Sunday Kipling (And Happy Birthday Angus)

Our little man is 3 today. We are grateful for the blessing God has given us in this companion. Happy Birthday Angus. And rest assured he's getting spoiled today.

We finally finished the shower on Friday. First shower was yesterday and it was sublime. I need to finish the trim and hang some girly towel stuff for Lu but for all intents and purposes it's done. Pics later this week.

I think I've settled on a handgun. If so I'll be purchasing this week. If that happens look for a write up on what and why.

Lu's garden is sprouting. The carrots are huge, the potatoes, cucumbers, melons, peaches and tomatoes are all coming in very well and we're seeing signs of life in the corn. The strawberries not so much.

Life is good and The Lord is firmly in charge. Rest, recuperate and reflect today and get ready for a brand new week. And if you happen to have someone special to spend the day with, well....
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For Angus. Just Because.

If

If you can keep your head when all about you
Are losing theirs and blaming it on you;
If you can trust yourself when all men doubt you,
But make allowance for their doubting too;
If you can wait and not be tired by waiting,
Or being lied about, don't deal in lies,
Or being hated, don't give way to hating,
And yet don't look too good, nor talk too wise:

If you can dream -- and not make dreams your master;
If you can think -- and not make thoughts your aim;
If you can meet with Triumph and Disaster
And treat those two imposters just the same;
If you can bear to hear the truth you've spoken
Twisted by knaves to make a trap for fools,
Or watch the things you gave your life to, broken,
And stoop and build 'em up with worn-out tools;

If you can make one heap of all your winnings
And risk it on one turn of pitch-and-toss,
And lose, and start again at your beginnings
And never breathe a word about your loss;
If you can force your heart and nerve and sinew
To serve your turn long after they are gone,
And so hold on when there is nothing in you
Except the Will which says to them: "Hold on!"

If you can talk with crowds and keep your virtue,
Or walk with kings -- nor lose the common touch,
If neither foes nor loving friends can hurt you,
If all men count with you, but none too much;
If you can fill the unforgiving minute
With sixty seconds' worth of distance run 
Yours is the Earth and everything that's in it,
And -- which is more -- you'll be a Man, my son!

Angus At The Swimming Hole

It's time for some more Angus pictures. These are from his second rehab swim the other day.

"Stop messing with me old man. Put down the camera and let's go swimming!"

Trooper hated swimming. Chrisi loved it but only if there was something to retrieve waiting at the other end. But Angus? He just loves to swim.

He'll head out, swim around for a minute then come back. He scans the pond for a bit...

"What's that!?"  

And head back out. If you look closely you'll see a duck he sighted. He figured it needed some personal attention. Hey, maybe he wants to play amiright? It let him get to within a few feet before taking off in a hurricane of wings, splashing feet and angry quacks.

He ended up chasing him all the way across the pond. He kept looking back at me as if to say "Hey, this is where you shoot that thing ain't it? C'mon pal, give me a little help here." Angus is that tiny black speck you can just see way out there. It a makes my heart sing every time does that.

Angus really enjoys his swimming. We're trying to get him out to the pond every day for a session. It helps a lot. The cold water gives him relief and the act of swimming builds up his muscles and stretches everything out. It also lets his muscles and connective tissue 'remember' their proper paths. It's low impact and excellent exercise, especially when rehabbing. He comes out of the water running and walking better each time.

Time. We're back at that point. All we can do is provide him with the environment he needs and wait for the rehab to take it's course. The results are encouraging and we're praying this is the last time. All we want at this point is for him to be pain free and as close to normal as possible. The antibiotic courses are done so now it's all down to exercise and time. Patience. I am learning some.
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We're Home

Got to Vegas about 1000, which was supposed to be the time for the pick up. We got moved to 1100 so the surgeon could make a final check on his cutest patient. Paid the bill and noted the surgeon didn't charge us for his time. I thought that was fair and reasonable. One could argue that this was simply a continuation of the first repair surgery and we certainly paid the doc enough for that. Still, in this day and age it was gratifying to see him step up that way. My wallet certainly appreciated it.

1100 rolled around and the discharge nurse went over the doctor's instructions. Same one as last time and she recognized us so that went pretty quick. Then they brought Angus out. To say he was happy to see us is a vast understatement. Especially Momma. He went into immediate Whole Body Happy Wiggle mode. He was actually walking very well and we could really see the difference in his leg with the plate gone. It was so good to see him again. We really missed the little stinker.

He pulled us out the door and took a long and well deserved potty break in the gravel beside the truck. We loaded him up in the back seat with Lu and we were off home with prescriptions for antibiotics, inflammation and pain and 3 happy passengers. The trip home was uneventful and pretty easy. He slept most of the way.

Shaved again. I hope this is the last we'll be seeing of his leg skin. If you look real close you'll see that the stitches are....pink. The nurse says it's so they'll stand out against his black skin and fur but I think it's a Gyno conspiracy. Baby Girl thought they were stylish so there's that. 21 stitches total.

After he expressed his happiness at seeing us and being rescued from the Dungeon of Not Home he made sure to punish us. Angus is a sensitive dog. Not to mention badly spoiled. He'll probably hang his head and sad eye us for a few days just to make absolutely sure we understand how badly we disappointed him before he forgives us.

"Is Daddy looking? Does he look miserable and apologetic yet? Good!"

The leg looks straight to my eye and matches the other one pretty well now. The new incision is right over the old one so at least he'll only have one scar. And the surgeon did have to open it up all the way again to get the plate out.

Oh right. The Cone of Shame. We don't make him wear it when he's in direct and constant supervision of either of us but it's always there just in case. And don't think for a second that he doesn't know it. "I'll be good, I promise!"

After a few minutes at home he settled down and seems to have forgiven us. We're just so happy and grateful to have him back safe and whole. As I write this he's up on our bed, snuggled up with Momma and deep in the sleep of the truly content. It's good to be a family again. Welcome home Little Man.

Thank you all again for your well wishes and prayers. They worked. Once again. But this time I'm going to forgo teasing Murphy and tweaking his nose. We've had enough excitement with this one as it is. I'll just say that at this moment things are good and the future seems bright and leave it at that. That dude just has absolutely no sense of humor.

Six

Angus Surgery

Got up at the crack of dawn and headed down to Las Vegas. We arrived there at 0700 local. Checked in and had to watch as the nurse led Angus away. For the second time. The nurse at the desk indicated that we might be able to take him home today and promised to call as soon as Angus went in for the operation.

Went to breakfast as we skipped a meal this morning. No way we were going to eat in front of Angus since he was on a no food order as of midnight last night. We decided to just hang around until we knew. About 0930 the nurse called to let us know he was about to go in. She figured about an hour and a half or so. Lu and I walked around a little and said a prayer.

The surgeon called us back around 1130. The operation went well and he was happy. He got the plate off without too many issues and was able to get all the screws as well (He was initially uncertain about the lateral ones that held the split bone together). We talked for a few minutes and he reassured us that Angus had come through well. He did have to open the leg up the length of the old incision but indicated that shouldn't be an issue. He talked about cleaning it all up and flushing the bone and site of the infection. I specifically asked him about the leg bone and he said it looked fine. I asked about picking Angus up but he wanted to keep him overnight.

Lu and I had discussed and prepared for an overnight stay but we agreed. We both wanted to be home. It seemed right somehow. We'll get up early again tomorrow and go back down to bring our little man home. We said a thank you prayer and hopefully we'll get some sleep tonight. Neither of us got much last night.

Thank you all for your encouragement and prayers. They mean the world to us. I'll do another post tomorrow when we get home and a picture or two. Lu and I are still on pins and needles to get Angus home where we can love and care for him. Today Lu reminded me of something I hadn't thought of. We brought Trooper home in January of 1996. Chrisi came home about a year later. Since that day in January 1996 we have only been without a dog in the house twice. The first time was last year when Angus went down for his initial surgery for the break. The second time is today.

The house seems so lonely and empty without him. I can't wait to see him tomorrow.
Six

Angus Update

Car Guy guessed from my Sunday Kipling post and some of you may have as well. Angus has had a bit of a set back. I've been holding off on this post until I knew more.

That spot is above the area where the plate in his leg is installed. It's a bacterial infection. We've been fighting it with antibiotics since December with mixed results. A few weeks ago we went to the vet who prescribed a new Antibiotic which hasn't done much. Lessened it but didn't knock it out. It would grow with weeping and then subside. Plus, we just weren't getting any answers on what exactly was going on and what we should do about it.

In desperation we went to a different vet for a second opinion. He did an exam and took an X-Ray (something our regular vet didn't do). After looking at it he was of the opinion that 2 of the screws had developed infection in the screw pockets in the bone. He sent the X-Rays off to our surgeon and did a phone consultation with him last Friday. His recommendation (and the request of the surgeon) was a visit back at the surgical facility where the original repair was done. We set the appointment for this morning in Las Vegas.

We met with Angus' surgeon. He'd reviewed the X-Rays and examined his leg. His opinion was that the plate needs to come out. He talked about bacteria forming biotic film (if I understood and got that right) that protects the infection from the full strength of the antibiotics. Bacteria that can develop immunity. He told us that the plate was no longer necessary and that the leg was healed and strong enough to support him without it. His words were to the effect that if he needed that plate for structural support we were all screwed anyway. The purpose of the plate was strength and stability in the healing process and was not necessarily permanent. We could continue to try antibiotics but he held out little hope that such would be efficacious. The plate needed to come out.

This is something we discussed before the original surgery. The idea that the plate may one day have to be removed. It was hoped not but always understood that it was a possibility. We hate to subject Angus to another surgery but Lu and I are now convinced that the only way to permanently resolve his infection issues is to remove that plate so that's where we are.

We have a surgical appointment next Tuesday morning at 7 AM. They'll do the surgery and keep Angus overnight. Lu and I will spend the night down there and bring home sometime on Wednesday. Hopefully. If all goes as planned.

In my heart I know this is the proper course to take for Angus. His leg will never heal properly if he's constantly battling infections. Plus it pains and distresses him. His limp comes out when the infection is at it's worse and he even tripods at times. Occasionally he'll yelp when he pivots or stops hard. Throw in the possibility of him developing an antibiotic immune infection and our choices are limited. We can keep on as we have been or try for a fix. Leaving him in pain and risking his life to an infection we can't fight is clearly unacceptable. The surgeon indicates that this is nothing at all like the original operation. He'll be a little sore and may have a significant incision (depending on how difficult the plate is to remove) but overall it's not a risky procedure. But. Well, we all know that one don't we?

Please keep our little man in your thoughts and well wishes. He's a strong dog and a fighter but this one is beyond what he can directly control. He's come so far and done so well. My fears are controlling me at the moment. I probably won't be around much until next Wednesday.

Thank you all.
Six
Lu
Angus

The Garden

I hate rubbing anyone's nose in something none of us can affect but here in Utah's Dixie Spring has sprung. It was time to see to the garden.

Some of you may remember that last year I built a raised planting bed out of bricks I removed from the Kid's Room remodel for Lu. She tried some late season plantings. She got shoots and some growth but the cold hit us early and everything died or went into hibernation. With the warm weather returning some of her carrots and lettuce seems to have survived. We fertilized the bed and Lu thinks she'll yet get some edibles. I was concerned that the brick bed wouldn't hold but it did, through some pretty bad storms, enormous rains and even quite a bit of freezing temps and snow. Makes me kinda proud.

I decided we needed to improve the garden and expand it a bit this year. Mostly because we have a Black Lab who relishes digging in that dirt next to the wooden fence back there. So a new fence was indicated. I had some old wrought iron fencing laying around so.... The gate is a double swinger just to the left of the raised bed.

This year we're adding some plants. Here's Lu planting the strawberries. Just behind her is the potato area. Red Somethingorothers and Yukon Gold. You can just see some of our peach tree buds on the left. Purty.

I cleaned out all that area and we spread in some cow manure. I still shake my head at that. Someone collects and sells cow poop to people like me. That small tree there is our peach tree. We planted it last Fall. It's budded out and our nursery Gal says we may get fruit this year. Hooray!!

I climbed up on the kids play house for some aerial pictures.

It's not a huge garden but with some careful planning we should do well. Corn and melons (Water and Honeydew) in the large area on the left. Strawberries where Lu is working. Potatoes behind the planter. Carrots, lettuce, cucumbers and probably something I'm forgetting in the bed itself. Oh and tomatoes will be way over on the far left so we can intertwine the vines into the fencing. Add in a few peaches (maybe, I hope) and we're talking some fine vittles.

Of course, someone was feeling left out.

He was already feeling quite put upon for being locked away from his favorite diggy spot and then Daddy goes and climbs up out of reach.

You come down from there right now!!!

So I did. After teasing him. But just a little. I swear.

Strawberries, carrots, lettuce and potatoes are in now. The rest will be planted in April. I need to redo the watering system. I'm taking water out of the back building but the faucet is inside. I need to reroute things so a blowout doesn't soak the game room and gym. Ah, more plumbing. Lovely.

I have to admit this. I'm kinda getting into this gardening foe food thing. I shouldn't be all that surprised though. My grandfather and his forebears back for some time were farmers. Must be a blood thing. I just hope we don't end up with a garden full of dead things. Zombie Carrots I don't need.
Six

Now With More Angus

A little intermission so we can bring you some more Angus pictures. 'Cause nothing drives hits like pics of a cute dog. None of that here so you'll have to settle for Angus. Kidding. I keed.

He's doing very well. He had an abscess on his surgery scar that was giving him trouble but the Vet put him on antibiotics and it finally burst. We treated it and it seems to have stopped hurting.

"Grab the rope. Grab the rope. Ohpleaseohpleaseohplease!"

One of my favorite breakfasts, Lu's pancakes and eggs.

Apparently Angus agrees. "Man that looks good!"

"Look how cute I am. Can I have a bite?"

"No? Awww shucks."

His favorite place in all the world, curled up next to Mama in her chair.

He's become such a Mama's Boy. When she leaves him home he sits by the front door, staring at it and whining softly. In the evening he snivels at her until she sits in her chair so he can cuddle up and sleep. I don't know what I'm going to do when Lu goes out to Florida to pick up the kids in a few months. Probably hire a hooker. Wait, did I say that out loud? I meant I'll comfort him in some other way. By myself. No hookers at all. I swear.

Six

Happy New Year!

Never give up. Never lose the Faith. 2014 will be a great year!

From the Six clan. Happy New Year everybody!!
Six, Lu and Angus

"Man, that was some party last night. Wake me when the Rose Bowl starts will ya?"

Canine Broken Leg Care - Update

Dann gently reminded me that I have been entirely remiss on the Angus updates. This will probably be the next to last post on this topic, providing we experience no unexpected complications. We are right at 5 months from the date of the accident.

The short answer to how he's doing is this:

If you look closely at that second picture you'll see three legs off the ground with the right front leg, the one he broke, firmly on the ground. No pain, no favoring, just joyful running fun.

Angus still at times favors that leg but overall he walks and runs on it without any difficulties. It seems that when we push him, and rehab is all about safely pushing him physically, he gets a bit sore. In reading and researching the issue of broken legs in active dogs it seems apparent to us that one year is the generally accepted time frame for a complete recovery. When the Surgeon released Angus back to full duty what he was in effect telling us was that the leg was healed to the point that serious strength building running, swimming and walking could be done without fear of a re-break. He only limps after a hard exercise session.

What we've done is watch him closely and carefully plan his rehab so we can allow him to push his limits with the least amount of pain possible. What that means is that we intersperse short leash walks and pool swims with free runs, long walks and open water swims. The former keep him loose, limber and toned while the latter allow him to experience the muscle building exercise he must have if he's going to recover completely and get back to one hundred percent.

There is simply no way to rehab from such a badly broken leg without some lingering pain as the wound completes the healing process and the muscles rebuild to their pre-injury state. It's our job to know his limits, allow him to push those limits and watch him for signs that those limits have been reached so we can allow his muscles the rest time they need to rebuild and bring him back the where he was before the accident.

We're now at the point in his rehab where the improvement we're seeing is slower than at the beginning. That's actually a very good thing as it means that he's getting ever closer to full recovery. The closer we get the less daily improvement he'll experience. His right shoulder now feels almost like the other. The leg has regained most of it's muscle mass. We even put the frame back on the bed last Sunday.

We are content with his progress. He runs and plays hard every day and when he's getting that off leash freedom shows zero signs of ever having had a broken leg. It's after the fun is over and the long hike is nearing it's end that he'll show a slight favoring of the leg. We're continuing the massages (and man, does he ever love his leg massage time!) and give him a Rimadyl occasionally when he seems to be in greater discomfort.

When I discussed Angus' long term prognosis with his surgeon he assured me that he'd make a complete recovery, even for a Field Trial Lab. At the time I was a little apprehensive and doubtful. No longer. I am absolutely confident Angus will make a complete recovery. He's already so close right now that I can almost forget that horrible day ever occurred.

Absent some catastrophic happenstance I don't want to even consider we will continue down the path we're currently on. In my mind we have another 7 months before the final result will be known but I no longer stay up late at night worried.

Angus is Angus again and all is right in our little world. That makes me happier than I can adequately convey.

Thank you again for all your prayers, knowledge, experiences and support. We love you all. Now, I'm going to go and play frisbee with my dog and isn't that just the best thing we could have ever hoped for 5 long months ago.

Six

Bug Hunt

1430 hours. It's a dreary outpost on the planet Sixtopolis. We're at the verge of human controlled space and charged with keeping an eye out for humanities enemies. Unfortunately we've hit the mother lode if you will.

We've been invaded by an enemy force. Exoskeletal, large legged, possessed of a huge head and bulbous eyes. They are a vicious and ravenous species who know neither civility nor mercy.

It's no good waiting. Waiting is good for them, bad for us. We needed to take the fight to those damn murderous Orthopteras. I put my best man on it. "Just another Bug Hunt huh boss? I'm on it."

He's young and raw. Just out of the Academy but he's a hardcore killer. If Private Angus couldn't get it done then we were all in deep kimshi. As good as dead. Up the river without a paddle. In serious trouble is the idea I'm trying to get across here."Go get 'em Private." Morale is my job.

He picked up the scent almost immediately. He has a nose for trouble. Sometimes it even finds someone other than himself but that's another tale for another day. Today we're hunting bugs.

And the hunt was on.

The bugs are wily and secretive. They tend to attack in packs, ambushing unwary patrols and slaughtering it down to the last man. Pvt. Angus was on his toes, head on a swivel and ready to rock and roll at all times.

"Aaiiee!! I saw one over there! I think it touched me!"

Suddenly he was off like a shot, taking the fight to the enemy. It was an epic charge worthy of the Light Brigade. Or at least the Chihuahua Brigade. "Come back you fool!" I yelled but to no avail. Poor, brave bastard. Luckily the forces of evil scattered at the approach of his Chattering Teeth of Deadly Death and he was saved from being consumed in a horde of chitinous nibbling.

But we lost them in the dark and heavy fog. I had to settle the big fella down and get him back on track. He's a loose cannon but he's our loose cannon and when you're facing down the Hordes of Hell there's no better man...er, dog to have at your side.

Of course even the hardest charging soldier occasionally needs a break to take care of some urgent business.

In no time at all he was back in business (No pun intended), drawing ever nearer to enemies lines. We all knew that when contact was initiated all hell was going to break loose. Hey, that's just what we do. We're soldiers and Earth's last line of defense. Or maybe first. I sometimes get confused when I've missed my nap. Totally awesome, killer, high speed low drag naps of course. We were ready.

CONTACT!!! The enemy was found and pinned down. Intense, no mercy, all or nothing, Lord of the Rings style Battle was joined.

Combat was fierce but fortunately brief.  The enemy was routed and killed in vast numbers. The field was littered with their hideous corpses, their brown fluids staining the grass. The stink was great. And by great I of course mean pretty darn stinky.

Private Angus was magnificent. He waded into the battle with virtually no thought for his own safety. Probably with no thoughts at all but hey, that's what cannon fodder means. At the end he even managed to capture one of them. I'm pretty sure it was at least a General. Maybe even a Field Marshall. Private Angus handled the interrogation himself.

"Speak you vile, twisted crustacean from another world! Where is your headquarters? Take me to your leader!"

"Won't speak eh? Maybe a little slobber therapy is in order here. If this won't loosen your tongue I have other ways to make you talk! Hehhehheh!"

I went to check on his progress. "Private Angus Report! How goes the interrogation? Getting any good information from our little green friend?"

"He refused to divulge any information Sir. So I had to eat him"

"You ate him?!? Bad Private, no biscuit!"

"Right Boss. I'll be over here having a nap. If you need me just whistle. You do know how to whistle don't you Boss?"

I should have promoted Private Angus to at least Corporal for his bravery in battle but eating the prisoner demanded a demotion to stockboy. I called it a wash and we went inside for dinner.

So the fight is over and an uneasy peace reigns o'er the land. For now. We know they'll be back but we're ready. This battle has been won but the enemy is devious and has the advantage of numbers.

But no worries, Private Angus is on the job.

It's quiet out there. maybe too quiet....

Six

My Life Probably Won't Be Saved By My Dog

I love Angus a lot, I really do. He's a happy dog. It doesn't matter what we're doing he's completely ecstatic to somehow be included. I'd say he loves one activity more than others but I'd be lying, or running for office as it's colloquially known. Walkies, runnies, swimmies, poopies. He loves them all. Of course sometimes runnies and poopies meet and the result is somewhat less than ideal but that's probably best left for another post. Still, nothing ever seems to get him down. If I could harness his tail wag we could power greater Las Vegas for a decade.

But a guard dog he most assuredly isn't. Oh he barks. There's nothing he likes more than a good session of "Hey! Who's that!? What's that? Did I hear something? Will you throw that ball? You will? Oh Joy!?" barking and general mayhem where he throws himself around the room convinced that the Boogerman is right outside the door and if I don't open it so he can run around the yard in a butt tucked frenzy we'll all die in a mucous catastrophe the likes of which the world has never known. The surprised look on his face when he finds the yard empty of any traces of Minions Of Evil always makes me chuckle in a slightly Mad Scientist who has just watched his Hero Nemesis step into his implausible and highly complicated trap kinda way.

But Angus never gets embarrassed or disappointed. He's always absolutely certain that this time the Sultan of Snot will actually be there and then he can save everyone by barking madly and dancing around with a toy in his mouth and trying to get someone to throw it for him. I've always been a little dubious about the efficacy of this plan but then I'm not a Labrador Retriever so what do I know? Angus assures me it will work perfectly so I'm inclined to give him the benefit of the doubt. For now anyway. He's a bit more sanguine on walks though. I've seen him scared senseless by a stationary garbage bag of leaves on the curb that had in no way made any threatening moves against him despite what he claims.

So the other night we were walking our normal route around the block. A walk we've done more than once if you know what I mean and I think you do. Now, Angus tends to get fixated on one thing to the exclusion of everything else. He's a little like a guy at a strip club that way. Not that I'd know anything about that. I just heard is all. Anyway. As we got to this one house there was a small male child playing in the driveway. He had clearly been riding on his toy scooter as it was lying on the sidewalk, kinda sorta in our path. Angus was zoned in on the boy as he generally really likes kids. I think it's because their hands are at his level and they often carry scrumptious snacks that are clearly meant just for him. Hey, a free meal is a free meal and a little kid with an ice cream cone is a gift from The Great Provider. So Angus is watching the boy, almost certainly hoping for a game of 'Feed the cute puppy' to suddenly break out, and he has completely lost sight of the toy scooter on the sidewalk.

Now I must admit here that I saw it and kinda, sorta had a hunch what might happen and probably could have steered Angus around it but where's the fun in that? The comedy potential was clearly very high and I do need blog fodder after all. Don't judge me, Lu saw it too and she was totally silent as well so I'm just going to go ahead and blame everything on her. The scooter was shaped like that gorked tow truck from that cartoon movie, Lethal Weapon, so there's that. Moving along.

 Just as Angus got to the scooter he must have decided that the boy wasn't in fact a Magical Food Faerie after all so he began to turn his head back in the general direction of our walk. Now at this point we were still walking down the sidewalk so Angus had some forward momentum built up. He was moving in that kind of sidling, hopping, crabbing, 'is that candy in his hand?' way known all too well to any Lab owners out there. It's the "you can't get mad at me 'cause I'm still moving forward even though I think that's food/a squirrel/something shiny and I'm pretty sure I need it" walk that ensures your forward progress is as miniscule as your chances of tripping over a furry body is great. Angus was turning his head and must have just caught sight of the scooter out of the corner of his eye. He was suddenly confronted by what was clearly a device and/or minion of Immediate Impending Doom.

Angus jumped approximately nine feet into the air all the while emitting 'barks of agitated surprise' and 'gyrations of great consternation'. He cleared my head by a good three feet on his way in the opposite direction while simultaneously leaving a steaming pile on the ground in the neighborhood of the offensive toy. Stitches 'Crash' Squidboy, the current X-Ray Games concussion champ (douchetastic division) would have been so proud. I know I was. Angus hit the end of the leash at a full gallop, heading back the way we'd come as this was obviously an area free of nefarious implements of canine maimery. I figure he was doing about Mach 3 when he hit the limits of my retractaleash. There then ensued a tug of war twixt man and dog that could best be described as desperate and by desperate I mean hilarious. Angus was pulling one way with all his strength while casting incredulous looks at me as if to say "Flee You Fool!" while I was pulling the other way just as hard while trying to contain a bad case of the hysterical giggles. I know, I am a bad man.

After a minute or two of this I was starting to really question my decision to let this comedy/drama play out to it's totally unforeseen by me I swear conclusion. I even remember thinking "Was this the right, the mature thing to do?" Of course the answer is "I'll take Vexatious Consequences for $100 Alex."

At last we managed to convince Angus that it was indeed nothing more dangerous that a child's riding toy and with much snuffling and not a few accusatory looks we managed to circumnavigate the offending object and continue on our way. But 'The Incident', as it has come to be known here at Casa Six, was far from over. Have you ever seen a dog sulk? I swear, the term Hangdog was invented by Angus and if not he has certainly perfected the craft. He punished me for a good hour. He sat by the couch, close enough that he knew I could see him but far enough away that I couldn't actually reach him, and hung his head. Whenever he thought I wasn't paying enough attention to him he'd let out a small whine followed by a huge sigh. He even turned his head away in a clear snub when I tried to give him a chewy treat by way of assuaging my by now mounting guilt. Snubbed by my dog. I have now clearly plumbed the very depths of social ostracism.

But it all turned out Ok in the end. If there's one thing a Lab can be counted on it's forgiveness. Probably because they have the attention span of an elderly May Fly but I think that's profiling and I'm told that's bad so forget I ever said anything of the sort. Eventually he came over for pets and I even convinced him into a game of Tug O War. By simply picking up his favorite rope because, as I may have mentioned once or twice, Angus is a Lab.

And I have learned a great lesson form all of this. That lesson is...Wait, I had it a second a go. It's...No, that wasn't it. I think it was something about never playing with a sleeping dogs drool or the bark is funnier than the leap or some such. I never was any good at epiphanies. Oh wait, I remember now.

Underdog Angus ain't
and
It's a dang good thing I decided against arming him 'cause if he'd had a gun....

Six

It's Someone's Birthday

Hi! My name is Angus and I'm two years old today. Hurray!!

Mommy and Daddy says we're going on a hike and then swimming and then Ice Cream!!!!! I'll be back later to tell you how my day went.

Angus

Hey, I'm back! We started the day with a nice cake. Mommy and Daddy don't want me eating too much icing so they made it out of canned dog food. Yay!!I love canned dog food, especially when it's shaped like a cake. And everything!

They sang some kind of song but I really think they were just teasing me. Plus I didn't get to blow out the candles! Poop!

Eventually they did let me eat it and it was extra yummy. The melted wax was my absolutest favorite part!

I didn't get a party because my Girl Child wasn't here to plan one. Maybe next year! I did get to go on a nice hike at my favorite place. I haven't been there since my Owie. It was so much fun you guys. Seriously! Daddy says it was two and a half miles, whatever that means. For those of us who understand it was four drinks long. Hurray!!

Then, best of all, OhJoyOhJoyOhJoyOhJoy I got ice cream!!! Double Hurray and Yay!! I even got the big boy cone this year because now I'm a big boy. And everything!

I got to eat it right down to the crunchy part. It was soooo good! I love ice cream you guys. Seriously!

Then we went home for a nice nap on my favorite floor. It's soft and smells like family. It's right under the big whirly thing that makes a cool breeze. I love that thing!

It was the very goodest best day ever. Daddy says we can go swimming later and then we get to have our evening Walkies where I can say hi to my very bestest friends Mister Horses, Mister Goats and Mister Cows. Hurray!!!

Mommy and Daddy says that my birth and coming into their lives was one of the happiest days ever. Well of course! I'm a happy, lovable Labrador retriever. Who wouldn't love me?

I love my life and my family and I hope you all had a day as good as mine though there's no way because did I mention I got ice cream and it was the big boy cone this year?

Hurray!!!

Much love.
Angus