Injured Reserve



'Watching my stories.'

(Yes, that' is STILL L'Oreal 5.3 on her side. Seven weeks and counting)



Ruby has been pretty darn healthy in her first year. Other than the weird warts on her toes and the one episode of what we will delicately refer to as 'tummy trouble,' she's not had any issues. Until now. A couple of weeks back I saw the first sign that something was wrong, but wrote it off as a fluke. I put my hands under her chin to tell her hello and kiss her on the nose and she yelped loudly. A few days later, it started to happen more regularly. We have been able to rule out and narrow down the injury. It is NOT her teeth, foot, ankle, or plain old fear. All of those have been ruled out in one way or the other.

If she jumpes up to give hugs, she sometimes falls back down yelping in absolute pain and won't put her right front foot down. One time, she was literally on the floor howling for a good 2-3 minutes. If she raises her head quickly to attempt to catch a treat (she still can't do it, btw), same reaction. Its also happened once or twice fighting with Sophie, a few times jumping in fear (the garbage cans were terrifying Monday), and occasionally when she races after the squirrels. She favors her right side when she lays down, laying awkwardly.  I also gave her the giant bone that she loves on Sunday and she couldn't carry it straight. You could tell that it hurt her neck to pick it up. And it is big, but I've seen her carry it around LOTS of times. Current school of thought is that it is a toss-up between her shoulder and her neck. Or a combination of the two.

I called Dr. Burke about a week and a half ago and gave him our list of symptoms and potential causes. Among them, too much roughhousing at camp (although the symptoms don't directly correlate with a day at camp, they did get worse the last time she went. Understandably.). Too much jumping like a fool after squirrels. Or possibly, it COULD be, I mean the possibility EXISTS that the attempts to break out of her kennel have caused her some pain. Trying to break out to the point that she has pulled the front of the kennel so hard that it is rounded IN now and a small creature could easily escape if needed. Presumably she has done this with her teeth since she's yet to sprout opposable thumbs. This has to hurt her neck. It just has to.

So, under Dr. Burke's orders, no walks, no camp, no chasing squirrels, giving hugs, wrestling (with Sophie or anybody else). General calmness until she heals. And lots of lap-dog time. Or as much as Mom can stand.

We are hoping that she comes out of it and we don't have to do x-rays to try and diagnose this. My main concern is that they have to put her under anesthesia to do it, which I hate doing unless absolutely necessary. Then there's the cost. A $250 minimum outlay to find out, potentially, that she sprained her neck trying to chew out of a metal cage and all we can do is wait it out until it heals. Dr. Burke called again this week to check up on her and said if she isn't better after Christmas that he really wants to go that route. uggh. I'm really hoping it isn't necessary.

We took a huge step and decided that if her stress level from being kenneled was causing her physical harm, we need to try something else. So for about two weeks now, Ruby has had the Run Of The House during the day. We have developed an elaborate 'cat in-dog out' security system with the upstairs bathroom door. So far she's not cracked the code. The rest of the upstairs doors stay closed, protecting mattress pads and fluff-filled objects everywhere. Downstairs she's been very good, other than almost digging through the couch cushions in the front living room. She's trying to 'bury' her toys in it for some reason so we've had to resort to piling all the cushions on the couch and wrapping the whole couch in an old blanket. Eventually we'll get through that annoying phase/habit as well. I just hope the furniture survives in the meantime. But there hasn't been a single household accident, food theft, garbage spill, upturned or turned up anything. I think she just lays looking out the window hoping to see one of us pull in the driveway. The squirrels have not slowed down and any given morning there are at least a half dozen of them on the deck. So if she's paying attention, she's got plenty to occupy her time. I'm going to leave the TV on tomorrow anyway. On Animal Planet. Just to give her something to do. :)

We had an unofficial weigh-in a few weeks ago and Ruby tipped the scales at just over 98 pounds. I think we all expected her to be bigger by now. But Dr. Burke told me on the phone that a 1-year old Great Dane is like a 7-month old German Shepherd. I think that means she's not nearly done growing. I had heard that about this breed, but had never heard it put quite like that. He still expects her to end up in the 130-150 range when she's completely filled out.

On the good news front, her reaction to visitors was really put to the test this weekend and she passed with flying colors. Friday night we had some friends over and she warmed up to them almost immediately. I kept her on a leash until she was relaxed so she wasn't pacing around annoying everyone and stressing herself out. She did great and within an hour was snuggled up lap-dog style on my pretty blonde friend. :)

But the real test was Sunday. Monroe Family Christmas, here at our house. An extra 10 bodies in the house, including very small ones. We put Ruby in the kennel upstairs until everyone got in and settled. I figured if she was going to freak out, it was best she do it once and get it all over with. I was so please that when I did bring her downstairs (on leash), she was nervous, but very calm. I think everyone here gave her a treat and before you knew it she was plopped on the couch or wandering around saying hello to everyone, and just being very pleasant. Even with tons of food perched on the edges of all the counters, she was very well-behaved. My sister-in-law accidently knocked THE CAN off the edge of the counter once. I'm pretty sure Ruby had an mini-stroke from the next room, but she rebounded quickly.

Have a fabulous Christmas and New Years everyone. And thanks for reading!

Favorite picture...this is how I leave her every morning before work, ever-hopeful that her attention span will not wane long enough to remember the couch that needs to have toys buried in it. :)

Trouble Is As Trouble Does

My last update was shortly after the Great Sophie Bed Massacre of 2010 and just prior to the great Thanksgiving Day Mattress Pad Massacre of 2010. On the off chance that last one requires some explanation, I'll save the drama and just give you the Reader's Digest version.

Thanksgiving Day. Left home with Grandma and Grandpa for maybe 30 minutes. The little shit-dog snuck upstairs to the bedroom and dug a giant hole in the center of our mattress pad. A deliberate act of defiance for leaving her home. I'm sure of it. Only good news is, she stopped when she hit mattress. Black Friday sales being what they were, the replacement mattress pad was only $18.99, free shipping. Thank you Kohls.

So I didn't kill her.

As the Christmas decorations have gone up, Ruby has found plenty of additional ways to get herself in trouble. First, she paced in fear as the boxes came up from the basement. For a brief time we added outdoor lights to the 'things to be terrified of' list but that passed. After all the decorations are up, Ruby has learned that the following acts will get her in trouble:

• Taking candy out of the advent calendar.
• Taking ornaments off the tree.
• Walking around with a santa hat hanging out of her mouth.
• Grabbing ribbons off the tree on the front porch on her way to pee in the yard.
• Biting the tree lights.

To name a few.

Ruby being Ruby, Christmas decorations aren't the only way she's found trouble in the last couple of weeks. As the weather has gotten cold, very cold, her desire to spend adequate potty time in the yard is waning. The first big snow last week dropped about 7-8 inches in the yard. It's funny to remember that this was the dog who, in March, was peeing on the tiniest remaining pile of snow in the back yard because it was all she knew. But Friday night when it was snowing again, she was timid. By Saturday morning with piles of snow everywhere, she was nothing short of skittish. Where do I walk? Can I put my feet in it? How does it smell? WHERE DO I POOP!?!?

And THEN the snowblower started. She freaked. I put her in her kennel until we were done with the initial cleanup because she was so stressed out. But by afternoon, she had fallen in love with the snow. Running through the back yard like a gazelle, bounding through the drifts, and coming to the back door with piles of snow on her nose when I could get her attention. It also seems that the squirrels were extra busy this weekend, or at least extra visible. This picture was from our bedroom window. The tree is just outside and this big fat squirrel sat eating berries and openly mocking the dog. It was a busy weekend.

And then came Monday. Ruby was DEFIANT about peeing at 5:30 in the morning, but I dressed her in her sweatshirt to try and help the cold thing (didn't help). I finally got my coat on and stepped out with her where I outlasted her in the front yard, freezing my tail off right along with her until she gave in. Then she came in and refused to eat her breakfast. I think she knows its a workday and stalls thinking I'll give in and stay home with her. Since she won't eat, we put her food in her kennel with her.

At the end of Monday:

She must have tried desperately to get the bowl turned over, given the large dents in the bottom of it.

So Tuesday comes around and the routine continues. Put on sweatshirt (she hates that part), reluctantly leave the front door, pee because the cold won't let her hold it in, shiver annoyingly against the house. Sneak to the back door, then back to the front door, finally forcing the Mom out of the house to shiver in the cold. Give in and poop after pacing a good solid 4 minutes to pick a spot in the snow (WHY oh why is it so hard to pick where you are going to poop!?!?) Into the house to mope around and refuse to eat. In the kennel with the food bowl for the work day.

And today, we got THIS: 

Those black strips all over the floor are the pieces of the plastic tray that lined the bottom of her kennel. 

Let me clarify:

Ruby. Ate. Her. Kennel.

Clearly she is miserable in her kennel. But I'm sure you saw the video of what used to be Sophie's bed the LAST time we left her out to roam the house all day. So here's my plan. I will puppy-proof every inch of this house tomorrow morning. And we will leave her out. I will run home at lunch and make certain she hasn't destroyed anything. Or, more likely, I will clean up piles of fluff from the couch, or strips of what used to be our curtains, or I'll have to go price out new carpet after work.

Wish me luck.

Favorite picture of the week is easy.

Birthday!

So today is the day. Ruby is the big 01. Or the big 07 in human years. She celebrated with a pre-birthday fun day at doggie daycamp yesterday, exhausting herself to the point that she couldn't even get off the couch last night. After that fun bender, today was kind of a down day. I did take her for a walk. Our first since my ACL-eliminating accident on September 11. She was so excited to walk and was very well-behaved even when several bunnies taunted her from the darkness of the neighborhood. We had a discussion as we walked about how if she bolted, Mom was just going to have to let her go. So I'm sure that's why she was such a good girl. I topped off her morning bowl of food with a treat and left her for the day.

She desperately needed one (see previous post L'Oreal 5.3 Fiasco), so she had her first annual birthday bath tonight as well. It might not be everyone's favorite birthday activity, but it was just time. So right now she is in a horizontal position sacked out on the couch. Like all Great Danes.

So to backtrack a little, there have been plenty of Ruby Adventures, but my knee surgery and readjustment to work have put a cramp in my blogging. The first week back was pretty exhausting. This week has been better, and blessedly short, so here I am.

The squirrel watching continues. I'm not sure who was more interested. Dog? Or teenage boy?

Regardless, the little critters continue to mock Ruby openly. They've even gotten brave enough to venture up onto the deck to eat out of the chum bowl of corn and sunflower seeds. When she sees them, Ruby about goes right through the sliding glass door. They are smart little buggers. They move away from the door slowly, until they hear it slide. Then it's a race to the closest tree where they sit and cackle at her. It really is fun for the whole family.

I purchased a new food bowl a few weeks ago. It is huge and tall and very sturdy. The old one really wasn't tall enough for her and was made of melamine, so pretty much fell apart. (she's not the neatest drinker). She doesn't like water unless it is straight out of the sink or toilet anyway, so a couple of weeks ago we caved and just let her drink.

We call it the well and she drinks out of it every night. Much to the annoyance of the cat. To be fair, he always has that disgusted look on his face.



Among other adventures, Ruby has destroyed completely two of her remaining three beds. Fluff everywhere, beds in the trash. So she now spends her work days on a hard plastic floor. And I. Don't. Care. I'm done fixing beds.

Last week someone accidentally left Ruby out to have the run of  the house for the day. Nobody realized it until we all returned home. And nobody was more surprised than I that everything was still in place. There were no 'gifts' left anywhere in the house. Even the cat's door was open, her food and litter readily available. With such a success, we decided to give it a second try. Day two of Operation Leave Ruby Out went just as well. I suspect she spent those days laying in the chair in the front window, looking forlornly at the driveway waiting for someone, ANYONE, to come home and pay attention to her.

Day three, the youngest was home sick with a stomach flu. So we felt pretty confident that Ruby could have the run of the house without cause for concern. Around lunchtime I got a cryptic message from the sick one that Ruby was in trouble. Something about tearing up Sophie's bed and she had put her in her kennel for the rest of the day. I had no idea how badly day three had gone until I got the following video via iPhone, about an hour before my work day ended.

So what that WAS, is a waffle foam bed with a zippered cover. For some reason, the cat had taken up residence on it. I think to make sure that everyone noticed it and so that Ruby faced adequate punishment.

There was no missing it. I'm taking the price of dog beds out of her college fund. Enough already.

Favorite picture of the week...coming home from daycamp, enjoying the view out the moonroof...

All for now.

L'Oreal 5.3 Fiasco

A few weeks post-ACL reconstruction and feeling a little more human, I got a wild hair to, well, color my hair. Freshen up my look. Brighten my hair for winter. My lack of tanning and current super-dark black color gave me a bit of a goth look so on my way home from physical therapy, I stopped at the local market, bought myself two L'Oreal color/highlight kits in my favorite color combo, 5.3, and headed home to update my do. $30. Instant update.

I let the dogs out when I get home and they were thrilled to get out and have their dinner. Then Ruby, as she does, stayed glued to my side while I started step one of the hair color (the 5 in the 5.3).

That's when the fiasco started.

So I'm standing in front of the bathroom mirror in the old t-shirt with the rubber gloves on, squirting my head with color from the plastic bottle. Ruby is lying directly behind me, in case I should quickly try to escape. You can't be too careful apparently. At one point, as I was squirting color on the back of my head, there was a small bubble in the bottle. I squeezed extra hard to loosen it and heard the sound. I turned to Ruby to see if I had gotten any on the carpet and all looked OK.

If you've ever colored your hair and spilled the goop on anything, you know where this is going.

I finish my hair, put it up in a clip and turn to see a number of blotches of hair color on the bathroom carpet. (I know, I know, it's really ridiculous that someone put carpet in the bathroom, but someone did.) See, it takes a good 5-10 minutes for the coloring solution to appear as anything but clear. So I'm pissed off that I've ruined the carpet, even though I hate the carpet and we plan to replace it...someday. I'm on my hands and knees with an old rag trying to clean up the mess, when Ruby walks in.

And I see this:

My apologies for not even getting the greatest picture of the mess.

As you can see, Ruby is speckled with L'Oreal 5 above her eyes, on her legs, and down both sides of her body. I've watched a lot of CSI, so I can recognize a spatter pattern when I see one. As best I can tell, she was directly behind me with her feet neatly in front of her and her face turned up to watch me when the shower came her way. I can even match spatter patterns on her sides to identical residue on the carpet (or vice-versa) like you would map the constellations. It had also splattered the black on her nose, turning it a rusty red color.

Of course, by the time I see it and have assessed the damage, the hair dye is completely dry. Set in. Permanent. On the dog AND the carpet.

To make matters worse, the hair color took on the dog and the carpet, but not so much on me. One emergency visit to Colorific and $109 later the next day, and all is well. But for about 12 hours there, it was hat-city for me and humiliation for my dog.

When I picked her up from daycamp the next week, the girls at the front counter said 'we love the spots' and said they had decided a young child with a Sharpie must have gotten to Ruby over the weekend. I fessed up. Just me and some hair color. Nobody else to blame. :)

As I sit here tonight, nearly two weeks and a bath later, Ruby's spots are just as bright. I honestly don't know if they will ever come out. I've thought about mixing up the highlighter kit to see if we can at least soften them but there's not way she'd ever sit still. And then we would probably just need new carpet in other rooms too.

On the flip side, my hair looks great. For only $139. Oy.

A year old...REALLY?

As she sits here next to me, legs folded under her like a lawnchair in her post doggie daycamp state of exhaustion, I can't believe that Ruby is almost a year old. When I picked her from the litter of 8 at only 5 weeks old last December, it was because I looked down and saw that she had climbed into my lap in precisely the position she lays in right now, while I was distracted by 7 other energetic puppies. So as I've said before, it was more like she picked me.

It is remarkable how such a tiny body could grow...essentially 9 times her bring-home weight of 9lbs 2oz...in under a year. Nobody can lift her to weigh her any longer, so we're just guessing she's around 100 pounds. And at her back, she is officially table height. Her face rests comfortably on the kitchen table at any time.

For all my complaining about her various transgressions, I love this silly dog. Most days she's in trouble more than out of it, but it turns out she CAN be trained. When she looks at me like I'm the greatest human on earth, I know that at least in Ruby's world, I really am. And, on even my worst days, when everybody else on the planet is pissed off at me, I can always count on Ruby to look at me and smile her big, goofy, slobbering smile. She's really my best buddy and as I've recovered from this stupid knee surgery, it's been great having her by my side (or safely on the floor at my feet).

I have to return to work tomorrow, a few hours a day this week and then full time next week. I could lie and say I'm looking forward to it, but, well, that would be a lie. But at least I get to look forward to coming home to a wonderful family who, though sometimes collectively or individually pissed off at me, still support and love me, and to this big droopy-eyed, lovable dog, who will never see me as anything but perfect. That feels pretty good.

Enough of the sloppy stuff...

So I've written about Ruby's constant dismantling of various toys. Every once in awhile I try and patch some of them back together, unless they are too far gone and then they sleep with the fishes. Last week, deep in a Vicodin haze and needing something to do, I pulled out some of the headless, legless and stuffingless toys and started to patch. Then I got creative. Perhaps it was the drugs.

So that's formerly Rasta Monkey, wearing Floppy Squirrel's face as a mask, huddled up with Headless Horsey, now sporting Rasta Monkey's dreads. Together, they are now known as Squirrel Monkey and Rasta Horsey (who was very happy to have his head reattached to his body).

I guess I'm channeling my inner Sid (please get obscure Toy Story reference).

Ruby doesn't seem to care, she plays with them like she always did. I gotta wonder if she has nightmares though. :)

Favorite picture of the week requires a little explanation. That's an episode of America's Funniest Home Videos on TV. Two squirrels stalking a bowl of Halloween candy with one of those motion-activated scary hands that slaps when you get close. Ruby shot off the couch and started barking and leaping at the TV when she saw the raccoons. 

It must be so confusing for her. 'They're here, but I can't GET them!'

Carry on...

Out Of Office

So for once I have a legitimate excuse for not bringing you all a Ruby update. A week ago today I had ACL reconstruction surgery on my left knee. I've spent the better part of the last week in a horizontal position, whacked out on Vicodin, and being somewhat pathetic. To pass the time I've been watching a lot of home improvement television, doing a little sewing, and, well...sleeping off the Vicodin.

The before:                                                                                       The after:

Ruby spent two days at camp last week. That was just a win-win all the way around. She came home with a twisted ankle on Monday, but seemed to be over it by the time she went back on Thursday. She's had a hard time understanding why Mom is very hands-off. No snuggling on the couch as we did the day before surgery:




















For a day or two after surgery we pulled out the hide-a-bed and Ruby was thrilled that there was room for her (on my right side only).


She developed an immediate fear of both my knee brace and my crutches. So while a little fear of her knocking me over still exists, if I have either apparatus around me, it's a bit like a force field. She's getting  a little better with the crutches and just takes a wide path around me all the time.

While I've been recovering, Ruby has been up to a few projects of her own. First, she took on a little sewing project, but she didn't get past the thread.

Then, she decided to work on another fluff project, dismantling one of her beds. I believe that's three down now, officially.

Between that, terrorizing the cat, stalking the squirrels, abusing Sophie, barking incessantly at every noise in the house and running across the neighborhood (because she knows I can't chase her) every time I let her out, she has earned herself another day at camp tomorrow. Again, it's good for everyone.

Favorite pic of the week.  If you can't snuggle with Mom...Dad's a pretty good substitute:

Squirrel!

It is definitely fall, with temps dipping into the 40s making for chilly mornings and evenings, leaves changing, and days getting shorter. The only important thing about fall to Ruby, however, is the bushy-tailed creatures that mock her from every window and every corner of the yard. She stalks them. CONSTANTLY.

Squirrel encounters (or near-misses) this week are too numerous to count. Every time the back door is opened for her, Ruby races out and leaps off the deck at the trees. And leaps. And leaps. Roughly every other time there's a squirrel in the yard so she's rewarded regularly for her attempts. This keeps her going, watching, and waiting. She's learned of several great viewing locations. 

The spot in this picture (standing on the back of the couch) is a favorite, and often a perfect view with a small tree just a few feet from the window that the critters use to get on our roof (and chew through our satellite cable but that's another story). She's can't usually SEE the squirrel unless it moves, and this one was particularly stealthy, just hanging on the tree literally right in front of her nose. We told her it was there and she was on point. But as soon as she turned her head, it scurried up and onto the roof and she never saw it.

Another near miss when Ruby was coming home from camp Thursday and saw the squirrel in the front yard before I did. I thought she was going out the window, but I managed to get the car stopped and the back door open in time for her to chase it up a tree. There is one large tree in the front yard, the kind a squirrel can hide in, but can't get to other trees or roofs from. In other words, he has to come down sometime. Ruby camped out at the base of the tree, watching him for several minutes.

I was very proud of my big protective dog, patrolling the grounds, keeping out the critters. Until she got bored waiting, stood up, pulled a piece of bark off the tree and started eating it. With me, Ruby, AND Sophie all at the base of the tree, but with the more threatening of the three of us occupied with a piece of BARK, the squirrel saw his opening and made a break for it, racing down the tree, across the yard, and under the neighbor's fence to safety. By the time the dogs got their wits about them, there was nothing but a squirrel vapor trail and a little poof of dust under the fence. Our little fury invader proceeded to climb the neighbor's tree and heckle the dogs from above for the next few minutes. Pretty sure Ruby still thinks he's up there.

My favorite Ruby story of the week...she went to camp on Thursday, chased the squirrel (above) and then came in only to find out that the Dad had decided it was bath day. Sophie was already clean, and Ruby fell for the oldest trick in the book ("come get a treat!!!") and immediately had a bath. She managed a few laps around the house, and then was shivering cold. I know, she's a sissy. But it was chilly that evening, and since she ATE her kennel bed, she didn't have a place to keep warm. So I got out her hoodie. It did the trick keeping her warm and keeping the wet dog smell out of the couch. By then the activity of the day had set in. And she was too tired to fight it. I guess sleep trumps humiliation.

After her dinner at 5:30pm.

At 7:00 PM.

At 8:30pm (very little change in an hour and a half):

And at 9:30pm when Sophie was playing with the Dad and Ruby was fed up with the noise (make sure you have the sound turned up):

What a mouth on that girl!

In other news, she is now eating only twice a day, but still 6 cups a day. Occasionally she seems to think I've forgotten to feed her before bed, but she's not waking me up in the middle of the night, so I'm calling it good. And not a single potty accident weeks and weeks now. Also, I finally watched Homeward Bound with her. She digs that movie. I mean, who doesn't?? It's a classic. 

We are still sticklers for the 'no dogs on the bed rule.'  Even if we got rid of the queen-size and moved to a king, there wouldn't be room for her. And the bulldog. AND the cat. So the rule stands, but it doesn't keep her from trying. 

Favorite Ruby Picture Of The Week:

Stay classy, girlfriend.

Welcome Back.

After a week rejuvenating in sunny Jamaica...wait, no, that's not EXACTLY how it went. Thanks to Tropical Storm Nicole, the vacation wasn't relaxing, rejuvenating, or sunny. Mostly wet and stressful. Wet and stressful with friends, but still.

ANYwho...Ruby had to live without her favorite human (me) for a whole week. Once again three of the four kids tag-teamed pet and house care and all went well. I'm told there were a couple of Ruby romps through the neighborhood, and she ate another of her beds. She also spent two bonus days at doggie day camp. I tried to 'talk to her' on the phone from the Atlanta airport (what else is one to do during a 6-hour layover). She was deeply engaged in the conversation until a squirrel bounced through the front yard. That was the end of that.

So after the most stressful vacation in recent history, and then 17 hours of travel to get home to 48 degree weather, my greeting was something like this:



Remarkably, it was the highlight of the week. :) (I apologize for the commercial...YouTube.)

Since returning home, she's gone about her daily business. Chasing one of her two butterflies, and getting to know her new friend, who we call Rasta Monkey. He came directly from the Montego Bay airport and he annoys the living daylights out of her. Which makes it fun for everyone. I can't even get a decent pictures of her with it.




A few other developments...Ruby is officially down to two feedings a day. She hasn't had an accident in the house for over a month now. Well over a month. The Bell, originally hang on the back door for potty alerts is now used for squirrel stalking as well. But hey, as long as she gets hte meaning behind it.

The following chart outlines the remainder of Ruby's 'free time.' Please don't make fun of me. Charts speak to me.



She excels at being annoying right now. Case in point:



I guess we call that the new version of a laptop. Or a lap dog. Or a laptopdog.

And my favorite photo of the week:



All for now...

I LOVE MY DOG

Yesterday was Ruby's 10-month birthday. Fortunately, she seems to have grown out of hyper-energy puppy and into reasonably relaxed dog almost overnight. At the same time, she stopped gobbling her food, and has become somewhat of a grazer instead of an inhaler. She's kind of a whole new dog. I've even started leaving her to roam free in the house while I'm gone for short amounts of time. Today she was out all day, and I was gone a number of hours, but with stops back to drop off groceries and things while I was running errands. Every time she was just laying in her chair, waiting for mom to come home. I like this and hope the trend continues. I'm tired of walking around that giant kennel.

Ruby loves to wake me up on Friday mornings. This is the first thing I see:



Also as she's gotten older, she seems to recognize when certain critters are not worth the trouble to chase, depending on how far from her they are. She does love her some squirrel chasin' though. Monday, I unlocked and opened the back door to let her out without looking first. She saw the squirrel long before he saw her, or I saw him. I've seen this dog jump long distances before, but this was a remarkable feat. She hit the edge of the deck and all I saw was her leaping like a gazelle, five feet off the ground at least, landing a good 12-15 feet in the flowerbed at the back of the yard. Of course the squirrel took immediate refuge in the closest tree and then cackled annoyingly at her. I fear the day she actually catches one. Or maybe I'm looking forward to it. :)

With fall coming fast, there is no shortage of critters to chase, or at least watch. We have filled the peanut bowl at the back door in hopes that our raccoon friends will return. I have a feeling the first time they do, you'll see Kevin and I at Menards the next day buying replacement screen and/or glass. We also had possums, fox, and of course dozens of squirrels last year. So this will be fun.

Ruby had company last weekend, hosting a two-day visit from Cousin Murphy from Wisconsin. Murphy is who gave Ruby her favorite toy in the whole world...Butterfly. He brought her ANOTHER butterfly. And for some strange reason, New Butterfly is just as big a hit. Within an hour, the two dogs had field-dressed New Butterfly and all his inards were falling out. So he was stitched up right away and has a lovely bright blue scar to show for it. Ruby is her happiest when she's on the couch next to me with both her butterflies on her paws. Big silly dog.

I know some dogs watch TV. Some dogs glance at it. Ruby LOVES tv. Anything with cats and dogs. I've started recording things like America's Funniest Animals just because she enjoys it so much. Her favorite segment on this one is that of a white cat jumping at bugs on the window.



She does this every time she watches it. Every. Time. And it never gets old for us.

So today, I splurged and bought her a double pack that includes Homeward Bound I and Homeward Bound II. And I bought the Marmaduke movie. I haven't watched it all yet, but I have to say, a lot of it made me laugh out loud. It's just so Ruby! Particularly when Marmaduke eats a grilled cheese sandwich OFF THE COUNTER.

On the list of things that must piss off dogs more than anything, is dog clothing. And I'm not a fan, never have been. But my regular readers will recall how much trouble I had keeping Ruby warm in the dead of winter last year. The other Dane in the neighborhood wears a race horse blanket when she walks. It isn't a puppy thing, it's a Great Dane thing. They have no fat, so they get cold super fast. So weighing my personal dislike for animal clothing against Ruby's well-being and knowing that winter isn't far away...




That's right, it's a red hoodie. Complete with pockets! Not sure what the pockets are good for. I guess it's just a 'LOOK'. Hey, at least she'll stay warmer. Yep...favorite picture of the week:

Oy...this dog.

Since I received no viable purchase orders for the Rubinator, the fun and games continue.

A couple of weeks back, the boy finally purchased his first vehicle. A 1991 Jeep. Ruby got to take her first ride in it, with Sophie, to the dog park. They love the open-air riding, but it makes me a nervous wreck. One wrong move, and either of them could be tumbling out. So it was a short ride, with my hands on each of their collars the whole way.

There's not very much room for Ruby. Then again, there doesn't seem to be much room for Ruby anywhere these days.


She's been mostly good around the house since the muffin/curtain fiasco of a few weeks ago. No illegal snacking on anything. Only the occasional crazy puppy run that nearly upturns the furniture. Her obsession with Butterfly continues. Tonight, she managed to tear it, playing with The Dad. Luckily, The Dad was able to stitch it up quickly before Ruby had a panic attack. If I could find another Butterfly, I'd buy one or two. Honestly, the dog can't even sleep without it these days. It's her binky.

We headed north on a road trip to WI this past weekend. Ruby enjoyed Grandma Wisniewski's house. Likely her LAST visit, as she wore out her welcome quite quickly.


Yeah. The Wisconsin curtains taste just as good as the Illinois curtains. Apparently.

Ruby refuses to admit that she has nearly outgrown her favorite 'waiting for Mom' chair. I should get her an ottoman so she doesn't drip out of it.



Sorry to be so brief. Things are a little nutty around here this week. With a ruptured ACL, I am not in any condition to walk her. Can't take a chance on her taking me down. So she gets two days at daycamp this week, Kevin walked her Monday, and Allan walked her today (Wednesday). No shortage of exercise for Gigantor. Its a good thing, because it may be quite awhile before I can manage her.

The parting shot...The truck is nice to travel in, but not a lot of room for the dogs.

FOR SALE

GREAT DANE PUPPY

Nine months old. 92 pounds and growing. Not very bright. Mostly potty trained.

Pouts when in trouble.



Eats 6 cups of dog food per day, supplemented with tasty treats like cookies and cinnamon rolls. Raw cinnamon rolls are fine, but recently discovered that freshly baked are preferred. Noxious vapor from dog butt after cinnamon rolls smells nothing like cinnamon, but could possibly be used as paint stripper.

Chew toys need not be provided, as curtains hanging in close proximity to crate suffice.



Hobbies include chasing cats, stalking squirrels, bunnies, toads, cicadas, leaves, sticks, acorns, and running from garden hoses. Also enjoys dancing.



Strong attachment to mother figure causes frequent bouts of depression.



Price negotiable, but unfortunate love current owner has for the sometimes despicable beast means price starts at $1,000,000.