Tuesday, January 27, 2009

Life and Love - Dog Style

When you are a dog, life must be so much easier. At least a dog that lives with a family that loves them as much as we love Cinnamon.
These dogs – they really do live the high life. Money is never an issue. Cinnamon, you don’t slave your life away at a job that many times seems meaningless. You spend your days lounging in a nice cozy house just waiting for the moment that Mike and I come home. We see you peaking out the windows…watching for the car to pull up (possibly trotting over to your bed and getting snuggled so we think you have been sleeping all day).
You eat when you want, sleep when you want, play when you want, burp when you want (ok, so you can’t always pee when you want, but who likes doing that anyway).
And the best part is people are always there to take care of you. Someone’s always there to pet you and brush your hair. People always smile when they see you…like there can never be bad news when you are involved. If you make a mess (always on accident of course), they get it. It was an accident. A mistake. And they love you anyway.
They always love you.
We always love you Cinnamon. And we know that you love us back.
I see it in your smiles each day; I see it when you role on the floor and play ball with me; I see it when you snuggle up with Mike for a little nap. You love us so much sometimes it shakes your entire body!! And that makes me smile even as I am writing this.
That must be the best part about being a dog….loving others with your entire self – that is what you were made for. It is your job as a dog to love and you do it the best my doggy.
You do it so good that I think that is what you were created for. Yup. You were made to be a furry, bouncy, barky, cuddly, prancey, slobbery mass of love!!
It is a noble task to have love as a profession. A task that really isn’t suited for us humans. We put too many rules and regulations on our affection; monitoring, guarding, and over thinking everything. We are too scared to let go. Oh to love like my dog – love so freely and opening. Loving each and every person that walks through the door.
Cinnamon, you teach me every day what it means to love more freely and purely. Thank you for that. My constant, wonderful, beautiful, favorite dog! Mike and I love you – but even more then that I think we love how you love us!!
-L

Tuesday, January 20, 2009

Dinner Time, Our Favorite Thing


Last night right around dinner time, it was time for dinner.

We made beef stew which looked and smelled very similar to Cinnamon's new wet dog food that she's been getting mixed in with her dry food. So similar in fact when the can was opened and the scent released, Cinnamon came into the kitchen looking up at us making food wondering when she would get it. She never did cause it was our dinner and she had her food in her bowl.
She eventually learned this and went and ate her own food while we went and ate ours.
All together as a family.

I did share some of our brown oaty bread with her, which she enjoyed, along with a nice piece of swiss cheese.

And who doesn't love swiss cheese?
Cinnamon loves swiss cheese.

-M

Thursday, January 15, 2009

Bath Time



Yesterday I stayed home from work cause I wasn't feeling well, and lins got off early enough for us to take Cinnamon down to the PupScrub to give her a bath, as we hadn't gone in over two weeks.
It has been very rainy lately so when she goes outside she walks through puddles and splashes all manner of mud and dirt up onto her legs and underbelly. That and over time her head begins to smell dirty, why that of all places I haven't a clue.

So we take her to the car and she knows exactly which one and where to sit and wait while we unlock the doors and open them, retracting the seat as far back as it can go to give her room. She can put her front paws up but she can't jump to get her back legs up so we have to lift her the rest of the way. Inside I squeeze in next to her and give her as much room as possible. She always puts her head up by the shifter and lays it down when she finds room to, its very cute, and we've taken many a pictures of her like that. After a couple of minutes sitting up she always manages to curl her body around and lay down at my feet in the car, she looks super cramped but she doesn't complain too much.

At the PupScrub she hugs the walls, as she doesn't particularly care for the floors. They can be quite slippery, but this time her feet stayed firmly under her.We were the only ones there that night, which was a first, as usually all five of the tubs are filled with all kinds of dogs hooting and hollering about how they feel at that current moment. None of which I care to hear.

Same situation with the tub as with getting into the car, she can lift her front up but we have to help get her back end in. Easy enough as its not very high up.
We always use the tar medicated shampoo as that is supposed to help with dandruff and itchy sensitive skin; that with the oatmeal conditioner and a tearless face wash.
We usually spend about an hour there wetting her down, washing her slowly and letting the shampoo sit for a couple of minutes, playing with her hair making mohawks and such, rinsing, then doing the same with the conditioner, but the place was close to closing so it only took about a half an hour this time.

The longest part I think is drying her. I sit at the front of the tub on a little stool blocking the opening with a towel so she doesnt try to jump down, as she seems a bit afraid of the hair dryer from time to time. I hold her front and towel dry her and pet her while Lins blow drys her everywhere else, its a bit of a routine we've found ourselves doing.

There is a short little leash that they provide to hinge them to the back of the tub away from the opening where they can be tethered so they dont wander around and jump out when they are wet, we used that for a while but the past couple of times we dont hook her, one of us just holds onto the leash, I think she likes it better that way too. When its time to dry her though I take the leash off completely since I am blocking the front. This time though when her face was being blown Lins didn't turn it down to half power so Cinnamon was more bothered by it than usual. She proceeded to wander back around the tub, knocking over the shampoo and conditioner that was on the ledge before finally coming back to me trying to make a break for it, but I stop her, I always do, just pet her and talk to her, and shes okay then.

When were done we get her two gourmet doggie treats, this time a large donut and a fish cookie. Then we take her down the sidewalk to a little courtyard with trees and she uses the bathroom there like always.

After we got her back in the car we went to Walgreens right down the street to pick up some stuff. She jumped up onto the seat when we went into the store and waited there looking in at the doors presumably the whole time we were inside. We came out and saw her looking at us with a smile on her face so I had Lins take a picture with her camera.

The other picture is from a bath we gave her a while ago, but it shows how little she looks when wet, and that is her with her mohawk down her back too.

-M

Sunday, January 11, 2009

While I work


All day today I have been working on a commissioned piece of art, and I have barely moved from the computer. It gets to be quite boring just sitting here listening to music and drawing nonstop, but when I have a deadline, I have a deadline.

Cinnamon has been coming in and out of the room throughout the whole day, but now that I'm the only one home she has come by me and fallen asleep on her bed.
Lately she has been sleeping with her head falling off of the bed, it's very cute, though it looks to me like it could be quite uncomfortable.

Glad she's here to keep me company though.

-M

Tuesday, January 6, 2009

I like car rides


We have found that Cinnamon is extremely found of car rides. Is that true of most dogs? Maybe it is, but it is sort of foreign to me because I have had mostly cats all my life...and we all know how most cats feel about the car!!

So this truth was solidified in my mind when I took Cinnamon out to potty the other day. I don't know why I did this, but right at our front door I took her leash off to let her roam free. To my surprise she bolted down the path heading for the parking lot....oh dear....what did I do!

I jogged on the path after her, worried that she would run into the street and get hit by a car. But when I rounded the corner and looked out into the lot, she was nowhere to be seen. I know dogs can get fast...but I know my dog and she is not that fast...is she?

My eyes canvased the lot and then spotted a golden cinnamon colored mass next to our car. It was her. Sitting by the passenger side where we always put her in, waiting patiently for her ride!!! What a dog! I could not stop laughing. For one, she just looked up at me with her big eyes - so excited and ready for a car ride. But what really made me laugh was the fact that she knew exactly which car was ours and where she needed to go to get the car ride that she wanted!! It made me lover her that much more.

Every day she surprises me with things like this that prove just how wonderful a dog she is.

Love you always girl.

-L

Sunday, January 4, 2009

First Snow of 2009


This evening around 4pm it started snowing. We had gone down to SouthCenter to celebrate Jordan's birthday, and by the time we left the restaurant to drive home there was at least a half inch covering the ground.
We got home probably a bit after 7pm with around the same ammount accumulated on the ground, Lindsey went inside and got Cinnamon and the video camera while I waited in the car.

A few minutes later I saw Cinnamon wearing her coat and sniffing the bushes bordering the sidewalk to our house with Lindsey following her, camera stuck to her eye watching every little move Cinnamon would make.
We spent about 10 minutes outside walking in the snow over to the side of the condos where there is a large area of grass and trees, I took the leash of Cinnamon's collar and let her walk around as she saw fit.

At first she didn't do much, just kinda stood and yawned by Lindsey taping her, but I went further away and called to her and she trotted down to me and sniffed around.
We tried to wait until she used the bathroom but she either didn't have to or forgot on account of the snow, as it can be quite distracting.
Eventually she got cold, or so I imagined and we started walking back to the house.
She never used the bathroom but she did get covered in snow despite how many times she tried shaking it off.

We brought her inside and dried her off then we went about our nightly habits, a few minutes before I went to shower she had ate some ice cream and when finished didn't feel like giving up the cup, quickly moving her head over it and guarding it if Lindsey or I came close.
Lindsey wanted to get it from her so she didn't swallow any paper bits as she tore it up, so she got her the treat box in the kitchen and as soon as Cinnamon heard it shake she jumped up and I snatched the cup out from under her.

It is still snowing but will probably be turned to rain by midnight, but hopefully we will have more snow days this winter to take her out in, she seems to love it, if not only for the fact that she feels she can pee anywhere.

-M