At 6:45, Betsy saw Grace and invited her up into bed. Grace jumped up and we exchanged with her tummy rubs for kisses. I got up and dressed at 7:05. We left at 7:10. When we went to the west woods in front of this complex, Grace bolted after a squirrel. I had to keep the leash secure because the road was just twenty feet away. This pulled me sharply and brought my arch down on a pointed projection of a small trimmed pine tree. It left my arch very sore, but I was still able to walk.
Recall Success
Grace finally made it to Bond Park. I practiced recall with her once and gave her a treat. She performed perfectly. We went all the way to the dock and building area before turning back to go home. On the way back, I let her free to run in the woods. She streaked back at least 150 yards into the woods. It took about three minutes for her to come back after about five whistles. Eventually she came running. That was a relief.
Morning Down Time
At 9:10, when we returned home, Grace jumped up on the living room ottoman before I could get her to go into the bathroom for a shower. We have a cover over that piece of furniture to keep Grace from scratching it. It also acts as sort of a washable towel on which Grace can dry off. Perhaps that’s why she tends to go there when she is a mess. We finally directed her into the bathroom and gave her a shower. After her shower, Grace ate her breakfast.
At 9:25, Grace lay down on the loveseat for a nap. That’s where she was when we left her home alone at 10:15. When we returned home at 12:30, Grace was sleeping in the office beneath the window. I greeted her with tummy rubs and she gave me kisses. Grace ate her lunch.
Lounging Through Afternoon
At 12:45, Grace went to the kitchen, sat and gazed at Betsy. Betsy asked me if I had fed her. I told her, “Yes.” Grace offered her paw to Betsy. Betsy gave her a dental chew. When Grace finished at 1:00, she went to the patio door to ask to go outside. She curled up on the lounge chair.
Evening Walk
At 5:30, Grace came in. After supper, Grace went outside. She stopped by to see Tucker and Isabella. As we were finishing up, we headed down the stairs near the northeast woods area. There crossing our path was a grey fox with prey, likely a rabbit, in its mouth. Grace tried to chase it, but the leash prevented her. We returned at 6:10 as rain started picking up.
Bully Stick
By 6:25, lesser friends started gathering in the courtyard. Grace saw them and began to whine. I told her to “Leave it.” She persisted but understood I wasn’t planning to take her out. By 6:35, they had dispersed. When Grace saw that they had left, she resigned herself to work on the two-inch remains of the bully stick. After she polished it off in five minutes, she returned to the balcony lounge chair.
Winding Down
At 9:00, Grace went outside. When she returned home fifteen minutes later, she curled up on the living room chair. When Betsy cooked some late food, the sleepy little Borador perked up and wanted something. I gave her some chicken and potatoes for tricks. She wanted more. I gave her a doggie treat. When she finished, she went to the office to lie on the ottoman and watch out the window. Fifteen minutes later she settled in on the floor next to it to curl up for the night. I finally made it to bed at 11:00.
Monday
Some time during the night Grace joined us in bed. Betsy had some windows open and the temperature outside was in the mid fifties. Perhaps the warmth of the bed covers or my body attracted her. At 6:00, Grace was ready for some attention. I gave her some tummy rubs in bed. At 6:15, she slithered off of the bed and went to the office to watch for friends.
Wet Morning
I worked on the computer a bit. At 7:00, I took Grace out. I should have just left at 6:15, because by 7:45, the rain was strong enough to bring us home. Grace met a few dogs along the way, but despite her best efforts, they offered not play opportunities. When we returned home, Grace curled up in a tight ball in the living room chair for a nap. At 9:00, she moved down to the floor, pulled her giraffe toy form her toy box and began to gently chew on it.
Playmate Sighting
At 9:30, Grace spotted Olive. We raced downstairs. Grace caught up with Olive after running south and then circling around north. Grace and Olive wrestled for fifteen minutes. When Fraggle came out, Grace focused on playing with her. Olive left at 9:45. When the rain picked up at 10:00, we returned home. Grace went out on the balcony lounge chair to dry off, watch, and relax.
Mid-Day Outing
At 11:55, I called Grace in to go for a ride. It took me just a few minutes to get ready, but Grace was indignant about my calling her in and then delaying. We needed to dodge the rain showers and decided to do our run first. That worked out fairly well. It was just Grace and I at the park. She followed me around fairly closely but did venture across the meadow and down to the pond a few times. It was drizzling by the last few laps but it was not bad.
Grace came immediately on recall. Next, we stopped at the post office to mail a letter. Grace waited patiently sitting up in the passenger seat and watching for my return. I came back in five to ten minutes and gave her a treat for waiting. When we returned home at 1:15, Grace took a shower. After her shower, she ate lunch. After lunch, she asked me for more. I gave her a doggie treat and a pine cone she had found a few weeks ago. After completing her treat, she worked on her pine cone for about fifteen minutes before retreating to the lounge chair. By 2:20, Grace was fast asleep.
Evening Adventures
Grace stirred and perked up as she heard Betsy’s footsteps as she returned home. Grace got up and met her as she arrived. At 5:05, Grace let me know it was time for her supper. At 5:15, Betsy took Grace downstairs to mail some letters and go for a walk. When they returned at 6:00, Grace went out on the balcony to watch for friends. At 6:25, Grace saw Ada playing with Luna. At 6:30, I finally relented and took her down.
Grace and Ada had a great time wrestling. At 7:15, Olive joined in. The three played chase and wrestled. They broke up around 8:00. We made it home at 8:15. Grace did tricks for scraps as I gave him chicken bone joints. At 8:30, she lay on the dining room floor and fell asleep.
Tuesday
During the night, Grace joined us at the foot of the bed. At 6:00, she was ready for some attention. We petted her for a while. At 6:30, she slithered off of the bed, and I got up. We went outside at 6:40. After all of the rain, the ground was particularly wet. This had Grace even more interested than usual that following her nose. She meandered around the complex, spending most of her outing in the south woods.
Morning Relaxing
When we returned home at 8:10, Grace took a shower. After her shower, she ate breakfast, went to the office to look for friends, and finally curled up on the floor for her morning nap. At 10:30, she went out on the lounge chair. She spotted Betsy returning at 11:40 and asked to come in. Grace happily greeted her. At noon, Grace had her breakfast. She became impatient as we waited to go for our run.
Park Outing
At 12:40, Betsy was finally ready and we went off to run at Salem Pond Park. After a few laps, a maintenance worker from the city arrived. We headed back to the car to get Grace’s leash and harness. Grace was following Betsy, so I went back to running. Then Grace came my way and headed for the truck. I whistled to recall her. She came immediately. I gave her a treat and held her until Betsy came with the leash and harness.
Grace played with Grace on the leash for a while, but then she spotted a couple of geese in the meadow. Betsy just had to let her go to chase them. The maintenance man spotted Grace off of the leash and suggested that Betsy hook her back up. Grace ran one lap around with me on a leash, but it was difficult as Grace was torn between staying with me and keeping watch in Betsy who trailed far behind.
Afternoon Play with Friends
When we returned home at 2:00, there was Olive. Grace and Olive played for thirty minutes in the courtyard. When she returned home Grace went to the lounge chair to enjoy the pleasant, sunny, 70 degree weather. At 3:45, Grace came inside and jumped up on the loveseat for some serious napping. At 5:30, she awoke. I exchanged tummy rubs for kisses. At 5:40, she went out on the balcony to enjoy the spring air and sunshine and watch for friends.
At 5:50, Grace spotted Fraggle and went out to play with her. Before long, Ada came by to join in the fun. The young lady with Ada had those buggy sunglasses on. That spooked Grace. I told her and she flipped them up. Grace was fine then. Ten minutes later, Trixie joined in. They continued to play until 6:30, when everyone went home. Grace stuck around the courtyard and interacted with some young children and did a bit of turf surfin’ before finally coming inside at 6:45.
Winding Down
She went over to the balcony doors and lay on the floor to recharge. Grace went out on the balcony for about an hour and returned inside at 8:20. She hit me up for another doggie treat and then moved to the office to be with Betsy. At 9:10, Grace went outside for the last time. She met Olive and wrestled with her for ten minutes. When we returned a 9:30, she went to bed in the office.
Wednesday
Grace spent all night in the office. When I got up at 6:40, she was lying on the office ottoman watching geese in the courtyard through the window. At 7:30, I prepared to take her out — intentionally making sounds that would indicate that. After a minute, she received the message and came out.
Morning Play
We went down and met Olive. They walked together and finally stopped in a grassy area to play. Both were pretty restrained in their play, but they did get some fun wrestling in. After ten minutes of mixing it up, they were joined by Fraggle. Grace then focused her attention on wrestling with her. Five minutes later, Olive left. After ten more minutes of play and chewing on sticks, Fraggle left also.
Recap of Injuries and Close Calls
Grace limited her venture to the northern area of the complex. I noticed the arch pain from the incident Monday was almost gone. So far, I’ve had three injuries that I can recall and two near misses from walking Grace. The worst, by far was the fall in February from tripping over discarded construction wire. I’ll lump the tendonitis in my right arm in with that one also. Although these injuries are healing, I still have pain from both.
The fall crossing the street back a number of months ago, was potentially the most dangerous, as Grace darted in front of me and tripped me. In that case though, there was no vehicle coming and no bumps or bruises. The sharp yank on my arm against a sharp rail of a metal fence a few weeks ago could have broken my forearm, but the position of my ulna was aligned for maximum strength and no injury occurred. The other injury came while walking in the south woods and trying to study at the same time back in April. My right leg went down into what might be a foxhole. I still have some slight knee pain from that, but I have bad knees, and they are sensitive to that kind of motion.
Stuck Food Piece
When we returned home at 9:00, Grace had her breakfast. We then ground her front toenails with the grinder. Grace did well. Betsy gave her a doggie treat after we finished. A piece of her treat lodged under her tongue. She made distressed movement of her tongue for a few minutes. Betsy and I both tried to get it with our fingers. The last time I tried, I heard Grace crunch on it.
Playtime
Grace then went out on the balcony to nap and watch the activity below. Grace came in at 11:15 and let me know she was ready to go running. We finished up our odds and ends and left for the park at 11:45. There Grace met Ellie. They chased each other, played together in the pond, and played Ellie’s favorite game, fetch. We returned home at 1:00 to meet Fraggle.
Grace and Fraggle wrestled for a while. Then Grace found a corn cob. After carrying it in her mouth for about ten minutes, she slowly ate it. Grace was pretty tired when we made it home. Betsy used the Furminator to groom her and check for fleas. She found one and disposed of it. Grace made a couple muffled barks. It was too soon for her to be dreaming. I checked. She wss still awake. At 1:45, Grace had her lunch. After lunch she went to the office and stretched out on the carpet protector behind Betsy as she sat at the desk.
Relaxing
At 3:00, Grace moved to the carpet under the office window and stretched out again. We left for auto repair drop off at 4:45 and took Grace. We returned at 5:20. We left Grace alone at 5:45 as we went to church. When we returned at 8:30, I took Grace outside for the last time. We returned at 8:50. Grace had a doggie treat and proceeded out to the balcony.
She came inside at 9:15, went to the office but came out to the kitchen when she heard me getting a snack. I gave her another doggie treat. She then did tricks for treats before going back out on the balcony. At 9:40, she came back inside, jumped up on the chair, curled up and went to sleep.
Thursday
In the morning around 6:45, we awoke to the sound of geese calls on the rooftop. Grace came into the room and Betsy invited her into bed. We exchanged rubs for kisses and by 7:00 were out the door for our morning adventure. Betsy said she might want to join us at Bond Park, so I directed Grace that way.
Grass Incident
I had heard that sometimes dogs eat grass to cause themselves to vomit. Grace has been eating grass daily for about a month. I thought she liked it because it was new and tender. Today she ate some and it triggered her to throw up. Since her stomach was empty, it amounted to just a little bit of fluid and a strand of grass. She continued to occasionally eat grass along the way, but she had no more vomiting incidents.
Running Free
When we made it to the park, I took Grace off of the leash. Almost immediately, she spotted a rabbit and darted after it. She could gain on the rabbit when it ran medium speed, but when it kicked into high gear, the rabbit left Grace in the dust. Later, I recalled Grace once. She didn’t come running but did stop and permitted me to put her leash back on.
Grace went to the pond and explored the path in the woods. When we made it to the dock area, one of the staff asked about Grace and told us that he has Basset Hounds. He offered Grace a treat and had Grace sit for it. I thanked him as we parted ways. Grace continued deeper into the park going past the dock to the water area by the source stream. She followed that stream until I directed her to the bridge which took us to the other side.
At the grassy point I removed her leash. Grace wadded in the pond some and explored the surrounding woods. In the process, Grace found a wiffleball, another ball, and two plastic drink bottles as toys. We played fetch mainly with the wiffleball. She then went back to the water’s edge and picked up a piece of unpainted wood siding that was burnt on one end. Grace chewed on that for a while before we headed home.
Long Trip Home
Grace wanted to go the long way, so we went along High House, to Maynard, to Old Apex. Along the way, Grace would stop in well manicured grassy areas near neighborhood monuments and lie there or roll around in the lush green grass. I believe it is a form of her cleaning herself as she rubs her fur against the damp clean foliage.
Recovering
When we returned home at 9:30, Grace had a shower followed by breakfast. Grace retreated to the office ottoman first with her head propped up on the windowsill. When she is wet or dirty, she tends to gravitate toward the ottomans perhaps because we keep a washable cover over each. Betsy asked me if she was okay. I told her that Grace was just tired from her two-and-a-half-hour morning outing. By 10:30, Grace had moved to the floor below the office window and lay fast asleep.
Mid-Day Run
At 11:45, we left for our run at Salem Pond Park. Grace ran with me some but mostly stayed with Betsy enjoying the warm air and sunshine. Grace also spent time splashing in the pond. When Grace came running to me uncalled, I gave her a treat. When I finished running, I walked to catch up with them. On the way home, we stopped at the auto repair place and Grace stopped to play with a black dog friend that she met Wednesday.
Relaxing at Home
When we returned home at 1:15, Grace played with Ellie. When she returned to the apartment, she ate her lunch. She then had a shower. She worked on shredding a food box a bit. Finally, she settled in on the loveseat for her afternoon nap. At 3:00, she went to the office to be with Betsy. At 4:00, I made a sandwich. Grace came in to look for something from me. The peanut butter jar was empty, so I gave it to her to clean out. When she finished at 4:25, she returned to the office with Betsy.
I left to do a little shopping and returned at 5:10. Grace greeted me with her trademark wags and kisses. She then ate her supper. I noticed I had forgotten a grocery bag, so I went back to the store to retrieve it. When I returned a second time at 6:20, I went into the office to find Grace lying on the floor. There we did tummy rubs for kisses. Grace got up and expressed her frustration with clicking of her jaws. It was sundowning time.
Expressing Herself
Betsy took her outside at 6:30. There she met Jack and another dog. Grace did a fair amount of barking. When they returned at 8:00, Grace had a little popcorn and then went out on the balcony lounge chair. At 9:30, she came in from the balcony. I took her out for her last outing before bed. When we returned at 9:50, Grace jumped up on the living room chair and went to sleep.
Friday
I got up and returned to bed at 5:55. I noticed Grace lying in the office on the ottoman awake and watching out the window. At 6:20, I decided to get up and start the day. We had left the bedroom door cracked. When I opened it, there was Grace sitting facing it patiently. She greeted me with kisses. We went back into the office for tummy rubs and kisses.
Morning Play
Grace and I went outside at 6:30. She immediately met Ada and played with her for 45 minutes. They had a good time wrestling and mixing it up. The play was enough to distract her from relieving herself. Grace obviously had no urgent need. We proceeded over to the apartment where Tucker and Isabella live. Grace said hello to each of them as they came outside in turn. She also greeted Trixie. The dog’s main interest seemed to be sniffing the wet ground.
Making the Rounds
When we returned home at 8:00, Grace ate her breakfast and moved to the office to stretch out for a morning nap. At 10:30, we set off for the morning. Our first stop was a logging company. I thought I knew where it was but was wrong.
We stopped by the Carpenter Farm Supply Store that had been there for decades. An a nice old man drinking a small bottle of Coke gave me direction as Grace sniffed and looked to scavenge food and missed a kitten as it darted by me. When we walked into the tiny shed-style office, Grace lay down at the entrance of the air conditioned building and made herself right at home. After a few minutes, we set off for our next stop — my lot.
At the land, we went to the backyard to see if Snoopy was there. He was! After some short introductions, Grace and he played chase for about ten minutes. The 85-degree heat, reduced the length of playtime for them. As I walked back to the car, Grace chased the Guinea hens. Then she lay down in the shade and would not budge. She was too hot. I carried her to the car. She got down on the floor right next to the air conditioning outlet. I am going to need to bring a bowl with me for her to make water available to her for drinking,
I went to the bank next and decided to use the drive-in window to allow Grace to stay in an air conditioned environment. At noon, we arrived at Salem Pond Park. Grace met the dog with the long black coat. They ran around a little, but Grace was most interested in taking a dip in the pond and just following me around. She rode back on the seat rather than down on the floor.
Exhausted
At 12:45, we returned. Grace had her lunch and then a shower. She passed out on the office floor. At 2:00, we spotted her friend Olive. Grace went outside but had little energy left. She did play with Olive’s ball and played tug on a plastic bottle for a short time. When we returned home, Grace returned to the office carpet protector to stretch out and sleep. I left at 4:00 and returned at 4:45. Grace didn’t stir when I returned.
Sundowning
At 5:55, Grace emerged, ate her supper and proceeded to the balcony for a breath of fresh air. After a few minutes though, she returned inside to shred a food container. At 6:05, when Betsy returned, Grace greeted her with wags and kisses. She then sundowning. I tried a doggie treat first. A few minutes later she did the snap snap of her jaws. After that we did a dental chew.
Olive Play
At 7:00, she spotted Olive. She and Olive played together for an hour or so. Betsy relieved me at 8:00. They returned home at 8:20. After she came in, she proceeded immediately out to the balcony. At 9:45, Grace came inside. We went out for the last time at 9:45 and returned ten minutes later. I invited Grace into my chair. She jumped up and curled up for bed. By the time I finished preparing for bed at 10:15, Grace was gently snoring and off to dreamland.
Saturday
Grace whined and came into the bedroom at 6:45. She didn’t jump up into the bed. I got up. We did tummy rubs and kisses. At 7:00, she started her adventure. We first met Isabella followed by Tucker. The interaction was mainly sniffing and saying hello. Grace found a Starbucks chocolate drink with about a third left. Today we limited our travel to the north and west areas. We met and said “Hi” to Jack on the front sidewalk.
Santa Syndrome
At 8:00, as we headed home, after a turf surf, Grace waited to meet Daisy. Daisy’s owner said Grace was the last dog that they met last night before bed and the first to greet them in the morning. I told her Grace is like Santa Claus. Grace had her breakfast and proceeded to the balcony to enjoy the very pleasant morning air.
Muddy Mess
At 9:30, Grace spotted something and barked at it from the balcony. Betsy said she would take Grace out but delayed. I finally took her out because she was whining persistently as if she had friends to see. She made a beeline for them. I didn’t see them until we turned. There in a mud puddle were Olive and Ada. This was female mud wrestling at it’s finest. The mud actually had a sewage smell, but they were having a great time.
I held Grace back and kept them from her. They went to the car wash and eventually their owners hosed them down. Betsy came out and we played tag-team with Grace. Betsy stayed out with Grace until 11:15. Grace went back on the balcony to relax.
Hot Dog
At 11:45, we left for our daily run. The day was sunny and the temperature was in the low eighties. Grace took many dips in the pond as she followed me and Betsy around the path. On the way home, we stopped at a strawberry farm. Grace watched while Betsy picked. Grace investigated some discarded berries, but they did not interest her.
At 1:15, we returned home. Grace went directly to the balcony — desperate to get some rest. I disturbed her with lunch. She returned back to the balcony but at 1:45, we were on the go again. This time it was to the lot to meet two contractors. Grace walked the lot as we talked to one of the contractors. Then she met Snoopy and played chase with him. On the way home, Grace lay on the floor with her face pointed at the cool air outlet on the passenger side.
Recovery
At 3:30, we returned home. Grace could not make it to the balcony but lay instead inside the balcony door stretched out on the carpet against the door. She finally had a chance to get a nap. She whisked off to dreamland. At 5:00, Grace emerged from the dead to begin her sundowning. She ate her dinner and waited as we finished ours When we finished, Grace did scraps for treats for chicken meat, skin, and joints.
At 6:30, she complained that she wanted something else. I gave her a doggie treat. That allayed her anxiety only for a few minutes. We were out of dental chews, so I gave her a dental chew. She worked on that for about an hour before giving up and stretching out in the office. At 8:30, she curled up in the living room chair. We went outside at 8:45 and took out the trash. She and Fraggle mainly just walked together did mix it up a little.
At 9:20, we returned. I told Grace it was time for bed and pointed her to the living room chair. She jumped up and curled up there for the night.