Pleasant Surprise
Grace jumped up in bed at 4:00 AM. She stayed curled up and out of the way. I wondered what prompted her to join us. When I got up later, I found out the reason. Betsy had left the office window open, and the office became a bit cool. At 6:30, Betsy began petting Grace.
Crumb Search
At 6:45, Grace went outside. Grace went straight for the outdoor grille areas to scavenge for left food. After getting all of the crumbs from under the table, she hit the jackpot with three oatmeal-raisin cookies from the trash. Later, she found a rotten log, took it to the courtyard, and proceeded to ripping it up. It was just rotten enough to make it fun. She said hello to Ada from a distance because Ada had an open sore.
Friends Watch
When we returned home at 8:00, I gave Grace some milk, followed by her breakfast. Grace went to the office as we got ready for church. Grace knew the routine. We left at 9:15. When we returned at 12:00, Grace greeted us with enthusiastic wags and kisses. After her lunch, Grace went back to the office to watch for friends while Betsy and I ate lunch. At 1:00, Grace spotted Olive. We raced out to meet her. Grace and Olive played for about an hour with the ChuckIt! ball and did some restrained wrestling.
Enjoying the Weather
On the way back home, Grace plopped down in the shaded grass again near the entrance home. After five minutes of coaxing, she came upstairs. I gave her scraps for treats. She has about learned the back command, but I’ll wait a few more days before we claim complete mastery. She first lay on the cool plastic floor of her cage. Then she moved to her usual spot by the balcony doors.
Evening Routine
At 4:15, Betsy grabbed her keys. Grace jumped to attention and strode to go with her. Five minutes later, they left to go for a ride and walk in the park. Grace had her supper when they came home. When I returned from church at 7:15, Grace gave me another enthusiastic greeting. At 8:00, Grace wanted more. We did tricks for treats. After that she went to the office. When I returned to the kitchen to get some crackers, Grace had her radar running and was there to get her share.
She then came in the living room to be with us. Betsy invited her to the sofa. Grace jumped up. By 8:45, Grace was sleeping soundly. Grace stretched out. Betsy complained. I reminded her that she had invited Grace to lie with her.
At 10:00, we made some popcorn. Grace had the munchies. She sat with me in the usual way, eating only out of my hand and leaving to popcorn bowl, just inches away from her, untouched as we shared its contents. At 10:30, we went outside for the last time and returned at 10:45. Grace then went to the office for the night.
Memorial Day
When I got up at 6:15, Grace lay peacefully on the office ottoman watching the new day dawn. At 6:45, Grace came near the bedroom. Betsy invited her up and we exchanged our morning greetings. Grace then curled up at the bottom of the be until I got up at 7:25. At 7:30, we left for our run in the park. Grace looked more like herself today as she raced through the meadow and followed along with me on the run. Her problem with loose stools seemed to have resolved also.
Versitile Tongue
When we returned to the apartment complex, Grace spent most of her time licking the ground near the barbecue areas. I marvelled at how versatile and durable her tongue is. She uses it as we do to alter her sounds and assist with eating food, but it is also her drinking mechanism, her bathing and grooming instrument, part of her cooling system, her wound-care device, a scavenging tool, and finally her intimate greeting member.
At 9:10, we came home. Grace went to the office while I prepared her breakfast. As soon as she heard the food bag crinkle, Grace came marching expectantly into the kitchen. After breakfast, she had her shower. There was no remnant of any reluctance to come to the bathroom or get into the tub today. When she finished, I rewarded her as always with a treat. Betsy then called her into the bed and worked on her with the FURminator. Grace stretched out there for a nap as Betsy took a shower.
Exploring Something New
Grace ate her lunch at noon. She followed that with a lazy day of lounging around. At 4:45, we left to walk and get take-out. We went to an apartment where we were considering renting. We checked out the pool and walked around the areas of Lake Crabtree on the Cary Greenway. When we reached and unpaved section, we let Grace off of the leash. She enjoyed running free, going down to the lake and charging back up the hill. She responded well to our recall. We went down to a beach area and let Grace enjoy wading in the water. She didn’t bother to swim.
Eating Out
After an hour or so there, we headed back home. We decided to stop at Abbey Road for dinner and eat outside with Grace. I shared a bit of my hamburger and my french fries with Grace. While we waited, another family came by to learn more about Grace.
One of their girls wanted to try commands with Grace. I gave her some treats to give to Grace. She had her do paw and tummy. I’ll call that a milestone to have her respond to these commands by a stranger and a child. She likely would have done this months sooner, but we never tried. The service was really slow, but we were in no hurry. Grace became a little impatient, but she did well considering the amount of time we had to wait.
When we returned home at 8:30, Grace went to the balcony lounge chair, curled up and went to sleep. At 10:30, we brought her inside, and we all went to bed. Grace slept with us in our bed.
Tuesday
Grace slept in bed with us the whole night. That hasn’t happened in quite a while. After I got up at 6:20, Grace went to her ottoman in the office to look for friends. At 6:35, she spotted Olive and began to whimper. We went down five minutes later. Grace and Olive played until 7:30, when Olive had to go home. Grace came back with me to get my things. We then headed out for the Salem Pond Park.
Early Morning Exercise
At 7:45, we arrived at the park. The weather was pleasant and still not too hot. A lady came to the path and began walking. As Grace approached her, I let her know that Grace was friendly. I recalled Grace a couple times to reduce her contact with the lady. Grace seems to have a little more energy each day, but she still seems a little less active than usual. Thankfully, she had no ill affects from the hamburger and french fries last night.
When we returned home at 8:25, Grace took a shower and then ate breakfast. We left to go look at another apartment at 9:40. Grace seemed to be a bit agitated there — almost as if she felt confined. The place is actually bigger than our present place, but the window sills are a bit higher and the view outside is less interesting. The campus does have a small dog park area that she can see from the balcony. Grace went downstairs and played with a Jack Russell Terrier for about a half hour.
Recharging
At 12:30 we came home. Grace ate her lunch. After lunch, she lay in her usual spot by the balcony doors. At 2:30, she jumped up on the loveseat to continue her serious napping. At 4:30, I left to go to the land. When I returned home at 6:00, Grace was lying in the office. Betsy said she missed me. I gave her tummy rubs. I filled out an application and faxed it. Betsy was fixing my supper. While I was faxing the form, I noticed Olive outside but didn’t tell Grace. Grace made her way up on the ottoman and within a few minutes, she spotted her friend and let me know.
At 7:00, we ran out to meet Olive. Grace and Olive played for an hour. During that time, Jack showed up. Grace and Olive both ran to say hello to him. When Grace played aggressively with Olive, Jack would bark. When we returned home, Grace went to her cage and lay there for twenty minutes. She went to the office for twenty minutes until I went to kitchen for a snack. Grace marched in to meet me. I gave her a doggie treat. Grace came back to the living room with Betsy and me to lie by the balcony door. That’s where she was when we went to bed at 10:00.
Wednesday
When we awoke, Grace lay in a neat ball at the foot of our bed. At 6:30, we got up. Grace wanted to play fetch. Betsy and I did that with her for about fifteen minutes. Then she brought out her little giraffe toy and chewed on it. At 7:00, we went to the park. Betsy took a tennis ball. Grace played fetch in the meadow with Betsy. At 8:00, we returned home. Grace took a shower and ate her breakfast.
Morning Fetch
As Betsy and I gathered around the living room chair, Grace gave me a look like “I would like to sit up in that chair please.” I moved out of the way, she curled up, and I moved to the floor. After a few minutes she was fast asleep. At 9:30, I got up to get the phone. Grace moved over to the loveseat. She knocked a folder of papers of mine on the floor. She was concerned that she had done something wrong. I reassured her that I knew it was an accident. We did tummy rubs and kisses. Now, on a larger piece of furniture, Grace stretched out and went to sleep.
Antsy Meeting
At 12:20, Grace enjoyed her lunch. At 12:45, we headed out to a meeting with the builder. The meeting lasted almost two hours. Grace was particularly antsy being there. She whined a lot and was just unhappy being confined like that although we sat in a large conference room. When we left there, we went to the Sprint store for a few minutes and then moved on to the new apartments.
Checking Out the New Place
At the apartments, we had to wait so we decided to go to the dog area. Grace was okay there, but the clear, sunny weather was a bit much for her. She liked the lush green grass around the buildings the best. Now that the temperature has risen, we take care to minimize time on hot asphalt pavement. Betsy took off with Grace at around 4:45 and returned at 5:40. Grace needed to be in the front seat to be close to the air conditioning outlet. When we returned home, I took Grace upstairs as Betsy left to do some errands. Grace ate her supper and went to the office to nap.
I left her home alone at 6:25 and returned home at 8:00. When I returned, she was up on the ottoman watching out the window at the action below. At 8:40 we went out on the balcony. Grace came inside ten minutes later. At 9:30 we went to bed with Grace in the office.
Thursday
At 6:45, Grace came into the bedroom and jumped up on the bed. After few minutes of rubs and kisses, I got up and we headed of for a run in the park. Before we made it to the car, Grace spotted Olive. Grace and Olive played until 7:30. Then Ada joined them. At that point Grace became more vocal and persistent jabs at Olive’s neck with her mouth. Ada’s sore was still open but a bit less so. Her owner said it was from a pimple and not contagious. They played together until 7:45.
Black Dog Reunion
As Grace walked back with Olive, Fraggle turned the corner. It was a black dog party! Olive had to leave, but Grace and Olive played until 8:00. Grace kept Olive’s ChuckIt! ball. When we returned home, Grace ate her breakfast and I left for a dental appointment. When I returned at 10:00, Grace lay asleep on the office carpet protector.
Park and Grind
At 10:15, we left for our run in the park. Grace took many dips in the pond as she followed along with me. In the shallow pond, she ran across it with a jumping gait to fly above the water in pursuit of geese on the other side. When we returned home at 11:00, Grace had her shower, and then we set out to grind her nails. She did fairly well until the grinder broke. The drive shaft came loose. Since it is under warranty, Oster said to send it back, and they would send us a new one. I switched to my old Dremel to finish her off, but she became a bit irritated by the time we finished.
Lazy Afternoon
At 12:15, Grace had her lunch. After lunch, she jumped up into my chair, curled up into a ball and went to sleep. At 1:00, she moved to the office carpet protector. At 3:00, we went to the office to turn in our notice, stopped at the mailbox, and then returned home.
When I left to run some errands at 3:30, she was sitting next to the office window watching the activity below in the warm sun. When I returned home at 4:30, she was lying on the floor beneath that window.
Fun Outdoors
At 5:15, Grace emerged as Betsy took the ChuckIt! ball and threw it. After eating her supper, Grace stayed in her cage on the cool-feeling plastic floor. At 5:30, Grace parked herself on the foyer floor. She seemed to want to go outside. We explored for thirty minutes. As we returned home, there was Fraggle. Grace and Fraggle played for twenty minutes. On the way home, she did some turf surfing. The people at the pool commented that Grace was not ready to go inside. Indeed, she tried to park herself in the grass under shady trees as we made our way back home.
At 6:30, I finished supper and put some scraps from my drumstick in her dish. She was already in her cage cooling it on the plastic floor. When she finished eating, she came out and moved back to the foyer floor. When I opened a box of crackers, Grace perked up her head, but didn’t come in the kitchen. She then lay her head back down to continue her nap.
At 7:20, Grace marched into the living room. I had left a portfolio on the loveseat where she normally lies. As she approached it, I moved it out of the way. Grace then jumped up and continued with her nap. Grace went out on the balcony lounge chair to watch for friends at 7:45. At 8:45, Grace saw Olive. We raced down to meet her. I returned Olive’s ball. Betsy came down after five minutes, and I left them. At 9:25, they returned. Grace gave me wags and kisses and went to her cage to cool down.
At 10:00, we went to bed with Grace lying on the loveseat.
Friday
At 6:50, Grace was lying awake curled up in the living room chair. At 7:00, we left to go running in the park. When we returned, Grace went straight to the balcony to enjoy the warm morning air. Betsy gave Grace her breakfast at 8:50. Grace then had a bath. Grace went to the office to sleep. At noon, Grace ate her lunch and returned to the office. Through the day she would alternately watch out the window and relax on the floor. At 2:45, Betsy took Grace outside. They sat in the barbecue area for about 45 minutes and then returned to the apartment.
Hungries
At 5:00, Grace ate her supper. After supper, she returned to the office until I finished eating. I wondered as I opened the graham cracker wrapper if she would respond. Sure enough, Grace came marching in expectantly. I gave her a doggie treat, but that wasn’t enough. Since we switched her to lower-calorie food, I realize that she will need more tricks-for-treats times. At 6:05, we went through her repertoire — finishing up with fetch object. We’ll keep working on object recognition until it finally clicks with her.
Sweet Time
At 6:20, we went out on the balcony. There Grace worked on grinding up a stick.At 7:15, Betsy left Grace and me at the apartment. I finished off a carton of ice cream and gave Grace some along with the lickings of the carton. Grace followed that with a dental chew and a trip back to the office. At 7:30, Grace joined me on the balcony. Grace watched as Betsy returned at 8:10. Grace went inside to the office shortly thereafter.
At 9:35, I took Grace out for the last time. When we returned fifteen minutes later, I got ready for bed. At 10:00, I turned in for the night.
Saturday
At 5:45, Grace jumped into bed and gave me her signature kiss (a face-wash). Her ears were particularly cool feeling. Betsy said that “we” left her out on the balcony all night. This was her first night out since before we adopted her when she lived in a dog pen. Betsy said she heard some scratching at the door (Grace’s cue to let us know she wants in) earlier in the night, but figured Grace was doing it from the inside.
The low was just 69 degrees, so it really wasn’t a problem for Grace. She didn’t seem the worse for wear, but remained content to stay curled up on the bed as I dressed and started my day. At 7:20, as I was doing my floor exercises, Grace came in. We did tummy rubs and kisses for ten minutes. Grace then went back out on the balcony.
Greeting a Visitor
At 8:15, my brother came by to sign some papers on his way to visit his son. Grace greeted him enthusiastically. We left at 8:30 and returned at 10:45. Grace had her breakfast after we left. Betsy then left to check out the new apartment. Grace lay on the sofa as I entered. I praised her and gave her a treat.
Hot Late-Morning Run
At 11:00, we left to go for our run in the park. Since it was later in the day, sunny, and in the low eighties, Grace took more dips in the pond. This allowed her to follow me around without overheating. I noticed too that she would seek out shady areas near the path as I made the circuit. When we returned to the car, Grace got down in the front passenger foot area stay cool and be close to a main air conditioning outlet.
Lazy Afternoon
When we returned home, Grace was in no hurry to go in. I finally did a long turf surf to get her to the stairway. Once in the apartment at noon, Grace had her shower followed by lunch. Grace lay in the office until 1:00. We then out on the balcony to enjoy the balmy afternoon breezes and the festive activity at the pool and courtyard.
At 4:00, Betsy took Grace out for a walk. As she opened the door, Grace jumped back and let out her big-girl bark. Across the hall was a large inflated round plastic raft standing about four feet tall. That was something new and something that did not belong there. After we reassured her, they headed off. Betsy said they went to Sunrise to play the piano. Although they got rid of the attack dog, Pepper, Grace was still fearful. Betsy said she thinks she’ll get over it after a few more visits.
Winding Down
At 5:30, they returned, and Grace had her supper. After supper she lay by the balcony door. I was outside and didn’t realize she was there. I opened the door. It didn’t hurt Grace, but she was a bit disturbed. I gave her tummy rubs and told her I was sorry. Fifteen minutes later, she went out on the balcony while we ate supper.
After supper, Grace came inside. As Betsy got a scoop of ice cream, Grace watched. I gave her a dental chew. That satisfied her. After her chew, Grace lay on the cool foyer floor. I went to the kitchen to get a piece of chocolate. As I unwrapped the bar, Grace walked up to me. We’re out of doggie treats, so I gave her a couple of saltines. Grace then went back out on the balcony. The time was 7:40. Five minutes later, Grace returned, grabbed her giraffe toy.
Sundowning
By 8:00, Grace’s patience was wearing thin. She moved to the foyer and gave me the chomp chomp gesture. We went outside. She walked around and greeted dogs and people. She has recently developed a distaste for children around the age of three as she has encountered a few ill-mannered ones who struck her and kicked her. Now, she does her best to avoid them all — even the well-mannered ones. She said hello to Ada in a short encounter before dark.
When we returned at 9:05, Grace went to the office to be with Betsy. When I went to the kitchen for a snack, guess who joined me? I tried giving her just a handful of treats. She wanted more. We did tricks for treats. That satisfied her. She then settled in on the ottoman followed by the sofa.