I believe i have mentioned Dogie’s affinity for stuffed animals these days. I am pretty sure that as i write this Dogie is licking another layer of fur off Deer, if there is a layer left to lick at this point. Poor Deer.

Ich habe vielleicht Dogies Liebe fuer Stofftiere erwaehnt. Ich bin ziemlich sicher dass, als ich das hier schreibe, er noch eine Pelzschicht seines Stofftiers ableckt. Armes Deer.

And so i decided to make him a fulled toy. A toy where licking might serve to strengthen, and not weaken the structure.

Also entschied ich ein Filztier zu machen. Ein Kuscheltier bei dem das dauernde Lecken die Struktur staerker anstatt schwaecher maeche.

Schoene Gruesse aus der Verruecktheit!

Greetings from Crazyland!

Ist groeeser als es hier aussieht

it’s bigger than it looks here

und fertig!

finished!

Unfortunately, it is a bit big for Dogie and he has expressed little interest in it, so it will probably go to Dogie’s other parents’ new kid.

Leider ist es etwas zu gross fuer Dogie und er hat wenig Interesse darauf, also wird es wahrscheinlich ein Geschenk an das neues Kind seiner anderen Eltern.

Saturday was a good time for a walk to the coffee shop with dogie:

Samstag war ein schoener Tag um mit Dogie zur Kaffeestube spazierenzugehen:

Jetzt geht’s los!


and we’re off!

dogie gefaellt der Schnee auch

dogie likes snow, too

aber Streusalz gefaellt ihm nicht so sehr

but he doesn’t like the ice melter much

Wir warten draussen waehrend SOP unsere Kaffees kauft

waiting outside as SOP fills our coffee order

dogie’s gift came early this year. Gigi is threadbare and its squeaker has stopped working and so he needed a new friend. I found deer at dogtoys.com, where you can search for a toy by the breed of your dog, making sure you find something size-appropriate. I know, i should have bought locally, but since i don’t usually drive to work and with my test and second job over the holidays, i just didn’t make it to any local stores. In any case, dogie’s eyes lit up as i took deer out of the box and deer has now become a firm part of the family (as evidenced by his ‘fur’ which has become severely matted from the constant licking).

Dogies Geschenk kam diesem Jahr etwas frueher als normal. “Gigi” ist etwas fadenscheinig und sein “squeaker” ( das Ding was “pieps” macht wenn Dogie das Stofftier drueckt) ist kaputt geworden also brauchte er einen neuen Freund. Ich habe “Deer” bei dogtoys.com gefunden, wo man Spielzeugen bei Hundesart suchen kann um sicher zu sein, dass das Spielzeug der Groesse des Tiers passend ist. Ich weiss, ich haette etwas bei einem Nachbarschaftsladen kaufen sollen, aber dazu hatte ich wenig Zeit herumzuschauen. Wie dem auch sei, Dogies Augen leuchteten als ich Deer aus der Schachtel gezogen habe. Jetzt ist Deer ein fester Teil der Familie, wie man an seinen von dauerndem Lecken verfilzten Pelz sehen kann.

Bitte, ignorier mich nicht!

deer begging for attention

Dogie wird nicht gefaellig (hauptsaechlich wegen der Camera auf ihm gerichtet)

dogie still not obliging (solely due to the camera pointed at him)

Und bald kriegt er sie auch.

and now some undivided attention

You may have seen the D-O-G here and there, and he has even posted here, but today i’d like to talk a little about the D-O-G.

About 12 years ago, or so i am told, SOP was living in a house with a bunch of friends. One day, up in the Uinta Mountains, he saw a red fox running across the road. He quickly realized it was not a fox, however, but a red heeler puppy. He took the puppy home and he and one of his roommates, SS, became its parents, naming it ‘dogie’ (tons of creative energy in that house, actually).

A couple of years ago, Dogie ruptured a disk in his back. The fragments were removed in surgery, but since that time his back legs have become quite weak. Our walks are now down to about a mile at a time maximum, and Dogie is quite upset about it. He drags his hind feet now and the nails are worn down to the paw, but as i looked at his paws the other night i noticed it has gone beyond the nails, he is now wearing into his feet. So, we are looking at shoes for the D-O-G. Most dog shoes seem to be designed as a way of shaming your friend into oblivion. For instance,i think dogie might hate me for the rest of his days if we ever put him in these or these. These however look like they might give him the coverage he needs without the bulk of these. Expensive, though, so we are hoping to be able to try a pair on him first. He may still hate us for putting them on him, but if he can walk without pain i think it will be worth it.