Monday Mischief: The Joys of Dog Ownership

So, I may or may not have a Doberman hair in my toe like a splinter. As you might imagine, it's hard to see based on light, and I might be hallucinating. Not to worry, I'm not going to post a picture of my right big toe for your perusal. Or the sole of my left foot. Yup, two. It's so awesome.

But really, our dogs sometimes put us through a lot.

Take Two Aspirin and Call Me In the Morning

Yesterday morning, Elka woke me up. This isn't unusual, right? It was 9:30, about our regular walk time. She wasn't whining or asking to go out, though. She didn't hop off the bed because she detected Action in the Kitchen. She didn't step on me while repositioning. She nosed at my hand and flipped it with her snout until I woke up.

She's never done that before, and I asked her if she wanted to go out, and she hopped off the bed then, and waved her left paw at the door as I reached for the doorknob (this is something she's started doing lately, which I find adorable). When we got downstairs, though, she didn't want to go out. And I realized I had a headache. Not a migraine, thankfully, but enough that I took some Aleve, drank some water, and went back to bed for a little while longer, Elka shadowing each of my steps and settling down next to me again.

June 22 is Take Your Dog To Work Day!

Apparently, somebody decided June 22 is Take Your Dog to Work Day. I don't disagree with such a notion; I think it's a great idea. Especially because they keep doing studies on people who can take their dogs to work, and coming up with a measurable reduction of stress and an increase in job satisfaction.

But, I can't take Elka to the library. If I was going to commit to the notion that she's really-truly my service dog, I guess it would be no contest, but I don't feel that my migraines, at current, reduce my quality of life such that I suffer from that degree of disability. Some people do, and I know that I'm profoundly lucky. Anyway, I did the next best thing: I took Elka for a walk in the library park.

Why a Doberman? Redux

My very first post here, on April 7 of 2011, was Why a Doberman?

It's a new year, though I'm still me and Elka is still Elka, but I thought that post could use some attention. I thought maybe I could reevaluate, and reconfirm, why I feel Doberman is the breed for me. You with me?