Early in the morning, Grace joined us in bed. She stretched out of bed as it started to get light around 6:00 AM. At 6:45, we went outside to explore. We stayed in the complex most of the time, but did venture into the south woods. I was reading as I walked through the woods. Suddenly, my foot went out from under me. I had stepped into a two-foot-deep hole. I knew the hole was there, but was just preoccupied reading. Thankfully, I was not injured.
Trustworthy and Obedient
At 8:00, we met Olive. They played for fifteen minutes before we returned home. Grace had her breakfast. She went back to the loveseat, which is where I left her when we left for church at 9:25. We left in such a hurry that I had forgotten to close the door to the room where her big bag of food is kept. We left the smaller food bag on top of her cage, which would have been within easy reach of Grace. She disturbed nothing.
Friendly and Cheerful
We returned home at 12:45. Grace was lying on the office floor between the ottoman and the wall. When I came in, she peered at me with her head on the floor looking between the ottoman legs. It was so cute, I just had to take a picture. Unfortunately, by the time I could shoot, I heard the helicopter ears and she was up. She greeted me again with enthusiastic wags and kisses. Grace then had her lunch.
Patient
At 1:00, I took her out. We walked back over to the south woods. She found a flattened plastic drink bottle and brought it up out of the dirt. It’s always fun to watch Grace as she finds worthless junk and acts like it is such a treasure. When we returned at 1:30, Betsy and I had our dinner. Grace waited patiently. I gave Grace drumstick scraps for treats followed by a dental chew.
Afternoon Romp in the Park
After lunch, Grace joined Betsy in the office, lying on the cool plastic carpet protector. At 2:35, I heard the helicopter ears. A minute later, Grace acted like she was heading to the foyer. After a minute, she turned and jumped up on the loveseat across from me. Betsy left with Grace to go to the park at 3:30.
Betsy and Grace came home at 5:10. Betsy said Grace met an unfixed male Labrador Retriever. After they parted they met again and it was a struggle for both Betsy and the other dog’s owner to keep the dogs apart. We left for church at 5:20 and returned at 7:10. Grace met us at the door with more wags and kisses.
Black Dog Reunion
Grace wanted more food. We did tricks for treats. Grace was amazing. We have another milestone. She now knows the crawl command. After Betsy gave Grace a doggie treat, Grace went out on the balcony. At 7:30, she saw Olive in the courtyard. We raced down. Olive and Grace wrestled for about twenty minutes. Then Isabella and Tucker made it a foursome. They hung out together until 8:30 when we came inside.
Playful and Athletic
At 8:45, Grace went out on the balcony. At 10:15, Grace spotted Sammie in the courtyard. I took her first to do her business. On the way back, she met up with Sammie. They played chase with a ball for about twenty minutes. Grace evaded Sammie with agile cuts rather than resorting to her superior speed. At 10:40, we returned home and Grace went back out on the balcony.
Monday
Grace joined us in bed in the early morning. She got out of bed around daylight. At 7:20, she came by whining to go out. We left at 7:30 and went to Bond Park. This was the first time I let her off the leash in the park except in a fenced ballpark. I forgot treats but was still able to recall her from a runner with a whistle.
Coconut Discovery
She explored in the woods and found a coconut in the water. She could not grab it with her mouth, so I picked it up for her. She played with it like a ball. As we returned home, she grabbed a four-foot stick and carried it for about a quarter of a mile. Then she found a choice smaller stick and sat down for a chewing session. I finally took it from her and led her inside.
When we returned home at 9:10, Grace had her breakfast, followed by a shower. She went to the office to daintily chew on her ShamWow. When she came into the living room at 10:30, I gave her the stick that she found during the walk. After she finished the stick she went outside on the balcony lounge chair to nap. At 11:45, Grace came in and lay down on the cool foyer floor, waiting for our trip to go running. Grace ate her lunch at 12:15.
Tail Modesty
We finally left at 12:30. At the park, I took off the harness also so she could run free. She tried to run with me and catch up with Betsy as she walked. We returned home at 1:30. This past week, I realized something about Grace that distinguishes her from many Labrador Retrievers. Betsy’s little Borador not only is smaller, more athletic, and smarter than a Labrador Retriever, she also keeps her tail in the modest lowered position when she walks and stands. Grace spent the afternoon snoozing in the office and on the loveseat.
After-Dinner Walk
At 5:20, Grace let me know it was time for her supper. I fed her. At 5:30, we went outside. Grace met Beretta and charmed Beretta’s owner for treats through their patio rails. On the way home, the Cocker Spaniel downstairs persistently poked her nose through the rails from her patio. When Grace very gingerly and non-threateningly made her way to the dog, it backed off and decided not to interact with Grace. We finally made it home at 6:40.
Late-Night Play
We gave Grace a doggie chew and a dental chew. At 7:20, we did tricks for treats. Grace did them easily. After the session, she finally retired to the office and perched on the ottoman by the window to be with Betsy. At 7:45, she saw some action outside and decided to move to the balcony lounge chair. At 8:15, she started barking. I didn’t see anything. She came in and started to whine. Sammi was downstairs.
I took Grace down. They played chase for about twenty minutes. We returned home at 8:45. Grace barked at her reflection in the patio doors. She went out and barked at nothing. She then settled down in the lounge chair. At 9:30, Grace came in, lay in the loveseat and fell fast asleep in minutes.
Tuesday
Grace didn’t make it to our bed until it was time to get up. She jumped up for tummy rubs at about 6:45. We left for our walk at 7:00, heading for the south woods. I had my forearm supported on a horizontal metal fence rail with the leash looped over the wrist of that hand. Suddenly Grace bolted down the steep slope below. As the force on my ulna approached the breaking point, I released the leash and avoided injury except for a small bruise.
Will She Return?
We headed down to Bond Park. Grace spotted squirrels to the right. I let her off of the leash and she energetically took off after them. At one point she did a standing long jump of six feet across a stream. This is a milestone. Poison ivy started come out, which it makes it more difficult to follow her through the woods. She frolicked through the woods and went out of sight a few times. I whistled though and she came running to me (thankfully). I gave her a treat each time.
Spring Poison
On the way back, Grace took particular interest in grabbing sticks, the longest being about three and a half feet. As we returned, I smelled something and then noticed wet marks on the sidewalk. I found the guy applying it. He said it was just fertilizer, but it smelled a bit toxic. When we returned home at 9:00, I gave Grace a shower. She then had her breakfast before going to the balcony for thirty minutes.
Royal Greeting
Grace scratched on the window and whined at 9:30, indicating that she wanted in. I looked to see if there were friends outside, but I saw none. Grace headed for the foyer. A minute later, Betsy came in. Grace greeted her with wags and kisses. when they finished, Grace jumped up on the loveseat for a nap.
Home Alone
At 11:45, Grace had her lunch. At noon we left her home alone. When we returned, she was asleep on the office floor on the plastic carpet protector. She greeted us with wags and kisses. I gave her the usual “good bye-bye” treat. She wanted more so I gave her a doggie treat. She then went to the loveseat to rest.
Patiently Waiting for Playmates
Betsy and I left at noon to go visiting. When we returned at 3:30, Grace was asleep on the plastic carpet protector in the office. She greeted us with wags and kisses. Betsy gave Grace supper at 5:20. After our supper, I gave her the scraps for tricks.At 6:30, Betsy took Grace to Bond Park again. The two dogs with which she played one time, were penned up on the deck. Grace waited patiently, but they never had a chance to get together. When Betsy and Grace returned at 7:30, Grace went out on the balcony to watch for friends.
Olive Sighting
At 8:15, Grace wanted in. She acted like she saw her friends. I saw nothing, but I took her outside. Grace headed south. Eventually, I turned her north to look for friends. We found Olive. Grace and Olive played until 9:00 when Grace returned home. Grace went back to the balcony lounge chair. When I went to bed at 10:00, Grace was still outside. Before Betsy went to bed, Grace came in and curled up in my chair.
Wednesday
Some time during the night, Grace came into our room and lay beside the bed. At 6:15, she began whimpering. I invited her up on the bed. She jumped up. We gave her attention, but that did not satisfy her. We went outside at 6:35. Grace stayed around the complex, covering most of the surrounding territory as well. Grace did a lot of sniffing and a bit of stick chewing. At one point, she wanted to cross the street to go to Cary Christian Academy, but the traffic was too dense.
Morning Outing
When we returned home at 8:05, Grace had her breakfast. After breakfast, she retreated to the office for a nap. At 10:15, we left to meet a contractor at the lot. Grace played with Buddy and explored for about twenty minutes. Our next stop was our storage unit. Grace went inside and lay on the cool cement floor. After storage, we sent for our run at the Salem Pond Park. Grace got wetter than usual in the water, but Betsy said she did not swim. Grace played fetch with Betsy and circled the pond with me.
Afternoon Napping
Grace had her lunch when we returned at 12:30. At 1:15, she settled in for a serious nap on the loveseat. At 2:00, Betsy disturbed Grace’s nap. Grace went out on the balcony at 2:15. She came back in five minutes later and jumped into my chair. I went to make a sandwich. Grace followed. I gave her a doggie treat followed by a dental chew. She lay on the kitchen floor as I ate.
At 3:05, Grace returned to the loveseat across from me for more napping. At 3:23, Grace did some sleep barking. It’s a very cute, soft, muffled bark that she does while dreaming. At 4:05 in a different position, she was sleep-drinking. At 5:12, she got up and told me it was time for her supper. As I grabbed a snack, she hit me up for a doggie treat. After her supper, she lay on the carpet and played with her snake squeaky toy.
Sundowning Is Back
After a few minutes, she stood up, did a shake, sending the helicopter ear sound throughout the apartment, and went into the office to watch the first-day action of people at the pool. When I went to the kitchen and rustled a plastic bag, old Grace came in looking for more munchies. I ignored her this time. She came back into the living room and played with her sock toy and some cardboard scraps from her toy box.
Grace became increasingly restless. I took her outside at 5:55. We visited Beretta and returned home at 6:20. I gave her scraps for treats and let her lick my plate when we finished. We left her alone as we went to church. I forgot to shut the door to the room where we store the big bag of dog food. Grace greeted us with wags and kisses when we returned at 8:15. Of course, nothing (including the big bag of dog food) was disturbed while we were gone. Grace is the best little Borador ever.
She wanted to do tricks for treats. She breezed through them like a pro. At 9:30, Betsy made some popcorn. Grace said she had the “munchies.” I shared my popcorn with her while we sat in my chair. Grace went outside on the balcony at 10:00.
Thursday
Grace spent the night in the living room and on the floor outside our bedroom. She started whimpering softly at about 6:15. Betsy invited her up, but that didn’t satisfy her. At 6:50, I took her outside. We made it down to Bond Park. I let her off of the leash in the first woods to the left. Grace meandered around for about a half hour. Then she spotted the lady with the Shelties. This time she had a third dog which looked like a toy Sheltie. Grace bolted toward them. I could not call her off, but Grace did not do anything threatening and all was well.
Treasure Found
On the way back, Grave found a toy giraffe. She wanted to sit in the grass and chew on it, but I wanted to get home. She’s especially cute when she carries a prize in her mouth. When we returned at 8:40, I gave Grace the emptied cottage cheese and ice cream cartons from yesterday to lick out. She then had her breakfast. After breakfast, she went out on the balcony for her nap.
Grace came inside at 10:30 and went to the office to be with Betsy. At 11:00, she heard me out in the kitchen and came to the living room. After finding there were no goodies for her, she grabbed her new toy and started chewing on it in her very dainty way.
Morning Run
At 11:30, we went for our run. Grace found the tennis ball that Betsy left there a few days ago. As I finished the first lap, I remembered that the trunk was closed but unlatched. I went back and latched it shut. As I returned, I noticed that Grace was watching carefully that I was returning.
After we completed four laps, a man with a small dog joined the walking path. Grace bolted toward them. I could not recall her with my whistle. The man picked up his small dog and greeted Grace as she greeted him. When I caught up with them, Grace broke away and followed me. On the final lap, Grace ran ahead to them again but was a less excited about it.
We returned to the car and made a short stop at the grocery store. The partly cloudy 75 degree weather concerned me a bit leaving Grace in the car, but I figured she would be okay. I cracked the front windows and tried to park in the shade. Ten minutes later, I returned and of course, Grace behaved perfectly. I praised her and gave her a treat.
Afternoon
At 12:45, we returned home. I gave Grace a shower and then gave her lunch. She wanted more, so I gave her a doggie treat, a dental chew, and two saltines. Grace then lay at my feet under the table as I ate brunch. At 2:06, Grace moved to the loveseat across from me to resume her nap.
End of Heat
At 5:05, I took Grace outside. We returned at 5:15. After I finished supper, I gave her a piece of my fish for tricks. Grace is definitely back to normal now. Her swelling is down from her heat and she does her sundowning routine. I’ll mark this as an end of heat milestone.
Betsy and I left to go downtown at 6:10. When we returned at 7:10, Dr. Grace had disemboweled her toy giraffe. As usual, she greeted us with wags and kisses. We played tricks for treats. Afterwards, Grace wanted to play tug an fetch games.
At 8:45, I took Grace out for the last time. She met Trixie, but they didn’t play. We returned home at 9:00. Grace lay on the dining room floor and fell asleep. I went to bed at 10:00.
Friday
In the middle of the night, Grace got up in the bed but seemed to just stay a minute and then jumped back down. I got up to use the bathroom at 6:00. As I returned to bed, there was Grace lying on the floor outside the bedroom. I gave her tummy rubs and went back to bed. Grace let me know it was time to go at 6:45. We made it outside at 7:00.
Extended Morning Play
It had rained, and the grounds were wet. The air was a pleasant 68 degrees. We saw Olive and played with her for about thirty minutes. Both Sammi and Trixie came by but didn’t play. We then explored north and west ending up at Cary Christian Academy. As we headed home, we spotted Fraggle. Grace and Fraggle hung out together, but did little puppy play.
When we returned at 9:30, Grace had her breakfast. The food bag was empty, so we went in the other room to do a refill. Grace watched patiently and with anticipation. I spilled some and let her eat it. I spilled some more, and had to pull her away because it was too much. When I finished, she cleaned up the random remains.
First Tick
Grace went out on the lounge chair. Betsy checked her ears and found an engorged tick in one ear. Betsy removed it and put some ointment on the spot. Betsy said she gave Grace flea medicine about a week and a half ago, so she cannot do flea and tick medicine for another two and a half weeks. She also used the special comb on Grace to comb out her coat and further check for ticks.
Afternoon Antics
At 11:30, we went to the park. Grace followed me some and Betsy some. She would cut through the meadow. to go from one to another. When she ran ahead of me, she would stop and look back that I was in sight. When we made it home at 12:25, I go gave Grace a shower. Grace then had lunch. After lunch, Grace convinced Betsy to give her a doggie treat. After she finished, she stretched out on the dining room floor for a nap.
At 2:30, as I made a sandwich, Grace popped in looking for something. Betsy came in with some saltines. Grace tried to get some from her, but Betsy didn’t give her any. Finally, I took one, walked over near her dish and gave her one there. After I finished, Grace came into the living room and lay across from me on the lounge chair.
At 5:00, she finished her nap and went out on the balcony for five minutes. I put an empty oatmeal carton in her toy box. When she came in, she immediately picked it up, took it to her normal shredding area, and went to work on it. At 5:40, Grace had her supper. I took her outside at 5:45. We returned home at 6:00.
More Sundowning
Grace is back to her old self. She relentlessly wanted to play. I tried tricks for treats. While she enjoyed that, it wasn’t enough. Grace resumed her tug game persistence. I played with her for about twenty minutes. At 7:15, I gave her a bully stick. After fifteen minutes, Grace finished her chew and resumed her tug-fest with me. At 8:00, she mistakenly scratch my face, knocking off my glasses. She left no mark, but it did hurt. That stopped the play.
At 9:00, I took Grace out for the last time. When we returned at 9:15, I took a shower and went to bed.
Saturday
Never came into our room during the night. I got up at 6:45. Grace whimpered lightly as she lay on the ottoman by the office window. Her whimpers intensified as I prepared to take her out. I looked around, but couldn’t find her. She wasn’t in the bedroom, living room, office, kitchen, dining room, or foyer. I checked the master bedroom (we use as a storage room). There was Grace lying peacefully on the floor looking up at me with her sweet eyes.
Morning Outing
We headed out at 6:55. We went to the north side of the complex, crossed the road, and headed for the greenway at Oxford Hunt. Normally we proceed to Bond Park from there, but we meandered a bit longer today an just stayed there before turning back. We met two dogs. One was fairly large with tail down. The owner said it was a mix—perhaps with Mastif. The other looked like a black Labrador, Shepherd mix. It was a sweet dog.
A Different Day
When we came home at 8:10, Grace had her breakfast and curled up in the dining room for a nap. At 9:05, we all left to do so yard work at the church. We tied Grace to various spots, but after a while she would whine. Finally, the children discovered her and led her around as we helped out with various tasks. I came home to get my running shoes, and we headed off to the park for a run at about 2:30.
Betsy threw a tennis ball for Grace to retrieve. A mother duck was there in the pond with her ducklings. I remember first seeing them about a week ago. The ducklings clustered around their mother as they all swam together. Today, Grace though it would be fun to go after them. She made it within four feet of the mother before the water was deeper than she could stand. As the mother duck squawked at Grace, Grace decided to turn back.
On the way home we stopped for a milkshake at Chick-fil-A. Grace and I shared a vanilla shake. Grace really liked it. At the work day for lunch Grace had some french fries and a few bites of a hamburger. She had her fill of junk food today. We made it home at 4:00 and gave Grace a shower. After her shower, Grace lay on the dining room floor for some serious napping.
Grace had her supper at 6:00. I gave her scraps for treats at 6:30. At 7:00, she went on the balcony lounge chair. At 8:45, Betsy let her in. At 9:15, I looked for her everywhere but couldn’t find her. The lights were out in the living room and she blended in perfectly with my black leather chair as she curled up there in a tight ball. I took her out, and we returned ten minutes later. After we returned home, I prepared for night and went to bed at 10:00.