Viktorsviews. The Next Chapter.

Rain, dancing, cats and memories….

April 13, 2016Leave a Comment

April showers bring May flowers. A cute rhyme that attempts to put a positive spin on rain. Frodo doesn’t care about flowers. So our morning jaunt was typically painful yesterday. It didn’t start that way. It wasn’t raining when we started out. But then it began. Luckily we had both “done our thing” by then – so we headed home. Quickly.

It’s funny. The things that suddenly remind us of Paxton. Like yesterday morning. The radio was on and this song – Shut Up and Dance- came on. My human and Paxton loved to dance to that song. The big guy would spin, and go between her legs ( she had to be careful for that move!), he would back up and strut along by her side. Now it’s not to say he was graceful – it was a bit like watching a Sumo wrestler doing ballet. But he loved it. All while Frodo would be barking. And I would try to sneak in on the dance too. But I’ll never be the dancer he was – I just try to jump up and bite my human. I get a BIT excited. And Frodo just likes to sing. He’s no dancer… We miss our Pax Astaire….

We met a new creature in the driveway the other morning. It was still not completely light out, and my human was wearing her headlamp. And just as we went around the bend, my human spotted him. A cat. Sitting RIGHT in the MIDDLE of OUR driveway. Imagine the nerve! She braced herself to prepare for what was coming. Two PONs – who, in two words- went ballistic. My human held on for dear life and the sounds that came out of us were probably almost as loud as a huge pack of hounds preparing to hunt. It was a combination of screaming and yelling. NO doubt, neighbors heard the uproar. Neighbors within a 25 mile radius. My human held on as we pulled her up the driveway. Mr. Kitty took off into the woods- and we of course had to smell where he went. Thank goodness for strong leashes. And biceps.

We got something exciting in the mail yesterday- but you’ll have to wait until tomorrow to find out what it was.

Take a minute to dance today. It will make you feel good. And even better – if you have the chance to dance in the rain – go for it – and think of us!

Have a great day.

Drop Everything and Read

April 12, 2016Leave a Comment

April 12. Today is Drop Everything and Read Day. We do a lot of reading while our human is at work. And of course, we select famous books about dogs. How many of the following “classics” have you read:

Lassie Come Home
Old Yeller
Call of the Wild
Marley and Me
White Fang

And then we have more recent additions to the list:

The Art of Racing in the Rain
Inside of a Dog
The Other End of the Leash
Bones would Rain from the Sky

Of course this is a VERY short list of dog stories. And then there are COUNTLESS books on training dogs. We have a shelf full. Clearly my human has not actually READ those. She also collects OLD books about dogs. It’s kind of funny to see what certain breeds USED to look like years ago. Tsk-tsk humans – what have you done to SOME breeds? But that’s a topic for another blog.

And then we have those classic books whose names COULD be about us dogs:

Great Expectations: about me – waiting patiently, or not, to be fed. Or waiting for a treat.
Gone with the Wind: about me- when the door opens…and I spot a bunny
Brave New World: a story about when a puppy comes to his new home
Alice in Wonderland: a story about a girl named Alice who comes to visit a litter of puppies
The Odyssey: the story about walking Frodo in the rain…or wet snow
Crime and Punishment: a story about being banished from the DFZ because I have chewed the pillow on the sofa…
War and Peace: the story of life with me and Frodo
The Little Prince: my autobiography

My human saw a video of a dog who could read flashcards and respond to the written commands. Heaven help us. Something new to try…

Anyway- humans – take a minute to read to your dog today! We sure would enjoy that. And dogs – keep reading books about those humans. Maybe ONE DAY we’ll figure them out!

YOU poop in the snow!

April 11, 2016Leave a Comment

So Mother Nature played a really good joke on us with that snow yesterday. It was wet snow. Heavy snow. And if there were humans who were not impressed with the white stuff, I can tell you – there was one Polish Lowland Sheepdog who was BEYOND unimpresssed…

Every day you humans take stock of our bodily functions – and you KNOW when we need to pee and poop. And we have a pretty good routine in our house. Every morning, we go out for our walk. And every morning, we pee and poop. Usually, my human takes both of us out at the same time in the morning, but if the weather is not nice, we get the “one at a time” instruction at the door. Which usually means a shorter walk. So yesterday, when my human saw the snow, and the fact that the plow guy hadn’t come, she decided we would go for walks on our property. One at a time. With Velcro dog first. My human should have KNOWN it was going to be a bad walk when Velcro dog put the brakes on when he walked out the door. You see, wet snow equals sticky snow which equals snow balls. On our feet. And Velcro dog KNOWS that. My human coaxed him onto the lawn and told him to “hurry up” – which is the instruction to poop. Velcro dog just stood there. So my human walked him into the backyard. And she told Velcro dog to “hurry up.” He stood and looked at her. So they walked down our trail. Well, I should say my human walked and Velcro dog trudged down our trail. And my human now PLEADED, “hurry up.” And Velcro dog LOOKED like he was about to poop and then decided not to. He couldn’t. Seriously. His feet were wet. So they walked a bit further. At which point snowballs were starting to form on Velcro dog’s feet. So my human broke them up. And she told Velcro dog to “hurry up.” He looked at her as if to say – YOU try and poop when your feet are wet and weigh 100 lbs. So they trudged on, stopping every few feet to break up the snowballs. FINALLY, after 45 minutes of walking, breaking up snowballs and continual pleading by my human, my human was pooped out (pun intended) and she conceded defeat. And Velcro dog trotted happily back to the house with 100 lb feet. Little did he know, that NOW he had to go in a warm tub to remove the giant snowballs.

Then it was MY turn. I had watched some of the antics of Velcro dog out the back window- and although I don’t really dislike wet snow like he does, I figured my human would REALLY appreciate it if I pooped quickly. So I did. Score one for the bad dog. I was showered with treats and praise. You would have thought I just won some big obedience championship. Or the lottery.

Today the forecast is calling for temperatures above freezing. And no signs of snow in the long range forecast. So this PONcast is for a warm spring ahead – and a return to a positive poop routine. Unless of course, it rains….

© Linda Wozniak

Did you say FLEAS?!

April 10, 2016Leave a Comment

So yesterday morning, we got my human up just after 6. Honestly, WHAT is the point of trying to sleep in on the weekend? When she opened her eyes, she found not one but two PONs on the bed. Surprise! Aren’t we adorable?

She took us out for our morning jaunt, but we couldn’t go on the trail – it was WAY too muddy. It had rained on Friday – a LOT – and the only way my human would have got Velcro dog down that trail would have been by carrying him. Remember – puddles and Frodo do NOT mix. It’s actually quite comical to watch him avoid them. He looks at the path and plans his circuitous route. And I follow him. The cool thing about our walk yesterday – we heard something. A sound that my human loves to hear – and for us marks the real return of spring. It was the LOONS. They returned to the lake…

After our jaunt, my human made a shocking announcement. She was going to a “Flea Market.” WHAT?! A place to GET fleas?! I mean my human is always looking for natural concoctions to keep us from getting fleas. And ticks. We’ve never HAD fleas – so WHY go to a market to get some??! Imagine my embarrassment when I found out that a FLEA market doesn’t actually SELL fleas. Ooops.

Of course when my human got home, she decided it was time to go on a house clearing rampage. Heaven help us. Now SHE wants to sell stuff. Frodo indicated that I had better hide any bones I haven’t been chewing on – anything COULD be fair game. And there is no doubt that some dog related items WILL be going on the “selling” list…The giant elephant sized hard plastic kennel – that she has NEVER used. But it was a “bargain”. A bargain which sits in the garage. Someone must have need for a crate that won’t fit in any vehicle besides a transport truck. Good one.

And then there is the automatic “feeder.” It dispenses dry dog (or cat) food at selected times. My human had to use it with a Labrador – years ago – who had a health problem – and needed to eat small meals throughout the day. She had to set it high up on a counter – out of reach – and it dispensed the food into a bowl on the floor. Had it been on the floor, that Labrador would have bashed it apart to get into the food. Sounds just like a PON…

There’s a fantastic leather carting harness…. My human HAD been thinking of selling it before Paxton left us. She has never used it – so it will go. But not the other carting equipment…that stays. Even though it’s unlikely Frodo or I will be doing any draft work any time soon. We’re HERDING dogs. Mind you – we don’t particularly love sheep. Maybe we SHOULD try drafting…

It’s springtime. Although I hate to acknowledge that we actually awoke this morning to a blanket of snow! But I predict that is IT for snow this season. Spring will be back in full force tomorrow! So it’s a good time to do a good cleaning and clearing out. Time for a fresh start. Excuse me while I go and hide some of my toys…before they are sold!

Haircuts and the soggy bunny

April 9, 2016Leave a Comment

Busted. Beginning another hairstyling session

And so our rather mundane new life continues. Velcro dog is sticking to my human, the neighbors are on alert for a bear, and yours truly continues to entertain and amaze my human with continual energy and non-stop antics. My human has realized that I never have “down time.” My new name should be Busy. Busy Gumby. If I’m going out for a walk – I MUST leap up and down in front of the door before it opens. When I go out the door – I must jump back and forth in front of Velcro dog – barking at him. He, of course, grumbles at me – but basically ignores me. As much as one can ignore another canine leaping in front of his face as he walks. And should my human call me, I must RACE to her, sit for an instant and race off again. I must NEVER, ever stand still. I love to dart. Darting Busy Gumby. That’s me.

And in the house I must keep equally busy. Yesterday, my human went to get a haircut. WHAT a waste of money. I could have cut her hair in a lovely 70’s style shag haircut. JUST like Velcro dog’s hair. EVERY chance I get, I trim his hair. First I begin by dampening the hair. And then I gently chew it off. Unless my human catches me first. She has no appreciation for my skill. Honestly, I could give a human a BEAUTIFUL trim. Perhaps while she is asleep…

And in other mundane news, the birds are now eating us out of house and home. Yes – they have found the feeder and as fast as my human can fill it, they empty it. And it’s a BIG feeder. I’m just hoping my human doesn’t default to our dog food if she runs out of bird feed. And to make matters worse – yesterday when she went to fill the feeder – with a 1000 lb bag of seed, (OK maybe not THAT much – but it was a BIG bag), she slipped, and spilled half the bag. The feeder is perfect because only little birds can access the feeder. But the 500 lbs she spilled on the lawn was open buffet for every large bird in a 100 mile radius. I’m sure there were condors out there. And we don’t even HAVE condors around here. And now when my human opens the front door, it is my JOB to chase those big birds. Remember – I must never stand still.

Today my human is off, so I expect multiple games of fetch and a few rounds of “Find the Bunny.” I must say…the game isn’t quite the same without the soggy bunny – which would be after Paxton played… But we think of him when we play, and maybe, in his memory, I’ll drop the bunny in our water bowl so he’ll be soggy again. Really. It would only be fitting….

Have a great day.

Return of the bear.

April 8, 2016Leave a Comment

Well, as you know, my last few blogs have been understandably heavy. Our world has changed – and it’s hard not to talk about it. We cry. You cry. And you share in this journey – which those who have been owned by dogs know all about…

And I’ve been trying hard to find something to brighten the blog – even just a little. And just like the signs from Paxton, we get signs from the “Big Guy” that it’s OK to laugh. And we NEED to laugh…. So my human did smile about this – and I hope you will too…

You see, it seems I have caused a bit of a panic in our neighborhood…. Yup – yours truly is causing chaos – but this time I didn’t even KNOW I was causing chaos. Remember my blog about the bear? The April Fools bear? Well….it seems that one of our neighbors read my blog that day. But, unfortunately, she didn’t scroll down and read the WHOLE blog. So she missed the April Fools part… So you guessed it. She has been spreading the news that we have a bear lurking in the woods around our road. And she has told people about the crazed PONs. One man, who is actually KNOWN to fabricate stories, said he thinks he even saw bear poop at the golf course down the road. My human has visions of all the neighbors on our road now walking armed with bear bells and pepper spray. Now it’s not to say that we COULDN’T have a bear – but the one that was chased into the tree by two crazed PONs doesn’t exist. At least not yet!

Have a good day. Take time to smile. And watch out for bears!

© Linda Wozniak

The third sign…

April 7, 20161 Comment

The past few days I have written about some “signs” that we felt were from Paxton. The sun breaking through the clouds..the geese and the ducks. Now some would argue that those are coincidence. That we are looking for things to reassure us that he is OK. And perhaps that is true. But if you believe that life is never really “over” – you do believe in signs. My human is a pretty scientific person. Especially in her job. She wants to see “proof.” But she does believe in signs. And she does have faith. And they say that things come in threes…

Yesterday morning, my human was showering to get ready for work. Frodo and I are quite happy with the new rule that has changed – the “dogs aren’t allowed on the bed rule.” Well – I’m not so certain the rule has really CHANGED – but we certainly took advantage of the chance while my human was taking her shower. We don’t want to go anywhere NEAR the bathroom when she is in the wet glass box. Honestly – we won’t even STEP in the doorway for fear she will open the door and drag us in.

Anyway, my human came out of the shower and was getting dressed and ready for work. And putting on the strange human warpaint. And she heard something in the other room. And so did Frodo and I. And we BOLTED to the kitchen. My human expected the riotous barking that accompanies the cavalry. But all she heard was one bark by Frodo. That was it. She thought it odd, but continued to get ready for work. And we boys came back to our cozy positions on the bed.

My human completed her ritual and went into the kitchen. And there, in the middle of the floor, was a big tuft of hair. Black hair. And she looked at it. And looked at it. And she picked it up and threw it in the garbage. And then she went back to the garbage and took it out and had to take another look. Yes. It WAS black hair…. And my human smiled…

You see, Paxton had this habit – which actually annoyed my human to no end. Every morning, he had this habit of pulling a piece of hair off of his tail. He didn’t do it anywhere else on his body. And he didn’t do it at any other time during the day. Just once – in the morning. And my human would say to him “BUDDY – you are going to have a naked tail!” And he would spit the hair out. She tried spraying something on his tail to make him stop but it had no effect. It’s kind of like humans who play with their hair – or bite their nails. So my human got used to picking up a hunk of Paxton hair each morning. But the last week of Paxton’s life, he never touched his tail. He just didn’t feel well. At all…

Now some will argue that it was my hair or Frodo’s hair. I assure you. It was BLACK. Jet black. And some might argue that it had been on the floor, and we just hadn’t noticed it. This was right in the MIDDLE of the tile floor. And my human has thoroughly vacuumed twice since Paxton left us.

You may not believe this story – but I assure you – it is not an April Fools joke. It happened. And honestly, we truly believe it was sign. Our big brother isn’t with us. But he is. And he’s OK. He’s really OK…

© Linda Wozniak

Top dog, Gumby, and the rule changes.

April 6, 2016Leave a Comment

When we dogs own humans – and there are more than one of us in a household, there is a barking order. I’m not calling it a pecking order – that’s for chickens. With us dogs, it’s a barking order. Often the oldest dog in the house is the “top dog.” Well not REALLY. The human is always the “TOP top dog.” Or at least they think they are.

In our house, Paxton was the oldest. And Frodo totally respected Paxton. There was never so much as a grumble between them. Then I came along…. And I tried very hard at times to be the “top dog.” I was sometimes bossy with Paxton. Who tolerated my nonsense. Now I feel kind of badly that I was bossy with him…

Frodo on the other hand, has never tolerated ANY nonsense from me. If I attempt to challenge him, he can flip me over and grumble LOUDLY IN MY FACE before I can even blink. And then the disagreement is over. And we lick and make up. Well. I lick. Frodo shakes himself off and walks away. But the interesting thing – Frodo NEVER starts these wrestling matches. EVER. It has always been yours truly. Always.

Well now that Paxton is gone…things are different. Very different. For example… Frodo likes to go to the big bin where the dog food is kept. And he balances on two legs trying desperately to get a mouthful of food. At which point my human shouts “Stop” and he gets down and walks away. Or she pulls him away.

The day before yesterday, Frodo attempted his acrobatic food stealing. My human told him to stop. Which he did. And THEN, yours truly decided to try that trick. I’ve never done it before. Well. Frodo warned me to stop. And he warned me to stop again. And THEN he MADE me stop. Frodo has NEVER ever started a disagreement with me. I think he is trying to let me know that he is now the “top dog.” And I had better learn to respect that. The disagreement lasted 2.7 seconds. Point well taken.

Frodo is also doing other things. For example, Paxton always used to lie next to my human. If she was reading, working on the computer, eating a meal – Paxton was THERE. And Frodo has always been a dog who wants to be in the same ROOM as my human – but he has never stuck to her like glue. Except now that has changed too. He is like Velcro. It fact, I think that’s what I’ll call him from now on. Velcro.

It’s challenging, because I just don’t know what the rules are now. Nobody gave me the revised Operations Manual. I’m sure I’ll learn what to do. But my goodness, this is tough. Good thing I’m such a flexible kind of guy. I sure need to be flexible right now. Just call me Gumby.

Goose. Goose. Duck.

April 5, 2016Leave a Comment

So. Life goes on. It is a different life for us right now. But still a life of wonder and surprises. Like yesterday morning. It was a COLD morning -which was OK because we got to go for a walk on the trail because the ground was frozen. Otherwise we wouldn’t have attempted it – it would have been WAY too muddy after a rainy weekend. Frodo and mud puddles do NOT go together. It’s like walking a 40 lb bag of potatoes.

As we were walking, just after dawn, we were approaching a pond. My human always calls it Harper’s pond. Harper was a Bernese I never knew. Apparently Harper would stop at the pond and listen for the frogs. Then he would let out a HUGE bark. Every day. As if to say hello.

And as we were approaching the pond – my human spotted – and heard something. Two geese. On the pond. Frodo and I couldn’t see them at first – there was a hill blocking our view. But when we spotted them – holy moly – we were mesmerized. Those are BIG birds. Bigger than the birds we have been chasing from the feeder the past few days. WAY bigger. And I wanted those geese. Frodo QUICKLY figured out that to get those geese, one would have to get wet. So his interest disintegrated. On the other hand, it took me longer to figure that out. Mind you, I was also on a leash so there was virtually no chance I could get them. My human had that leash in a death grip. And then do you know what happened? A duck arrived. By himself. Two geese and a duck. Kind of like two PONs and a Berner. The duck wasn’t with the geese, but he kind of was. I think it was another sign from you know who….And they all then floated quietly on the water. While two PONs were dragged along the path…

My human had to work yesterday. But as she was leaving, she rambled on about maybe taking us to work one day. Which sounds like fun. BUT she also said something about GROOMING first. So apparently one has to be presentable to go to work. I think I’ll pass.

We are being well behaved. And I must tell you – it is hard work. It is just not in my nature. But I’m trying…Mind you we DID have a little “incident” yesterday- I’ll tell you all about it tomorrow.

Have a good day…

© Linda Wozniak

Afterwards. After words…

April 4, 2016Leave a Comment

Afterwards. After words…

It’s hard to explain what our house is like right now. There is something missing. The choir is missing a member. The buffet is missing a diner. The border patrol is short one officer.

I honestly never knew that humans could blow their noses so many times. Frodo is definitely out of sorts. And me? I am DESPERATELY trying to provide some comic relief. THAT is my job right now. And while I will never be able to fill Paxton’s pawprints, I decided I should do some of the things he did. For example – yesterday, I tried to steal a tissue from my human’s pocket. Paxton was a pro pocket-tissue-thief. So I learned from the best. And I was successful. For about 3 seconds. And then I had to give up my bounty.

And do you know what happened yesterday morning when we went out on our walk? No – no bears or bunnies. It was a dark, and rather cloudy morning. And just as we approached the driveway, the clouds parted and the sun shone through. We know who that was. Telling us he is just fine.

Thanks to SO many people who called, sent us hugs, condolences and warm thoughts and memories of my big brother. We can’t begin to thank each and every one of you – but know that each message – as hard as it is – lifted our lonely sadness. It is so amazing to know that so many of you loved Paxton and felt you knew him – even though you never met him! I am so happy to have shared him with all of you…

Humans – hug your dogs today. And you canines – do what you do best. Provide that unconditional love that we do so well. And MAYBE just a little badness – just to keep things interesting…