Thursday, January 12, 2012
Mister Master Relaxer
Feeding the Mister
Wednesday, January 11, 2012
Trying Times
And it was all my fault. Full disclosure.
I am currently a full-time student and I'm working about 25 hours a week. When I get home I am exhausted on so many levels. I will admit that I haven't been up to lots of games or the longer walks that the Mister loves so much.
He has been a pretty good sport about it overall, but this morning he had had enough of being ignored. There was barking and pouncing, and kamikaze kisses. All I wanted was to stretch out on the couch and veg until it was time to leave for class. All of a sudden, 10 pounds of Mister landed on my stomach and knocked the air out of me. I'm sorry to say that harsh words were said, and my sad little Mister retreated to his pile of blankets.
The Flying Mister
I started flying with the Mister about two years ago. Here he is happily post-flight with my Grandpa Durham.
What an ordeal that first trip was. Holiday travel is hard on anyone, and it was especially hard on a little guy who had to stay in his carrier for hours.
By the way – parents – your running, yelling children don’t just annoy people. They traumatized my baby, and the airline agent was not very nice to us.
People always have questions when I tell them that I fly with my dog. I’m no expert, but here’s what I’ve learned.
I fly Southwest (despite their occasional bad judgment when it comes to customer service) because of the still-free baggage. So, that is where my little bit of know-how comes from.
Here is a link to Southwest's pet policies.
www.southwest.com/html/customer-service/pets/index-pol.html
¨ It costs $75.00 each way for your pet’s ticket Occasionally, his ticket costs more than mine
¨ You cannot buy your pet’s ticket online. You have to go to the ticket counter, so allow for that extra time.
¨ You don’t have to send your baby through the x-ray conveyor. (seriously, why do people ask that question?) You take them out of their carrier and carry them through them with you.
¨ They have to ride under the seat in front of you. It’s hard sometimes, but those are the rules.
¨ DO NOT GIVE YOUR DOG SEDATIVES! You could be compromising their health, especially with cabin pressure changes.
¨ Make sure that they do their business before you get in the line for ticketed passengers. Unfortunately, most airports were designed pre-9/11. No green spaces for our canine loved ones. It’s a pain to take them back out. Plan ahead.
That’s all for now. Happy traveling.
Christmas Goodies.
Of course, Christmas is an exciting time - Santa Paws making his naughty/nice list, tiny stocking full of rawhides. You know.
This year I was determined to finally get the Mister something he’s needed for a while – a toy box. I don’t know why such a simple purchase should have waited for so long. I just wanted to get something fun as well as sturdy and right-sized for a little guy.
I found that perfect container at…drumroll please…the Container Store.
There it was – in the closet section – a folding cube with a puppy face on the front.
He LOVES it! I mean, he doesn’t put the toys in the box. But, taking them out is his new favorite game. Now if I could just turn that game in the other direction…
And yes, he did get a lovely assortment of dolls, balls and rawhides to fill his new puppy toy box.
This is the only time of the year that I buy him larger dolls. He can eviscerate a a stuffed toy in about five minutes flat. He just isn’t satisfied until that squeaker is history. And he’s so proud of himself. Still, we stick with the cheapies for normal, everyday play.