Day 159

Dot and Dash went to their second birthday party in less than a week. This time, the party was for Tom, our obedience class instructor, who invited everyone in the class to bring their dogs. As you might expect, when you combine lots of large dogs with backyard burgers, there were more than a few burgers snatched off people's plates by the dogs. The dogs were actually remarkably well behaved, considering the amount of food nearby. Tom was convinced it was because he had trained them so well, but more likely the dogs knew that if they stayed quiet, their owners would slip them hot dogs and chips to eat under the table.

Tom is a marathon runner and he invited some of his running and cycling buddies to the party as well. The dog people and the type-a running people were a distinctly different crowd. The runners seemed uncomfortable with all the dogs milling about and would shoo them away if they came near their plates. One high-strung woman jogger would periodically shriek, "that dog's about to pee on your lawn chair." Most of the dog people could care less if a dog peed on a chair. At one point or another, dogs have peed on just about everything we own. I can tell you from personal experience that it's not a big deal if a dog pees on a lawn chair. The runners seemed to think otherwise however and as the afternoon progressed, the joggers and the dog people slowly migrated to opposite sides of Tom's yard. Despite all the type-a joggers, it was a very enjoyable afternoon. The weather as perfect. The burgers were great. And nobody got bit.

This morning, Ann and Janet were away at a rescue event in Grapevine, Texas, so I walked the K-9 University dogs with another volunteer. This guy was real good at clicker training and within thirty minutes he had our resident wild child Lance sitting and healing like a show dog. I was impressed. On the way home, I stopped by Fry's Electronics and got a Bluetooth headset. I'm determined to turn my iPad into a telephone. I don't know why I'm wasting time with this though. I don't even like to talk on the telephone.

Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day