Tug O'War

Few things about this video....

1) You may (or may not) notice that I had to re-arrange my living room. This is because Jack & Luna like to use our couch as a vantage point by which to keep watch on the neighborhood. I decided having the couch in front of the picture window was no longer a good idea if I wanted to keep my couches in useable condition!

2) The chairs on the couches -- yes, they're still there. No, they're not a permanent fixture! It was just because I had gone to the gym and left the dogs loose in the house (normally, they are confined to the office). There are also no throw pillows on the couches, no area rugs, and no plants. This is because Luna has become the Tazmanian devil of puppy chewing. If I remove the temptation, then she stays out of trouble (for the most part).

3) Keep an eye on Jack -- he shows up towards the end of the video. He gives the camera some very funny looks!

Luna's Latest...

It's been far too long since I've updated this blog. January was an extremely busy month at work and February is going to be a busy month in the personal life! On a very positive note, the first week of March, we are headed back to Playa del Carmen! I feel very fortunate to have the opportunity to travel as much as we have been the last few years. I hope to continue to travel many years to come!

My vet (Bolton Veterinary Clinic in Bolton, CT) has graciously agreed to donate numerous medications to Peanut Pet Shelter! I am very excited to have the opportunity to contribute to Peanut's success and the health & well being of the dogs and puppies at the shelter! I am really looking forward to visiting the shelter on this next trip. Will be sure to take lots of pictures!

Here are some updated photos of Luna:

Luna & Bronson:

Luna @ the stream behind our house:

Steve & Luna doing their favorite activity:

Luna is getting too big for her bed!

Jack & Luna Smackdown

She and Jack have become sparring partners. She adores him and he's starting to fall in love with her too.

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!

Happy 2010 to all our friends! 2009 was an awesome year. I had a blast racing in so many 5Ks, a few triathlons, and a cross country series. I was fortunate enough to travel to Playa del Carmen in November and most importantly, bring Luna Maya home!

She has been a very welcome addition to our pack. She is now house-trained (took a little under a month - shortest of any of my dogs...ever!) and she can sit on command. We have resolved the issue with her dinner time craziness and she now sits and stays until she gets the "release" command from us.

She has a favorite chair in the house and can now jump up into it on her own. She used to have to whimper until we put her in it. She is also able to sleep outside her kennel at night. She's made a lot of progress over the last week or so. It's quite amazing.

She also appears to have grown a winter coat and no longer shivers in the cold - even without her jacket. She's also piling on the pounds and is up to about 17 pounds (from 11 when we brought her home on 11/30).

Luna did get in trouble the other day. She broke into the cat food container and helped herself to a large serving! I didn't actually catch her in the act but did notice quite a full belly on her when I came home that day and let her out of her kennel. At first, I was very worried because her belly was so huge! But her behavior was completely normal. She wasn't lethargic and was playing like she normally does. I kept an eye on her and while she did have to go outside much more than normal, she was fine within about 24 hours.

Here are some recent pictures of Ms. Luna. She's a very sweet dog (although, I'm not sure her brothers think so!) and loves to cuddle.

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Tired after a day of running in the woods:

Her favorite big brother:

This is what she looked like in her favorite chair after binging on cat food! Glutton!

I found her sleeping in my CLEAN laundry basket. That is the look of a guilty dog!

New book focuses attention on stray dogs in Puerto Rico and Mexico

New book focuses attention on stray dogs in Puerto Rico and Mexico

This is an older book (2007) but one worth checking out? Anyone know?

Street Dogs in México City

Here's an interesting & short documentary I found today....

Street Dogs: Who Cares? from Felipe González on Vimeo.

The fight to control the dog population and to improve the lives of the street dogs in México sometimes seems so completely overwhelming and endless. I keep thinking what can I do from here? Is it money? Should I be dedicating more time? Should I adopt more dogs (really not an option)? I think about all the dogs at Peanut Pet Shelter every day. I think about what Andy & Jen go through on a daily basis trying to care for those dogs and make a difference. There must be something more I can do...there must be something more WE can do.

Dogs in the U.S. and Canada have an amazing amount of resources. Yes, there are dogs that need help here but there are many, many, many more people & organizations to help them. I tried to volunteer with the Humane Society and was told they don't need anymore volunteers! Even with the shelters like Peanut and the shelter profiled in the video in México City, that would equate to the tiniest of fractions for what we have here.

Peace to all! Here's hoping for solutions in 2010!

Luna's Latest...

Luna has been with us for two full weeks now. Thought I'd share some updates!

Eating - When Luna first came home, she would chow down her food in about two gulps. Now, she has a little game she is playing that I need to correct. She won't eat right away but waits for Bronson and Jack to eat. Then, Bronson will wander over to her bowl and she growls and attacks her food. When he walks away, she sits back down and waits for Jack to do the same. Then, she attacks the food while growling. When he walks away, she stops eating. I will then take the food away for an hour. Then, she gets it back and finishes it. I think what I need to do is either stop feeding her separately and/or take the food away if she doesn't start to eat right away. Any suggestions? Please post comments if you have some!

Chewing - Overall, not bad. HOWEVER, today, she got in trouble for chewing a hole in a BRAND NEW t-shirt that I bought for a Christmas present. I was at the gym and Steve was supposed to be watching her. He said she was alone for just a few minutes. She found the t-shirt in the bag that was on the floor. I was less than thrilled when I came home from the gym to find the hole in the t-shirt. Another thing she loves is mulch. I'm constantly pulling mulch out of her mouth!

House Training - Getting better but today has been the first day where there were no accidents. I haven't let her out of my sight (except when I went to the gym) so that definitely helps. She went twice in her kennel during two different nights. I was surprised by this because she didn't cry, which she does a few times during the night. But, keeping my fingers crossed that this doesn't happen again. She has learned to stop taking her time when she does go out. It's too cold to sniff around. She now goes very quickly when she gets outside!

She went on her longest hike on Saturday. It was an hour long and she was exhausted by the time we got home and she slept like a baby the rest of the day. It was a big hike. Lots of big hills, fallen trees to climb over, a water crossing (Steve carried her), and snow. She did great!

She is getting along pretty well with Bronson. She adores him and tries to get him to play. He's starting to play with her more but he's so big and used to playing rough with Jack so we have to keep him in check. Steve found the two of them asleep together on the rug by the door (Bronson's new bed since Luna ruined his!). Very cute!

Jack really can't stand her. She jumps on him, pulls his tail, and bites his face. Jack tolerates it for only so long. Then, he lets her have it! Poor Jack just wants her to go away. LOL!

I'm attaching some pictures for your viewing pleasure!

Jack barely tolerating Luna on our unmade bed!

On a hike....

Looking pretty!

Bronson running back to us and Luna keeping an eye on him -- she's learned if she doesn't she gets run over! This picture is deceiving as he is about 110 pounds larger than she is! He's coming up a hill and she's at the top.

The pack on the rails to trails path near our house...

Exhausted after a long day...

Jack - happy to be out and on the run!