Development DoggieSpace?

A while back ago a few former colleagues here at the Bank left to begin their own non-profit, the Development Marketspace, now known as GlobalGiving. I'm not sure for the name change, except that a developing country is now referred to by its emerging market. In my childhood they were known as 3rd world. Or perhaps the name was too close to Development Marketplace, a grassroots seed funding initiative Dennis and Mari started here in the Bank almost ten years ago. Personally I think one of the better initiatives of the Bank. But enough of tooting the horn of Dennis and Mari.

But that led me to wondering if there were any organizations for helping developing countries with their animal welfare systems. I googled International Dog Aid and Rescue. The ones that caught my eye were IFAW, dog aid international, IAKA and International Dog Rescue. And yes, they are all set up to take your donations online to help those less fortunate Canis lupus familiaris around the globe. I guess there are Development DoggieSpaces so to speak.

Calvin

Calvin is a German Shepherd mix breed belonging to my neighbors. I have known Cal since he came to live with "the parents" when he was about a year old. Their son, then a student at Syracuse University, acquired him as a pup. One can only assume the life he led in a house filled with young "enthusiastic" college boys. "Hmm, let's get a dog." "yeah dude, what a great idea...he can be the house dog." If memory serves me, his litter mate got hit by a car and died as the two of them went flying across a street. Anyway, to the dismay of most of the neighbors, Cal came to be a permanent resident on our Capitol Hill street.

And Calvin lived up to the hype of German Shepherds. He couldn't be trusted around other dogs or people for fear of a bite. His barks and growls were not for show, but a warning of what could follow. As he got older, his territory became more sacred and thus his guard instincts stronger. One could not walk into their house without being accosted by a barking growling dog.

But that does not mean he did not have a sweet side. I myself never had a problem with Cal. Nor did my numerous dogs over the years. Even my cats got along with Cal. The trick was to socialize him outside of his house and without the P's anywhere near. He got along with Tisha, Teddy, Scout, Andy, Ellie, Pig, Madison, Stevie and Jack. And when the P's bought a house in the country, his list of friends and doggie companions doubled.

He did have his moments though. Many times Cal would come over and stay at my house while the P's were out of town, or it was the maid's "day." Because I didn't have a problem with Cal and no one in my house had a problem with Cal, well we went on as usual. That caused more than a few problems. Mainly my fault. My neighbor Billy tried to hit Cal upside the head with a two by six when I accidentally left him out in the front yard unattended. My mother, in the middle stages of Alzheimer's, came out to garden. And while Cal had left her alone while she was in the yard, the second she was outside the yard pulling weeds through the fence...well he growled and guarded and would not let her back in the yard. Billy went wild. My mother was fine, she just wanted to come back in the yard and finish gardening. Billy, on the other hand, was a shaken mess and demanded the dog be put down right then and there. Fear does terrible things to people.

Then there was the time when I was walking Cal and I mistakenly thought the man with the boxer pup said the two of them were friends. I let Cal off his leash and in one svelte swoop he was on top of that poor dog. I did what you should never do and stuck my hands and feet in the middle of the fight to drag Cal off him. I still have the scar from that mishap.

But I chalk most of these encounters of aggression as being my fault. I didn't see him as a threat so I didn't take the necessary precautions that the "P's" did. The Maggot has changed all that. I'm always aware there is a chance that she may do that head twist and spew, so I always keep a close eye on her. It doesn't diminish my love for her, or the extra effort needed to walk her and take her to a dog park.

A fellow blogger recently asked me "if it should be that hard to have a dog?" I wondered if we had been talking about children, or relationships with others if that question would arise. We love whom we love and we put effort into the relationships we value including our not so perfect pets.

I walked Calvin last night. He is thirteen years old. His bark is no longer ferocious and his gait is weak and wobbly. His hips are not strong enough to hold him through his bowel and bladder releases, so he has what I call the travelling pee and poop. Remembering how hard it was to euthanize my 16 year old terrier mutt a couple years back, I recently asked one of the P's if she had anxiety about Cal's age and deterioration. In her typical pragmatic fashion, which I love and admire, she commented that it was what it was and when his pain began overshadowing his quality of life, well then it would become a different situation.

Maggie Moo

I've been spending a lot of alone time with the Maggot and she is not the wildebeest I thought her to be. As a matter of fact, she learns and trains quite quickly and is very manageable both on a leash and when left free in the house. Ahh, but there is one catch. Ellie and Andy can be no where near or it quickly dissolves into the three of them determining their pecking order and totally ignoring me and my commands. What I've also noticed, is that if I spend time alone with Ellie, she too listens quite well. Perhaps I need to take the advice I give my clients: bonding with your dog means taking the time to totally focus your attention on him/her so they learn to focus on you.

"Marly and Me"

I just finished reading Marly and Me by John Grogan and loved it. I told one of my dog blogging friends who also happens to be a colleague that I was reading it and he commented that it was not a good read, he got bored and Grogan didn't know how to write. Of course, he said all this before I finished the book. Despite my colleague's thumbs down review, I finished it up and loved it. I then realized that my cynical colleague writes about his dog in the same way that Grogan does...with warmth and humor.

3dog's Time Capsule

I've been tagged by Pappy's fella to list five items that 3dog's would want in their time capsule. It took a bit of time to decide whether it would be five items alone, or 15 items --- five for each dog. I know Ellie would only want one item included --- a tennis ball. And the AndDog, he would comply by only asking that a human be included so every dog in the future would know the importance of sitting on a lap and snuggling. I explained that we could not actually put in a human being, but a picture of him snuggling with me would do. But Maggie, my materialistic girl, well she would have a list as long as I would keep writing. Mine, mine, mine --- all mine is her motto. But after a lot of consideration, the five items we would place in the time capsule would be:

1. Tennis balls
2. A picture of AndDog snuggling with me
3. Liver Kong goo: yes, they will do anything I want as long as I stick that synthetic nipple in their mouth and let them suck on that oh so tasty goo
4. Frozen marrow bones: The Maggot can focus on that thing until the cows come home. Actually, so can Ellie and Andy Sort of like sitting a toddler in front of the tube...very important for them and me.
5. Freedom. Not sure how this would be included in the time capsule, but the one thing 3dog's totally enjoy is running and sniffing without a handler on the other end. Mountains, lakes, cemeteries...it is pure heaven.

--"You can’t separate peace from freedom because no one can be at peace unless he has his freedom.""Prospects for Freedom in 1965," speech, Jan. 7 1965, New York City (published in Malcolm X Speaks, ch. 12, 1965).

Amherst

3dogs and I are spending our nation's birthday in the quaint little town of Amherst, New Hampshire. We drove up last night, spending a couple hours catching a bit of shuteye in a rest station somewhere in Connecticut. It was a bit cramped, but we somehow managed to all sleep. The lean green kiwi machine is actually quite conducive to snoozing.

My friend and her daughter have been living up here for the past six years. Cocoa is their chocolate lab whom at 1 1/2 years is much calmer than the El Bell. I've been a regular to New Hampshire and Maine for the last 16 years. My desire is to live where my parent's retired...Bridgton, Maine, another quaint New England town. Hmm, is there anything else but quaint New England towns? But Bridgton, unlike Amherst, offers me quick access to the mountains that I love to hike and ski, the shore where I love to walk aimlessly with 3dogs. And being that the town is nestle between lakes, there is no growing metropolis nearby. In the six year years that I've been coming to Amherst the twelve plus miles to get here from Nashua has filled up with Home Depot, Loews, Pet Smart, multiple grocery stores, and of course, the New England favorite, Duncan Donuts.

Now I've been promised that the Amherst 4th of parade will have a few of our next presidential candidates walking the route. Apparently in 2002, they had Kerry, Edwards, and a few other heavy hitters from that "other" side of the political arena. I'm hoping to shake a few big name hands, but apparently one never knows until the last moment who will be participating.

4dogcache?

Meet Booker. The latest to join the crew on 8th Street. He is an inquisitive 11 month old min pin. And though he is very cute, smart and lovable...luckily, he is not mine. 3dogs keep me busy enough without adding a fourth to their mix. Not that it would be impossible, but difficult. But Booker has actually melted into the pot quite well. His bouncing off walls and anything between makes him the perfect tennis ball-esque plaything for Ellie. Maggie too enjoys romping with him now and again.

But it is Andy who has taken Booker's arrival with a hint of disconcerting ire. Being that he was a single dog for an entire two weeks gives him top dog entitlement. He tolerated Ellie's arrival and her constantly hanging onto his neck. Eventually they became soul mates. Maggie wasn't so easy to accept. When she was a puppy he maintained his status, but as she grew in size it took more than a few scrapes to settle top dog position. The Maggot winning out. And now, god forbid, another dog to contend with; and a dog that never stops moving. It's only been a month, but Andy still growls and pounces on Booker as if he is an annoying little insect.

I'm not use to small dogs. I have always had dalmatians, labs or mutts all weighing in over 50 lbs. Mags is the largest dog I have raised, and at 16 months she's still packing weight onto her solid 90 lb frame. So Booker, who at the most probably tops out at 9 or 10 pounds, is quite the novelty for me.

Please let me in...

Poor Maggie Moo. She sat so still and was so quiet with this "poor poor me" pathetic look, but still she was unable to enjoy my nephew's fifth birthday party. And when by mere accident my Aunt (she's a vet and just wanted to say hi to the Maggot) let her in, my step-mother (read anti anything with fur or four legs) gritted her teeth as we all tried to coral Mags back to her spot outside BEHIND the door.

Kiki

3dogs stayed in DC this past week while I headed down to Hilton Head for a week of sun, fun and geocaching. I met this bird Kiki while brunching at The Salty Dog on Sea Pines Plantation. She kept staring at my camera so I snapped this shot of her just before she tried to attack my camera. Ack. Her screeching made me jump.

And I'm not really a fan of the Head since I was there last in 1992 when development and commercialism were multiplying faster than indigenous folks could be displaced. But when a friend of mine invited me to accompany her while she attended a medical conference in Palmetto Dunes. Well hey, why not go. A bit too above my taste, and 3dogs were definitely not welcomed. But because we did a lot of geocaching in parks and out of the way spots, we did see a lot of the island and beyond that most visitors probably do not get a chance to visit. That was nice. As was our day in Savannah following "the caches" all over town.

Tradition

Hot dogs, beer and America's favorite pastime. It has become tradition. My sister Beth, Ally and myself sit in the sun for three hours and watch the Nationals play on Opening Day. This past Monday was a bust for the Nats. But the beer was cold and the sun was warm so we were happy.

And speaking of beer, someone at RFK made the executive decision to stop selling beer in bottles. Now Beth and Ally love bottled beer, especially the lite kind. I, on the hand, prefer draft and something a little heavier --- Guinness, Harp, or an IPA will do. And lucky for me, the vendors at RFK have met my needs. When we arrived at the game on Monday I volunteered to get the first round. Remember, hot dogs, baseball AND BEER. So off I went in pursuit of the perfect draft and a couple of those lite bottles. I immediately found an IPA and began to quench my thirst. But those bottles, well they were no where to be found. Finally I asked a vendor where I could buy some bottled beer. He curtly responded --- no where. He was too busy pouring beer to be bothered with a petty question. I mean, beer is beer right? I don't think so.

Well after a long search I came up empty. So I hit the stands to see if there was a beer man selling bottles. Nope, only cans. When I questioned why he said they got sick of cleaning up bottles. So, is it easier to clean up plastic cups? And what about bottled water which is still sold? What, people who drink water won't trash the bottle in the stands? But in the end, to Beth and Ally's delight, there was one place that sold bottles.

I must admit though, it was a bittersweet experience. This will be the last opening day we spend in RFK. I won't be able to walk the ten blocks to the stadium. Or when I'm being excessively lazy --- drive and park because I have one sweet Zone 6 sticker on my windshield. I'm not even sure what Zone the new stadium is in, but I do know it will be a subway ride away. And they certainly are wasting no time putting that baby up. When I drive down the southeast southwest freeway I can see the upper deck reaching into the sky. Fans will certainly have a birds eye view of our Nation's Capitol. Ahh, change is hard.