in the concrete on the corner.

I wonder how many leaves have fallen since then?

Wood stoves and dogs

I wrote a post tonight and then deleted it. You're not missing anything. Then I went outside to check and see that my truck was locked up. I could hear a train going by in the distance. Other people's dogs were responding to the sound of its horn. There is a chill in the air and I could smell wood smoke. Most of my neighbors have wood stoves. Wood stoves and dogs.

Other people's dogs

I've started a new section on my side bar called Other People's Dogs. I will be doing written and photo essays of other people's dogs. I've been told that I NEED A DOG , but I don't really want a dog.

Click on the Other people's dog label / link below to see other people's dogs. Woof woof.

Benji

I've been thinking about starting a section on my side bar for photos of other people's dogs. This is one of my friend's dog, Benji. They say I'm not a dog person. And people are quick to define me as such. And then there are those who say I NEED A DOG , but Benji is a cool dog. He doesn't give a poop about what people think about him. I can respect that in a dog. He never did anything annoying, didn't seek attention, and he loved to have his picture taken. If I were going to have a dog, I'd want a dog just like Benji.

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The other thing cool about Benji is that he doesn't fuss over how he looks much,... Yes Benji is a real man's dog! A free range dog.