Day 4435 - Valentines Day

We worked on training Jo Jo today while we were up at the kennel. He's a big friendly boy and must weigh at least 80 pounds. The first thing he needs to learn is not to jump up on people when he greets you. He likes toys, but not like the other dogs. Every toy we introduced him to he took outside and tried to bury it. We had lots of fun getting to know him today and he made us laugh a lot. 

I'm surprised that Oliver is still at the kennel. He's such a nice dog. He's basically just a big goofy puppy. Charlie has become an old friend. We've known him a long time now. Charlie is one of the smartest dogs we've ever had in the rescue program. He's also one of the most unpredictable which explains why he's been at the kennel a while.

The power company tree trimming crew arrived at our house today. The two Live Oaks near the alley basically have no leaves anymore. The trees are still healthy and small branches with leaves will start to appear next Spring. We've seen this before. This is the third time these two trees have been trimmed to keep the branches away from the power lines. They both look really ugly now. I was hoping that the crew would just cut the trees down this time. No luck though. I don't think the crew even carried large chain saws with them. The tree crews probably won the contract from the electric company on a fixed budget and they had no interest in wasting time with individual trees. They had a schedule to keep. They were very efficient in removing smaller limbs and then grinding them up in a wood chipper. Our two trees were a big job though. The five person crew was in our yard most of the day.

I didn't get around to taking my long walk until later in the afternoon. I didn't make it very far this time. I don't think I planned very well. I wore a t-shirt and it didn't take long for me to discover that this wasn't enough. I was cold. My feet hurt a lot today as well. The worst thing was that my allergies have returned with a vengeance and I forgot to bring Kleenex with me. How could today be so different than yesterday? The sky was clear both days, but the wind must have been blowing from a different direction. I'm so tired of seasonal allergies, but they'll probably be with me forever. As bad as they are, I still prefer blowing my nose a lot to taking antihistamines.

I thought that Dawn would be upset by all the noise in the backyard today, but it didn't seem to bother her. She spent the day sleeping on the bed as usual and the only time she barked was when someone from the work crew got too close to the house. I don't know how she knew. The blinds were closed and you could never hear footsteps over all the other noise. We waited until all the equipment was gone before taking her on a short walk. The yard was a danger zone for a while.

It was my turn to drive to the kennel today and it reminded me how much I hate driving in this city. Traffic is terrible and everyone is in a hurry. People are always running traffic lights and making illegal u-turns. I don't understand all the u-turns. It seems like half the city is lost. Right now I can't imagine driving all the way out to West Texas again. A forty-five minute drive around town makes me tired.

We didn't get cupcakes for Valentines Day this year. Neither of us wanted to stand in a long line at Sprinkles. We did have some champagne in the fridge and a few leftover brownies so we had a little party anyway. Dawn kind of got cheated though. Usually we always went to Sprinkles because the dogs loved their dog cupcakes. 

Dot is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day