Lesson: The Shiba Always Wins

   Let's see... When last I recounted the Ballad of the Shiba in the Compost Bin, I had added an extra layer of defense, which I thought to be overkill, but surely effective.

   But for those of you just joining us, a recap: Taylor used to break in to the large plastic bin by removing one of the four doors at the base, and pulling out compost and having a snack. So I constructed a chicken wire fence around it. I should have buried the chicken wire, because he dug under it, as well as tore the wire from the stakes in the back corner, and got right in to eat more garbage.

   "Okay," I thought. "I'll buy extra stakes and pound them through the handle of each of the doors to hold them in place. It didn't work—he still managed to lift them, giving him access to the sweet, sweet garbage. Or, if the mood would strike him, he'd mix things up by removing the lid (HOW?!) and go in top-down.

   That's when I bought the sturdy, wrought-iron fence sections to ensure that once-and-for-all, this beast would be permanently separated from the refuse. (Never mind that the fence cost twice as much as the bin itself!) Surely there was NO WAY he could get around this!

   Well, of course I was wrong. He managed to jump up and break the hinges on the lid, and continued to dine despite the protective fence. I'd find the lid in the corner of the yard, and peels, coffee grounds, paper towels, and the like strewn about.

   "This will be easy to stop—finally, I've won!" I foolishly thought, as I placed a very large, heavy landscaping stone on top of the bin. It is heavy for ME to move, and quite frankly, a pain when I need to fill the bin. (But you saw the word "foolishly" up there, right?)

   Last night I went outside to find the stone five feet from the bin, the lid removed, and the garbage all over the yard again. And a fat, happy-yet-shameful-looking Taylor on the deck.

The bin is much taller and the fence secure—HOW is he still getting in there?!

   Of course the simplest solution would be to get rid of the bin and stop composting. But I like the idea of composting, as it significantly reduces my volume of trash, and in theory, will someday provide rich soil for my flower beds (assuming the contents don't all end up in Taylor's belly). Besides, then I'd be letting the dog win. Who's the boss here, anyway?!
   So this weekend I will be electrifying the iron fence, then digging a deep moat around the bin, and filling it with piranha and crocodiles. Cameras trained on it. A war elephant on guard. Shiba-seeking missiles pointed toward it.
   Yet somehow, deep down, I am sure this will not be the end of this story.  TO BE CONTINUED...

Fun at the Pet Expo

Psst!!! Bring back something fun for me!

   This weekend was the Pet Expo at the The Overland Park International Trade Center. I attended last year with both dogs, but it was SO crowded that Aki didn't enjoy it completely, so this year, she snoozed at home while Tay and I hit the town. Tay is very okay with crowds! But he did look a little bummed to be leaving his buddy at home:

He perked up as soon as he walked into the Trade Center, though! He got to walk on carpeting, try out the elevators, and see tons of other dogs and people, not to mention shop booth after booth of doggy delights, sample treats of all varieties, and ogle a bunch of rescued parrots, whom he wanted to eat.

   His favorite thing at the whole expo? These empty cages. He was just SURE that there must be an animal in ONE of them! He raced back and forth, sniffing and checking them all, even standing on them for a top-down check. His goofy tail-hawk was wagging the whole time.

    The best part of the show—for me—was scoring a huge bag full of different dry & wet cat foods from a few brands, to try with her persnickety highness. Back at home, I piled more foods on the dining room table for Gyp to sample, then we all settled in together on the couch.

Zzzzzzzzzz.......

Training Day

   Today was nice and I felt like my ankle could handle a bit of a workout, so Kelly went out to Happy Tails Dog Park with me to do a little pre-work for Taylor's inaugural agility class. The park was crowded with big, wild dogs (mostly labs), so it was even more of a challenge than it should have been. Despite that, both Tay & Aki took to the equipment, much like their other attempts (first / second). Their favorite is the A-frame: they love to climb!

"This is easy. Got anything harder?'

Tay's in the tunnel...

Now it's Aki's turn...

"All together now!"

"This is FUN!!!"

"Put 'er there, pal!"

   Then things got interesting. A big, CRAZY lab wouldn't leave me alone. He knew I had treats and he kept throwing his whole body on me, practically knocking me down (yeah... ankle surgery... bad idea!). So I decided to fight fire with fire! You want treats? You'll have to WORK for them, buddy! And suddenly I was training three dogs at once.

   The dog's owner was guy about my age (who looked surprisingly like my buddy, Dave D) who barely noticed what was going on. He sat on a park bench over 100 yards away and played with his phone. No wonder that dog is nuts! I'm not a big fan of labs because most of them act like this, but I'm even less of a fan of that type of dog owner.

I Got This

   Slightly excited to select their own treats at Petco. Overwhelmed by the vast selection of bones, ears, rawhides, chews and more. Barely containing themselves. Aki wasn't shy about choosing what she wanted, however.

"I was hoping for a LARGE, but this will do."

"No worries, I can get the plastic off myself.
Just stand back so nobody gets hurt!"

Dog Park Fun with Friends

   Brett met me at Stoll Park tonight, to give my pups a good, long romp before I leave for San Francisco for a few days. He brought his pup, Sam, and his kids, Shane & Jenna. My pups had never met the kids before, but they were pretty much enthralled by all the extra attention.

Shane worked on getting Aki to jump...

And, WOW! What a jump!

Jenna sweet-talked Aki into a high-five:

Shane caught it on camera:

And then Mr. Tay moved in...

Tell me this isn't the happiest dog you've ever seen:

Mobbed for treats:

Run, Shibas, Run!

But watch out for that spiky tree!!! (A honey locust...?)

And watch out for that wild boxer!

And even wilder Wheatie!

   Okay. We all know kids and poodles and Shibas are cute—but ALL of us were upstaged by a lil' man named Porter. He's an 8-week-old Bernese Mountain Dog: ten pounds of adorableness.

He was a little hard to photograph: always moving!

All the dogs were jealous.

Off into the sunset...

And again I have to ask, this is March?! Are we sure? 'Cause it's almost 70 degrees. Where is the proverbial lion?

Post-Op Surprise

   You know that old Twilight Zone episode, "Eye of the Beholder", where the woman gets plastic surgery, only to wake up to find out it was a horrible failure? Now you know how my day went. I had my post-op appointment this morning. It started with the nurse removing my stitches, which was unpleasant and stomach-churning, but not nearly as painful as I feared.
   The rest of the appointment, not so good. The surgeon came in, picked up my foot, and used his thumb to press—hard—into the precise spot where I have had the pain for the last 25 years. And it was so excruciatingly painful that I nearly lept off the table and through the roof. I told him that the location & intensity was EXACTLY the same as before. And it clearly wasn't from the surgery itself... he had cut in from a different angle; the incision was not over this spot.
   His response? "Hmm. That should have worked. I'm not sure why you still have pain... Well, let's see you back in two weeks and see how you are."
   I was dumbfounded. This from the guy who talked me into surgery by telling me he had COMPLETE confidence that this would CERTAINLY clear up the problem and alleviate the pain for good. I sure wish I had recorded our original conversation. He said the pain would be gone. He never said anything like "...but there's always a chance that..." or did anything to prepare me for the possibility that this might not work.
   And for his false confidence, I get to wear a boot for a month, doing none of my usual fun activities and losing all my conditioning. Probably missing the four upcoming races I've signed up for in the next two months, which I've really been looking forward to. I can't go Scuba diving on Saturday or rock climbing on Sunday with my friends. Hell, I can barely walk! All for nothing. I might as well have had him implant a third eye on my forehead. That would have been much more useful and way cooler.

from "Will the Real Martian Please Stand Up?"

If there is a positive to this... I'm not seeing it.

   But I will say that I work with a great group of people. When Amy heard my news, she did this great drawing for me and presented me with a trio of tarts: lemon, cherry, and chocolate.

Holiday Treats for All!

Best thing about Madel going to Japan? The presents she brings back!!!

The Gyp approves.

Kitchen Dog treats... like little maki sushi, with seaweed!

Plenty of interest...

Tay never met a treat-spewing dog toy he didn't like!

Locked and loaded...

Fire away! When you pull the lever, treats shoot 8-10' away!