Dog Days

It's tough being a puppy

Yah! Someone's here to see me!

I went by Mom's to drop off some things for the road trip (like Hershey bars for the s'mores that will be made), and when I got there, Bruce was outside in his gazebo. We went inside shortly thereafter, where I presented him with a toy I'd bought.

gnaw, gnaw, gnaw

Thanks, Auntie! 

Yeah, he loved it. It's a little bone with a rubber area in the middle, and you can put these rawhide disks on it, too. He managed to get one of the two disks off after two or so hours of gnawing, and Mom said he finally got the other one off this morning. Yet, he is still playing with it -- fetch, gnawing, etc. So, I will call it a huge hit.

Between the new toy and taking him outside again while we checked out how to install a new porch light on the RV and then letting him run around on his long leash, Bruce was dead tired by the time I needed to leave so I could grab dinner prior to my hockey game.

Fighting sleep, and losing

As for the hockey game.... 0-0 tie. Tough one, but we stay ahead of the Black team, in second place for now.

Less than three weeks until the road trip! :D

Bruce the Spaz Dog

Pat and I drove over to Union Bridge this afternoon for a couple of hours with mom and the spaz dog. Pat hadn't met Bruce yet, and if one of the options mom and I were going to consider for Bruce during our road trip was to leave him with Pat, we had to make sure that the puppy didn't have a problem with him.

Yeah, I think Pat and Bruce will get along just fine. The puppy was ecstatic about another person to play with. We actually wore him out.

After a little nap, he started playing with his plastic bottle (gotta love "cheap toys"), then we took him outside for a quick potty stop in his "gazebo."

Is that a bottle?

Why, yes, I will play with your trash

 

When we went to leave, mom put him on a leash, and let him run around in the yard a little bit. He was overjoyed at that. What a goofy little dog.

I think he'll sleep well tonight. :)

A Quick Visit with Bruce (and Mom)

I swung by Mom's house this afternoon for a quick visit and to finally drop off the orchid I'd picked up for Mother's day. Of course, that meant almost two hours of non-stop Bruce action.

Ready for action!

Bruce looking pathetic, in other words, "Give me attention!"

Bruce doing his best cat impression, playing with a piece of rag on a string.

This puppy rarely stays still, especially if he sees a camera on him.

For those who don't know, Bruce is a four month old Silky Terrier puppy that was gifted to my mom, on the condition that she take him to shows. This was one of her friend's ways of making sure she got out of the house after dad's passing.

Speaking of getting out of the house, we did spend some time on the RV to see what is there so that I know what I would need to bring for myself, plus to check out the size of the refrigerator and storage areas. Of course the first thing I see brings me nearly to tears.

It's a Father's Day card that I gave to Dad in 2013, the last year they were still able to drive around in the RV, and before the pulmonary fibrosis had fully taken root and ruined everything. They both loved the card so much that Mom framed it and it's the only decoration in the RV. When I think about it, it's hung so that he could see it from the bed he used.

[gathers composure...., wipes tears from eyes....]

So, we're both pretty psyched for the trip. I picked up a new atlas to look through, but the gist of it looks like I-90 out and I-80 back. There will be side trips on US30 and state roads, but that's the main route. Some must stops are Little Bighorn, Devil's Tower, the Bonneville Salt Flats, and the Spiral Jetty, but beyond that, we're still narrowing it down. We are figuring on two and a half weeks. It's going to be great, though I know we're both going to be thinking about one person who we will both be fiercely wishing was with us.