A Sunday In The Park With Pupzilla

b left this morning on a 4-day bike trip with some friends. I took advantage of his absence and did some more spring cleaning/house re-arranging. After all that work I decided to take Pupzilla for a walk in the park. Here it is in pictures:

On the way to the park we noticed this exquisite dragon.

Then we took a brief stop on a stone bridge over a creek.

Before we made it to the park, Pupzilla had to stop and take a refreshing break.

The park has really big wind chimes.

Pupzilla contemplated another creek but didn't go in.

We made time to notice the start of spring.

We took a different way home and saw this sculpture in someone's front yard.

We also saw a cat who wasn't happy to see us.

Back at home we appreciated the taste of spring on our own front lawn.

RBOC: Animal Edition

• The Brute prefers life as an outdoor cat however he is prone to disappearing for days on end and last year he fell off the roof and broke his pelvis. Since then he's been a forced indoor cat.
• He tries to escape frequently, cries at the door and scratches at the window.
• I will not give in.
• We did buy him a harness and a leash.
• Now we tie him to a long leash on a post in the backyard but we need to stay with since he still tries (and has succeeded) to escape.
• We can't leave the harness on him in between his outdoor adventures because he bites at it.
• He struggles a little when we put it on him but then he runs to the back door.
• He is well named.
• We have another cat (let's just call her The Other Cat or TOC) that I never mention.
• TOC is allowed outdoors because she doesn't leave the backyard.
• The Brute HATES TOC.
• He beats her up when she comes in the house.
• She spends most of her time indoors on top of the fridge.
• The Brute is not very good at jumping (or landing for that matter).
• TOC is very small and petite.
• She throws up frequently. We think she's bulimic.
• She's affectionate but will bite you when you pet her.
• Pupzilla and The Brute are close.
• The Brute will often lick Pupzilla. Pupzilla wants to play with The Brute but often ends up stepping on him. As far as we can tell The Brute doesn't seem to mind.
• They both get jealous when the other one gets any human affection.
• Pupzilla has gained some weight and doesn't do well in the heat. Moving to the South has not been good for her.
• Boy and I have been trying to take her on long works everyday. It seems to be working as far as her stamina is concerned but there has been no weight loss.
• The same can be said of me.

Not Really A Walk In the Park

Pupzilla and I were psyched for our Saturday afternoon walk, especially since we missed it last week (due to me being ill). It was a warm but overcast day and Pupzilla was jumping at her leash as we readied to leave the house. Stepping outside I noticed the daffodils were now in bloom and it looked like it would be a lovely afternoon excursion.

However, not more than 20 yards from our home, I noticed two dogs bounding across an empty field with no owners in sight. My heart sank. Now my Pupzilla is a marvelous dog in every sense of the word but she is not dog friendly. She rarely as much as snarls unprovoked but she doesn't take any guff and often normal doggie overtures (you know the butt sniffing kind) are interpreted as guffy provocation. She has been in a number of dog fights (some she starts, some she doesn't--all she finishes) and we now do our best to keep her away from other dogs. The worst is on hikes in the wood. We keep her on leash but not everyone does. I'm always amazed when people let their dogs run up to us and then say "Don't worry s/he's friendly." I have to answer back that Pupzilla isn't and then we get the hard stares.

Today I stopped her, made her sit and told the dogs to get back. I do need to clarify here that these were not bad or scary dogs. Quite the contrary they were young, energetic, friendly and out for a good time. They would be the type of dog I'd gush all over if Pupzilla wasn't there. But she was and she was leashed and they were not. They did not heed my words and came running up, sniffing, inviting play and looking for affection. As soon as the butt sniffing started, Pupzilla growled. As you can imagine things escalated quickly and I was trying to keep her down and them away from her but all to no avail.

My neighbor heard the commotion and came across the street to help. She could only keep one dog off at a time. They seemed to think this was some kind of game. Sure enough the game got ugly and one of them latched onto Pupzilla's ear. I slapped at them with her leash (I do know better than to put my hand anyway near dogs in a fight) and commanded them back. Between the two of use we got them off of Pupzilla and I tried to drag her away. She was flat on the ground at this point and refusing to budge. (Keep in mind she's no lightweight at 60+lbs and both these dogs were bigger than her)

The dogs had collars and my neighbor was trying to see a phone number so she could call the owner. I tried to walk down the street with Pupzilla but the other dog kept coming back to "play" some more. Another neighbor came out and between the two of them they managed to contain the dogs and call the owner. I felt it best to remove Pupzilla from the premises while they waited and we went off on our walk.

Dog fights are ugly. I hate them. I can't imagine why anyone would ever want to see one happen. This one wasn't so bad but there was blood on my shoe and Pupzilla has a gashes on her forehead and next to her ear. Once we were safely away I checked her out to make sure there was no real damage. As much as they upset me, she's always her happy self after a fight. I don't think she knows what the fuss is all about. We took our walk but for most of it I was reliving the fight and feeling bad that (a) I had to contain her so she ended up getting the worst of it and (b) had to smack at two very sweet dogs (I know I didn't hurt them - I was just trying to scare them back).

For the rest of the walk we kept running into other dogs (most on leashes) and I felt like I was on red alert.

Collecting Sniffs

Pupzilla and I just got back from a 2-hr walk through our little city. It must have been a very fruitful walk for the Pupster as she was VERY busy with her sniffing work. I can only imagine that the spring-like weather produced all kinds of fresh samples for her to gather. I think she must have a sophisticated cataloging system to track all the new smells. I wonder about these things as I watch her head turn--"no, no, old, smelled that before, nothing new....wait a minute, let's see what we have here"--and then disregard whatever caught her attention until a really juicy smell comes along.

What she plans to do with all this information, I have no idea. I wonder if she has some overarching research question that drives her or if it is all exploratory work? She occasionally disseminates her own bits of knowledge for other inquiring noses but mostly she seems concerned with data collection.

My day has been less fruitful. Most of it has been spent food shopping, caring for a sick Boy, and walking. I'm nursing a cup of decaf in hopes that some motivation will come along.

Dog Meme

As seen over at Lady Scientist and Wayfarer Scientista:

5 Random Facts from Pupzilla

1. I have two siblings, Boy and The Brute. Boy is my favorite. Sometimes I get jealous when The Brute gets lovins'. We also have a cat but I don't like her very much.
2. I have 9 nipples and once nursed two beanie babies and a slipper.
3. I am currently on a diet and not enjoying it one bit.
4. My favorite spot is on my couch but during thunderstorms I sleep in Mom and Dad's room.
5. My ears are naturally floppy and for some reason this brings great joy to Mom and Dad. They talk about them a lot and sometimes play with them.