Taking On Texas: Part 2

Posted on 03/19/2012 by Jen

After spending 4 days in Brownsville, we made the five hour drive up to San Antonio. I had never been to San Antonio but heard it was a great city to explore. And, who ever I heard that from was not lying. San Antonio kept us plenty busy for the two days we were there. One of the best decisions we made was to stay at a hotel that was 8 blocks from the River Walk. We walked everywhere enjoying the perfect weather.

Walking Through The King William Historic District

Steve engaged in his favorite past time: finding survey monuments

The River Walk

Outside The Alamo (It was probably a 4 hour wait to actually go in!)

Japanese Tea Garden

We had a wonderful trip spending time with my parents; I know we were able to relax and enjoy ourselves because we knew Pongo and Reid were safe with Miss Kari and Miss Peg. And while Pongo had a blast at Miss Kari’s, I do think he was relieved to be home with his family as he slept all day Saturday and all day Sunday!

Taking On Texas: Part 1

Posted on 03/13/2012 by Jen

Spring break is here and Steve and I decided to take the plunge: take a trip without the dogs. We have only traveled once before without Pongo, and that time we were able to have a friend stay at the house with all of the pets. This time, Reid went to stay with Miss Peg and Pongo went to stay with Miss Kari. Reid is so easy going that we had no worries about leaving her, plus she’s been to doggie sleepovers before. Pongo, on the other hand has not. We were apprehensive about leaving him with someone but knew he would be in good hands with Miss Kari; she knows his idiosyncrasies. Miss Kari is also graciously stopping in a couple times a day to check in on Puna and give her some lovin’.

The trip down to visit with my parents in Brownsville, Texas was a 20 hour ordeal but we made it and have been enjoying the warm weather and spending time outdoors:

Boca Chica Beach

Golf Tournament: Team Alaska

Steve won the “longest drive” and sports the coveted green jacket.

And, we’ve received lots of updates on how the dogs are doing: Reid, fantastic as always.

Pongo has done really well for being away from Mama, Papa and the safety of his own home. He is behaving himself and being a respectful house guest.

Pongo showing off his obsession with water bottles.

The only issue he’s had was separating from Miss Kari at daycare yesterday. He was rather obnoxious barking at the wall and door of the classroom to get at her. She is getting to experience what cattle dog owners call the Velcro dog. Today at daycare though, he was a very good boy and appears totally smitten with his new girlfriend, Bella.

We are just so thankful and pleased that things are going so well. Tomorrow, we’re off to San Antonio.

Spotter Needed

Posted on 02/27/2012 by Jen

…while I patiently wait for Mama to turn on the treadmill.

Better Late Than Never

Posted on 02/26/2012 by Jen

Way, way back when the grass was still visible, brown but visible, and the air held the smell of impending snow, I entered Pongo into a Halloween photo contest on the AuCaDo Cattle Dog forum I frequent. Unfortunately, the moderator for the photo contests needed to take a hiatus from moderating so the contest was never completed. Forum members voted but the polls were never closed and winners were never announced. Until…yesterday.

Fun Police Pongo lives again!

Round and Round We Go

Posted on 02/13/2012 by Jen

If only our backyard was a little bit bigger…

The only problem though is that Pongo has absolutely no fear, and that often gets him into trouble. I can just see him becoming a projectile ACD trying to jump off the thing! Pet emergency, here we come…again.

Say Cheese!

Posted on 02/05/2012 by Jen

Pongo loves to chew and he’s very good about only chewing appropriate things. He has a toy basket full of Galileo Bones for him to chew at his leisure but his all-time favorite chew object is a raw beef marrow bone.

He gets to indulge in these while Steve and I eat dinner. We are very careful about watching him so he doesn’t break off large pieces or partake in too much of a good thing and end up with an upset tummy. It’s pure ecstasy for him to dive into his raw bone.

As you can tell, Pongo can be a total little brother when it comes to flaunting his bone in front of Reid. Reid does get a bone too but spends a few minutes licking them and then she’s done. I think it hurts her deteriorating teeth to chew on something so hard. We end up putting her bone away when she’s done because Pongo will be greedy and want both bones.

We are always on the look out for chews that aren’t going to cause intestinal blockage (rawhides) or break off into big pieces that will have to be surgically extracted later (some raw bones). I had seen these Himalayan Dog Chews at our local Mill & Feed store but always bypassed them because they were made out of Yak and Cow’s milk.

With ingredients like those, I assumed they were soft and would be devoured within minutes. Then I read a post on the Notes From A Dog Walker blog about these dog chews. The author was raving about them and how long they lasted, even with her most powerful chewer. So, I picked some up the next time I was at Alaska Mill & Feed.

Pongo loves his new cheesy sticks! I love that they break off in small pieces and if he does happen to break off a larger piece, he’s able and pretty good about chewing them down into smaller pieces. The only drawback the Himalayan Dog Chews have is they give Pongo some pretty horrendous gas. Oh well…I guess that’s the price you pay for some peace of mind.

Letting Go

Posted on 01/31/2012 by Jen

Kona, our 9 year old male Siamese has been battling Chronic Renal Failure the past couple of months. We’ve tried to make him as comfortable as possible but came to the realization his condition was not stabilizing. Steve and I had to make a very difficult decision: it was time to let Kona run free at the Rainbow Bridge. I have never had to make life decisions like this; it’s absolutely heart-wrenching and to be honest: it SUCKS!

I decided to write this very difficult blog before we let him go because I knew there was no way I was going to be able to write the tribute Kona deserves, once we came home.

Kona was one very special kitty…

He had pizazz and personality.

He could make you laugh with his inquisitiveness or as he was zipping around the house, with the kitty zoomies.

He was a love bug who would sit on your lap or by you for hours, just enjoying your company.

He would drool all over you as you stroked his velvety fur.

He terrorized his sister…

and loved on Reid like she was his Mama.

He tolerated Pongo and if he had more time, they probably would have become friends.

WE LOVE YOU AND WILL MISS YOU DEARLY, SWEET KONA KITTY!

REST IN PEACE

November 8, 2002 – January 31, 2012

Workin’ Out

Posted on 01/16/2012 by Jen

Exercising outside when it’s 7 below zero is not really my cup of tea. I’ll do it if I have to but I’d prefer not to. Pongo and I went for a 40 minute walk today. And while it was a brisk walk in attempt to stay warm, I don’t really call that a workout. So, I hopped on the treadmill this afternoon. In the past, we’ve tried to get Pongo to walk on the treadmill by himself but in order for him to walk on it, you have to be walking on it with treats. I wasn’t too worried about him getting his exercise today as we walked this morning and played frisbee out in the yard a couple of different times. But when he decided to jump on the treadmill with me, I took advantage.

(I apologize for the poor video quality but walking, while videoing and feeding treats to Pongo was a task in itself!)

Bleeping COLD!

Posted on 01/14/2012 by Jen

Winter in Anchorage is pretty predictable: snow, Chinook winds (warm winds), ice, and then more snow. But, this year has been one weird phenomenon after another. Our average snowfall for Anchorage is 74.5 inches. Right now, we’re sitting at 88.8 inches and still have at least 3 1/2 more months of Winter. We’re having a hard time figuring out where to put all that snow!

That’s a 7 foot fence!

Besides all the snow we’ve had, we’ve also been frigidly cold. I’d much rather deal with the snow than the negative temperatures we’re experiencing. At least you can go out and enjoy the snow, without freezing your rear end off! Today, we took Pongo out for a walk on the trail that runs along Ship Creek. And as much as Pongo hates wearing his cold weather gear, he definitely needed it today.

Right before we started our walk.

We were out less than a minute and quickly realized…Pongo needed his booties.

Pongo sportin’ his fleece booties.

Pongo and Papa trying to stay warm while Mama froze her fingers taking pictures.

(Oh, the sacrifices I make for the blog!)

One happy Cattle Dog!

My two handsome and very frosty guys.

King of The Bed

Posted on 01/04/2012 by Jen

We have never been one to allow our dogs on the furniture, let alone sleep with us. It wasn’t too hard to enforce because Reid was never really a get-up-on-the-couch type of dog, and trying to coax her on the bed causes her to go into convulsions. All this changed when Pongo came along.

At first we were really good about enforcing the “no animals on the furniture” rule but eventually we broke down and allowed him on the couch when he was 8 or 9 months. Then, things just naturally progressed to the occasional sleep in the bed with us but that meant Steve and I didn’t sleep very well because Pongo has to be right in the middle, sprawled out, and touching both of us. We both would wake up shivering, a couple millimeters from the edge and more often than not, a dog head resting on my pillow inches from my face.

We’ve been tossing around the idea of a king bed for a while but have hesitated because of space. Our bedroom is not the conventional bedroom; it’s small, opens out to the living room (I know it sounds weird but it adds “character” to the house), and everyone has to walk through it to get to the living room. So, having a ginormous bed isn’t really conducive to good feng shui.

We decided to take the plunge though this weekend and buy a king bed because having Pongo sleep with us more often than not, outweighed the lack of space, the occasional bruised knee from whacking the bed corner as you walk to the living room, and the tight squeeze Steve now has to take in order to get into bed (I’m strictly speaking for myself here-I know Steve may not feel the same way but he has commented on how he “likes all the room” he has in bed).

Here’s Papa and Pongo “helping” Mama assemble the bed.

The new bamboo king bed assembled.

This is what Steve found when he came to bed…Pongo sound asleep on Papa’s pillow.

(The big lump on the right is me having fallen asleep while reading.)

The Pongo Experience

Life Adventures With A Red Cattle Dog

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