Week Seventy-Six

At 1:15 Grace was still on her perch, awake and silently watching the night activity. At 6:55, I got up and dressed. Fifteen minutes later, Grace left for her morning fun.

Good Morning

Her first stop was the park. No friends showed up. After about fifteen minutes of less than spirited ball play, Grace moved on. She explored Clump Grass Hill (between the two apartment complexes) for a prolonged period of time. Then, she spotted a couple of dogs (Truman and the other one) down in the little dog park. Grace anxiously went down there to greet them, but almost immediately the dogs lost interest in any play.

Car Danger

Grace next went to the gate to Grace Woods. I raised the latch, and she pushed the gate open. Once we went through, I removed her leash. Grace ran straight down to the bridge. When she was two thirds the way across, a car drove past her. Grace did not seem concerned about moving out of the way. The driver honked the horn to get her to move.

Thirty seconds later, a second car came. This time I told Grace “Danger!” That did no good. Instead of getting out of the way, she ran in front of the car. I was very disappointed that she does not yet understand she needs to stay clear of cars.

Deer Snack, New Toy

Grace ran up into Grace Weeds. I followed. She explored the area for a few minutes and then went under the fence into the field on the left. I followed slowly behind and squeezed under the fence. When I caught up with her, Grace was eating the stomach of the deer carcass up on that field. She also took a few bites of ribs and ate some intestines before seeing a soaring bird and being distracted away from her snack.

Grace crossed over the Greenway to the lake shore. There, she found a flying disk toy. I tossed it for her and she retrieved it. I led her over towards the trash can at Grace Beach to enable me to deposit some dog waste. From there, I led her to the meadow. Grace enjoyed fetching the new toy. She caught the disk three times in a row. I will log that as a milestone for Grace having learned to catch a flying disk.

After playing with the disk, Grace moved on to the basketball. That stirred her interest in playing fetch. The game also lasted about twenty minutes. Next, she found a nearly disintegrated tennis ball. We tried playing fetch with that a few times. At that point, I realized, I still had a ball in my pocket and switched to using that. Grace did a final stint with the basketball before heading home. She let me leash her, but set off back toward the Greenway entrance rather than completing the loop and taking the short way to the apartments.

Cooped Up

When she returned home at 9:40, Grace had a shower, followed by a doggie treat and breakfast. When she finished, she washed herself and then went to the balcony and barked. Betsy brought her inside. Grace then went to her perch. I told her bye-bye. Grace didn’t bother to even stir.

When we returned home at 12:40, Grace stayed in the living room chair. We greeted with tummy rubs and kisses. When we finished, Grace went out on the balcony to enjoy the clear, sunny 50-degree afternoon. At 1:50, Grace came inside began grouching about going out. I told her to wait for Mommy and readied her with her collar, harness, and leash. Grace whined softly as she waited in the foyer for Betsy to get dressed to go.

Afternoon Outing

At 2:00, they finally left. When they returned two hours later, Grace was ready for me to take her out. She reluctantly went to her perch to watch for friends. At 4:30, she spotted her new little friend from the day before named Leighlah. Leighlah was relatively relaxed, and Grace was careful to be gentle with her. They chased and wrestled for about fifteen minutes. Then, Grace played ball with Layla’s owner, while Layla tagged behind Grace.

When Abby came fifteen minutes later, that stirred up Grace to try to push Leighlah. Leighlah reverted to her frightened mode instead. Abby’s owner held Layla while Grace and Abby started their usual running and roughhousing. A few minutes later, Leighlah’s owner left with Layla. Grace continued with Abby for about twenty minutes. Grace headed home. On the the way, she ate some remaining snow in the parking lot to quench her thirst.

Home Again

At 5:45, she came inside and lay on her side on the living room floor. At 6:35, Grace had her supper. Five minutes later, she started her trick of tossing her Kong around asking for more food or stimulation. Betsy ignored her and since I was in the other room didn’t respond to her promptings either.

At 7:15 after we ate, Grace did tricks for duck food. Thirty minutes later, when I poured a dish of cereal, Grace marched into the kitchen. I gave her a dental chew. She then lay on her side. At 8:15, Grace went to her perch where she conked out. At 9:40, I took her out for her last walk for the day.

Monday
At midnight, as Grace lay on the sofa, I stopped by and gently greeted her before returning to bed. At 6:30, when the alarm clock sounded, I got up to find Grace lying in her bed. Her head was hanging down over the side. I greeted her and went back to bed. When I got up ten minutes later, Grace was lying near the master suite entrance. There, I greeted her again with petting and soft words as she yawned and made soft moans.

Cold Start

The 30-degree temperature had deposited frost on the car windows. Grace left at 6:50 without greeting Betsy. Betsy just said good-bye from the other room as Grace headed out the door. After stopping at the car to turn it on, I took Grace to the park.

Grace had little enthusiasm for playing ball and no friends showed up. After twenty minutes, Grace moved on. She again spent a lot of time sniffing at Clump Grass Hill. When she saw Truman and the other dog heading for the dog park, she went there for a minute to socialize.

That really didn’t light her fire either. What she wanted was real dog adventure. She headed for the gate to Grace Woods. After we went through, I released Grace from the leash. She explored the slope by the river as I headed for the bridge. She came up behind me and went down to the ditch closer to the road and followed it down to the bridge.

Deer Fun

As usual, Grace crossed the bridge ahead of me. She proceeded to jump the guard rail to the left and check out Grace Weeds. Suddenly, there was a deer! Grace tore after her and chased it down to the river. When she finished her fun, she came down the hill, jumped over the guard rail, and proceeded toward the entrance to the Greenway.

Grace did her usual run across the field to the left, checking the deer carcass on that field, running down to the river, and exploring the slope there. She playfully tossed a few deer pelts and snacked on them for a while. Then, she finally circled around to the hill next to Grace Beach, I’ll call it Grace Hill. She had a good time exploring up and down the slope that went to the meadow below.

After about 30 minutes, Grace went back around the earthen dam to the other side of the river. She went down to the lower deer carcass and grabbed herself a deer leg snack. Grace brought it up to the upper field on the river side of the Greenway. There she spent 40 minutes chewing on her delightful snack.

Suddenly, a maintenance vehicle appeared coming from the other end of the Greenway. That was sufficient interruption to distract her from her snack. I used that to get her moving toward home.

Morning Nap

When she returned at 9:10, Grace went to the balcony while I cleaned and refilled her bowls. Five minutes later, Grace came in and enjoyed her breakfast. After breakfast, she got up on the chair and settled in for her morning nap.

At 10:50, Grace stretched off of the chair, went to the balcony door, looked at me, and let out a soft whine. I let her out. She proceeded to curled up on the lounge chair in the bright sunshine.

Afternoon Outing

At 12:15, we left to run an errand and go running in the park. Our first stop was the gas station. Grace got out to look around as she always does. When we finished, Grace returned to the passenger seat, and we were off.

Our next stop was to drop something off at a friend’s house. It was a different direction from our usual way, so it seemed to confuse Grace. She took it in stride though.

We finally made it to the park a few minutes after 1:00. There was no one else there when we arrived. Grace stuck fairly close to me. The barking dogs on the adjacent property did not lure her into approaching them and barking. Grace barked just once at them and moved on. I praised her for not going down there.

Rest and Relaxation

When we returned home at 2:00, Grace had a shower followed by a doggie treat. When she finished, she went out on the balcony. A black Labrador Retreiver walked by below. That prompted Grace to begin barking. I opened the door, she came inside, and went to her perch. As she saw me fixing her snack of duck and scrambled eggs, she went to the dining room to wait.

When her snack had cooled enough for her to eat, I put it out for her, and she enjoyed it. After she finished, Grace came by the dining room to check whether or not I had any piece of toast for her. I didn’t, so she lay on the dining room floor. At 3:00, limped over to the sofa to relax there and watch out the window. Before long, she was asleep. At 3:55, Grace was dream-barking.

A half-hour later, Grace went out on the balcony. She saw the black Labrador Retriever again and began to bark. I calmed her, and she stayed out to watch for friends in the park. At 4:30, she returned to her sofa and curled up there.

Afternoon and Evening

At 5:00, I took Grace to the park. After 15 minutes of listless play, Grace spotted Bones. They greeted with enthusiasm. After that, the fire was gone. Grace played fetch with Bones’ owner. Bones left. Grace sniffed and did some digging. She then left. Grace took her time walking home.

When we arrived 6:00, Grace started whining. I gave Grace her supper.  After she finished eating, Grace curled up in the dining room. Grace waited patiently as we ate our supper. When we finished, I gave her scraps from two chicken drumsticks.

Grace wanted more. She threw her large Kong on the floor I told her to wait while I cleaned up. When I finished at 7:00, Grace did tricks for duck food. When she finished, Grace wanted more and threw down her Kong again. I gave her a dental chew and then retreated to the bedroom. Grace went to her perch.

At 8:15, she went outside for her last walk of the day. Along the way, the black dog that doesn’t do well with Grace growled at her from a distance. That set Grace off. She wanted to go after her. I held her back. Both I and the other dog’s owner directed dogs to opposite sides of the building.

When we returned home at 8:30, Grace went to her sofa and curled up there for the night.

Tuesday
At 5:35, I got up to find Grace sitting facing the balcony door window. A minute later, she was up on her perch looking out there. I gently stroked her there and returned to bed. When I got up after the alarm sounded at 6:30, Grace met me outside the master suite entrance. There we greeted briefly. Grace seemed more anxious to go outside than usual.

Playing and Exploring

At 6:45, I took her out. All of the deer snacking the day before left her bowels particularly full. A few minutes after we went outside, she had a double-sized bowel movement.

Then, we went to the park. We were first there. Grace was not particularly interested in playing ball but did do a lot of sniffing. When Abby came in about ten minutes later, they exploded into play, took a break for some more prolonged sniffing, and then transitioned into play session. Reggie came in next, but he was more of a distraction than anything else. He left after about five minutes.

Grace and Abby had one more play spurt before Grace went to the gate. I hated to interrupt the play and figured she had already done all of her needed bowel movements. I was wrong. She went to the corner of the park and did another full-sized one. She prefers to attend to this matter in the grass. I should have just taken her because Abby left a few minutes later.

Grace was not interested in sticking around. She headed to the other apartment area directly. On the way, she met the creamy male lab that is deeply in love with her. They sniffed and snuggled with each other until his owner made his dog move on. Then Grace met Truman and the other dog with him, but that meeting was just a passing greeting because their owner could not stick around.

Grace went straight to the gate down to Grace Woods. She seemed to sense that she would find a deer across the bridge. Sure enough, as she crossed the bridge, Grace smelled the deer up in Grace Weeds. I saw its head as it looked down toward the road.

Grace tore up the hill to head it off, but it evaded her, and ran across the road into the woods toward the Interstate and Umstead Park. A couple minutes later, Grace returned and went back to check out Grace Woods.

I continued up to the Greenway and then moved to the spot where she can go under the fence. While I looked for her, Grace came running from the far end of the field by the upper deer carcass. I don’t know if she went under the drainage spot before I made it there, or found another pass at the other end of the field. It was nice to see her so anxious to run toward me though.

From there, we made our usual rounds. Grace stopped by the deer carcass to check it out, took a deer pelt and ate what looked like the tail. As she ran past the deer leg from yesterday, I stopped and called her back. She came. I pointed to the the deer leg. Grace checked it out for thirty seconds but moved on to the slope down from Grace Hill.

After about twenty minutes of exploring the slope, Grace returned to her deer leg for her morning snack. Grace worked on that for about forty minutes. It was interesting to watch the ankle joint move as she tugged on the two tendons associated with that movement about twelve inches up the leg. While she was snacking, one dog followed by a second walked by. I leashed Grace each time, but she wasn’t particularly interested.

When the second dog lunged and barked at the first, Grace barked a few times too, but she then settled back to her snack. When I was able to move her off of her snack, Grace went back to a deer pelt for ten more minutes of chewing. Finally, we headed home. We made a short stop at Grace Beach for a drink and then trotted back.

Home Again

When we returned home at 8:50, Grace went straight to the balcony. Five minutes later, Grace ate her breakfast and then returned to the balcony. At 9:30, Grace spotted a black dog and barked a few times but restrained herself even as children on the balcony above egged her on.

At 9:40, Grace came inside and got up in the chair. I went over and petted her. Her coat was hot from the sunshine. A few days back, Betsy mentioned white hairs appearing on her face. I looked and could see a few. The standard look of Granddaddy with white on the muzzle and nose may be what Grace could have some day.

Trying to Stay Cool

She considered going to sleep, but then got down from the chair and took a long drink of water. When she finished, she came over to her sofa, looked at me seated on the other end, and then got up and propped her front legs up on the arm of the sofa as she watched out the window. She was obviously hot, so I opened the balcony door to let in some cool, fresh air. Despite that, she still began to pant. A few minutes later, Grace settled in for her morning nap.

At 10:00, with the balcony door open, Grace walked off of the sofa and out to the balcony. This nice weather makes me long even more for the new house to be completed. Grace looked around the room and then went rather reluctantly to her perch. I believe she moved because the sounds of multiple landscaping blowers were annoying her. The problem with the perch was that the sun shone on much of her area. Ten minutes later, Grace walked by panting, looked at me with a haggard expression, and lay on her side on the cool foyer floor.

After she cooled off, at 10:30, Grace returned to the balcony, walking through the still-open door. The blower noise had stopped. Ten minutes later, she moved from the concrete to the lounge chair. At 11:00, Grace walked to the foyer floor to cool off. I moved the throw rug off of the small area to give her more cool space to stretch out.

At 11:15, Grace returned to the concrete balcony floor. At 11:35, Grace let out a whine. With her tongue hanging out, she returned to the foyer, panting and lay on her side against the cool floor. Ten minutes later, she had cooled off enough and returned to the balcony. Ten minutes later, Grace again walked past me with her tongue hanging out to cool off in the foyer.

At 12:20, Grace returned to the balcony. This time, she tried the sunny spot on the lounge chair. I could tell she wished there would be shade there. Again, I envisioned the coming day when the lounge chair would be on a covered porch with a ceiling fan and she would be overlooking our lawn and woods — if I could only tell her!

That was too hot. Grace got up five minutes later and returned to the foyer. At 12:35, Grace heard a dog bark outside. She perked up and walked toward the balcony. She saw me getting ready to leave and decided to stop her advances toward it.

Afternoon Romp

When arrived at Borador Pond Park at 1:00, Grace proceeded to follow me and clear the area of birds. The bird population seemed to be limited to robins. Grace stayed with me most of the time as we ran in the 60-degree sunny afternoon. Again, the siren sound of the barking dogs did not pull Grace off course.

When we finished our run, we went to the land. The surveyors had re-marked for the footings. I filled a couple of gallon jugs with water for drinking as Grace explored the area. I also took some more pictures.

After about thirty minutes of checking things out, I whistled for Grace. She went the other way. Obviously, she wasn’t ready to go. I walked up to the house next door and as I approached the driveway, Grace came running toward me with a toy monkey in her mouth. I ran back and encouraged her to follow. She did. Once we made it inside the silt fence, Grace let me leash her. We proceeded to the car and were on our way.

Snack and Rest

At 2:30, when we returned home, Grace went to the now-shaded balcony. As I finished preparing her duck food and scrambled egg snack, Grace came in to the foyer to remind me to give it to her when it cooled. At 2:50, Grace enjoyed her delicacy and returned to the balcony to breathe the fresh air.

At 4:30, as I ate my sandwich, Grace came in and grouched. I gave her a shower followed by a doggie treat. When she finished, she complained about wanting to go outside and play. I told her to wait. Grace went to her toy box and pulled out some cardboard to shred. She came to me again at 4:50, looked me in the eye and whined. I told her to wait. She went to the balcony.

Friends and Family

At 4:55, I took her out as she saw a non-friend up at the park. As we entered, they left. Grace played ball for a few minutes until we saw Hannah and Miley coming. Grace played fetch with them. At 5:45, all of the dogs went home.

Grace went toward the back entrance to the building. Betsy called us. I unhooked Grace so she could run to greet Betsy. We then walked together back home. Grace went straight to the balcony.

Supper and Treats

At 6:15, Grace came in. I gave her supper. When she finished, Grace went to the foyer and lay there. When I went to the kitchen and rattled a cellophane bag, Grace popped in. I gave her a doggie cookie and retreated to the bedroom.

After I finished my supper at 7:00, I gave Grace chicken drumstick snacks. She followed me into the kitchen as I cleaned up. I gave her a bowl with some left over yogurt in it to lick out. When she finished, she wanted more. I gave her a dental chew and left the room.

At 8:00, Grace went to her sofa to nap. A half hour later, Betsy turned out the lights and went to bed. At 8:45, I took Grace out for her final walk of the day. When she came home at 9:00, Grace returned to her sofa for the night.

Wednesday
At 1:30, Grace was lying on the sofa. I stroked her gently as I walked by and returned to bed. At 6:00, I got up. The rain and lightening punctuated the morning darkness. Grace lay nestled in her cozy bed. I greeted her there and went to the office to avoid disturbing her.

At 6:20, after Betsy got up, Grace came into the office and greeted me with kisses as I spoke to and petted her. Grace stayed with me but was very talkative. She wanted to go. It was raining, so I dragged my feet for a while. Grace continued to insist.

Into the Mud

At 6:45, we left. At the park, it was pretty muddy. Abby doesn’t normally show up in the mud. I cleaned the balls and water bucket — bringing back fresh water. Reggie did make an appearance for about a ten minutes. After an enthusiastic greeting tough, the two dogs each went its own way.

By 7:20, Grace was ready to move on. The sky was clearing, but it was still wet. She became really excited in the buffer area between the two apartment complexes. I let go of her leash and she ran frantically through the clump grass and small wooded area as if she was tracking a deer. When she found none, I grabbed her leash and she headed for the gate down to Grace Woods.

I opened the latch and Grace opened the gate as usual. I unhooked her and she took off and disappeared into the woods. I walked ahead on my usual path. When I arrived at the bridge there was still no Grace. I crossed and still no Grace. Suddenly, there came the little black dog, running excitedly, rounding the bend and running toward me across the bridge.

Grace after receiving my verbal greeting, Grace jumped the guard rails on both sides of the road and did a quick deer check. She found none. From there, we entered the Greenway area. Grace went down to the lake shore and found a foam-rubber baseball. It really seems to be the best kind of ball for fetch that we’ve found yet. Grace played fetch with it for about ten minutes.

She then moved on to explore the slope of Grace Hill and travel though the meadow. She returned up the hill, found her deer leg and worked on it. After about 20 minutes, Grace moved on to the deer carcass. There she enjoyed eating a few neck vertebrae, chewing on some ribs, and working on hip joints. After about a half hour, I told Grace it was time to go. Surprisingly, Grace jumped up immediately and headed back with me.

Recharging

When we returned home at 9:00, Grace went to the balcony. I prepared her food and water. She came in and ate it and then went back out. The sky had become overcast again making the balcony a lot less inviting.

At 10:00, Grace came in and went to the chair. There she took her morning nap. At 12:05, she did a dream-growl, followed by some soft dream-barks.

More Fresh Air

At 12:20 we left for Borador Pond Park. Grace chased birds and followed me as usual. At one point, she gave her two cents in responding to the constant barking from the dogs next door. She limited it though and stopped on command.

When we finished there, we moved on to the lot. The footing guys were there and it was quite a mess. The ditches were dug and there was mud everywhere. No machines were running as the crew was just waiting for the inspector. All told, we were there for about an hour. I called her a number of times, and she came back from her wanderings. The last time, she wanted to do a small amount of chasing across the road. After a few minutes, Grace came, and we were on our way.

Freshening Up to Play

When we returned home at 2:30, Grace had a shower followed by a doggie treat. At 3:30, Grace came in and enjoyed her duck food and eggs treat followed by a long drink of water. When she finished, Grace got up in the chair and curled up for a nap.

At 4:30, I spotted Grace’s friends out in the park. We raced down to play with them. Abby and Reggie were there. They wanted to play with balls, but when we got rid of them, the three dogs mixed it up for about fifteen minutes. The 70-degree temperature seemed to slow them down a bit with lots of panting going on.

Although Abby and Reggie left,  Hannah and Miley came to replace them. Their owner brought a medium-sized Kong squeaky ball. That became the prize. The dogs had a good time fetching and chewing on it. When the other two dogs went home, they left the fun ball. Grace enjoyed just having it in front of her and lying in the warm evening air. When Betsy joined us at 5:40, Grace played some fetch  with Betsy and me.

Winding Down

When she returned home at 6:05, Grace went to the balcony. I put out her supper, but she didn’t notice. Grace came in at 7:00, noticed her supper, and ate it. When she finished, she got up into the chair and napped.

At 8:00, I took Grace out for the last time. When she returned ten minutes later, she went to her perch to look out the window. When I went into the kitchen for some food at 8:30, Grace popped into the kitchen asking for a little something. I gave her a doggie cookie, followed by a small Kong with duck food, the rest of the half cup of duck food, and finally a dental chew. When she finished, Grace went to her perch to watch the night activity.

Thursday
At 4:00 I walked by Grace lying on a sofa. I gently greeted her and returned to bed. At 5:10, Grace let out about five soft woofs. Then she let loose with a bark. When I got up, Grace walked toward the door and let loose with about ten seconds of talking. We tried to get her to come into our bed. She wasn’t interested. I then directed her to her own bed and left her sitting there.

Let’s Go!

At 5:30, the alarm clock sounded. I got up at 5:45. Grace was lying quietly on her perch. Grace wanted to get going. We had a long tummy rubs and kisses session. Grace went to the balcony and back inside a few times.

Grace persisted. She tried shredding a box for a minute, came to me with her paw on the cushion, and did a lot of whining. I directed her to the foyer. She went obediently but continued to whine there.

Outside Finally

At 6:45, I took Grace out. She had no particular urgency need. The mornings were getting light earlier though. The weather was clear and warm enough that I could get by with just a warm-up jacket and pants.  Grace traversed the side of our building behind the bushes. When she made it out, she went to a low area at the end of the building, following her nose.

On the way to the park, I dropped off a letter. From there, we headed up to Borador Park. Two days ago, landscapers put in a row of holly bushes along the parking lot and in direct line of the path that we use to get to the park. Until they fill out, we can still make it through. Hopefully, we will be living in our new home by the time they become a problem.

Grace wanted to go inside, but I told her to finish doing her business first. After a brief walk, we returned. I then freshened up the water bucket and cleaned the new prized ball. A minute after I returned, Abby showed up. I quickly gathered the balls and hid them behind one of the new bushes.

Grace and Abby played hard for about twenty minutes. When Abby left, Grace did also. She moved on quickly to Clump Grass Hill. There, she sniffed around for about five minutes before heading for the gate down to Grace Woods.

I opened the latch, and Grace pushed the gate open. After shutting and latching it, I set Grace free. We followed our routine down to the bridge with Grace leading the way. She checked out Grace Weeds as I went to the Greenway entrance. Grace came back and followed me.

Then, Grace went back into Grace Weeds through the drainage underpass. I lost track of her there and expected her to reappear through the ditch, but again as the day before Grace came running toward me from the direction of the river. There must be another way through there.

Grace enjoyed running free in the field and going down to the river. She brought up another deer leg from the carcass below and dropped it in the upper field next to the other carcass. She spotted some birds and chased them. She went up Grace Hill and carefully tracked scents on its steep slope. Grace went down to the meadow and spotted geese at the lake shore. She tore after them and moved them into the water.

Grace explored along the lake shore and moved on to Grace Beach. She went through the thicket behind (Grace Thicket) to the shore on the other side by the drain control platform. When she finished, Grace came up to the leg she had been working on at Grace Hill and proceeded to separate the upper two bones by crushing the joint. When she finished eating half of that upper bone, she worked on the joint that connected to it on the next one. Once she finished that joint, I directed her home. Grace came reluctantly.

Eat, Rest, Ride, and Run

When Grace returned home at 9:00, she went straight to the balcony. I put out her food and fresh water. Grace came in immediately and ate it. As I dished out more food into a bag for treats in the car, Grace looked my way. She didn’t press the issue though. After all, she had a nice deer-bone snack and breakfast. When she finished with her breakfast, Grace returned to the balcony and relaxed on the lounge chair.

At 11:00, we left for our run. Grace stayed in her chair until the last minute. She knows too well the way I end up delaying as I gather things together. We stopped by the land first to check out the status on the way for our run. Nothing new was going on. Grace stayed in the car. We moved on to the park. When we arrived at Borador Pond Park, we were the only ones there. Grace enjoyed chasing birds and taking dips in the pond.

After a few laps, a man came with a toy-sized dog. It was off the leash but very obedient. I told him Grace was friendly as I ran by them. Then, a man came in with two young Dachshunds on leashes. Whenever they saw Grace, they barked wildly and tugged on their leashes. Grace wanted to socialize, but I called Grace off. She resisted her urge and stayed with me. Grace resisting the urge to socialize with other dogs is a milestone. I was proud of her.

When we finished, I stopped back by the land. Grace stayed in the car. I spent a bit more time looking around and checking things out. The inspectors had signed off on the trenches some time Wednesday. The footings had not been poured and the tree removal company did not make it there yet either. I reported the status to our construction manager. Our final stop was the grocery store. I gave Grace a treat when I returned a few minutes later.

Home Again and Another Ride

We made it home at 12:45. Grace went straight to the balcony. At 1:15, Grace saw that I had prepared her duck and scrambled eggs snack. She came in and ate it. When she finished, she headed back outside, but I offered her a near-empty ice cream container. After she finished cleaning that out, I gave her a dental chew and let her back out on the balcony.

We left for another trip to the land at 3:05. The footing contractor said that wet concrete can irritate animal’s paws. I kept Grace on the leash. It was a good thing I did because the chickens two doors down were loose. Grace played on the leash with Snoopy and did well following me around.

Friends and Family

When we returned home at 5:00, the park was full of friends. Abby, Reggie, Miley, Hannah, and later Bones were there. There was too much stimulation for Abby and Grace to get into their roughhouse play, but Grace enjoyed hanging out with the gang. When Betsy brought her home at 5:45, Grace went straight to the balcony.

At 6:45, Grace came inside and ate her supper. She then went to her toy box, found an empty cardboard box, and did some shredding. From there, she went into the kitchen with Betsy. After we finished eating, at 7:00, we gave Grace chicken drumstick scraps. As I prepared them from my plate Grace sat watching me and drooling. I rushed the scraps to her dish. Then, Grace did tricks for duck food. When she finished, Grace went out the open balcony door to enjoy the warm night air.

At 8:20, Grace barked wildly. I didn’t see anything, but I took her out. I stopped and talked to a neighbor for a while. While we were talking, Grace spotted the hated white cat. She went nuts as usual. The hated white cat moved out of sight. Grace remained excited and tried to track it. I redirected her. She returned home at 8:45 and went straight to the balcony.

At 9:15, Betsy gave Grace a shower. She was so impressed how Grace helped by lifting her legs at the appropriate time. I don’t remember whether or not I logged this as a milestone. If not, we will log it here. When she finished, Grace had a doggie treat and went to her perch.

Friday
Betsy got up at 6:00. When I got up at 6:30, Grace was on her perch. As I dressed, Grace let me know she was ready to go. She let out some gas. I recalled that her previous bowel movement ended up a bit soft, and she did eat the remains of a deer a few weeks old.

Park Play

We left at 6:40. On her way to the park, Grace confirmed an upset digestive system with a very soft bowel movement. I recall that Betsy gave Grace chicken broth the night before. I believe that had triggered a problem with Grace in the past. Perhaps that was a factor. When we made it to the park, Grace was ready to play. After playing fetch with her for a minute, I gathered up the balls and took the pail down to the car wash to clean the balls and get fresh water.

I cleaned the favorite ball first, dried it and threw it to Grace in the park. When I returned, Grace greeted me at the gate and sampled the other balls. We ended up playing with the large one with the cover halfway off. It’s fun for her because she can grab the tab of the cover and toss it around. At 7:00, as Abby came in, I quickly gathered up the balls. Grace and Abby played for fifteen minutes. Then, Grace went to the gate. She needed to go.

Exploring

Shortly after making it to one of her near grassy spots, Grace had a runny bowel movement that included a bone piece as large as an aspirin tablet but with jagged edges. Grace moved on to Clump Grass Hill, the small dog park next door for about a minute, and finally to the gate to Grace Woods. As usual, she pushed when I unlatched it, and I released her leash. Grace made it ahead of me across the bridge. She checked out Grace Weeds and returned to walk with me to the Greenway entrance.

Grace checked out the two deer carcasses and enjoyed exploring at the river. She kept an eye out for soaring birds and chased them as necessary. She then went down to the lake by the big regulator platform. There she found two balls. She looked at me to indicate she wanted me to come down from the Greenway and play ball with her.

One was a tennis ball and the other was a heavy, solid plastic hardball-sized yellow ball fashioned as a large golf ball. It was a bit chewed up but still basically intact. I used the ball to move Grace up across the Greenway to Grace Hill. From there, I moved her to the meadow where we played fetch with the ball for about twenty minutes.

When Grace tired of fetch, she chewed on a stick that was about as long as she was. At 8:20, I finally leashed her, and we headed back for home. As we approached the parking lot, Grace met Zeus. The two dogs greeted and moved on.

Food, Rest, Ride, and Run

At 8:30, when Grace came home, she went straight to the balcony to enjoy the breezy 68-degree morning. When I put her breakfast out, she started to whine softly. She then went to the door to request me to let her inside. I let her in, she ate her breakfast, and she then returned to the balcony lounge chair to watch and nap.

A thunderstorm was approaching. At 9:55, I called Grace in and we left for our run in Borador Pond Park. Grace enjoyed chasing soaring hawks, running with me, and taking dips in the pond. At one point she chased a hawk into the parking lot. I whistled and she returned. It seems like Grace is getting used to sticking within sight of me and staying within the boundaries that I set for her.

I decided to stop by the land on the way back. Just as I turned into the development, the downpour began. I saw that nothing else had happened since I was there the afternoon before, turned around, and headed home. Grace was a bit concerned by the intensity of the rain.

When we arrived home, I pulled together everything, opened the car door, opened the umbrella and called Grace to come. She was reluctant to take that step down to the wet pavement. After fifteen seconds of coaxing, I finally convinced her to come. We ran to the elevator and returned to our apartment.

Home Again

Grace then took her shower. When she finished, she had her doggie treat. She then went to her perch. I opened the window there to give her better access to the scents and sounds outside. At 1:20, Grace went to the living room to lie down on the floor near her bowl. At 1:30, I gave Grace her duck and scrambled eggs snack followed by some mozzarella cheese to help bind her up a bit and a dental chew.

At 2:55, Grace came in and went to her toy box to occupy herself. She shredded an empty box and then worked on her cow rib for a few minutes before going to her perch. At 3:40, Grace came down from her perch and began her protest antics. She whined, stared at me, and went to the foyer. I told her to wait and opened the door to the balcony. At 3:50, she finally reluctantly went to the balcony and lay there on the floor next to the door. At 4:00, as I fixed a sandwich, Grace enjoyed a small Kong loaded with her duck food. When she finished, she went to the balcony. That was good for fifteen minutes.

Alone at the Park

At 4:25, she went out for a walk. Grace had no need to relieve herself. She just wanted to play. I told her we were going to get a treat. Even that didn’t seem to generate much energy. She slowly sniffed her way to the office. Once inside though, she went straight for the treat container, sat on command, and happily took her treat. I picked up the package, and we went to the park.

No friends showed up. Strangely, in the morning, there were four balls in the park, but few hours later, there were none. I pulled out the one I kept in my pocket. Grace showed little interest but did want me to throw it near her. She did a little digging, a little barking at the black Poodle, and some playing ball.

Back Home

I led her home after about an hour. I stopped at the car wash to get the mud off of my tennis shoes from the park. I leashed Grace on a spigot. She understood and didn’t tug or protest. When I finished there, we stopped at the mailbox and then returned home at 5:40. Grace went straight for the balcony but after five minutes came inside and looked at her empty bowl. I filled it with her supper, she ate it, and went to her perch for a nap.

While we ate supper 6:30, Grace sat next to us and waited patiently. At 7:00, she did tricks for chicken scraps followed by tricks for duck food. Grace then went to her perch. At 7:30, she spotted a gray rabbit down at the edge of the lawn. She barked as if it were the hated white cat. It was only after I watched it move that I could detect it was a rabbit.

Betsy gave Grace a treat to take her mind off of the rabbit. When she finished the treat, she came into the bedroom to ask me to take her out. I refused, telling her to wait. She left the room.

Grace stayed on the balcony for an hour. At 8:40, Grace went out for her last walk of the night. She returned home ten minutes later. Betsy served me a piece of chocolate cake. Grace wanted a little something. I gave her a doggie cookie. She wanted more. I followed that with a dental chew. That satisfied her, and she went to her perch. At 10:00, Grace started barking at something she saw outside. I closed all of the blinds. Grace settled in for the night on her perch.

Saturday
At 4:00, I heard Grace dream-barking from bed. When I walked by her, she was still doing it. At 6:50, I found Grace lying awake on her side on the living room floor. There we did our usual tummy rubs and kisses routine.

Morning Constitutional
We went out at 7:00. The 40-degree temperature was tolerable. The ground was wet, but the sky was clear. Grace took her time getting to park. She went the back way. We climbed clump-grass hill by the pool. After we arrived at the park, I cleaned out and refreshed the water bucket. Grace played ball until 7:30.

After leaving the park, Grace made a beeline for Grace Woods. Being a weekend morning, road was crowded with cars racing up and down it. Despite the traffic, Grace made it safely across the bridge and into Grace Weeds. I walked around to the entrance to the Greenway while Grace explored the weeds and went under the fence into the field.

Grace went down near the water level control platform. There she met a fisherman. She found a ball and tried to get him to throw it for her. He resisted, saying he didn’t want to start anything with her. I went down and threw the ball for her instead. A Golden Retriever came to Grace Hill. The owner let it off the leash. Grace played chase with it for a few minutes. When she finished playing, Grace grabbed a deer leg and chewed on it.

Feeling Alone at Home

At 9:10, Grace returned home and went straight to the balcony. Fifty minutes later, she came inside got into the chair, got down and ate her breakfast, and returned to the balcony.  At 11:05, Grace came into the bedroom whining for me. I was busy studying and could not spend much time with her. I petted Grace briefly and returned to my work. Grace went to the balcony

At 11:30, Grace barked from the balcony and came in. Ten minutes later, when Betsy left, Grace whimpered. She wanted to go out. I told her to wait. She waited patiently as I studied. At 12:25, I took her out for our run. At the start, Grace stopped a few times. Once we made it out of the complex, Grace picked up the pace.

Glider Fun

When we entered the Greenway, Grace spotted the remote-control glider. She wanted to stick around and chase it. I decided to wait until the second lap. Grace also stopped to socialize with most of the dogs.
On the second lap, I let her chase the glider. It was great exercise for her for about fifteen minutes. I held her back as the glider owner landed and re-launced it. If it was in the air and I was still holding her, Grace objected and let out a squealing sound. She also made that sound when I finally made her stop.

Waiting, Playing, and Eating

When we returned home at 1:15, Grace had a bath followed by a doggie treat. She then went to the balcony to relax and watch the sunny afternoon activity below. At 2:30, Grace came in and lay on her sofa. At 2:40, I went to the kitchen to get a snack. While I was at it, I gave Grace her duck food snack. When she finished, she went to the balcony.

When Betsy came home at 3:30, she let Grace in and told her she would take her out. After spending about twenty minutes getting ready, Betsy took Grace out.

When Grace returned at 5:35, Betsy gave her a shower. When she finished, Grace went to her sofa to nap. At 6:15, Grace had her supper. She wanted more. She took her large Kong, brought it to me, and threw it down. I loaded it with duck food capped it with peanut butter. When we finished our supper at 7:00, Grace came in and watched. The supper had nothing that worked as scraps for her. When I finished eating at 7:15, Grace did tricks for duck food. When she finished, she wanted more. Betsy gave her another large loaded Kong. She then went out on the balcony.

At 7:40, Grace barked at something. Betsy let her in. Grace jumped up on the living room chair. An hour later, I took her out for her last walk of the day. When we returned ten minutes later, Grace got up on her sofa for the night.