a crumb...

Not dead... just busy... Here's a pic of Dewalt begging for Goldfish...

February may be a better month for blogging.
Also in the mean time check out the new blog in the sidebar (anglobaptist). It's written by a new friend who is getting his Phd in ethnomusicology and liturgical studies.
Ok, be well!

Mid-Yawn.

No good reason... just a funny pic of the dog.  Deal.

Hey You!

Yea you sitting at your computer...

Wouldn't you rather be doing something more dog related?

I'll just sit here panting loudly until you make the right decision...

dog. play. now.

This afternoon I had a Kraft grilled cheese sandwich and a four hour nap.

My head is full of phlegm.

If I had a cat, he would want to sit on my chest and purr until I fell asleep.

However, this dog seems to lack all empathy.

He feels the need to push his ball into my face.  He wants to PLAY... as much fun as napping was, now that time is over and it is play time!  Let's go on a WALK!

meh.

"During" (That which comes between Before and After)

When you look at it from the dog's perspective, my housemate and I spent Labor Day doing terrible mean things... First we cleaned out everything and moved all of our stuff into compact Tetris piles... mounds of hidden dog hair were removed.

Carpets were covered in plastic... the whole house smelled of paint...

At least there were awesome people in the house all weekend... I think DeWalt was pretty happy with that.  The only bad thing was that they were helping Adam and I upturn the entire place...


Adam found a wee bit of mold behind his bed.

So... he replaced the wall...


We had grilled shish-kabobs... food was a temporary relief for the hound... but still, this trial was exhausting.

In addition to the fresh paint, my carpenter/welder/accidental designer housemate made a new gate for the front.  We claimed new yard much like the British Empire... I think we need a flag, but the gate is a good start.

I think it might be a bit much for a little in-law apartment but it's rather fantastic and our land-lady (who did pay for the steel) thinks it is beyond awesome...

We steam cleaned the carpets before moving the furniture back into place... a further insult.

Not to worry, DeWalt has forgiven us and the house is mostly back in order. "After" photos should be taken, but I've been so busy I haven't done it yet... it's all a little mundane but I'll put the after shots up later on anyway.

Brevity/a Sunday

My internet decided to die at home, but the dog and I held it together... we went to the park and got caught in the downpour.  I then drug him into a torture chamber filled with soap and water, followed by an apologetic pig's ear.  The damp morning was soon followed by sewing nasty packing blankets into set covers... sadly it is taking longer than I would hope for... I would of course hope for the magical ability to wiggle my nose and have them assemble themselves, but somehow that is not working. 
Dog is tired of this joint.

Me too.
I'm going home to make myself something warm and garlic-y for this cold rainy Sunday.
Peace out.

brevity/vomit

I don't know what the dog had eaten for Fat Tuesday, but by the morning it was on the living-room carpet. The dog stood hungover, nose to the door, pleading in a silent chant; "open the door... open the door... just open the damn door."


--yea the day got better. The dog got better... I may however use this morning's vomit in my great American novel someday.

Instinct.

 This is what a professional hunter looks like... sleek, tuned, successful...


This is what my dog looks like...

When he started pouncing on the hole like this I had to film it.  I know I've seen documentaries with foxes yipping just like this as well.  He actually takes large chunks of the hole and moves it away with his mouth.  Sometimes he will station himself with his nose in the hole, still as can be waiting for his prey to emerge.

There was no kill today but, shockingly, he has been successful with this technique before.

Ok... now I promise to hold off on the dog posts for a while. Thanks for indulging me.

Palate Cleanse...

I caught the dog sleeping on the futon...

Really I have nothing to say about it but Awwww!

--still working in a dull haze of sewing induced brain frizz.

--Weather update; The weather experts claim that it may snow at sea level (San Francisco/Oakland/Berkeley) on Saturday (it would be the first time since 1976 if you don't count the 3mm that SF got last year for an hour). If such an occurrence happens I expect city wide panic. I doubt we own a single snow plow in Alameda or SF county... all I ask is that the insanity happens when I don't have to go anywhere.

Stay tuned.

The Dog Exploded

... or rather his neck burst. (you might not want to read this if you're squeamish)... Actually below the pictures with "extra-fat-face" were from yesterday, the others were from earlier in the week. Around 6 am, Adam was shaken from sleep by a "Pop"! The exploding absess was loud enough to wake you up... eww. So my roommate who has been working on "blood cannons" for Evil Dead the musical, greeted the day with a spurt of blood to step in.
The dog was SO Happy. I can only imagine the massive relief of pressure... Our friend John is visiting today so he helped pack up the dog to the vet once it opened. Thankfully the dog exploded on a non-emergency day, he just had to wait a couple of hours for the vet to open. I slept through the whole thing; when I arose from the dead I found the TV still running, all the lights on and the apartment vacant.
So now Adam has given a large chunk of cash to the vet and is heading back to work to deal with the theatrical version of projectile blood, DeWalt is chilling at the vet with an antibacterial drip and a relieved disposition, and John and I are hanging out watching "Planet Earth"... oh and I'm working on designing a Shakespeare.
Cheers!

Sick Dog.

Normal DeWalt;

Infected DeWalt;

He looks like a Grouse...

This week I made Dewalt a custom harness when we found that his normal chain collar was probably hurting more than it should...

It began with the licking, the incessant sluurp, sluurp licking… the dog began to drive my roommate and I nuts. Then later Adam’s energetic dog started getting tired after a short jaunt around the block. The dog stopped eating much or wanting to go to work. Then on Friday my friend found a huge lump in Dewalt’s throat.

The lump must have been cutting off his windpipe, making it hard to breathe, and painful to eat kibble. On Monday I took the dog to the vet . I drug him out from under the meager shelter the vet’s chairs provided so that the doctors could examine him and tell us that it’s possible that the lump could be a tumor. Thankfully yesterday the vet called to tell us that the culture they took from the dog’s neck is a bacterial infection. We’ve been feeding him soft food (something he can swallow) which has helped with his mood. Today as I painted clothes to look like they’re covered in mud and blood the dog burrowed into the bushes with a still swollen neck… unaware that he has antibacterials on the way and no neck surgury in his immediate future. I’m also in the middle of tech this week, but really a sick dog is now more stressful than pant alterations and shirt options so I’m glad that both tech and the dog are doing alright now.

Patient must not be allowed to lick wounds.

Poor Dewalt got a foxtail gouged all the way through his foot. We were sure that it was a wire or glass, but it turns out it was just a wicked terrible weed. Now the dog has had a foxtail in every possible orafice except (knock on wood) his eye, and now he has his foot to add to the collection. The vet said that sometimes dogs can get foxtails so far up their noses that they can puncture the brain. What a horrid plant! Dewalt had it removed surgically and now has to wear a cone for the next two weeks. Originally he Hated the cone but now he is determined to not let it get in the way of leading a normal life. The advantage of the cone is that now the neighbor dogs, who usually bully him around, are now scared of him in his big darth vader like helmet.
The foot two days ago;

The foot today;




Ok, I'll do my best to find better things to post about than the dog. I'm just trying to keep these posts positive and other aspects of life are too frustrating to post about right now.... Until the next...

How do you catch spiders on the ceiling?

Lift your Dog to it.

Obviously.