You Dirty Dog

This video is from about seven or eight years ago. Ham (the boxer) could still see and Charlie (the bulldog) still had a little pep in his step.

This is Charlie now...most of the time.

Of course he's twelve years old now, which is extremely old for an English Bulldog. He's goes out in the morning after he eats and is good to go until before we go to sleep at night. When you have three big dogs in a tiny temp rental house, you gotta appreciate that low maintenance one.

 It's been raining here a lot lately and haven't had a chance to bathe the dogs outside but Charlie started stinking so bad it was hard to be in a room with him. Then again, put him outside and this is the first thing he does...NOT helping with his smell.

 It was a dry winter here in central Florida. It wasn't cold but never rained so all the grass dried up and left us with a backyard full of black sand and dog poop. I try to do poop patrol at least once a week considering we have three big dogs in a backyard this size now...

instead of the one they had in Georgia...

Huge difference when all three are taking a couple of dumps a day. Back in Georgia they all went into the woods at the back to do their bidness.

We 've got really great neighbors on one side of us, and have become good friends with them. A young couple, mid twenties and also have three (smaller) dogs. I told Ashley (our neighbor) I was tired of picking up poop with my hand stuck in a plastic grocery and dropping it into another as I patrolled. It's disgusting carrying a eight pound bag of dooky out to the garbage can on the front of the house. She said she just picks hers up with a pooper scooper and tosses it over the back fence.

Guess who bought a pooper scooper yesterday at Big Lots?

I mean, guess if those fifty squawking flamingos (yes I know they aren't really flamingos) are pooping in the retention pond...what's a little (lot) more?

Problem solved!

I decided to break down today, hoist and shove Charlie into my bath tub for a scrub down. It was no easy feat...but that was no easy smell he had either. I pulled and Massey pushed him from behind. We looked like Lucy and Ethel. He did not want to get in that tub and was of no help at all, but amazingly enough had no problem hopping out on his own when we got through.

Two problems solved!

I knew when we made this move to Florida it would be hard for our pups making a huge transisiton, especially with Ham being totally blind.

Ham has probably adapted as well if not better than the two sighted pups. He walks with caution and that nose a twiching. It took him about one day to learn the layout of the new house and yard.

Little Houdini has done great as well...not one escape or even one attempt, and that's saying something considering the back fence is only about four feet high. He's even been to the beach with us!

Charlie wouldn't care where we moved unless it didn't have a couch.

I read a book recently and had a chapter on her dog. There was a quote that nailed how I feel about my pups on their three big heads.


"People seem to love their dogs with an unabashed acceptance that they rarely demonstrate with family or friends. The dogs do not disappoint them, or if they do, the owners manage to forget about it quickly. I want to learn to love people like this, the way I love my dog, with pride and enthusiasm and a complete amnesia for faults. In short, to love others the way my dog loves me."

                                                                                               Ann Patchett




I think dogs actually make us better people. I know I'm happier when I own one (or three).

We only have twelve weeks left on our rental lease and will moving the pups one more time. Every house we look at has the stipulation of having to have a nice big fenced in yard for Larry, Curly and Moe to live out their remaining years with us in style. We're even getting one with a cement pond for them to swim in. I'm not even worried about Ham. The pool will be screened in with an outer yard fenced in but do look forward to easing him in at some point. Fat as Charlie is, he'll float like a buoy and pretty sure Ziggy will at least be extremely curious.

I am so not looking forward to packing up again but at least will be a thirty minute drive and the last move of our lifetime.

I've also discovered that being brave enough to say goodbye to Georgia has indeed rewarded me with a pretty nice hello and life Florida. Tim's doing great with his job and Massey's making friends. It took me a minute to get my new job down (always does when you're a perfectionist) but am consistently making more money each and every week. I've got my confidence back, once again am a selling machine and have a handful of new friends. It's gonna be just fine.

Til next time...COTTON