Sunday
At 5:00, Grace was asleep on her sofa when I walked by. Five minutes later, she was awake. I petted her a few times and went back to bed. At 7:10, I got up and found her on the living room floor. We did our usual greetings, I got dressed and we left for Borador Park.
New Prize and Fun with Friends
When we arrived, the park was empty. We walked outside the park for a few minutes. Grace found an electrical outlet cover. It was her latest prize. She dropped it just outside the park. After we entered, Grace tried to reach it with her paw. I reached my hand through the bars and retrieved it for her.
She took her prize with her to the center of the park and lay there with it contentedly. We played shortstop and fetch for a while. Then Abby came in at 7:45. Grace continued mainly fetching but also did some restrained wrestling with Abby. It’s tricky for Grace because she wants to play, but doesn’t want to provoke her. By 8:15, the avalanche of dogs started. Olivia and Rascal, Sadie, Bella, Zeke, and finally Reggie. At one point I commented that we had a black-dog party.
Of course, with Sadie, Grace, and Abby we had some hard wrestling and play time. Zeke and Grace also mixed it up for a few short bursts. Grace both watched the Abby vs. Sadie. Abby and Sadie left, but after an hour, Abby returned for another time with Grace.
Lonely Day
By 9:30, all of the dogs were gone. After a short walk, Grace returned home. She had her breakfast and waited in the living room chair as she saw Betsy and me get ready for church. At 10:15, we left her home alone. When we returned home at 4:00, I figured Grace would greet us at the door. When we went in, Grace stood there happily greeting us. She lavished me with kisses but followed that with a chomp of the air. She wasn’t happy to have been left alone so long.
I changed into walking clothes and whisked Grace out the door. She led me to Grace Beach. She had no urgency other than just to go outside and play. Twenty minutes later, I passed Grace on to Betsy. She said a Husky came to the beach and bolted. Grace followed the Husky and within a few minutes came running back with him.
Needing Stimulation
Grace returned home at 5:00 and went out to the balcony to watch for friends. I put out her food, but she was in no hurry to eat it. At 6:00, she came in and ate her supper. She then brought her Kong to the kitchen. I loaded it up and gave it to her. After she finished, she wanted more. She worked on a dental chew while we ate supper.
After our supper, Grace took the Kong to Betsy for a refill. After her second Kong, Grace did tricks for treats. She did her usual routine, ending with tug and push door exercise. Her favorite is tug to pull the door shut and latch it. Next, Grace wanted to play tug. Betsy and I spent about fifteen minutes playing with her. We did both tug and fetch.
At 8:30, we went outside for the last time. When we returned ten minutes later, Grace wanted a doggie treat. She then went out on the balcony. At 9:00, Grace came in and got up on the sofa for the night. I prepared for bed and finally turned in at 9:15. I mentioned to Betsy that since her heat cycle, Grace had not slept with us. I wondered if she felt she needed to be invited back in bed. I called her and she came right up.
Monday
At 2:00, Grace was back on her sofa awake. I patted her head softly as I walked past her. At 6:00, She was asleep on the floor in front of the sofa. A few minutes later she was awake. At 6:50, the alarm clock sounded. I got up and exchanged greetings with Grace who was lying in the living room chair. I noticed there was already activity in Borador Park, so I rushed to put on my clothes, and we ran down to play with friends.
Official Social Director
Abby was there. The warm moist air and cloud cover made it feel a bit like being at the beach. As soon as Grace entered, they were both ready to play. Grace did not hold back and Abby did not overstep the rules of safe play. They ran and wrestled for about ten minutes. Sadie followed at about 7:20. All three ran, but it was mainly Abby and Sadie wrestling with Grace who positioned herself like an official — carefully watching the action but avoiding interfering with it.
Olivia and Rascal followed. Rascal still pursued Grace but with a little less persistence. After ten minutes, they and Sadie left. When Abby left at 8:00, Grace went out for a walk. She found the scent of something in the landscape bushes that captured her attention for five or ten minutes. Finally, she moved on, and we completed the short circuit around some buildings. Grace returned to the park until 8:15 when the rain started.
Out of the Rain
We rushed home just as the rain came. Grace had her breakfast and then went out on the balcony lounge chair to relax and listen to the rain. At 10:00, she moved to the balcony floor to more easily look through the bars to the action below.
At 10:30, Grace got up, walked inside through the open balcony door, shook off producing that characteristic helicopter ears sound, and jumped up on the living room chair to continue for her morning nap. At 10:50, Grace was in dreamland as she let out a cute, soft dream-bark.
At 11:15, I got up and worked on cutting some PVC pipe to lengthen the legs of her ottoman to make it so she can lie down on it and look out the window. When I finished at noon, I had her jump up on it. She stayed a few minutes before getting down.
Grace had her lunch and proceeded to lie on the kitchen floor as I fixed something for myself. At 12:45, after I finished eating, I gave Grace some scrambled eggs — which she always enjoys. After eating she brought me something to play tug with her. After a few rounds, I remembered she had a slight limp. I checked her front paws. One seemed to have a fair number of cuts on it.
After chewing on her toy a bit, as the rain persisted, she jumped up on the sofa for more napping. At 1:30, a car door slammed. Grace heard it and stretched off of the sofa in her usual way. She then went out to the balcony floor to nap there. We headed outside at 2:30 but returned ten minutes later to avoid the rain.
As I was about to leave at 3:45, I checked with Grace to see if she wanted to go. She was back up on the ottoman and enjoying herself. She didn’t seem anxious to go, so I told her good-bye and to be a good girl.
Tricks
When I returned at 5:30, Grace and Betsy were in the dog park with a bunch of other dogs. They came home at 6:00, and Grace had her supper. Betsy and I finished up our supper at 6:45. Grace did tricks for turkey. She enjoyed the treat.
Grace did fetch object, but had problems with it. We did three or four rounds to help her learn again. Then we moved to her favorite — opening and closing doors. She loves tugging to close the door and latch it. After the door session, Grace played fetch with her puppy. At 9:00, she moved out on the balcony. At 9:20, she went out for the last time.
When we returned at 9:35, Grace had a good drink of water and jumped up on her sofa for the night. I went to bed at 10:00.
Tuesday
At 2:30, Grace was awake still lying on her sofa. I petted her on the head a few times before returning to bed. At 6:50, I got up. Grace was in the living room. We did pets, wags, and kisses. When Betsy came in, Grace’s exuberance multiplied. Her tail thumped against the floor in rhythm much like the first Borador we met in Virginia (Grandaddy).
Cool Fun
The weather changed dramatically. Though still cloudy, the temperature had dropped into the fifties and the wind was brisk. That didn’t phase Grace or the other dogs that came by the park. At 7:15, Abby and Sadie came in. Sadie and Abby wrestled while Grace, with ball in mouth, like a referee, carefully watched the action.
Olivia and Rascal came in next. Even Rascal’s interest in Grace was waning, but he still pursued her and tried to hop on her. The dogs left as suddenly as they came in. By 7:30, they were gone. Grace walked a short circuit before returning to the park. Grace played shortstop and fetch for about ten minutes.
When we returned home at 8:00, Grace had her breakfast and went out on the balcony. At 8:30m she came inside and curled up in the living room chair. At 8:45, she heard Otis’ wild barks and got up. By the time I opened the door, he was gone. Next, Grace went to the office ottoman. When I checked on her at 9:05, she looked a bid awkward on it as she had to squeeze on it to fit. I opened the window for her.
Morning Outing
At 9:30, Grace was getting antsy. I put her leash and collar on her and told her to wait. After getting dressed and setting up a computer update application to run while we were gone, we set off on our trip for the morning. The first stop was Borador Pond Park. Perhaps it was the cool weather, but we had the place to ourselves.
As we entered, Grace spotted something different just inside the entranace. There were four white sandbags stacked there next to a soccar goal. Grace barked at the bags. The fur behind her shoulders stood up as she used her big-girl bark. I went to them, touched them, and assured Grace they were not harmful. She cautiously approached the bags, sniffed them, and moved on. Interestingly, the big soccer goal did not seem to bother her.
As we ran, Grace did some of her down-and-roll moves on the run. It’s impressive to see. She also shot off through the meadow chasing birds in flight. When we finished, Grace followed me to the car and jumped up in the passenger’s seat automatically.
At 11:00, we arrived at our self-storage units. There I searched (in vain) for a few items but found a number of other ones that were missing. While Grace got out of the car and lay on the pavement for a while, after about twenty minutes, she disappeared. She was in the car lying curled up in her seat.
At 11:45, we headed for the lot where we are about to build a house. Yesterday, the power company had left their job half done — obstructing the work that our excavators need to do. Thankfully they came back early, finished their clearing work, cleaned up their mess, and left in time to not clash with the excavators.
As I was about to head home, Grace took off toward Snoopy’s house and barked. A minute later Snoopy came out. Snoopy played a chase game with Grace for about ten minutes. When they tired, we left for our next stop.
I went to the store to pick up a grocery item. When I returned, Grace was there waiting in the driver’s seat. She moved to her seat to permit me to get in and drive, since she wasn’t driving. Next, we stopped at another grocery store to get something else. When I returned a few minutes later Grace sat again cutely perched in the driver’s seat. Our next stop was the polling place to vote.
Back Home
Finally, we returned home at 1:30. Grace went out on the balcony. A half hour later, she came in a bit miffed. It was past time for her lunch. I gave it to her immediately. When I finished eating my meal, I gave Grace a portion of scrambled eggs — which she always enjoys.
Grace went into the office to her new ottoman perch to relax and watch the action. She’s bigger than when she used to get up on it. Now it seems she feels she needs to ball up tightly to stay on it. While she was there, I vacuumed, starting with the farthest point from Grace. Eventually, I made it to her room and her area of the room. In her younger years, she would have been too frightened to stay, but now she just watched with concern.
At 2:30, Grace brought me her Kong. I loaded it up for her and gave it to her. After she polished that off, I gave her an almost empty peanut butter jar to clean out. When she finished, she went out on the balcony to enjoy the fresh air and watch the activity below.
Play Time
At 4:45, Grace spotted a white dog playing fetch down at the park. We raced down to meet it, but by the time we got outside, the dog and owner were leaving. When we returned, Grace went back out on the balcony to watch some more. Within a couple minutes, Grace spotted Zeke in the park. We raced down even faster this time.
The dogs came fast and furious. Abby came, followed by Sadie, Olivia and Rascal with two new Kong squeaky balls, Beckham, and Loki. The main wrestling and chasing involved Abby and Sadie as well as Grace and Zeke. By 6:00, some drizzle came and everyone cleared out.
Recovery
When Grace returned home, she went straight to the balcony and conked out there. At 6:30, she came in and ate her supper. After supper she jumped up on the living room chair and took another nap.
At 7:00, I ate my supper. Grace brought her puppy toy into the kitchen. I gave her a treat, followed by a dental chew. After my supper, we did tricks for treats and worked more on tug and push to move and latch a door. She’s still working on push, but she’s getting there.
After we finished, Grace wanted to play tug with her fox. We did that for about ten minutes. Then Grace went out on the balcony. At 8:15, she came inside and got up on her sofa for the night. Betsy took her outside for the last time and returned at 8:30.
As I was getting a snack, Grace came in and wanted something too. I gave her a doggie treat. Grace returned to her sofa for the last time. At 10:00, I went to bed.
Wednesday
The alarm clock sounded at 6:25. When I got up, Grace was still on her sofa where I had left her the night before. We greeted each other with Grace returning kisses for tummy rubs. Grace went out on the balcony to watch for friends.
Friends
At 6:55, I called Grace into the bedroom to say good morning to Betsy. After an enthusiastic, tail-wagging exchange, she came to the foyer to be leashed up, and we set off for the playground. When we arrived at 7:00, the park was empty. We went for a walk for ten minutes.
At 7:10, both Sadie and Abby converged on the park. Grace rushed to be the first to enter. It’s important for a social director to be on time. The three burst into energetic play. I cleaned and filled the water bucket with fresh water. When I returned, Abby and Sadie wrestled while Grace was acted as cheerleader, spectator, and referee.
Sadie left first after taking quite an enjoyable beating. Grace played fetch with Abby’s caretaker, while Abby ran around with a ball in her mouth. Ten minutes later, Abby left. Grace and I played shortstop for about ten minutes. While I went down to clean off the balls one by one, Olivia and Rascal came.
Grace played fetch with Olivia’s owner. Then Suki came. Grace kissed the toddler who comes with Suki and his mom. The little boy giggled. His mom told me the details of a nice dog boarding place nearby. Suki is more into just being friendly with people than playing. She came to me and I shared some affection with her.
Grace played shortstop as the toddler watched and laughed. I told his mom that Grace is Nellie Fox. I checked the history. It turns out Nellie was a second baseman rather than a shortstop, but it’s close enough. Grace still has earned the nickname.
Morning Adventures
At 8:15, when we returned home, Grace went out on the balcony. I cleaned her dishes and set out fresh water and her breakfast food. At 8:25, she came in, ate her breakfast, and returned to the balcony. At 9:05, Grace returned inside, jumped up on the living room chair and took a nap.
At 10:15, after I waxed Grace’s paws, we left. Our first stop was the bank. I used the drive-in window this time. The teller noticed that Grace was in the car and asked if she would like a treat. Grace said yes. It came back in the drive-in container sealed in a standard money envelope. I opened it and gave it to her. She said it was good.
Our next stop was Borador Pond Park. Grace did her usual routine but with less time in the water. The cool weather and clouds likely had something to do with that. At one point she spotted a leaf on the ground about 50 yards away. She took off like a shot after it. Another time she disappeared for about 30 seconds. I don’t know where she was, but it didn’t matter. She came running back to overtake me before I knew what was happening.
Next we went to the land. Most of the trees at the house site were knocked down and taken out. The chainsaw operator said that the day before the phone line to the adjacent house was broken. It shouldn’t have been on Lot 1 anyway, but he said it happens frequently.
When we arrived, Snoopy was there to greet her. While the machines were at rest, Grace and Snoopy chased through the freshly exposed dirt. They also chased in the back lawn. At one point, Grace saw a car approaching the parked flatbed trailer. She barked and ran up to it. She doesn’t chase cars so it’s a bit puzzling what prompted those actions.
Down Time
At 11:45, I stopped at the grocery store to pick up two items. Grace waited patiently in the passenger seat as I left and returned few minutes later. When we returned home at 12:05, Grace went to the balcony. At one point I heard a dog bark down stairs that sounded like it belonged to Grace. I wondered where Grace was. She was on the balcony where I had left her sitting and watching.
At 12:30, I put out Grace’s lunch. She saw me through the window, got up, and came to the door. I let her in, and she enjoyed her lunch. She then jumped up on the living room chair for an afternoon snooze. At 2:00, I made myself some lunch. Grace came into the kitchen. I gave her a doggie treat.
When I finished my lunch, Grace enjoyed her ration of scrambled eggs from the meal. She went outside on the balcony until 3:30. When I was back in the kitchen, Grace came in. She brought her Kong for a fill-up. She worked on her Kong while I ate my sandwich.
When she went back out on the balcony, I picked up her front legs, directed her paw to the handle of the door, and pushed. On the way in at 4:15, I did the same with her only we pulled. I hope she will catch on with this process so she can learn to do it on her own. She then brought her fox to me, I threw it once but didn’t have time to play. Grace resigned herself to chewing on it instead.
At 4:25, being really bored, Grace went out on the balcony again. Each time she goes out, worked on her operating the door herself. When she came in at 4:30, she was about to climb the walls. I gave her a bully stick which she dove into with abandon.
Fun with Friends
At 4:45, I spotted friends out on the park. Grace left her nearly devoured bully stick to race down and join the fun. Abby and Zeke were there ahead of her. Grace and Abby wrestled with Abby on top most of the time. Then, Olivia and Rascal came and brought their ball. That ball immediately became the object of attention.
Olivia is no match for Grace and Abby. Then it happened. The world stopped. Grace and Abby were locked in a ten-minute war of wills. Each had their powerful jaws locked on the prized possession. Abby was lying on her belly with her paws in front of her. Grace stood above her and gripped the ball at the far side of Abby’s mouth.
Who won? Grace did of course. She then carried her prize to the bench and sat next to me with it. Abby came by repeatedly to try to steal it and Olivia just faced us and howled. My ears are still ringing from the auditory onslaught.
Then more dogs joined the fun. Sadie came in, followed by Reggie and finally a playful Spaniel. When Sadie came, Zeke and Grace paired off as did Sadie and Abby. Sadie left first followed by Reggie. Then at about 5:45, all of the dogs left but Zeke and Grace.
Zeke’s owner played fetch and shortstop with Grace for about fifteen minutes. At one point, Grace made a really impressive move. It’s the kind of thing you wish you had captured in a photo. She leaped into the air and while airborne caught the ball.
Sundowning
When we returned home ant 6:00, Grace went to the balcony. At 6:15, she came in to eat her supper and returned to the lounge chair on the balcony. At 7:15 Grace came inside, took a healthy drink of water, and moved to the living room. She wanted my attention.
We did tricks for treats including fetch object and tug and push with the door. When we finished, Grace wanted to do more. I tried to lure her to entertaining herself with a bully stick. She brought it to me to play fetch. Then she decided to try rolling in the smelly thing. Next, from her toy box came what was left from her original tug toy.
We played tug until 8:00, when Grace had a big drink of water and went out on the balcony for a couple minutes. She then came in and lay under the dining room table. Grace then went to her sofa to rest. At 8:40, Betsy made some popcorn. Grace said she wanted some munchies. Grace got up in the chair with me as I talked on the phone, and we shared two small bowls.
When we finished, Grace went back to her sofa and took a nap. At one point she was in a contorted position on her back and twisted 90 degrees with her mouth open. I tried to get up and get a camera, but when I moved, she knew it and moved also.
At 9:40, we went out for the last time. It was raining. Grace was quick in doing her business. We returned in five minutes. Grace then went to the office ottoman and curled up there. As I showered, she spotted something and barked for a few questions. When I went to bed at 10:30 she was still on the ottoman.
Thursday
At 5:45, Grace was awake but napping on her sofa. I stopped by and gently stroked the side of her face. At 7:00, I got up. Grace was lying on the living room floor. We did some brief tummy rubs and kisses. As I quickly prepared to go out, Grace went to the bedroom to greet Betsy. After a minute, we whisked out the door to head for the park.
Park Play
When we arrived, it was empty. We continued walking. After about five minutes, as we stood at the foot of Sadie’s stairway, Sadie came down. The two dogs raced to the park and anxiously awaited being unleashed. The dreary drizzly weather felt raw although the temperature was in the lower fifties. Sadie and Grace concentrated on the ball. The did some wrestling and running, but it was only for a few minutes.
After ten minutes, Sadie left. A few minutes later, Abby came. She more actively chased Grace to try to get the ball from her. Grace never gave it up. After ten minutes, Abby left. At that point, I took Grace for a short walk. When we passed by the park, Grace sat down at the door. She wanted to go back in and play. I tried to encourage her to come, but she was determined to get more play time.
We went in and played shortstop for about ten minutes. Finally, Olivia and Rascal came. Grace could trust them not to hog the ball, so she played fetch with Olivia’s owner. Occasionally Olivia got the ball, but usually Grace got it and retrieved it for another throw. When they left, Grace left also.
Relaxing
At 8:10, we returned home. Grace went to the balcony while I fixed her breakfast. When she saw it was ready, she came inside, ate, and jumped up on the living room chair. At 9:20, Grace stretched off of the chair, drank some water and asked to go back out on the balcony. I tried to get her to move the door lever this time using an inverted basket to raise her up. She still couldn’t easily reach it. I did get her to push the door open though.
Once outside, she got up on the lounge chair and curled up. At 10:00, Grace returned inside to the living room chair to continue her nap. By 10:20, Grace had drifted into deep sleep as she breathed regular, slow, deep breaths. After five minutes the heavy breathing stopped, she repositioned herself, and drifted off again.
At 11:10, the phone rang. That prompted Grace to get up and move to her sofa for more napping. At 12:30, she got up and went back to the balcony lounge chair to watch the little action outside on such a dreary day. When I put out her food, Grace came in and ate it. She then came to the kitchen for her doggie treat.
She brought various toys in as I prepared my food. Eventually, she brought a ball — allowing me to kick it while I prepared my meal. When I finished eating, Grace enjoyed her usual ration of scrambled eggs and returned to the balcony to watch the very limited action below.
Ready to Go
Grace came in at 2:00 and started complaining about needing more play time. I told her to wait. She found a cardboard box in her toy box and shredded that and chewed on her fox. By 2:30, she was ready to go. I relented and took her running.
Bolting
We ran the north route past the dog park and the water treatment plant to the entrance of the Greenway by Umstead Park. At that point, I let Grace off the leash, expecting that she would follow me down the path. We went past Grace Beach and headed for the sidewalk that takes us home.
Grace caught up to me and sped past, following someone who had started running at about twice my pace. I whistled to recall her to no avail. After running a mile past that point, I saw Grace and another dog along with another bewildered dog owner.
The runner was still running ahead. Of the two dogs. Grace would play in the stream and then speed up to catch him. Finally, he turned around, and they stopped. We leashed our dogs and ran them home. Grace ran on the leash just fine. It was disappointing though that she bolted.
Back to the Park
When we arrived home at 3:15, Grace went back out on the balcony to watch for friends. At 4:00, she came in complaining. I held her off until 4:45 when I spotted Abby in the park. We raced to meet her. Zeke followed about ten minutes later.
Grace played fetch with Abby’s caregiver. There was always an extra toy, so Abby couldn’t stop play by stealing and hogging the ball. Then Sadie came in. Abby and Sadie wrestled while Grace continued playing fetch and watched the action. Abby’s caregiver brought a rubber flying disk with a hole chewed in it. Grace and Sadie played tug with it and tore it some more.
After Abby left, Zeke’s owner continued playing fetch with Grace until they left at 5:45. That’s when Betsy walked up. She continued the fetch play with Grace until we returned home at 6:10, and Grace again went to the balcony.
More Sundowning
At 6:20, I filled her dish with supper, and she came in to eat it. As Betsy and I ate our supper, Grace grouched about wanting to play. I gave her a dental chew while we ate. When I finished, Grace did tricks for some of my turkey. After that, we did tricks for treats practicing fetch object and then opening and closing doors.
Grace previously mastered tugging to open an unlatched door and to close and latch the door. She also mastered pushing to open a door. Today, she progressed to pushing to latch an open door. When we finished, Grace lay on her side with legs outstretched and eyes closed on the entrance to the master suite (where I was feverishly working to recover data loss from a WordPress or hosting failure). She looked like a very tired puppy.
At 7:30, she went to the living room chair to nap. At 8:00, she decided to move to the balcony lounge chair, but by 9:00, she was back lying on her side at the entrance to the master suite. At 9:45, Grace went outside for the last time. When she returned at 10:00, Betsy called her into bed. I put lotion on her paws since she still seems to have a limp that she’s had since I last trimmed her nails.
At 10:30, I joined her in bed. Grace left the bed fairly soon after we went to bed.
Friday
At 5:45, Grace was on the sofa awake. I greeted her with a few gentle strokes before going back to bed.
Social Director
At 7:00, I got up. Grace was lying on the office ottoman looking out the window. I dressed and took Grace out to the park. After I changed the water and cleaned the balls. Grace played shortstop with me for a while. After about a half hour, Abby came in. Grace played fetch with Abby’s caregiver until 7:40 when Abby left. We then left to go for a short walk.
Along the way, Grace saw Sadie out on her second-story balcony. It was just a glance before she moved on. Grace didn’t stick around and neither of them made a sound. We circled around and returned to the park. We played shortstop and fetch for about twenty minutes before returning home.
Travelling Around Town
Grace went on the balcony while I fixed her breakfast. She then came in, ate, and curled up on the living room chair. At 10:15, we left to do some errands. Our first stop was the architect’s office to pick up the plans with the latest building code change. Grace came with me as we went into the building, up the elevator, over to the office to pick up the plans, back down the elevator, and into the car.
Next, we went to our builder’s office to drop off the plans. When we arrived at 10:50, Grace came in. At 11:15, we left and arrived at the Town of Cary Municipal Building a half hour later. I left Grace in the car while I went inside. At 12:10, we returned home and went running by the lake. We made it home at 12:45.
Lonely Afternoon
At 1:15, I left Grace home alone. When I returned at 5:45, I took Grace to the dog park. There she played until 7:00. When we came home, Grace had her supper followed by a doggie treat and dental chew. At 8:00, Grace did tricks for treats. Still looking for more to do and eat, Grace had a loaded Kong at 8:30. At 9:05 Grace got up on her sofa as if she was ready to pack it in for the day. Of course, she needed to be taken out before bed. At 9:10, we went out for that last walk. When we returned at 9:25, she went to the balcony. At 10:00, I called her in. She came in and went to the office ottoman to be with Betsy.
Saturday
At 1:30, Grace was still on the ottoman. By 6:40 she had moved to the office floor where I stroked her face softly. She was still there at 7:10, when I got up.
Morning Fun
At 7:20, we went out to the park. Abby was already there. Grace and Abby didn’t play much, but they enjoyed having another dog around and vying for the ball. After about an hour, Olivia and Rascal came. Then at 8:30, Betsy brought a Chuck-It! ball. Betsy played fetch with the dogs, and I went back home.
At 9:15 when they returned, Grace’s breakfast was in her dish. She wasn’t interested in it. Instead she went out on the balcony lounge chair to enjoy the calm 60-degree weather. At 10:10, I called her in to go for a ride.
At 10:40, we arrived at Borador Pond Park. Grace met a playful Golden Retriever that liked to swim. Grace swam with it. Then, they took off like a shot — running across the meadow. Grace enjoyed running with her new friend as well as with its owners. I lost track of Grace for a couple of minutes, but all was well as she came running back to catch up with me in her usual way.
Since there were other people at the park, on the last lap I told her to wait. Grace obeyed. I then attached her leash as we finished out our run and safely went to the car. We made two short grocery store stops before returning home at 11:55. Her breakfast was still untouched. After her bath and a treat though, she finally ate it and then retreated to her office ottoman perch.
Goodies
Grace could see me in the kitchen from her perch. When I opened the ice cream container. She jumped down and came to join me. The ice cream container was almost empty, so I gave it to Grace to finish off. When she finished, I gave her a dental chew to remove the bad stuff from her teeth that ice cream can leave. When she finished, Grace jumped up on her sofa for a nap.
At 12:35, Grace enjoyed her ration of my scrambled eggs. Five minutes later, I had her push the door open to go to the balcony. I was in the bedroom and the balcony door was open. At 1:05, in came Grace to check out what I was doing. After satisfying her curiosity, she moved on to the living room chair.
At 2:15, I made lunch. Grace came into the kitchen. I told her to fetch her Kong. She left but came back without it. I pulled it out of her toy box and gave her the command again. She didn’t bother. I gave her a doggie treat instead. She ate it but wasn’t particularly hungry. She stretched out on the kitchen floor when she finished it. After I finished my meal, she went to the sofa.
Not Alone, But Lonely
When Betsy returned at 3:20, Grace got up. Betsy asked her if she wanted to go out, but after the greeting, she just went to the balcony to watch the dreary day pass by instead. At 4:20, as Grace saw Betsy going to the car, Grace whimpered. I came out from the bedroom where I was studying and comforted her.
At 4:30, Betsy returned and Grace went to her sofa. She never likes it when I have to study alone. At 4:35, she barked. Olivia and Rascal were just leaving the park. Grace reluctantly lay on the foyer floor as she awaited her time to go play.
Nutso Bark
At 7:15, she barked from the balcony. I went out and calmed her. She licked my face. At 7:30, from the office ottoman, she spotted a dog below and did her nutso bark. Betsy who was in the office and I who came in again comforted her. At 8:00, Grace went outside on the balcony. At 8:45 she barked at a dog.
At 9:00 she spotted the hated white cat and erupted into the nutso bark. The nutso bark differs from a regular bark in its intensity. It’s stronger than her barking apparatus can handle. The first sounds from it are higher pitched than she would she would prefer them to be. As the bark progresses, it becomes controlled and has the deeper, more intimidating sound that she intends.
After calming her down, I took Grace out at 9:10. Ten minutes later, Grace returned to the balcony. At 9:40, I called her inside. Betsy then put a clean sheet on Grace’s sofa. When she finished, Grace jumped up on it. After applying lotion to her paws, we said good-night to Grace, turned out the lights and went to bed.