At 12:15, I greeted Grace on her sofa as I walked by and returned to bed. At 5:40, I found Grace still on her sofa. Ten minutes later she moved to the floor in front of the sofa. I studied while Grace waited patiently. Outside, frost covered the ground and the car windshields.
Morning Outing
At 7:10, Grace went out to the park. Abby was already there and waiting. The two played for nearly an hour. From there, Grace went on to her usual route through the gate to Grace Woods, across the bridge, and into the park at the Greenway entrance. I directed her to the meadow.
There she located some deer bones and snacked on them until I had to leave at 8:20. When we returned home at 8:30, Grace had her breakfast and then curled up in the chair for her nap. She knew what was coming.
Lonely Morning and Fresh Afternoon
We left her home alone at 9:15. At 12:30, when we returned, Grace happily greeted us. I quickly dressed and took her to the park. There she played ball with me and with friends until we returned home at 2:25. She went straight to the balcony. Ten minutes later, she came in to lick a plate clean and then returned to the balcony.
At 2:45, Grace came inside, and I gave her a small piece of turkey. She then returned to the balcony. At 3:20, Grace barked and came in. I calmed her but after a minute she gave me chomp, chomp and brought a little stuffed puppy to me to play with her. She entertained herself with it until 3:30 when she went out to Borador Park. There she played with Loki and Reggie.
After twenty minutes, Grace returned home and went to the balcony. At 4:00, she saw a dog and began to bark at it. I tried to calm her and then just brought her inside. She looked at me as if to say I was supposed to take her out. I told her, “No.” She went to the foyer and pouted.
Five minutes later, she returned to the living room sofa and perched herself there to watch out the window.
At 4:30, I got up and made a sandwich. Grace said she wanted a little something. I gave her a small Kong with her regular food and capped off with peanut butter. Fifteen minutes later, she went out on the balcony, but shortly after, Grace barked at a dog below and had to come inside. Grace gave up and lay on her side at the foot of her sofa.
Home Alone and Tricks
At 5:00, Grace moved to her bed. Ten minutes later, we left Grace home alone. When we returned at 7:30, Grace greeted us with wags and kisses. Betsy gave her a tummy-rub greeting. Ten minutes later, Grace came into the kitchen and tossed her small Kong on the floor.
Grace did tricks for duck food. When she finished, she took a drink and and returned to the kitchen to watch Betsy. At 8:25, Betsy gave her some dehydrated chicken.
Outside and Winding Down
At 8:30, Grace came to me to play shortstop with a tennis ball. After I threw it and she retrieved it a few times, Grace grabbed a rib bone from her toy box and chewed on it for a few minutes. At 8:35, Grace grouched, including a chomp-chomp, about going outside.
We went out. There, Grace met a new dog Beagle/Basset Hound mix. Then, she saw the black dog that spooks her. I had to block her vision of the dog to calm her down. When we returned home fifteen minutes later, Grace had a treat and then went to the balcony. At 9:00, Grace came inside and returned to the kitchen to work on Betsy in the kitchen.
When Betsy came into the living room at 9:15, Grace went back to the balcony. Minutes later, she came inside and watched Betsy eat a carrot. At 9:30, Grace moved to the balcony door window watched. Five minutes later, she went back out on the balcony for ten minutes before coming in and trying her perch.
From there at 10:15 she saw me get a snack and marched in for hers. After having a doggie treat, she went to her sofa for the night.
Monday
At 4:00, Grace was stretched out on the sofa. I stroked her chest a few times before retuning to bed. At 7:00, after the alarm clock sounded, I got up to find Grace lying on her side on the living room floor. As I got ready, I told Grace to greet Betsy. Grudgingly, she made her way into the bedroom, did her duty, and returned.
Morning Fun
We arrived at the park at 7:10. I had put some of the balls in the empty water bucket. Grace saw a ball she wanted in there and knocked it over to get the ball. It was the big one, but now because it had a tab of its cover pulled off, it had a fun handle to grab.
No friends showed up. Grace wasn’t particularly enthused to play ball. At 7:45, she went to the gate, and we left. She headed in the direction of the Lofts. Near that entrance, Grace greeted two Chows. Then, she greeted two older dogs. Both owners commented on how well-behaved Grace was at approaching their dogs. At least one also commented on what a nice-looking dog she was.
Grace went into the dog run, turned around, and went out. She then headed for the gate to Grace Woods. After crossing the bridge, she arrived at the weeded area between the Greenway and the river that I call Grace Weeds.
She had a good time running around through the weeds and following deer trails. When she finished, Grace entered the upper field through the drainage area under the field that I will call Grace Pass. She kept an eye on me as it took me longer to make it back there. After her usual running free, snacking on deer remains, chasing birds, and sniffing trails, Grace headed home.
Rest, Ride, and Exercise
At 9:10, Grace returned home and went to the balcony. When I put her breakfast out a few minutes later, Grace came inside, ate it, and returned to the balcony. Fifteen minutes later, Grace came inside and curled up in the chair for her morning nap.
At 10:35, Grace went for a ride with me. Our first stop was the lot. After getting some water, checking things out, and playing with Snoopy, we went on to Borador Pond Park. We arrived a few minutes after noon. We did our normal run and returned home an hour later. As usual, Grace came inside and went straight to the balcony.
Cooped Up
When Grace came inside at 1:15, Grace had a shower followed by a doggie cookie. She then waited under the table for a piece of toast from me. At 1:45, I gave her a little toast while I ate. I had forgotten to give Grace her duck food and scrambled eggs snack! Grace didn’t complain but just waited there patiently for me me to finally give it to her at 2:00.
After her snack, Grace lay on the floor and settled down to a nap. After two hours, Grace got up, looked out the balcony window at the messy weather, turned, and shredded some cardboard from her toy box. At 4:15, I made a sandwich and fixed her a small Kong. When she finished the Kong, she checked the dismal weather again before coming inside and lying on the dining room floor for about ten minutes.
When I closed up her duck food bag, she marched into the kitchen to check out whether or not I was preparing more goodies for her. I wasn’t. I left the kitchen, and she returned to the living room chair to nap some more. Surprisingly, she wasn’t climbing the walls to play or go out.
Fresh Air and Fresh Food
At 5:50, Grace stretched off of the chair, walked over to the balcony door and looked outside. Five minutes later, I took her for a walk. Grace went to the park. She played ball but was not particularly enthusiastic in the wet, cold weather.
At 6:25, Grace returned home. Her small food bag was empty. Grace stood next to me as I refilled it from the big bag in the closet. I intentionally dropped a little on the floor for her. When I finished, I gave her a little more. Grace then had her supper. Ten minues later, Betsy came home. Grace and Betsy greeted one another.
Treats
Grace hung out in the kitchen with Betsy. Grace was really handling her sundowning time well again. At 7:00, Grace did tricks for duck food. When she finished, she played tug and fetch with her fox toy. As I ate my supper, Grace sat next to me and watched.
At 7:45, Grace had a small portion of my chicken from supper. At 8:00, Betsy gave Grace a doggie cookie. Five minutes later, Grace went out for the last time. When she returned home fifteen minutes later, Grace curled up on her sofa for the night. The noise of a riotous crowd roused her at 8:30. She looked out the window and barked softly. After a minute, the scene changed, and Grace returned to the sofa.
I went to the bathroom and found Betsy’s muddy boots in the shower. Grace heard me in there and assumed she could take a shower (and get a treat). I gave her another shower and treat. When she finished her treat, Grace licked herself and the carpet to get every last crumb.
From there, Grace went to her perch. Thirty minutes later she returned to her sofa and went to sleep there.
Tuesday
At 3:30, I found Grace in her bed. After greeting her gently, I returned to bed. At 7:05, we left for the park. Abby was already there. Both dogs were ready to play. Grace hadn’t played with another dog in a day. They went at it continuously for about twenty minutes and had a great time. Then Abby’s owner finally had to stop things and begin her work day.
Snuggling, Sniffing, and Exploring
Grace made her way to and through the Loft’s next door. She met the creamy male Labrador Retriever who is in love with her. After a few minutes of snuggling and sniffing, his owner moved on. Grace went into the dog run, turned around, and walked out. From there we went out the gate to Grace Woods.
Grace ran on ahead of me down the hill and up to the bridge. By the time I made it there, she was three quarters the way across. She jumped the guardrail and went briefly into Grace Weeds but then came back and ran to the entrance to the Greenway.
Grace ran through the upper field there and over to the deer carcass. I had suspected the deer might have been carrying a fawn. It looked like there were actually two amniotic sacks there. I learned later I was wrong. Those sacks were stomachs full of grass.
Grace explored the weeded slopes carefully. She went around to the large lower field (the meadow) and scaled the weeded slope toward Grace Beach. There, Grace found another medium-sized toy basketball. It had a hole in it about the size of my fist, but it was still suitable for fun play. Grace brought it down to the field and played fetch with it for about twenty minutes. When she finished, she resumed investigating the weeds on both sides.
At 8:45, Grace came down the slope and came to me on her own. She was ready to go. That was easy. I didn’t even have to call her. I leashed her and we ran home. Grace wanted to take the longer walk home up rather than the first path back, so we went that way.
Breakfast, Nap, and More Play
When Grace returned home at 9:00, she went straight to the balcony. Five minutes later, she was inside. She glanced at her bowl. I prepared her breakfast. Grace immediately ate it. She then jumped up on the chair for her morning nap.
At 10:35, Grace heard Olivia barking in the park. We rushed out, but by the time we arrived, Olivia and Zoe had left. I feel we must have chased them away. By 10:45, we were back home. Grace settled back into the chair, and went to sleep.
Trip to Borador Pond Park
At 12:15, we left to go running. The sky was gray and the temperature was still about 30 degrees. Grace was in no hurry to get up and go, but she finally did come. I leashed her up and we were on our way.
When we arrived, the geese were at the other end of the field. One was closer. Grace focused in on that one and tore after it. She made it within about ten feet of it before it flew to the pond. She then let her momentum carry her to the main flock. They also flew to the safety of the pond.
Grace enjoyed exploring, taking a belly-deep dip in the pond and following me around as she usually does. When we returned home at 1:25, Grace went to the balcony. I had forgotten something in the car, so I went back and retrieved it. When I came inside, Grace was waiting to come inside.
Grace needed a quick shower to remove the pond water. She came to the bathroom and assisted with the shower and drying. When we finished, Grace enjoyed a doggie treat. She then curled up on the dining room floor to await her snack.
Snacks, Nap, Play
At 2:20, Grace had her usual scrambled egg and duck food snack. When she finished, she came next to me to have a small piece of toast. It was then time for her afternoon nap. Grace curled up on her sofa, and took another nap.
At 5:00, I took Grace out. There were two small dogs in the park along with Zeke, but by the time Grace made it there, the small dogs had left. As usual, Zeke and Grace played ball independently. Grace played until I finally stopped it at 6:00 to stop to go to supper.
As we headed home, we crossed paths with Betsy in the elevator. Grace went to the balcony while I prepared a plate of pizza. I had two slices and gave Grace the crusts with a small amount of goodies on them. When we finished, I gave Grace her supper followed by a doggie cookie.
At 6:45, Grace came to me with toys for playing tug and fetch. She was still waiting for her tricks for duck food. I relented and did them with her. At 7:00, Grace came back after me with her puppy toy to play fetch. I gave her a dental chew which she polished off in ten minutes.
Sundowning
Grace then went out on the balcony for ten minutes. When she came inside, I turned off the lights. Grace dropped a tennis ball at my feet. I threw it toward the balcony. Grace waited a minute and then dropped it half way between me and the balcony. I told her she was going to have to get it. She did and then started dropping it at my feet. She played fetch in the dark.
At 7:30, Grace gave up and lay on the living room floor primping herself. The darkness trick at least shaved some time off of the sundowning routine. At 8:30, Grace whimpered. I didn’t move. She did a chomp-chomp. I still didn’t respond. Then she did her full-blown persuasion routine. She whined softly, put her paws on my seat cushion, and gave me a kiss.
I took her out for her last walk. When we returned, Grace went straight to her sofa for the night. When Betsy came home at 9:00, she gave me some cake. That was enough to perk Grace up. I gave her another doggie cookie. Betsy took part of away from her. Then Grace worked on Betsy to give her some crackers and drooled as she watched Betsy eat them. When she finished at 9:20, Grace got back on the sofa.
Wednesday
At 3:00, I gently greeted Grace, awake in her bed. At 6:45, Graced made some soft sounds as she lay outside the master suite. I got up and we greeted each other with tummy rubs and kisses. As I got ready to face the 25-degree cold, Betsy said good morning to Grace too.
Fun and Excitement with Friends
Grace left at 7:00. When we arrived at the park a few minutes later, we were the first there, but Abby was close on our heels. Grace and Abby launched into their high-energy routine — seemingly oblivious to the cold temperature. After five minutes, Reggie joined them. Then, Hutch and Finn approached.
Reggie especially was upset by the approaching dogs. Finn was also pretty excited as he approached. Both Abby and Grace stood up on their hind legs with their front paws draped over the top rail of the fence and watched the approach of these two dogs.
Hutch and Finn’s owner decided to walk them past the gate before entering to allow the dogs more time to get to know each other and calm down. That worked pretty well. By the time they were ready to come in, Reggie was on his way out. That too kept the level of excitement more contained.
The four dogs had a good time chasing and roughhousing. Hutch was pretty restrained, but at one point with Abby, he effortlessly used his front legs to slam her down. Grace got into her cheer leading barking routine as she watched the action. I decided to give her a ball to allow her to get her energy out by chewing rather than barking.
That put a damper on most of the action among all four dogs. I took the ball back and the action resumed. When Grace resumed excessive cheer leading, I gave her the ball. After the other dogs cleared out at 8:45, Grace played ball with me. She left the park a little before 8:00 to proceed on with her normal morning routine.
Running Free
Before we left our grounds, Grace met up with one of the black dogs that spooks her from afar. Grace and that dog were each very polite as they greeted each other. Grace walked past the dog run next door and went straight to the gate. I lifted the latch and Grace opened it. I let her off the leash at that point and she went through Grace Woods to the bridge. She was almost across by the time I made it there.
After crossing, she acted like she wanted to go to the right. I’m trying to discourage that since Interstate 40 is over there and across another bridge is Umstead Park. It would be nice to keep her boundaries a little more defined. She came back across the road and jumped the guard rail to Grace Weeds.
As I headed for the Greenway, Grace returned from the weeds, jumped the guardrail, and ran into a sign post. She took the glancing blow in stride. From there, she followed me through the gate to the Greenway and to the upper field to the left.
I cleaned up some dog waste there and decided to walk it back to the trash can by the gate about 50 yards away. Grace saw me headed that way and followed. She even went back through the gate to the road. After I made the deposit in the trash can, I told her to come back in. She understood and ran back across the field. She does seem to understand better her need to stay with me.
Grace went to the deer carcass in the field and spent about twenty minutes having herself a nice deer-rib snack. The head of the deer had been taken away from the carcass. Perhaps she will find that at a later date.
Suddenly, we spotted a long, low, black animal without a tail running down the steep earthen dam slope that goes to the source of the river. Grace was leashed. That delayed her a few seconds before I could unleash her. The animal ran to the rocks by the river and disappeared. Perhaps it went into the water there.
Grace, being shorter than I, could not see where it went. She used her nose though to track the path of that animal straight to where it disappeared. It was very impressive. I’ll mark this as a milestone for perfect tracking of a fresh scent. Once she determined, that the animal haddisappeared, Grace moved on to Grace Hill, the upper field across from Grace Beach, and then went down the steep slope to the meadow.
There, Grace found one of the deflated, child-size balls and brought it to me to play fetch. We played for twenty minutes. Grace had a good time running and fetching in the field. I wondered how much fun she would have going out deer hunting or duck hunting. It seems so natural for her.
I wanted to leash her, but Grace wasn’t ready. She wanted to make sure she had a chance to make it to the lake first. After she came out of the lake, she wanted to head back up the Greenway to the entrance. I called her the other way and she came. As we went past the gate near the first path up to the apartments, Grace let me leash her.
Recharging
When we arrived home at 9:20, Grace went to the balcony. She came in before I could get over to fill her water and food dishes. Grace got up on the chair while she waited. As soon as I finished, Grace got down and heartily ate her breakfast.
When she finished, Grace returned to her chair. At 11:45, Grace groaned, got down from the chair and jumped up on her sofa. There she propped up her head on the armrest and watched out the window.
Stuck in Traffic
At 12:10, we left to go running. The snow started as we approached the park. I decided to go ahead with the run and just drive back carefully in the snow. School was cancelled, so I didn’t expect huge crowds on the road. Grace stuck reasonably close to me and enjoyed her run.
The snow came down fairly heavily so I decided to take the major roads home. That was a big mistake. The problem was not the road condition but the traffic. If I would have just taking my normal route home and all would have been just fine.
We left at 1:05. I took Highway 64 west to Highway 55. The problem was that traffic could not make it up the hill at the light just south of the exit. There is a traffic light halfway up the hill, and it was slick. It took us over an hour to make it past that point.
After that it was smooth sailing until I hit a second bottleneck associated with traffic climbing the hill on Weston up to Winstead. That cost us another hour. Through all of this, Grace was a trooper. She watched some and napped some. I’m sure she could sense my anxiety over being trapped by the traffic though.
Fun in the Snow
When we arrived home at 4:00, I parked up by the dog park. There were three dogs already there playing in four inches of fresh snow. Grace whimpered about wanting to join them. I removed her harness and opened the car door. She ran to the park and one of the other owners let her in.
The dogs were Abby, Bones, Loki, and Grace. They all enjoyed running and roughhousing with each other. The snow made it that much more fun. After twenty minutes, Betsy came with treats for all of the dogs.
Home at Last!
At 4:45, we finally made it home. As usual, Grace went to the balcony. Somehow, she got stuck between the railing and the chair. Betsy went out and freed her. When she came inside, Grace curled up in the chair for a nap.
At 6:00, Grace got up and came to the kitchen to ask for her dinner. I gave it to her. Grace enjoyed it and returned to the kitchen. At that point, I remembered that Grace could use a shower. After her shower, Grace had a number of different treats capped off with some dehydrated chicken. As we ate our supper, Grace chewed on her cow rib.
At 6:15, I gave Grace a small portion of my pork chop. Grace wanted to just crunch on the bone, but Betsy didn’t want to risk that. I let her pull the meat off of it instead. Fifteen minutes later as I cleaned up, I gave Grace some rice.
At 6:45, Grace did tricks for duck food. When she finished that, I gave her some chicken broth that Betsy had made for her. Finally, at 7:00 Grace jumped up on her sofa next to me and eventually fell asleep in the dark living room.
White Night
At 8:00, Grace awakened with a start, looked out the balcony door window and did her restrained bark. I took her out for the last time five minutes later. The snow caused her a little confusion, but she found some spots and did her business. On the way back, she met a Bichon Frise. After a minute of greeting, they moved on.
As we approached the hallway to the building. A near apartment owner opened his balcony door. The snow and ice buildup made a noise that startled her. Grace was startled and barked. I calmed her, and we returned inside. As I fixed a snack for myself, Grace came to watch me in the kitchen. I gave her a dental chew. When she finished at 8:30, she curled up on the sofa for the night.
At 9:05, Grace stretched off of the sofa and looked out the remaining unshaded portion of the balcony door window. I opened the door for her. She peered out at the white mess for a few seconds, turned, and jumped up into the chair.
At 9:30, she got up. Betsy was playing some music on her iPhone. I thought it might be bothering her. She put in ear buds. When I went to bed, Grace was on her perch watching the winter wonderland.
Thursday
At 2:00, Grace was in her bed. I gently stroked her face and chest before returning to bed. When I got up at 6:45, Grace was on the sofa. I knew she was somewhere in the living room or dining room, but I didn’t see her until she stretched off of the sofa. We did our usual tummy rubs and kisses. Grace went into the bed room, jumped up on the bed and greeted Betsy. As Betsy tried to hug her, Grace jumped down. Grace must have her space!
Icy Morning
She was ready to go. Grace came to the foyer as I dressed and gathered my things. The snow was iced over, but the 30-degree temperature didn’t feel uncomfortable. It was a bit disconcerting for Grace though as each step broke through. She took it in stride and still had major focus on sniffing around.
When we made it to the park, it was empty. I told her we needed to keep walking so she could finish doing her business. Grace insisted she was going to the playground. The gate latch was iced shut. I lifted Grace over and then climbed over on a sturdy portion of the fence myself.
She played ball, but the odd thing was, if I threw it in the air, it would just stop as soon as it hit the ground rather than roll and bounce as usual. After ten minutes, Abby joined her. They had a lot of interest in munching on ice, but did get about fifteen minutes of play time in before Grace was ready to leave. By then, I had chipped away at the ice on the latch to the gate and freed it.
At 7:45, we left the park and did a short walk so Grace could finish relieving herself. When she finished, we looped past a waste station and headed home. At one point, Grace broke the snow/ice crust with her feet and the pieces slid down a bank. That was kind of fun for Grace to see it and chase the sliding frozen water.
Early Return Home
When we returned home at 8:00, Grace went to the balcony for a few minutes before coming in, jumping up on the living room chair, and curling up for her morning nap. The power went out at 8:56. It was restored two hours later.
At 11:00, Grace stretched off of the chair, walked across to her sofa, and curled up next to me there. At 11:30, Grace heard a dog barking outside. I got up to make some food for myself. Grace followed. Then I realized that I had not fed Grace her breakfast.
After her breakfast, I gave her duck food with a spoonful of scrambled egg. A few minutes later, I gave her a small Kong loaded with duck food and capped with peanut butter. When she finished, Grace went back to the living room chair to resume her nap.
At 3:30, Grace wanted something else. I gave her a small Kong loaded with her regular food and capped off with peanut butter. When she finished, Grace got up on the sofa and watched out the window.
Afternoon Play Time
At 4:00, Grace perked up, walked to the balcony door, and confirmed there was a dog in the park. She walked toward the foyer expectantly. I took her to play, but by the time we made it downstairs, Zeke was gone. I left her in the park alone while I cleaned the considerable volume of snow off our two cars parked in the adjacent lot. Grace watched with her head poking through the one widely spaced bar pair.
At 4:20, Abby joined Grace. A few minutes later, Betsy came in. Eventually, I left Betsy with Grace and gassed up my car. While I was gone, Hutch and Finn joined the fun. When I returned about thirty minutes later, Betsy took Grace for a ride in her car.
At 5:40, Grace returned home. Betsy played ball with Grace in the hallway for about ten minutes to get her some vigorous exercise. When she finished, she got up on her sofa next to me for ten minutes before again going to the balcony door and going back out for a few minutes. When she came inside, she found a new graham cracker box and shredded it.
Goodies and Good Night
While we ate our supper at 7:00, Grace sat next to us and watched. About two thirds the way through, she started drooling. I couldn’t resist any longer. I gave her some pieces of pizza and crust. Betsy gave her some scraps from a chicken drumstick.
When we finished, Grace did tricks for duck food. To top it off, I gave her a doggie cookie. Grace went out on the balcony for five minutes and came back in at 7:35. She climbed up on her sofa and I turned out the lights. Grace settled in, but watched what we were doing.
At 8:35 she went out for the last time. We took out the trash and then made our circuit. Grace enjoyed sniffing the snow and following the scent to the grass. When she returned after her twenty-minute outing, Grace got up on the sofa and curled up for the night. As I still worked on the computer next to her, she looked at me and whined softly. I went over to her, comforted her and shut down my computer.
Friday
The temperature was 28 degrees. The alarm clock sounded at 6:05. Grace came to the side of the bed before it sounded again. She kissed me there, and I got up. We did a rather extended tummy rubs and kisses routine.
Icy Morning
Betsy wanted me to check the parking lot for ice. When I went down, I told Grace she was not coming. She didn’t understand that. She waited for me in the foyer and whined. When I returned five minutes later, she jumped up and kissed me.
As I worked on the computer, Grace played tug and fetch with Betsy and me. At 6:50, we went out. I had to walk very carefully to avoid falling on the slick pavement. Grace was not deterred. She made a beeline for the park.
When we arrived, there were no dogs there. The gate latch was frozen shut. Grace really wanted to go in, but I convinced her to do her business first. On the way, as we crossed an icy patch of pavement, I went down. I didn’t hurt myself, but it wasn’t fun. After Grace finished, we returned to the park.
I couldn’t get the gate open, so I lifted Grace over. Then, I went to the spot with the least climbing distance required at the bottom of the park. There, wood chips had accumulated to raise the ground level. Grace played fetch for about ten minutes. Next, Hutch and Finn showed up. I told their owner that the gate latch was frozen shut, but when she tried the latch, it opened.
There really was not much play. Grace was interested in fetching the ball. Finn joined in a little with Grace. The surface was a very rough, frozen snow/slush mix. It really wasn’t well suited to chasing and roughhousing. After ten minutes with them, Abby joined the gang. Still, the dogs limited their focus to either retrieving or hogging the balls.
By 7:45, all of the other dogs had left the park. Grace tired of playing ball, and we left too. As we crossed the spot where I hf slipped before, despite my care, I went down a second time! Again, I do not believe I hurt myself unless I strained a back muscle. Time will tell on that. The snow boots I was wearing were particularly treacherous on ice.
Grace continued to the dog run. She played around a bit with the ball there. She pawed it like a cat paws a mouse. After ten minutes, Grace moved on. We went to the gate to Grace Woods. The icy mess prevented Grace from pushing it open, but after I opened the latch, I was able to pull it open. Once we were inside, I released Grace from her leash.
Grace went straight for the bridge. She made it down there much faster than I because the crusty snow was just hard enough that I could have ended up slipping unless I crunched it with my heel (goose-step style) as I headed down.
As I began crossing the bridge, Grace was most of the way across looking back at me. When she saw that I made it, she proceeded ahead. Grace explored some of the Grace Weeds area and also the spot across the road. That allowed me to catch up. She still entered the Greenway ahead of me.
Once inside, Grace ran fast and free in the snow-covered field as the rising sun made the white blanket glow. Grace explored the weed-covered slopes. When she was done, she came to me as I stood in the middle of the field waiting for her. After leashing her, I headed home.
Home Safe
When we returned at 9:00, Betsy was there. Grace went straight to the balcony. When she came in, I grabbed her bowl, cleaned it, put her breakfast in it, and gave it to her. When she finished eating, Grace got up on the chair for her morning nap.
At 10:10, Grace got up and went to the balcony. When she returned inside fifteen minutes later, she went to the chair, but rather than curl up for a nap, she kept her head up and whined and whimpered. I went over to her twice to do tummy rubs and kisses. After five minutes though, Grace was back on the balcony, but again returned inside within minutes. She tried to stretch out on the sofa but could not get to sleep
At 11:10, Grace stood up on the sofa and looked toward the wall with her ears pitched forward. She found a stink bug. I retrieved it and threw it over the balcony. Grace followed out and looked for it. When she didn’t find it. She then curled up on the lounge chair.
Fun at the Park
At 11:25, she spotted Hutch and Finn out in the park. Five minutes later, she was out there with them. The sun lit up the landscape so bright I wished I had worn sunglasses. The 42-degree temperature felt much warmer.
Hutch and Finn’s owner brought a ChuckIt! flying disk. Grace loved it! She played (and won) tug of war with Finn a few times and won virtually every fetch with it. When Grace returned home at 12:15, she went straight to the balcony to continue enjoying the outdoors that she had missed the previous few days.
Afternoon Outing
At 1:15, Grace came inside to eat her duck and eggs snack. Then, she lay near the foyer as I prepared to leave for Borador Pond Park and errands. At 1:45 we left. Grace enjoyed chasing birds, but otherwise stuck close to me. Half of the path was still covered with snow, ice, water, or slush, but I was able to manage.
We moved on at 2:40. At 3:00, I stopped by Walmart. When I returned, I gave Grace a treat. At 3:15, we stopped at Walgreens and again I gave her treat. I made quick stops at Food Lion and Harris Teeter before returning home.
Unwinding at Home
When we returned home at 3:45, Grace went to the balcony. A half hour later, I left her home alone. At 6:30, when I returned home, I told Grace “Good bye-bye,” and gave her a doggie cookie. At 7:00, it was tricks for duck food time. When she finished, Grace had a doggie treat followed by candy from Betsy and a dental chew from me.
At 7:50, Grace went out for her last walk of the day. Twenty minutes later, she returned and lay on her side on the living room floor at my feet. At 8:10 when Grace returned, she again lay on her side on living room floor at our feet. At 8:30, Grace jumped up on the sofa. I switched the lights to make her area darker.
At 9:00 as I got some ice cream, guess who came marching into the kitchen? I gave her a small Kong loaded with her food and capped with peanut butter. When she finished that, she came in throwing her Kong. I gave her another with duck food. She did it again. I gave her a half-cup of her food. She still was unhappy,
I paid attention to her and then opened the blinds at her perch. She got up there and settled down for the night.
Saturday
At 5:15, Grace was in her bed. I stopped by, and we gently greeted each other. When I got up at 7:10, I noticed it was raining. We finally made it out five minutes later. Grace walked down the long hallway to stay dry a minute longer on the way to the park.
Wet Morning Out
There were no dogs there. Grace was not interested in playing ball. After a few minutes, she moved on. Grace spent a lot of time sniffing on the clump-grass hill between the apartment complexes. From there, she went to the gate that headed down to the bridge.
After we went through, Grace made a beeline for the bridge. The ground was a mix of slush, ice, and mud. That slowed me down a bit. Despite the messy weather, two cars came into the park area crossing the bridge. Grace was sort of waiting around on the one-lane bridge for me to catch up. The first car came and honked at her to tell her to move over. She moved. A second came a minute later. Its driver just drove slowly.
It turns out that the 8:00 traffic jam was from a group of girls on the track team doing training. I asked them whether they were crazy or dedicated. They had to go with crazy to be out there running in 40-degree rain. At least it was calm. I told them to have a good run.
Grace took it in stride. She traversed her normal route in the upper and lower fields and along the slopes closest to Grace Beach. She didn’t bother with the slope in Grace Woods this time. She did grab one of her deflated balls though and played some fetch with that.
By 8:30, Grace was ready to head back. I leashed her, and we made our way past the first path up, but I cut through before the second path up to shorten the distance. As we approached the side stairway, Grace easily backed out of her harness.
Suddenly, Grace was free to explore the Hated White Cat Woods. She bolted. I whistled repeatedly. Grace went as far as the trash area and down to the bottom of the woods. It was great fun running free in a new woods.
After five minutes, she spotted Hannah and Miley and approached them. I asked their owner to grab Grace’s collar. She did. From there, I leashed Grace and led her home.
Warm and Dry
When she returned home at 8:45, Grace went to the balcony. After I put her breakfast in her dish at 8:55, Grace came inside and ate it. She was tentative about getting up on the chair — perhaps because she was wet.
I called her into the bathroom and gave her a shower. When we finished with that, I gave her a doggie treat. After finishing her treat, Grace washed herself there on the floor before returning to the living room.
She got up on the loveseat, but that didn’t suit her. She immediately got down and went to the chair. There she finished washing herself, curled up, and took her morning nap.
Say Good-Bye, Then Hello
At 10:30, when I left to go on a short shopping trip. Grace was noticeably upset. I learned this when I returned to get something I had forgotten shortly after leaving. The second time I left, I made sure to give Grace a proper good-bye even with Betsy still with her.
When I returned home thirty minutes later, Grace stayed in her chair, but we still did tummy rubs and kisses.
At 1:30 I made a sandwich. Grace perked up and came into the kitchen, I fixed her a large Kong with duck food. When she finished that, she threw the small Kong at my feet. I loaded it with the remainder of the half cup of duck food. When she finished at 2:15, Grace came to me grouching. I told her that Mommy was going to take her out. Grace went to the door to wait for her.
Afternoon Outdoor Time
They left at 2:30. When they returned an hour later, Grace went out on the balcony to check out the action at the park. Within a few minutes, she saw Hutch and Finn there. I dressed, and we ran down to meet them. They had their flying disk. Grace maintained her dominance with that game as well as with the associated tug game with Finn.
After about a half hour they left. Grace wanted to play some more. We played ball for about 45 minutes. Grace stopped and poked her head through the wide space in the fence. She spotted a new dog in the parking lot.
Lilly, a five-month-old twenty-pound little lap dog similar to Ellie Mae came in. She was sweet and a bit intimidated by Grace. Grace did her normal slow approach, but after they met, Grace wanted to launch into wrestling and roughhousing. Lilly was still a bit intimidated by a dog three times her size. They did mix it up some, and even did a chasing routine, but for the most part, Lilly could not relax.
Olivia came in next. After as short greeting Lilly left. Grace showed Olivia how to play fetch with Olivia’s owner. After about a half hour of play, Abby joined them. Grace and Abby did their high-energy routine for about twenty minutes before Abby’s owner had to leave and go to dinner. We stopped for the mail and there met a young man who loved dogs. He petted Grace as Grace accepted his advances in her usual friendly manner. When they finished she went home.
Supper and More
When Grace returned home at 5:40, she went straight to the balcony. At 6:00, she came in and had her supper. When she finished, Grace got up on the sofa and curled up for an evening nap.
At 7:00, I got up and started making my supper. Grace perked up and came in to see what I would give her. I gave her a doggie cookie. While I ate my supper, Grace sat next me and watched. I gave her two small pieces of toast with a little bit of tomato sauce and meat. Then, I gave her my plate to clean off.
At 7:30, Grace did tricks for duck food. When she finished, she wanted something else. I gave her a dental chew. That seemed to satisfy her. At 7:45, Grace looked out the balcony window and barked. Betsy let her out on the balcony.
Ten minutes later, she came in and asked for food. I gave her a half cup. After she inhaled that, she immediately grouched. I tried to comfort her, but she would have none of it. When Betsy went into the kitchen, she threw her large Kong on the floor. Betsy loaded it with more of her food and capped it with peanut butter. That did the trick. When she finished, she wen to her sofa for the night.