Sometimes life gets too busy

To all my loyal readers, sorry I haven't been here in a while. We're in the midst of planning a big bru-ha-ha at my work and it's taking up too much time! The only attention Boris is getting is fed, walked, fed again, walked again.

However there is a light at the end of the tunnel. . .the big event will be over on Friday. Then I can go back to reporting on Boris' life of herding, hangin' with Othello, and taking looooooong naps.

See you soon!

Lesson learned: Sometimes you gotta do whatcha gotta do.

C-ya. Now leave me to my nap.

I left Boris this morning just as you see him in the photo. It's Wednesday, so by this time in the week he's pretty in tune with the routine. He jumped on the bed while I was dressing and didn't leave that spot. He didn't even walk me to the door.

If he were a person, I'd probably be miffed at the lack of attention a family member was giving me at my departure, but he's a dog. He's also a dog that had severe separation anxiety as a puppy. Now I'm relieved that he calmly rests rather than in a panic trying to follow me out the door.

During Boris' first year, I'd leave our apartment every morning with dread as to what I would find when I came home. During his early puppy hood Boris ate three throw pillows, a number of pens, a pencil, a SODA can, a number of shoes, a couple of remotes, a set of coasters, a few books, newspapers, a wicker basket, and chewed through our Persian rug.

I wasn't upset about the things that were destroyed, because, after all, they were just things. I was worried that he'd hurt his internal organs with something he had eaten. Once I had to take him to the emergency vet because he ate so much pillow foam I thought he wouldn't be able to pass it. The vet gave me some kind of laxative to push it out, and he was fine. Soft things, not so bad. But, he had a particular liking for pens, and that's what scared me.

When Boris was around six months old, he'd learn that if he'd take something - usually a pen - I'd chase him to get it back. He being smarter-than-smart, figured out the exact time I was ready to leave, then steal something. He knew that I'd chase him and that would keep me home longer. Once he stole my eye glasses from the night stand. The little thief grabbed them, watched me to make sure he knew he had them, then trotted off. Once I'd catch him, I'd have a terrible time getting the object from him. I'd have to lure him away with a treat to get whatever he had away from him.

All this changed when we learned to use the crate. We discovered this when moving from Brooklyn to Jersey City. The weeks before the move, we had boxes and plastic wrap throughout the apartment ready to be moved. Our dog walker in Brooklyn pointed out that it really wasn't safe for Boris to be wandering around all this; he was now large enough to knock over a box that could lead to a number of boxes toppling down on him. So in the crate he went.

Crating Boris calmed him down tremendously when we weren't there. He was quite happy going into his own space to take a long, undisturbed nap. This worked so well in Brooklyn, we decided to use crating in Jersey City for the first six months we were there. Until he adjusted to the new place, he'd be crated all day with a break when the dog walker came. Then, after about three months in the new place, we'd crate him until after the dog walker came then she'd leave him free to roam the apartment. After about six months, he was adjusted and could roam the apartment while we were gone.

Putting Boris in a crate when he was a puppy seemed so cruel at the time, but as it turns out, leaving him to roam around a large space more more cruel. I'm so thankful that during that time he didn't really hurt himself. I'm even more thankful that he's over his anxiety and can enjoy a good long snooze while Kola and I are away.

Lesson learned: Crate your dogs if you have to - they actually like it!

Distracted by the Olympics

Many apologies to my faithful readers for neglecting my blog, but like the rest of the world I am glued to the Olympics! For the opening ceremonies Kola and I actually scheduled a date to order in Chinese food and watch the entire program!

Being a former competitive swimmer, am in awe of Michael Phelps accomplishments. Plus, he's appears to be a nice guy; he has an English Bulldog, so, what's not to like?

I'm also enjoying the gymnastics - both boys and girls. As much as I enjoy watching, they scare the crap out of me! All their twisting, rotating, jumping, rolling. . .I'm afraid someone is going to get seriously hurt! Remember Keri Schrug? Something like that is bound to go down.

The only sport I don't get is beach volleyball. Who in their right mind would want to jump around under the hot sun, in six inches of sand, tossing a ball back and forth? I get especially uncomfortable when someone falls and their sweaty body gets sand stuck all over them. EWWWW!

Well, the television is calling me because gymnastics is about to begin and Michael is warming up. I do have some Boris news before I sign off - he's been microchiped! A microchip is one of those things that I'm glad to have but hope to never use.

GO WORLD!

Five Days Without Boris

I had a wonderful vacation. I spent quality time with my best friend and her family; caught up with some relatives that I hadn't seen for a while; ate the best pizza in the WORLD; visited the Steelers training camp in my hometown; and, of course, shopped. With all that going on, you'd think I wouldn't have had time to miss Boris.

I didn't miss him, and here's why: his presence never left me. The first two days of the trip were spent "crafting". The reason the trip was initiated was to have a "Martha Stewart" experience and spend two entire days doing a craft of choice. (When my friend told her husband that we were being "Martha Stewart's" he jokingly asked if that included jail time. We hoped not, but didn't guarantee anything.) My craft of choice was putting together a collage from a photo that Holly took of Boris, giving it a "pop art" alteration using Photo Bucket (right, Holly?). It was a lot of fun making the collage and I had Boris with me for two days.

Time spent visiting my relatives was about catching up. I have a very large extended family (there's got to be around 60 of us) so catching up can take some time. I learned I have a cousin getting married next year; a cousin in South Africa doing a pre-med school internship; a cousin touring colleges with her oldest daughter this summer; a cousin having open heart surgery next week; and a cousin that just had a baby. When it came time for me to share what's going on in my life, they were caught up - they've been reading the blog!

I had sent out an email announcing my blog to a number of friends and family members telling them about the blog. However, since I didn't receive any comments from them, I just figured that they were reading my posts occasinally at best. But much to my surprise - and delight - they knew all about my life with Boris! They knew he had diarrhea after road trip to PA, that he has a best buddy named Othello, and that I work for UNICEF and care that many kids don't receive the same standard of medical attention that Boris receives. They also know that Kola works a lot and hopes he takes care of himself.

My vacation to Ligonier was great because it felt so good to get away. It's healthy to do so. But it feels good to be home. As I write this, Boris is sleeping soundly beside me and I'm about to get a second cup of coffee. Oh, life is good.

Note: The posted photo is of the collage I made of Boris. Since I only have my phone to take photos with, I apologize for the quality!

It takes a village. . .

Tomorrow I leave around noon for every one's favorite vacation spot - Ligonier, PA. Well, it's not every one's, but certainly a favorite of mine. I grew up in the neighboring town of Latrobe, PA (Heard of it? Should 'ave. Rolling Rock Beer. . .Mr. Rodgers. . .Arnold Palmer. . .the list goes on) and my best friend from babyhood (yes, we met when we were infants) now lives in Ligonier. So, a couple of times a year we get together; either here in NJ, but mostly in PA. I can't go too long without my favorite pizza.

What does all this have to do with Boris? Well, I can't take him with me. Actually, I don't want to bring him along. He'd be very bored. While we're out running around, he'd have to stay crated and that wouldn't be much fun.

During the time that I'm gone, I planned many things for him so that he won't be lonely. Kola will be home, but is working his usual lawyer hours of all the time. He'll take him out in the morning; then again when he gets home after 11 pm. There's a long time between his coming and going so Kristen (my dog walker) will come around 3:00 to walk and feed him. Around 7:00, Holly and Michael will take him for play dates with Othello to make him nice and tired. Finally, Kola will be home again around 11 to keep him company.

Sounds like he has a great week planned; kind of like going to camp. Although, I still feel bad about leaving him. I'll miss him! I also worry that something dreadful will happen while I'm gone. Like he'll eat one of the remotes or something else. All my worries are unfounded, though. I have plenty of people - a village - looking after him and will keep him healthy and happy. But, still. . .

I'll try to blog while I'm in Ligonier, but the postings will be "Life Without Boris. . ." Sniff.

Caring for Boris and the World

This morning, Boris took his heart worm pill like he does every 17th of the month. Last night, he threw up and I gave him an antacid. On August 9th, he'll have a microchip implanted between his shoulders coded with Kola's and my contact information if, God forbid, he gets lost and ends up in a shelter somewhere. A while back he put on a few pounds and our vet wrote a prescription for him to receive diet dog food that we paid a fortune for.

Boris gets the best health care, plenty of exercise, playtime, and herding training so that he doesn't get bored. I work for the US Fund for UNICEF so every day I juxtapose planning Boris' care along side trying to raise funds for children who, for the most part, don't have the very basic clean water to drink, or food to eat, let alone a school to go to. Sometimes they're sick; sometimes they're very sick. They've lost their homes due to war, natural disasters, or poverty. Some of the children are orphaned, and those who aren't have parents that care deeply for them and try their very best to keep them healthy. It's not unusual to for a mother to walk for days taking her child to a clinic when they hear that a doctor will be available.

I guess what I'm trying to say here, is that Boris gets better care millions of children worldwide. In fact, daily 26,000 children die from preventable and/or curable diseases. My dog is my responsibility, and I see to it that he's taken care of. I have the means. Besides, I love my Boris! I know that the parents of the children that aren't being taken care absolutely would do the same for their children given the means to do so. But, through no fault of their own, they can't. Here's where we come in.

If you can, I would encourage visit UNICEF's website (unicefusa.org) and learn about all the wonderful ways in which this organization is working so that every child has the opportunity for a healthy and happy life. Maybe after viewing the site, you'll be inspired to share your good fortune with those who are opportunity-challenged (how's that for a made up PC label!) and it doesn't have to be with UNICEF; there are plenty of worthy causes that support needy families (and other causes) abroad and here in the US. Boris regularly gives to the ASPCA; well, I give to the ASPCA in honor of Boris.

Okay, now I've cleared my guilt (well, not entirely) for spoiling my dog. From now on I promise to deliver more funny stories about my smarter-than-smart German Shepherd Dog, Boris.

Dog Days

I don't know about the rest of the country, but, man, it's been hot in NJ/NYC. The temps are in the 90s with 90% humidity; it sucks the life out of everyone.

With these hot days, I am concerned about Boris getting overheated. After all, he's in a fur coat. How I solve this problem is to keep the shades down, and the AC and ceiling fan running in the bedroom so he'll have a cool retreat when the rest of the condo is hot. I also leave him ice cubes in his water, but God knows how long those last!

Yesterday was particularly hot. When I left in the morning, he had already retreated to the bedroom. When I came home last night, he didn't greet me at the door; I found him on the bed catching the cool breeze of the AC air that bounces off the ceiling fan. Very Smart Boy.

My dog walker, Kristen, leaves me a note every day detailing her walk with Boris. Yesterday, she also found him on the bed soaking up the coolness. He didn't greet her at the door either. She found him on the bed and snapped the picture that you'll find at the top of the post. She also had this to say: "I have my vision of him on the bed, under the fan with white show poodles in pink bows all around him feeding him grapes, or liver ha ha!" That's my boy.

I took an on-line test once titled, "What celebrity does your dog resemble?" Boris matched George Clooney. I think the test was right.

Lesson learned: On hot days, nothing beats a cool breeze and being waited on.