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.