Category Archives: dogs

A Place for Everything

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                                                                     A Place for Everything

Disclaimer: If you haven’t been following the progress of the Doggie Domain, you may want to skip this post.  It is sorta silly, really, but I absolutely love having the means to make routine, repetitive daily tasks as easy and quickly done as possible.  With that end in mind,  it took a good deal of time and many changes in details to design the perfect dog-feeding cabinet. And, here it is–freshly installed with just two adjustments to be made tomorrow.  Chino did a great job building a  cabinet exactly to my specifications!

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It’s on rollers so I can move it if I need to.

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Top door opens to reveal the fridge needed to store opened cans of dog food. When Morrie learned to open the fridge door, it meant  moving the fridge from the bottom to the top of the cabinet.

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Twin doors below the fridge open to reveal a shelf big enough for all three bowls to be stored, waiting to be filled with kibble at the next feeding.  I’m having a half shelf built above them for more storage.  I’ll still have easy access to all the bowls.

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Next drawer down is big enough to store two large bags of dog food, side by side.  I’m having a division put in so I can store Frida’s food to the right and Morrie and Diego’s to the left.  I’ll pour bags directly into the drawers to save room.

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The two bottom drawers store canned food, grooming supplies and dog biscuits–in a drawer Morrie can’t open.  See him checking it out?

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Here it is all sealed up again, tight as a drum. The metal chest to the right will be removed as soon as the deep drawer for kibble has its divider installed tomorrow. If Chino can make another little storage container to cover up the electrical plug and cord, I will be happy.  Or perhaps a little stand to hang collars and leashes on?  What a luxury to be able to afford handmade furniture to your design in Mexico.  I’ve designed most of my furniture and love how utilitarian it is. This is the tenth piece Chino has made for me.

Okay, Bob.  Now it’s time to get revenge for the time I teased you about your post describing your new pan that you ordered on the internet.  I confess, this is much worse!  And I must admit I totally understand how exciting it is to have exactly the correct “tool” for something you need to do every day.  I just couldn’t resist ribbing you.  Now I’m having to pay the piper!!!

Bedtime in the Bodoga

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 Bedtime in the Bodoga

Frida and Morrie both got new beds today, thanks to Morrie who ate Frida’s old one and has eaten two of his own as well as one of the cat’s beds.  He  leaves only his idol Diego’s bed alone and sleeps in it whenever he can get away with it, so I bought him one just like Diego’s. (It’s upside down for now with the plastic side up just in case he decides to have an “accident.”  (That’s not unknown to happen!) Once he’s a big boy, we’ll put the hot pink cloth side up. (Although it isn’t obvious in this picture, he does still have ears!)

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Frida got a big pillow that isn’t even tacky.  First one I’ve found that isn’t obnoxious colors or plaid or some other horrid print. At first Frida was suspicious and wouldn’t sleep on or even put one paw on her bed, but as you can see, she is now giving it a chance:

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Since Morrie is still being mean to her, Frida gets to continue sleeping in the main house.  She should have a few privileges of age.  We all should!  She now likes her new bed and I think it will be more hair-resistant than her old bed that seemed more like a hair-receiver than a bed.

Here’s Diego, in his same old bed that has made it through six months with Morrie:

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The carpenter came today to measure for the shelves and storage bins for kibbles.  They’ll have aluminum liners so the mice can’t get in–or the dogs!!! And, they have their own tiny fridge for opened tins of wet dog food and fresh bones, which the vet tells me I have to freeze for two weeks before giving them to them.  Do you think the Taj Mahal got this much press when it was being built????

I tried removing the cages and just had their beds in the room, but they were so restless and that was when Morrie ate Frida’s bed, so I’ve put their beds back in cages and they seem much happier.  I haven’t been shutting Diego’s door and he hasn’t reminded me to do so.  He used to want it shut and locked.  Morrie has learned how to open his cage door.  Smart little trouble-maker!!! He’s even opened the side that has two locks instead of one.

I think I mentioned before that my friend Dan of Dan and Rhonda fame has dubbed the Doggie Domain with a new name:  The Bodoga.  (A bodega is a storage room so the bodoga is of course a storage spot for dogs!)

Let me know when you are sick of Doggie Domain (Bodoga) news.  I don’t seem to be able to stop myself.  I have a cool slide series showing the entire construction process but can’t figure out how to have the last pictures I want to add go on at the end and also I don’t know how to post a video or slides on WordPress.  I just now learned how to find the Shortlink and how to post on Thursday Doors! Does the learning curve ever flatten out?????

Accident

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The Prompt: Tell us about a time you should have stopped and helped someone but didn’t.

DSC07911Accident

When I rise at seven to let her out,
she’s in a hurry, without a doubt,
for I see only a streaking blur––
a tip of tail and whirr of fur.
As she rushes out to pee,
the shame is not on her, but me.
I heard her bark an hour ago,
but it was only seven and so
I thought I’d just go back to sleep
and she made no further peep.

Now I see the pile upon the floor
just inside the open door
held as long as she was able,
then hidden underneath the table.
Not the first time in twelve years
that she’s caught me in arrears
in opening doors to let her out,
yet it is true without a doubt
that she has never erred before
and made a mess upon the floor.

I know that she is feeling shame,
even though she’s not to blame.
For once she is not under feet
as I prepare something to eat;
and when I call, she does not come.
She’s in the garden, feeling glum.
She feels she’s done a shameful act
devoid of training, breeding, tact.
She does not know that I’m the one
standing here with smoking gun.

Every bit of blame is mine,
for Frida’s former record is fine.
For twelve long years, she never peed
upon the roof in time of need
even when we didn’t know
she was locked up there and so
there is no need to hang her head
in shame of what she’s done, and dread
of being scolded or being blamed.
I am the one who should be shamed!

https://dailypost.wordpress.com/prompts/sorry-im-busy/

What I Found When I Got Home from the Beach

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What I Found When I Got Home from the Beach!!!!

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Morrie totally destroyed Frida’s bed but left Diego’s untouched!  BAD DOG!!! Frida is sleeping in my bathroom on the cushy rug tonight.  Guess Morrie needs to be in a cage. And can’t be trusted at home alone.

 

Before and After

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Before and After

(First shots of the almost-completed Doggie Domain!!!!  Two months in the making, soon to be painted, skylighted and sliding-glass-and screen-doored, but finished enough for habitation.  Inaugural night!!!)

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And After:

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What is wrong with this picture?  Well, Diego is in Frida’s bed and Morrie is in Diego’s bed (and cage) and Frida is outside, waiting to be let in to sleep in her bed in the guest bathroom!!! They all stubbornly refused to readjust themselves until mom got tough.  Kids today don’t appreciate what we go through for them!!!!  But, it’s wonderful not to trip over their cages in the hall and not to have to remove Frida’s bed to my room every time company comes. ( And not to wake up in the middle of the night wheezing because I’m allergic to her.)  Poor babies.  Wish they could all sleep with mom, but fear mom wouldn’t be around long if they did.

Morrie Takes off and Brings the Road Home with Him!!!!

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Morrie Takes off and Brings the Road Home with Him!!!!

It’s true.  When Pepe came to give me my massage today, he opened the door and all three dogs ran out!  After two months of never escaping when the construction guys were in and out dozens of times a day, suddenly they asserted themselves and were long gone–not a whisper of a tailfeather was in view in any direction by the time I got out in the street to call for them.  I didn’t know whether to fear that they’d gone up the mountain or to be glad.  No cars up there and fewer dogs than in the streets.  So, nothing to be done. I decided to leave them alone ’til they came home, wagging their tails behind them.  An hour and a half later, that’s what they did.  The first two to enter were fine, but this is what I saw when Morrie entered!

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First thing he did was make right for the water bowl.

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A one-and-a-half-hour run in the mountains sure makes a Laird thirsty!!!

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I couldn’t help but notice the splint-like accumulation on his leg.

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not to mention the sizeable limb of some sticky weed, complete with tiny tenacious bristles all over it and flower abloom.

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Oh yes, those little decorations all over his head were sticky as well, and had no desire to be shed.

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Contrast Morrie to his brother’s pristine coat!

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The “limb” looked like a sunbather using Morrie’s coat to  attract the sun’s rays–a sort of solar hothouse!

Ah, Morrie.  Always a new thrill.  I got the limb off, in pieces, before he took off to tussle with Diego.  When I fed them, I got a few more pieces removed, then noticed that some scraped off as Diego and Morrie rolled and growled and wrestled and did their usual hi-jinx.  I went back to party preparations.  (Pictures to follow.)

I have neglected to say that the doggie domain is almost finished. Today they primed the walls and they reflect so much light into the hall now that I’m tempted to leave the walls white.  Dare I?  It looks beautiful, even in the chalky transluscent white of the primer.  I put the fridge in and the two cages with beds inside and Frida’s bed which almost entirely take up all the floor room.  I left the outside door to it open and a half hour ago, heard noises and went in to find Diego in Frida’s bed and Morrie in Diego’s bed in Diego’s cage! I couldn’t persuade them to switch back to their own bunks, so we’ll see what happens when Frida comes in. No lights connected, so I can’t take a picture!  Perhaps I’ll try with flash.

Happy Thanksgiving!  Tomorrow before the guests come, I plan to put Diego in the doggie domain, Morrie (and his bed) in the little dog run outside the spare bedroom and Frida in the garage with her bed while the guests are here.  One guest asked if she could bring her dog and I said I thought there would be pandemonium enough with my three.

 

 

Scotch Pride

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My name is Laird Morrie and I’m the ruler of all you survey.

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This is my princess.  We’re about the same size.

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As you can see, my brother Diego is twice my size

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And although it looks like he is killing me in all of these tussling  matches,

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In fact, I always come back for more.  More often than not, I am the aggressor.  More often than not, the bigger dog wins.

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Yet still, I remind myself, I am royalty.  And I pounce again!

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This is Frida, one of the three ladies of the house.  Here she maintains her distance.

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This is the other non-human lady of the house. Neither of these ladies likes me much, for I like their dinners entirely too much. Sometimes I jump up on the ledge of the wall and reach up to dine on what this lady leaves behind. Sometimes I dine on it before she’s ready to leave it behind, so my mom put a big plant on the ledge.  Now I wait for a rainy day, when my mom puts the cat’s meals in the garage rather than on the wall. Then I can jump up on the lower wall near the gate, jump up to the workbench in the garage, and eat her whole meal before she sees it.  I am Morrie, Laird, jumping dog, dog of major appetites, schemes and feats of great athletic prowess
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Sometimes I lie, awaiting the arrival of the third lady of the house.

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When we hear the garage door opening, we spring to attention.

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We greet her arrival with LOUD and incessant barks of approval.  In this picture, we are not barking, for our mom has never had the  patience or sanity sufficient to snap a picture when we are heralding her arrival with LOUD and incessant barks.

IMG_3940Often Frida gives up and runs away when Mom bellers, “SHUT UP!!!” to try to curb our enthusiasm over her arrival.  Sometimes the neighbors run away, as well! But Diego and I do not give up easily.  When it comes to the potential for supper or dog treats, I’m in it for the long run. For after all, in the end it is staying power and stubborn dedication that win the day–and in the end, it is breeding that counts

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when one is royalty, and stubborn, to boot!!!!

 

You might think you are seeing double if you check out Marilyn’s prompt page!  http://teepee12.com/2015/11/18/serendipity-photo-prompt-2015-30-hunting-the-wild-scottie/

Dear Housemates

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DEAR HOUSEMATES

Literate for a Day: Someone or something you can’t communicate with through writing (a baby, a pet, an object) can understand every single word you write today, for one day only. What do you tell them?

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Dear Morrie:
*Do not poop in the house!!!
*Do not poop in your cage!!!
*Do not poop on the terrace!!!
*Do poop in one place in the lower garden where Frida and Diego do!
*But, thanks for finally learning how to go into your cage even before I put a dog biscuit in the far end of it.
*Thanks for being so sweet and cuddly and adorable that I cannot help but forgive you for your numerous sins.

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Dear Frida:
*Do not bark incessantly every time the garage door goes up!!!
*Do not bark incessantly every time I come to feed you!!!
*But, thanks for never coming into the house without being asked.
*Thanks for never (hardly ever) getting into the organic garbage I save for Yolanda’s pig.

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Dear Diego:
*Give this constant tussling and growling with Morrie a rest!!!
*Do not head straight for the organic garbage can every time you enter the house!!!
*Never ever again eat six raw pork chops from the skillet on a night guests are coming for dinner.
*Never ever again grab an entire cooked chicken off the counter top and head for the door on a night there is a guest for dinner!!!
*Never ever again grab and consume three-quarters of a cooked loin roast off the kitchen counter top.
*But, thanks for taking Morrie down for a potty break in the garden every night at midnight.
*Thanks for training Morrie not to come into the house until asked.

To all Three Perros:

*I’m sorry for all the nights I’ve gotten home late to feed you.
*I’m sorry for all the times I’ve embarrassed you (and Larry) in front of the neighbors by yelling louder than you to “STOP BARKING!!!!”
*I’m sorry for never taking you on walks anymore (because you disjointed my arm the last time I did.)

I guess, like most disfunctional families, we will put up with each other in spite of our drawbacks of character and performance.

––Love, Mother

 

 

 

In and Out

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In and Out

 

The Lapdog

Dogs that stand outside and seek admittance to within
overlook the worth of what they’ve seen and where they’ve been.
Those of us sealed fast inside yearn to see the world
that we have been deprived of as we lie securely curled
in the safety of our houses, away from chasing cars
and other fun activities kept from us by bars.
We would feel such ecstasy racing after squirrels,
other dogs and cats and lizards, skunks and boys and girls.
We seek to flee the rules that those street dogs seem to flout.
We would have such wild adventures if we only could get out!!

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The Street Dog

Lucky little dogs with collars sit there looking out
as though they do not know what life for street dogs is about.
We’d love to have their pampering and their daily feeding.
What they seek escape from is exactly what we’re needing!

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The Prompt: Tell us about a time you were on the outside looking in. https://dailypost.wordpress.com/prompts/the-outsiders/

Pretty in Pink! (Photo a Week Challege)

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                                                             Pretty in Pink

IMG_7463IMG_7447On Halloween Day in Ajijic, I found these two beautiful ladies all clad in pink.  Lucky that this just happened to be Nancy Merrill’s topic for the week–a fact I discovered when I got home.  Some days, things just work out.

https://nadiamerrillphotography.wordpress.com/2015/10/29/a-photo-a-week-challenge-pretty-in-pink/