Today's Pinup

Despite his size and the fact that he's waterproof, Lucky hates the rain.  Ridgeback through and through.

Homesick, Part Two

   Yeah, I'm admitting it.  I've become the crazy guy who misses his dog so much, he moons over every pup he passes.

   And none more than my new friend Hudson, the wee Beagle companion of my old friend David.

This little girl is one of the sweetest I've ever met.  We fell in love!

But I want to go home to Scot and Lucky. One more week.

Homesick

   I'm in Florida visiting a close family member who's been taken ill.  It's a hard situation, made slightly easier by the view from my hotel bed.

   I'm missing Scot and our Lucky very, very much.  But a small compensation for being so far from home is the constant presence of lovely dogs.  Everywhere I go, it's dogs galore, especially on the beach just by the hotel.
   I'm pleased to see that this part of Florida hasn't given in to the American mania for keeping dogs on the lead at all times.  I go for a morning swim at sunrise every day, and there are lots of happy pups running freely.
   This morning, an absolutely adorable little dog of non-specific heritage came up to me with a tennis ball in his mouth, just as I was at the shore and about to take the plunge.  It was high tide, and he didn't seem to be with anyone.  He dropped the ball at my feet; I picked it up, and threw.  As he chased the ball, I dove into the water.
   The waves were high and the surf was choppy, but the water was warm and lovely.  After about a minute, I turned around, and here was this little dog, swimming next to me, with the ball in his mouth!
   I was actually afraid that he might go under, but I soon realised that, no, this wasn't his first time in rough seas.  We swam together for a minute, then he was called to the shore, and off he went.
 

The Second Time Around

   Some of you are living with your first dog.  Some of you have had two or more dogs.  My beloved first Ridgeback Truman was my first dog.  Lucky is my second.
   I adopted Truman at 7 weeks of age with my former partner, a great guy who is a dog man through and through.  He'd had dogs of his own from a young age.  He taught me everything he knew about dog training, and he gave me the best piece of advice regarding dogs that I've ever come across.
   He told me "we have them for a short time, and the only thing we can do is enjoy each moment with them, and  try to give them the best life we can; to enjoy every second we have with them, to appreciate them fully each day, so that when we lose them, we'll know we've done our absolute best by them."
   This was great advice, and I did just that with Truman.  I used to look at him in the park with love, and I understood that it would end.  Some people would say that those thoughts are maudlin, but I don't agree.  It helped me to live in the moment with a beautiful boy whom I loved very much.
   Subsequently, when we lost Truman, we took comfort in the knowledge that we had appreciated every moment, and had truly done our very best by him.
   This time, this second time around with our Lucky, we are more keenly aware of all of this.  It's hard to be so aware that we will be together for a relatively short time.  But remembering what we felt when we lost our Truman, we are truly living each moment with our Lucky to the fullest.
   It's not maudlin, it's good.
   And for your delectation, the lovely and sweet Truman:

   And his great-nephew, grandson of Milo, Lucky.  By name, and nature.  Love this boy.

Today's Pinup

Monday Monday

   Monday's at work are a ritual now, and he loves it.  But all work and no play make for a bored boy, so Lucky is pleased to have Queen Street Gardens just nearby for playing in. Then, back to the salon for friendly visitors, and napping.  Pretty sweet deal.

Shore Leave

   The weather looked promising today, so we set off to our favourite walk, at Tyninghame, East Lothian.  It's a peaceful combination of wood and beach to walk, and Lucky's been there many times before.
   You can sometimes walk for long distances here without seeing anyone, but today was busier than usual.  We even encountered a traffic jam on one of the farm roads.

   Lucky was sporting his brand new rainbow collar from Just Dogs in Stockbridge, purchased yesterday.
 

   There's a point on this walk when we go over a sand dune and, suddenly, the beach opens up down below.  It's beautiful.  Today, when Lucky saw the coast, he charged off down the dune, and ran around in huge circles, so happy to be there.  Then, he saw something curious in the distance,

  

which, on closer inspection turned out to be a rainbow stunt kite; something Lucky has never encountered before.  Collar and kite cut a dash together!

   If you're anywhere near this part of Scotland, we thoroughly recommend this walk.  Nice people, nice dogs, and knockout views.  What more could you ask for?


 

A Lunch Date

   Today, we decided to take Lucky for a day out in Stockbridge, a lovely village within Edinburgh city.
   We started with a sharp haircut for me at the dog friendly Benjamin's Barber Shop.  My hair was expertly cut as always, and Lucky loved the shop.  We nearly had an incident with a jar of Red Vines, which Lucky was enchanted with,

and which would surely have given him a bad belly.  I explained that these are for human consumption only; Lucky accepted this without argument.
   Later, we had a super lunch at the Raeburn House Hotel, also dog friendly.  No fewer than ten people came over to see and stroke Lucky, which he allows, because he loves everyone, and assumes everyone loves him.
   We called in at Just Dogs for a visit with Gemma, who knew and admired our old boy Truman.  Lucky came away with a fresh stag bar and a rainbow collar in bugle beads, in which he looks very handsome.  Lastly, we met our friend Chris for a drink in The Stockbridge Tap, a lovely local down in Stockbridge.  Seven or eight new people came to meet and admire our boy.
   We're obviously out of the way of writing this, because we took no photographs of Lucky in his various, fun environments today.  Apologies for that; we'll improve in the days/weeks to come.
   Today was a very, very good day.

The Homecoming

   Scot and I were in America for two weeks on holiday recently, and the greeting we received on our arrival home was unbelievable!
   Lucky had a very nice time while we were away.  Our good pal Scott came to our house and stayed with Lucky for most of it, but Scott was away on business for the first four days, so Lucky stayed with Mungo, one of the handlers at Citidogs Creche.
   He obviously had met Mungo before, but with almost 100 dogs at creche, even with plenty of handlers, they didn't know each other well.  However, since staying with Mungo for the four days, he is smitten.  Lucky follows him around Citidogs, and has taken to joining Mungo in the staff room while he has lunch.  That's our boy; quick to make friends, and as loyal as can be once he does.

   Our updates here might be a bit sporadic for a short while, as I might be travelling a fair bit on a family matter this month.