Dirk the Destroyer!

When I first met Dirk, he was crated. Such a sweet boy! A very strong pup, but incredibly sweet.

Dirk - Black Lab / Pitbull

On walks, he pulls a lot because I'm apparently not going fast enough. And if he sees a squirrel or another dog... whoa, Nelly! But as soon as I say his name, he slows and if I whistle and say "wait", he stops before crossing the street and sometimes he even sits. When we get back from walks, he sits nicely for treats and pets. And when he was crated, he would go into his crate and wait for the second half of his treat. Such a good boy!

Then his parents decided that since he was being so good, they'd leave him out of the crate. After all, the crate was to prevent him from being destructive and he was being so calm in his crate.

The first few visits I had with him once he was out of the crate, he was pretty good. There was the spatula incident... at least, the pieces of chewed and mauled plastic seemed to have once been a spatula. But other than that, pretty darn good.

Until I walked in on this:

At first, I couldn't identify what was all over the floor. Some sort of foam padding, yes. But from what? Furniture? A pillow? Part of his parent's bed? 

Then I saw it. Over there in the corner was the cloth wrapping that had once been the cover for Dirk's bed... He had destroyed his own bed! I, of course, cleaned it up. After that, there one more incident of (somewhat minor compared to his bed) destruction before his family had him back in his crate. Fortunately, he likes his crate!

Dirk looking contrite (I think he wants a cookie)

Fall Haikus

Sometimes I get creative when I leave notes for the pet parents, particularly when it's a dog I walk every day. I'm certain they get bored of, "we had a great walk!" I know I do. So I try to make it fun and sometimes silly by observing the world we're walking in as well as the dogs' reaction to the world.

Haikus inspired by fall and dog walking:

Oh you wind, my friend

Blow those leaves around for me

And I'll catch, you'll see!

Leaves fall on my head

And sniffing is my delight,

Treat time is the BEST!

Walk around the block
Fallen Autumn leaves to sniff
Morning dew is thick

Rocky - Chinese Crested