I returned to work this morning after two weeks of working from home. Lulu was not happy as you can see from the cold shoulder she gave me this morning.

Day...

I lost Shadow when she was only 8 years old. She was my first dog, really my dog. Not the family dog, she was mine and mine alone.


One summer the family dog, Wicket, part Labrador part something tall and lean and named after the popular Star Wars series, found a rabbit’s nest. Before we knew something was wrong, she killed all but two babies. The little ones she did spare were so tiny, only hours old. Their little ears were closed buds and their eyes were shut. My sister, Heather, and I were not going to let those babes die. So we each took one, fed them kitten formula with eye droppers, massaged their bellies to make them defecate and basically slaved 24 hours a day to ensure those little guys survived. But, this isn’t a story about rabbits.

Regardless, those two little bunnies thrived. They grew into fighting, thrashing, scared to death, I will fight to the end, I am wild, machines. And so, my dad confronted my sympathetic mother, my mother who championed my sister and me, who paid for nourishment for the little guys, and he said, “They have to go. I don’t care if you get her a dog (meaning me) but they have to go.” And so Mom arrived at my bedroom door and told me it was time. They were wild! My consolation prize would be my own dog. And so we found her in the paper several weeks after the teary-eyed release of the kicking, scratching, ready-to-go rabbits. That little black Lab was and always will be, my Shadow.

Lulu: it means crazy

Day 93

It's been a lazy weekend. With instructions to rest and keep my foot propped up, I've been stranded on the sofa with the kids, catching up on work. Bill seems to have taken the liberty to follow suit; he's been napping on the sofa or escaping to the garage to do "man stuff". But he did get around to bathing Lu and Gus yesterday. It was funny, he snatched up Lu and brought her into the bathroom, shutting the door behind them. Gus immediately followed, taking position at the bathroom door and grunting periodically to show his frustration in not being able to rescue his friend. Interesting how he fails to realize his turn will be next. Bill bathed Lu on the bath bench that was placed in the shower for me so I can sit with my bandaged leg dangling over the side. He said the bench worked out well. Lu sat on it while he was scrubbing her and she stood up when he was ready to rinse her off. Gus being quite a bit bigger than Lu didn't fit as nicely and had trouble keeping all four feet on the bench. Regardless, they are both clean and nicely scented, at least for now.

Day 91

Lulu and Gus are loving this working at home thing. While it's not so easy for me because they want to be near me no matter what I'm doing, we're finding interesting ways to balance a laptop with lapdogs. In the first picture, notice Lulu underneath the laptop as I'm trying to work. In fact, she's lying under the laptop now as I type. In the second picture, Gus is lying just behind the laptop. Lulu is sitting on top of him with one paw balanced on my lap desk. Good stuff.

Day 87

Surgery Day. This time, it's not Lu going under the knife; it's my turn. I'm about to have my third ankle procedure in 18 years. This one is relatively simple. The good doctor, Dr. Lowel Weil, will removing an implant he placed in my ankle to correct serve pronation last time around. He'll also clean up scare tissues and adhesions and perform Sonic Shockwave Therapy to my Achilles. I'm hoping for good results so I can begin to feel better and resume normal activities. Until then, Lu and I will be gimping around together. 

Day 84

So Gus has been asking me to devote another post to how charming he can be. Anyway, after a long day of work, I came home and decided to unwind with yoga. Normally, I practice in the office with the door shut so I can have peace and privacy; tonight, I decided to keep the door ajar for airflow. Just as I was beginning the session on the floor, Gus entered the room. Imagine me, lying on my back, getting ready to "fire up my core." He comes over and sniffs my face. Then ever so gently, Gus rests his chin on my cheek and just leaves it there. Why? I have no clue. A minute goes by, and he's still resting his chin on my cheek and I'm giggling and missing my clues from the instructor on Exercise TV. He really is something, what a goof.

Day 83

Day 80

Bill and I are big into food so it would stand to reason our French dogs would follow suit. This evening we're preparing gnocchi with extra virgin olive oil roasted chou-fleur de vert (French for green cauliflower) tossed with an exceptional quality prosciutto and fourteen-year-aged parmesan reggiano. Served with a little crust of French bread, we're in heaven.

Lulu and Gus do not get indulgences such as this. We keep it simple. They are allowed raw fruits and vegetable and herbs. Once in a while, they're spoiled with protein such as roasted chicken or pork maybe a little scrap of beef. But they appreciate fruit and vegetables more than any other dogs I've know. Here's a list of favorite foods.

Cilantro

Arugula

Melon

Pineapple

Parsley

Basil (Gus isn't so much a fan)

Mango

Spinach

Green Onions

Leafy greens

Chocolate (they aren't allowed to eat it but it's funny that they know they like it)

POPCORN (absolute favorite)

I'm sure I'm missing something they love but this is a start. So if you want to bring them something they really like, I suggest cilantro. Gus recently went through a bout of a stomach aliment and the only thing he found interest in was cilantro...not beef and rice, not dog cookies, not parsley, but cilantro.

Day 77

Dearest Kait,

Since you were kind enough to comment and ask, Gus's eye is doing very well, in fact much better than expected. We caught it early enough that it healed much more rapidly than cornea ulcer typically do.

Lu on the other hand isn't so well today. Yesterday, she had a big day meeting our friends' dog and is very stiff and hoping around instead of walking. It's a small setback and I'm sure she'll be fine in a couple of days but we had to tell our friends we couldn't dog sit for them due to Lu's condition. Sorry Jen, Russ and Kai! To be fair, we can't really say for sure it was due to the roughhousing but we can't take the chance that she'll injure herself further. We hope next time Kai needs a sitter, Lu's in a better, more healthy state.

Day 75

Sad and pathetic because mommy's leaving on business. Isn't it funny how they know?

Gus shares Lu sentiment.