So I sneezed…big deal.

Yesterday morning my mom woke up to the sound of me sneezing…and sneezing. I went on for about five minutes. Then my mom gave up and took me out for my morning walk. As soon as we got outside, I stopped sneezing.dog and dog owner

Cathy went into her “mom on overdrive” mode. She called our vet and asked for our favorite tech, Malari. (We love all the techs but Malari has helped my mom out a lot so she feels like an old friend. Besides, we like her tattoos.)

Malari assured us, “If she stopped sneezing it’s probably no big deal. Maybe she just got some dust in her nose.”

In our house? Dust? With 2 cats, a dog and a temperamental vacuum cleaner?

“But her nose feels warm!” my mom said.

“Old wives tale. Means nothing.”

Thanks, Malari. The last thing I need is another session of prod-and-poke at the vet. I’d rather go play some games at the Dog Lounge again.

Dog dies while officer writes speeding ticket

Good grief. My mom read me this story and we both felt really sad.

Sure…the guy shouldn’t be speeding, even for an important mission like taking the dog to the animal hospital. But the officer apparently said, “It’s just a dog. You can get another one.”

We’re not especially big on teacup poodles but we were pretty shocked ourselves.

My mom once read a book a long time ago, Travels with Lizbeth. A young homeless man traveled around the US with his dog, Lizbeth. Once a social worker suggested he should give away the dog to get a night at a shelter. “Who’s the crazy person?” the young man wondered.

“You can’t just get another dog,” my mom says. “Gracie, you’re very cute, but you’re not Keesha. Keesha would never chew up her own dog bed.”

Sometimes I ignore my mom and just go to sleep.

We go to a picnic…

My mom Cathy belongs to the Columbia University Alumni Club of Seattle. She attended Barnard College, which is part of Columbia, so she qualifies.

Today the group held an informal picnic in a park called Golden Gardens. And of course I got to go.

“I’m really busy,” my mom said. “But we can count the time toward Gracie’s exercise and hey — it’s gorgeous weather.”

I prefer cold rainy days myself. Naturally everyone made a fuss over me. “So well-behaved,” they said. What did they expect? A rowdy puppy? I was too dog-tired to do anything but follow Cathy around on my leash and try to steal the food. Chicken — my favorite.

Alas, Cathy told everyone firmly, “No food for Gracie.” I didn’t get so much as a crumb.

Now I’ve crashed on the living room rug, dreaming of frigid days in December. But I’m glad we went. My mom needs to get out more.

Our new housemate is fitting in…

Ophelia has begun to fit into our household. She still looks like a watermelon with lots of fur. She’s truly gifted at finding places to hide. She crawls into the cover on Cathy’s bed springs, for heaven’s sake.

But she comes to the living room more often. She sits on top of Cathy’s couch. She runs really fast: Cathy can’t always catch her. We’ll have lots of fun when we have to go to the vet.

The good news is my life continues unchanged.  I eat, sleep and go to the dog park.

Dog Park Party

Every so often my mom says, “I need to get out more.” So on Tuesday we went off to a party…in the Regrade Dog Park, for heaven’s sake.

Cathy’s friends think she needs to get a life. I think Cathy has a terrific life. It’s centered on me and (alas) the cats. What should be different?

I loved the Party. After all, I am a natural social butterfly. I love walking around, collecting admiration,dog park more snacks pats and, best of all, treats! Usually Cathy stops me in mid-bite and she tells everyone, “No treats for Gracie!”

But tonight she got so involved in taking pictures, I got lucky…

dog park party snacking…over and over again.

Dog owner admits to losing fashion battle

My mom Cathy was reading the Wall Street Journal last weekend, when she came across an article: Is Obama too Fit to be President.

Then Betsy Talbot’s Success Blog posted a review of a new book, The Chic Entrepreneur. Subtitle: Put your business in higher heels. Higher heels? Stilettos? No way.business in high hees

And Penelope Trunk (author of The Brazen Careerist) laid down the law in her blog post: When it comes to offices, appearances matter.

Cathy was using some words that an innocent dog like me should never hear. I won’t tell you what she’s wearing as she types away at her copywriting business. And we can’t talk about her decorating skills, either. Some people are nesters. Let’s just say Cathy isn’t.

“Who cares about what people look like?” she said, tossing the paper across the room (not in my direction, thank goodness). “We all need to work at home, where no one can see us. Anyway, what would have happened to us if people judged politicians by looks back in World War II? Roosevelt in a wheel chair. Churchill about 100 pounds overweight. And somehow we won a war.

“And why are we still looking up (literally and metaphorically) to women in stilettos? When women can wear comfy shoes,” she concluded, “we’ll have real power. Let’s liberate our feet.”

Well, mom, let’s take my liberated paws and go for a nice walk. I don’t care what I look like, although every day someone gives me a compliment. “Cute dog.” “Beautiful fur.” “Sweet face.”

But I have to be fair. Cathy doesn’t choose housemates based on looks. I looked pretty awful in my Petfinder.com mug shot. And we just adopted a cat that looks like a basketball with fur.

Sometimes dog owners think too much. It’s my job to keep our eye on the prize: dog parks, treats and chew toys. What else matters?

New housemate is taking over

Here’s what happens on a Sunday evening. We’re all tired. Mom’s been working and she moved her laptop to the living room so we could all be together.

Ophelia, our new housemate, got tired of hanging out in the laundry room. So she moved to the closet. And today shedog and cat together scrambled up on the couch. A classic takeover.

And what am I doing? My mom took me on a long walk today. It was very warm. As you can see, I’m exhausted.

Cathy was so thrilled. Our family is coming together again. Ophelia is fitting in.

Cathy’s got a pile of books to read. She’s always looking for books to recommend to her readers, she says. But I know she’s got a murder mystery tucked away for times when she goes brain dead. Which, in my opinion, happens whenever she spends time with the cats. She isn’t crazy about Ophelia’s name but we can’t think of anything else.

cat sleepingAnd where’s our other little family member? Yep…sound asleep on her chair. I told you we were all exhausted. That’s how Ophelia gets away with it.

Mid-life Dog Blog Meets Agility Dogs

Hey mom, check out this REALLY COOL BLOG by Johann the Dog:

http://blog.johannthedog.com/

Look at all those videos. I especially like the video of all those humans who help that little dog with agility. What fun!

Meanwhile I’m getting in shape, chasing our new housemate. What a scaredy-cat. She’s just a big mop with fangs. But I suspect she’s here to stay.

Overweight cat contest? Ophelia’s a loser.

Good grief. No sooner did we add a 17-lb. kitty to our household than we heard about a real heavyweight: a 44-lb. cat in New Jersey.

That’s much more than what I weigh. And I am a dog.fat cat

“We’re ignoring that story,” my mom said. “Ophelia is still on a diet. If she’ll ever leave her laundry room hideout, we’ll start her kitty aerobics program.”

No wonder Ophelia wants to hide. My mom’s a terror when she gets fixated on an idea.

Then again, she said, the New Jersey cat, “Princess Chunk,” got all kinds of publicity. Chunk sat in Diane Sawyer’s lap, totally calm. (Diane wore a white skirt that won’t show Chunk’s white hair. Chris Cuomo, wearing a dark suit, edged away).

“Imagine what all this publicity could do for my copywriting business,” Cathy said.

Not much.

Get real, mom. Your cats will always be liabilities. I’m the asset around here.

Cats are SO dumb…

Ophelia and Creampuff are watching each other as cautiously as…well, cats. Ophelia doesn’t want to leave her
temporary home in the laundry room.cat hiding She’s cowering in the corner.

Dogs don’t operate like that. We make friends right away.

In the photo below, you can see our neighbor Diana, who gave Cathy a ride home from the vet. Diana is checking out Ophelia. Diana seems to be saying, “I’m glad she’s your cat.”

checking out cat with dogAnd what am I doing?

There I am on the left…

making a case for the dog park. Business as usual.