Today started with a romp at the dog park, unfortunately there were no other dogs there, and ended with the absolute best double dog-walk to date. Not sure what was up with them but I wish I could have bottled some of it up for tomorrow and the next day. Diesel even dropped the ball a few times on command. Crazy.
Happy New Year everyone. Thanks again for stopping in.
Yesterday I took Stella with me to pick up our friend Walter. We went from his house to get some coffee and then on to the downtown library. Stella couldn't go in these places and Walter is somewhat disabled so I left them both in the car a couple of times and Walter (when he wasn't spilling coffee in my floorboard) noted that when I went into a place Stella never took her eyes off the door until I came back through it. I asked him if she cried or whined. He said "No, she just stands with her front feet on the console and looks through the windshield."
Normally, if we don't have any passengers, when I return to the car, she and I have what I call a face hug. I reach under her chin and pull her her head to mine from the outside. Her left cheek pressed against my right one (with her still standing on the console) the two of us thank our lucky stars that I made it back and that she was there when I did. As soon as I let go, I tell her to back up and she returns to the back seat planting herself next to a window. On rare occasions we manage to charm some nice person who happens to witness this little ritual from a nearby car proving yet again that warm fuzzy dog love is in fact, contagious.
Dog park update: I mentioned at the end of January that Stella had a bad day at the dog park, a bad day in that she was a bully to the other dogs for the first time since her puppyhood. We returned a day later and she did great. This past Tuesday we tried again and Stella ran all the big dogs and their owners out of the park with her loud vicious growling and bullying behavior. There was no biting but it was so pushy and mean, you wouldn't know she was trying to play; even the dogs were intimidated. Once the big dogs were gone and she was left with the little ones, she was happy as a clam. My friend Christine calls it wanting to be the "head mare" but according to the literature, one doesn't get to be the head mare via tyranny in fact, quite the opposite, so darling Stella has a ways to go. I tried taking her back yesterday (different park) and the same thing happened only this time the owners were a little more forgiving. I disciplined her by putting her on the leash and making her sit but I'm not sure she got the message until I actually caught her by the scruff of the neck once as she was tearing by me. She promptly fell down on her back and showed me the goods. I probably wouldn't have chosen the alpha roll myself but she was so busy being a menace and since she did it herself, I decided it was better than nothing. I definitely had her attention. So we had a quiet little chat right there in the dirt. All the other dogs (the ones she'd been roughing up) came by and smelled her up as well and once I let her up and brushed her off, she was a more polite version of herself. As of today, we're ramping up our exercise program and looking for big brave dogs to hang out with who will not put up with her nonsense. If anyone has any other suggestions or stories about your own dominant/ trouble-making/ bully dog I'd love to hear them. I'm not sure I'd use the word aggressive yet but she's definitely running the offense (despite the innocent pinup girl pose shown above).
"Just so I understand Stella, you can eat horse manure -
but you're grossed out by the thought of stepping in your own pee?"
I hate to say this but Miss Sweetness and Light, was a real bully the day before yesterday at the dog park. I'm not sure why unless it was the abundance of big dogs or maybe that she hasn't had the same level of exercise since the weather's been so bad lately. There were probably fifteen or twenty dogs there and one puppy. All of them were big romping stomping dogs too. I say she was a bully but really the thing is, she's taken to growling when she plays with other dogs. Not every dog responds well to it and their people certainly don't. Most of the dogs just went the other direction and didn't pay her much mind but a couple of them held their ground. Fortunately, she did find one dog Layla, I think her name was, who agreed to wrestle with her full out until both of them were exhausted. Then of course Stella went off to challenge all the others, to steal their toys, pee on their frisbees before they could retrieve them, square off with their children and generally cause an uproar. I finally just put the leash on her and we left. She came home and collapsed in her chair for a couple of hours and (just to drive home a point) I got her up and made her walk about two miles at the ball park. After that, she was a little more laid back.
Last Saturday was National Pit Bull Awareness Day and as I mentioned earlier in the week, Stella and I followed our noses across town to the festivities. I admit that I kind of dropped the ball on some of it photographically, but we were busy celebrating & making new friends. We missed some good shots, I'm sure of it.
We started the morning off with a long walk and a trip to the dog park. I've mentioned before that Pit bulls (or any dogs that resemble a Pit bulls) are banned from the city's dog parks in Nashville. There's a sign on the gate with the rules of the dog park and that's the very first rule. People from other, more civilized cities are pretty much horrified by it but we've always been surrounded by xenophobes in this part of the world so it comes as no real surprise that one (non-fatal) incident would set the stage for everyone else. It'll take a younger, smarter generation of council members to kill it though, so we wait. The up side however, is that the people who passed the ordinance generally aren't the same people that go to the dog park so for the most part, people overlook it. Yes, we've made a couple of people nervous but more often (in my limited experience anyway) they're charmed by the Pit bulls who do show up. Sometimes, as in our case, they aren't even sure they're Pit bulls until someone asks. Bunch of outlaws.
The problem with making such rules is that the dogs they're trying to keep out, the aggressive, unruly, apt to eat a Pomeranian-type dogs aren't on their way to the dog park any time soon. The dogs they're trying to keep out are unfortunately chained to a tree somewhere. They're sitting on a wet cardboard box wishing they were at the dog park or anywhere else for that matter. They're busy shredding a plastic two-liter bottle their owner just lobbed in their direction for six seconds of personal entertainment; right before they go back in the house for that next PS2 round of Grand Theft Auto. Don't get me wrong, there are some drawbacks to the dog park culture and occasionally, those dogs do show up, they generally don't last very long - but just like people, they come in all shapes and sizes. But I digress.
The event on Saturday was fun despite the fact that we missed the parade. Again, I got distracted for six seconds and everyone left without us which was too bad since that's the photo I was really hoping for. There was some great art to look at and a ton of wonderful dogs (only one clueless owner it seemed, in the whole bunch). We'll probably go back next year. Maybe they'll have it right outside the dog park :)
This beautiful creature (below) was in fact, spotted at the dog park. He's a Basset Hound-Dalmatian mix. There was also a Pit bull - Dalmatian, a great match for Stella, but I didn't get a good shot of him.
And here are a few from the Pit bull Awareness Day celebration.
Finally, here's a video (it wasn't from the Nashville event although there were some folks with video cameras there - I'll keep looking)
Hey all, we made it back to Nashville safe and sound. Obviously I'm little behind posting but it came down to a couple of choices: walk on the beach or blog. Crab cakes or blog. Local flavor, homegrown beer, dog beach - or blog. I made an executive decision to live first and blog later so here we are.
In Baltimore, we stayed in a perfectly wonderful hotel (Hotel Monaco) on Charles St. It was smack in the middle of downtown and when morning came there, I got dressed as usual but instead of starting the coffee and casually walking out in the yard with Stella and the cat, we had to get on an elevator, ride ten floors down, speak to the bellmen, step out into the morning rush hour traffic and beat feet up to Liberty Dog Run, two and a half blocks away. I wasn't familiar with the whole idea of a dog run exactly. I was fascinated by the fact that there was a strip of fenced in grass carved into the middle of four busy streets in which neighborhood and visiting dogs could relieve themselves. Stella was pretty suspicious about the whole thing. She tiptoed around most of the time, overwhelmed by the smells and sounds inside and around the fence. We did meet some nice local people there though and each morning (with some encouragement) she did her thing at the dog run instead of on the sidewalk or at the carpeted entryway to the nearby Wyndham Baltimore Hotel. Actually that was a pretty close call a couple of times.
On the subject of coffee, I had hoped to find a coffee shop downtown where both humans and canines could hang out. We didn't find one (that doesn't mean there weren't any) but even if we had, there's the problem of going inside to order. Those traveling alone with a dog have the option of tying the dog to a lamp post or whatever (not an option in our case), or finding some dog loving soul to babysit for a few minutes. We did find one that would let you bring a dog inside to order but only if it was a dog you could carry. Naturally, I gave it some serious consideration but decided take Stella on back to the hotel instead.
View from the gate; loved the architecture in Baltimore.
Stella may have learned a valuable lesson about jumping on people today. After walking a couple of miles we headed for the dog park. Stella started off by introducing herself to a Bull Mastiff (she always goes straight to the biggest dog in the park, woman after my own heart). Things were going great and then she excitedly jumped on the Mastiff's owner. He brushed her off but I saw the curtain fall over the Mastiff's eyes and Stella got nailed, fast and furious, by a dog three times her size. There was some screaming and quite a lot of smack talk after that. The couple with the dog were on their way out so Stella shook it off and despite some minor bleeding from her neck and ear went on to have a pretty good time. Right after this incident I was a little worried about her emotional state and then this beautiful little puppy came galloping over and proceeded to give her a head bath. That was all it took to heal us both.
Me and Stella went to the dog park yesterday for a while. There was only one two-and-a-half year old English Bulldog there. Very fat. Her owner came there to have lunch and to let her "run around for a while". The two of them shared a good many saltine crackers, some cheese and a couple of Smokey Joe beef sticks. The Bulldog paid no attention to Stella. She sat at her owner's feet waiting patiently for handouts. Stella (oddly) sat at my feet (sans leash) and watched them. When the Bulldog waddled away, Stella ventured over to try her hand at the begging. This was a new experience for her as she doesn't ever beg at home (I know, sounds crazy right?) So there she was and I knew the guy was going to give her something without so much as a glance in my direction. After a minute more of reading his book, he reached over, petted her head and handed her a saltine cracker, which - God bless her - she dropped on the ground and left there. It was all I could do not to stand up and cheer. Now, don't get me wrong, I'd have let her have the cracker. Some of you may recall she was brought up on pizza. I was just happy he hadn't offered her that shrink wrapped heart attack they call a beef stick.
There's a new dog that moved into the house that joins our back yard. I don't know it's name yet but it barks a lot. The new owners put up a privacy fence but since their yard is on a hill and my yard is on an opposing hill, the only real view the dog has - is my yard. We don't have a fence but I do some gardening and Stella is usually out there with me, rolling around in the grass, which drives the cooped up neighbor dog insane. Maybe we'll take them a basket of muffins and talk about a play date.
Speaking of insane, last night there was a female fox in our neighborhood who was out trolling for men. These critters make a noise not easily forgotten by humans and other animals. It's an understatement to say that it sounds like someone is murdering puppies and the screaming seems to go on forever. Knowing what it is doesn't make it any easier to hear it either. I'd be surprised if nobody on the street behind me called the cops. When it first started, Stella jumped up out of a deep sleep and started trotting through the house hyperventilating and occasionally crying out into the darkened windows. Before long all the dogs in the neighborhood were barking and it went on for ten or fifteen minutes. I hope she got got lucky so we don't have to go through that again.
A year ago today, Stella was coming home from her first knee surgery. I hope we don't have to go through that again either but I'm looking forward to us finally getting to walk in some decent weather for a change.
Shopping Tip I want to mention a couple of dog-friendly antique shops I found in Nolensville, TN on Friday. The Roost and Three French Hens are side by side and owned by the same pair of women. These ladies did not hesitate for a single second to invite me and the Pit Bull into their shop. I was pretty impressed. Next Saturday is the Buttercup Festival in Nolensville so be sure to stop in and see them if you go. Here's a link to their blog and a map to get you there.
After what seemed like weeks of walking in below freezing temperatures, Stella got to go to the dog park on Friday. We're really not supposed to be there since "pit bull—type" dogs aren't permitted but occasionally if it isn't crowded, we go anyway. There were only a couple of dogs there but she played for a while with a beautiful Great Dane puppy named Clementine.
After that we went to pick up our friend Walter and I dropped her off at Barney's house while Walter and I had lunch at the diner next door. When I got back to Barney's his caseworker was standing outside the door peering through the glass and asking: "Does it bite?" I had to laugh. I think he met Stella once before but had forgotten and since I wasn't around, he didn't make the connection.
Barney's case worker wasn't really afraid, he was just being cautious but it reminded me of the people I've met who automatically assume that all pit bulls bite. The media (of which I am a card-carrying member) has seen to it that there's an unlimited supply of those people and while I might've fallen into that category myself in an earlier incarnation, I realize now how ridiculous it is.
Not so long ago, Stella and I were asked—no actually we were told in no uncertain terms—not to come back into the post office together. We'd gone in there six or eight times already but on this particular day, after three people had already petted her and she was lying at my feet (smiling at everybody), a woman came in the door and had what we here in the south call a hissy-fit. Her and a woman behind the counter made a big scene and Stella was the one who got thrown out. I had to smile and be polite because I knew that whatever I said would automatically transfer to Stella and pit bull owners and pit bulls in general. I don't mind telling you, it was a difficult moment. When you're unable to speak..that's typically when the most fascinating things come to mind. Now we just do our business in the lobby where that woman can't see us and I try to resist the urge to make Stella speak on our way out the door.
It's been a funny week. Funny ha-ha, not funny strange, for the most part. Thanksgiving was a pretty good time. My sister-in-law, despite having a whole house full of guests, let me take Stella to her house on Thursday. Stella needed some kid time and it seemed like the perfect opportunity. There would also be dogs there but their owners made an executive decision to keep them away from her and/or the rest of the crowd. I was sorry about that but it was their decision to make. She had fun with the kids anyway and a few minutes after we finally got home, she collapsed in a way I haven't seen since her younger days.
On Saturday we found a new dog park that's fairly close to the house. Unlike Nashville, they haven't passed an ordinance to ban pit bulls from it yet which is great but it wasn't without challenges. First, there weren't any dogs there and when Stella goes into an empty dog park, she has no idea what to do with herself. Her nose is hyper-engaged which apparently renders her deaf so we always end up leaving. No ball tossing, no running around, it's like we're lost in a foreign country. I decided to take her for a walk and try again later on. When we came back there were two dogs, Midnight, a lab mix and Maizie, a beagle puppy who probably weighed oh, I don't know - five pounds. We stood outside the fence for a couple of minutes and both dogs ran over to greet Stella. They touched noses through the chain link and Stella did the play bow like she always does. We approached the gate and I watched the blood drain right out of the faces of the puppy's owners. I can't say I blamed them, I would've been concerned too. They stood up and walked straight over to us and asked me point blank what kind of dog Stella was. I sucked it up and told them the truth. I didn't want to but I also want people to learn that she's not scary or dangerous or bad. It turned out they were a brave young couple and when Stella headed off with the other (bigger) dog, they decided to stay. Fifteen minutes later, the beautiful and, as we were about to learn talented, Maizie was ready for her turn. She ran up and body checked Stella much the same way Stella does to the biggest dog in the dog park.
Never one to turn down a romp, she got up and launched off after the puppy. Cue the cartoon chase music. The next few minutes were hysterical. The five pound puppy out ran the pit bull. Turns out, she had moves. She'd dive under a bench and do a one-eighty, lie down flat and look at Stella, then take off running again. Stella loved it. L-O-V-E-D it and all four of us adults, paralyzed at first, were charmed right out of our brains. It was magical. It was like five hundred dollars worth of mood elevating pharmaceuticals, crammed into six minutes.
The photos below are from a visit to a different dog park. Stella had fun that day too and even managed to briefly engage a Husky (which hardly ever happens, they don't usually have time for her nonsense).
