Impromptu Early Morning Playdate

Ted

It was 6:40 a.m. and dark out when I went to take Mojo outside. He immediately barked at the guy across the street standing on his porch. I walked Mojo in the other direction, when under a street light I saw a very fluffy dog.

"Is that Ted?" I called out.

Ted, the golden doodle, lives in our neighborhood and his mom and I have decided they need to be besties.

The guy with the fluffy dog did a double take our way, and either waved or said "Oh hi, Mojo." It's early. I'm not sure.

When I take Mojo out in the morning, I don't like to talk to other people. I'm sleepy, usually in my pajamas and am so not a morning person. I will make an except for Ted. He's just so darned cute.

Mojo hauls me across the street to Ted and Andy. Had I known I'd be sprinting, I would have put on tennis shoes instead of flimsy flip-flops. I'm sure I look crazy. The dogs circle each other and we try not to be whipped by the tangling leashes. And I try and walk Mojo in the direction of Ted's house so Andy can get to work.

The dogs are going nuts. Ted's trying to jump on Mojo, who's running around like a crazy dog. I let them play/walk for about two minutes and then we head back. Mojo was very happy.

So thanks Ted and Andy! I hope this was a fun way to start the dog's day.

Mojo's arthritis treatment

Mojo has been diagnosed with arthritis for about two years now. The vet called us the other day and said that he's trying out laser therapy for dog arthritis. Did we want to try a session? For free?

For free! Why yes, we did. 

So Matt took Mojo to the vet for the training day on the laser machine. And this is what Mojo looked like in the car on the way to to vet. He loves the vet!

Happy, happy, happy. I love going to the vet.

The laser therapy involves putting a red laser the size of a fat highlighter on Mojo's joints and leaving it there for a few minutes. His blood cells are supposed to absorb the red light and it's supposed to help with circulation.

The vet tech showed me, and it just feels slightly warm.

That's Mojo getting the treatment. We had to wear glasses when we were in the room. I tried to give Mojo a pair, but he said he was fully accessorized. 

Mojo liked the treatment. 

This is what the laser looks like. Just a red light.

And after that first free visit, the therapy isn't as expensive as I feared. So we're going to try a few sessions and see if it helps with Mojo's pain. He still holds his paws gingerly, like he's afraid of getting hurt. Let's hope it helps.

Mojo's eating his fiber

For size comparison, that's my kindle. 

Either we have giant moths or Mojo is going to have a massive stomach ache.

Seriously, the hole in this blanket is bigger than my head. I'm worried what this is going to do to his stomach. He already has a vet appointment Monday (for his arthritis), so we could get medical intervention as needed.

UPDATE: Mojo is just fine. The blanket did come out the other end. Maybe Mojo is part goat?

Bad Behavior

See this happy dog? Such a sweet guy.

Loves people food, walks, his family. Wags his tail all the time.

Today I went home at lunch and he was a total diva when I went to take him out. He refused to go. He just sat down and refused to move.

After about 10 minutes, it started to get pretty annoying. I took him back inside and scarfed my lunch down. He came over to me and licked my knee, saying he was sorry. Or begging for chicken hot dog.

I caved. I told him if he went to the bathroom, I'd give him chicken hotdog. Another 10 or so minutes of diva behavior and finally, he got his chicken hot dog. He did try to take me on a walk—which I didn't have time for.

So my diva dog has resorted to extortion.

------->Bonus points if you can find an evil cat in this photo.

Dog Park Saturday

Thanks to the wonderfully warm weather, we went to the dog park today. It was one of Mojo's friends birthdays. It was a little windy, but not not too bad. We had a very fun time and the dogs were more active than they've ever been. They actually ran around the entire hour instead of laying down for naps after 35 minutes.

Mojo happily running through the woods.

Heather's dog, Cash. He was good at finding balls tossed into the woods.

Mojo, Cash and Billie Holiday with the orange ball in her mouth. We were celebrating Billie's fifth birthday.

Mojo actually playing ball. Usually he just runs around with the other dogs.

Daisy. She zipped around the park and had a blast.

Treats! Phoebe the poodle and Mojo were begging for treats. Cody and Billie Holiday eating theirs. The boys in the background.

Cash, Daisy, Cody and Phoebe playing at the park.

Leaving the park.

Puppy Mojo

I seriously need to archive my photos, so I was trying to get organized this weekend. I found over 1,000 pictures of Mojo including this picture of BABY MOJO.

This is from the day he came home. CUTEST THING EVER.

Picture of a Saturday

This is what Saturdays usually look like at my house. I write. Katie naps while keeping me company. Mojo is bored. Gunnar is off destroying things ;)

Dog Park Sunday

Another Sunday at the dog park....

Mojo's friend Jpeg came and livened up the party.

Jpeg's dad is a photographer and he is not afraid of cameras.

Mojo and Jpeg sharing a stinky ball on a rope toy.

Cody and Jpeg.

Hi Cody. Thanks for bring me the ball.

Mojo cuteness

Leaving for work in the morning is always a little sad. Mojo gives me his best puppy-melt-your-heart-depressed face. So recently, when I have a spare minute or two before I have to leave, I play ball with him. I'll bounce his favorite orange ball, and he'll jump up and catch it. Then run around the coffee table a few times wanting to play keep-away. Repeat.

I don't always have time. This morning I hadn't made my lunch and I couldn't find my shoes. But instead of doggie-depressed face, Mojo was wagging his tail in the spot I usually bounce his ball from. It was too cute, so of course we played for a few minutes. It's a few minutes of fun for both of us.

Sick puppy

If you're a dog and you're feeling pretty bad, maybe like you're going to get sick, where do you throw up?

A) Anywhere on the floor
B) On the tiled bathroom floor
C) You ask frantically to go outside
D) You throw up on the bed, right next to mom's head, refusing to let your people move you off of the bed and then you throw up on the foot of the bed too for good measure.

If you guessed D, that's what happened at 5:30 a.m. Ugh!

Dog park

After a too-long hiatus, we went back to the dog park this morning. We had seven dogs running around, rolling in the grass, chasing balls and....even eating rabbit poop. Much fun was had by all.

Except perhaps a CRAZY yellow jacket. I don't think he had a fun day. 

I looked down and saw this odd barb on my pants. I was hoping it was just an extra large burr from the woods, but on closer inspection it was a yellow and black yellow jacket balled up with it's stinger in the fabric of my pants. (Thank goodness I wasn't wearing shorts!) I generally freaked out and insisted Matt get it off my pants before that stinger found my skin. He thumped it.

That should have been the end of Mr. Jacket. He should have been phased and passed out in the grass for Matt to stomp on. But this just made the bee ANGRY. And he attached himself to my inner thigh. (How's that for having your hubby get a bug off of you in public?!)

Vicious yellow jacket on Matt's shirt.

After he was off of me, he flew angrily around Matt, landing on his back, his shirt, flying everywhere at once. Finally Matt trapped him in the fabric of his shirt, only to smush him later. But not before the yellow jacket stung his shirt. But the bug is dead. Have no idea why he was so angry.

Here are pictures of the dogs playing in the park:

Sniffing the fence

Getting water

Mojo and Billie Holiday.

Smile, Billie.

Add caption

Bille rolling over with the ball,  she chewed to pieces about 30 seconds later.

Billie's sister, Phoebe. She was all smiles at the park.

All smiles.

Mojo practicing his Gene Simmons impression.

Sleeping in

Miracle of miracles, Mojo let me sleep in today.

Usually, he's nudging my hand or licking me if I haven't taken him out by 7:01 a.m. Not this morning, Gunnar decided he LOUDLY needed to try and claw out a string of the carpet at 8:30. I just went ahead and got up anyway. Mojo went back to sleep. And Gunnar decided to go sharpen his nails on the downstairs couch. Sigh.

House sitting

Matt and I went to Savannah for a few days and we got a house sitter for the kids. We've gone on very few vacations since getting our brood since they don't really like to be left. Mojo especially doesn't like staying overnight at Pawtropolis, so we tried a house sitter. The other alternative is not going anywhere, and that's not fun.

My brother has watched the kids here and there. We had him come over the day before we left. He played with Mojo. I showed him how Mojo likes to play keep-away with his orange ball and Mojo plopped down on his lap (he thinks he's a lapdog.) They had fun and we told Mojo that it was going to be a Mojo and Danny party for a few days. Mojo thought this sounded great.

So we packed up. Gunnar played in my suitcase. I don't think he'd have fun on a 4-hour car ride or in a hotel room, so he had to stay.

Fast forward to Friday....We came home to an open door. We were scared to death Gunnar had escaped, and so I ran in the house to check on the cat. (Not even thinking about WHY the door might have been ajar: burglars, etcs.)

But my brother was in the kitchen cleaning and all the pets were in tact. Mostly.

The house was in the mid-80's as my brother apparently didn't understand the note on how to fix the A/C. And he tried to use our broken toilet (same note.)

As soon as we got home, my phone beeped with an hours old message that Mojo had a bathroom problem and had needed a bath. Joy.

My brother left and Mojo barfed a few times. (Someone had left the baby gates up and Mojo ate something he shouldn't have. Kitty litter is my theory.)

Otherwise, Mojo was fine. He was happy he got someone to play with. The last time we left him, he was mopey/mad at us for a month. So, cleanup aside, having a house sitter worked for him.

Gunnar was completely unfazed. Really, he couldn't care less as long as he got food, cuddles and play time. But I expected as much. Crazy cat.

As expected, Katie hid the entire time and didn't eat much. After my brother left, she finally came out from under the bed and was skittish for a few hours, then gave us extra loves. She seemed to be happy we were home.

So, will they let us leave again? Maybe, but I doubt my brother will offer to house sit again.

Happy Father's Day

The kids would like to wish a Happy Father's Day to Matt. They sure think he's the best dad ever. He takes Mojo on walks and to the park. He's an excellent pillow for the cats and Mojo thinks his lap is the best spot in the house.

Dog Park Sunday

We spent another Sunday morning at  the dog park. Only four dogs this time...and a lot of lounging.

Matt wrangles Phoebe and Billie Holiday while Emily has Mojo and Cody.

Mojo played with Phoebe a lot on this outing.

Phoebe loves attention. Billie Holliday likes naps.

Mojo being silly.

Mojo at full sprint. 

Matt tells Mojo to sit. Billie Holliday ignores the command.

Billie lounging.

Billie rolling around.

Lots of lounging.

Mojo gives Cody a kiss while Phoebe vies for attention.

Cody...and my blue toenails. 

Candid portrait of Cody.

Cody and Billie look pretty happy.

My favorite part of this picture is the shirts these two cops are wearing: a zombie apocalypse shirt and a Harley shirt.