Jasper

Jasper.

I love this dog. Despite the fact that about half of what I've ever said about him has been in complaint, still....I love him. He is a sweet, sweet, sweetheart of a dog. He loved the kids. He loved them, even though he was constantly, accidentally, knocking them over.


He was especially good with Abbie. I ultimately have no explanation for why, but among Jasper's virtues, gentleness was not one of them. He was gentle with Abbie, though, laying beside her all the time, barely moving, his eyes on her and his tail happily thumping.

It was time to admit defeat, though.
We failed.
There's no way to whitewash it.
Jasper needed space to run in, but he couldn't do it here. Here, he could jump over the fence at will and run off chasing cars. We couldn't take him outside unless he was on leash, which meant that he couldn't run at all.

There are other things, too: there were too many toys, and he couldn't learn to leave them alone. He destroyed everything he touched, and so as time went on he spent more and more time in the kitchen, because that was the only way we could keep him from breaking the toys.

The truth is, he just wasn't a good fit for us right now. We tried to make it work, because we did love him, but nobody was happy.

So yesterday, Chris drove Jasper back to the farm he was born on and the breeder assured us that she has a family already waiting to take him. They've always had two dogs, and last year both of their dogs (both Chessies) died. They have a puppy now, but wanted an older dog as well, one who was already house-trained. They have three kids. The kids are all older, their youngest is the same age as our oldest.

I am so glad they have kids. Jasper really loves kids.




So here we are. We had our cry out yesterday, and now the house feels weird and quiet.

We love you, Jasper. I'm so glad we were able to find a good situation for you, but I am so, so sorry that it wasn't here.

Poor Puppy

This picture was taken before we went into Pittsburgh, when Jasper was feeling very poorly due to an ear infection. He was incredibly lethargic and despite the fact that he frequently drives us crazy we were all very sad for our sick puppy. A week of antibiotics seemed to cure him, though, and as the girls and I left, Jasper was jumping up at the window like his old self.

Well, it looks like the infection never fully left because he's getting mopey again. I have such a strange mix of feelings for this dog: on the one hand, he often feels like that very last straw that's about to break my back, on the other hand he is such a sweet and loving dog that he melts my heart into a puddle.

As much as I want to throw him through the wall (a feat he has made easier to attempt since he's chewed half through it already), the site of him like this makes me go all gooey and greenpeace-ey. Caring for an animal is a weird thing. I hope mine is back to normal soon, even though that means more chewed up toys and movement underfoot.

I wish the dog hadn't eaten my camera

If he hadn't, I would be able to post a picture of the beautiful, clear-as-day double rainbow that arched over our yard this evening.

I would also be able to post a video of the girls singing "Pavement" by Adele at the top of their girlie lungs in the car.

I would also be able to post some of the amazing plays they have been putting on lately. My favorites so far are an original Anansi story (created by Beth, and so good you wouldn't know it wasn't real) and a play based on the current favorite cartoon, Phineas and Ferb. Both truly entertaining.

But I can't. Because Jasper ate my camera.

Here's a random old picture, no real substitute, but the best I can do.

Remember these days?

Good Boy!

For once in his life, Jasper was actually helpful!

I needed to aerate the ground a little bit near where I plan to plant some veggies tomorrow, so I grabbed a shovel while I was outside with Jasper. To my amazement, Jasper made my chore at least ten times easier. I would just point the shovel at the spot I wanted dug up, and Jasper was more than willing to oblige. I felt like Timmy with Lassie!

Anything more refined, such as weeding - or any activity, really, that doesn't require the whole area to just be tossed joyfully in the air, would be out of his range. However, if you need some land dug up, this dog's for hire!

A question for Cesar...

How is it that the dog who does this:

And this:

Can also sit in the kitchen for half an hour doing this:

A girl and her dog

This picture is old now, taken last summer. One of the subjects has grown a bit and one has grown a shocking amount since then, but I think this picture best sums up the relationship between Lucy and her beloved sibling, Jasper the dog. Notice how happy they both are: Lucy as she torments Jasper, Jasper as he hopes to score something good. They are a match made in heaven.

About a week ago I ushered the girls, who had been playing in their rooms, to the basement so that I could put Lucy down for a nap. This is a more chaotic transition than you might imagine, because it involves getting them all through the kitchen - past a baby gate and through a door while trying to keep the frantic dog from escaping. So there was, as there always is, lots of yelling and toppling over and mob-type frenzies. Once the girls had been successfully relocated, though, I realized that Lucy had escaped (as I thought) into the basement. And then - crap! - I noticed that the dog was missing.

I ran upstairs first, thinking that the dog might have pushed past the girls unnoticed while they filed by the gate. The top floor was dead silent, though, so I didn't bother checking it much. The one thing I can count on is Jasper causing a ruckus any time he manages to get to some part of the house that has lots of forbidden things to chew. I ran down to the basement, but the girls hadn't seen him there, so I checked the unfinished section. He wasn't there. At this point, I was getting concerned- there are only so many places a dog can go, and I was running out of ideas. I checked outside, although I knew he hadn't been let out. I re-checked the top floor, looking into every room and even the closets. He wasn't there.

I came back down to the kitchen, looking again under the table and behind the chairs, knowing he wasn't there. The house felt eerie and quiet without his dog-noises in the background. The girls were helping now, too, their eyes big and beginning to fill with tears. We were starting to worry that he had escaped outside somehow, and the busy road outside makes that a much bigger problem than it might sound like.

I stood in the kitchen and surveyed the adjoining hallway, all the doors tightly shut as they always are to keep the dog from chewing up the blankets, the clothes, the rugs.....our dog really likes to chew. The girls were all gathered around me, concerned, but I wasn't paying them much attention. I was worried about the dog. I began to look into the closed rooms, not expecting anything but at a loss for what else to do. The guestroom was empty and quiet. The bathroom was, too. I looked into my bedroom, and it was also empty. But as I was about to close the door I heard a dull thump, and it made me pause for a second. I went past the bed and opened the door to the bathroom.

Standing square in the middle of the room was none other than Lucy, with her arm draped casually around Jasper's neck as he tore into a roll of toilet paper. She looked up at me and grinned and then said, breezily as you please, "Hi!" Opening doors is a brand-new trick of hers, and it appears that while I was occupied with the older girls she had quietly opened the door to my room and lured Jasper through into the bathroom. What seems incredible to me now is that my first thought was not to check on the whereabouts of Lucy, and assuming from the get-go that she was the culprit. Where else would Jasper be but at the side of his favorite companion, hoping for food or at the very least a chance to get to some forbidden treat?

My back wasn't even turned

I made a major mistake this afternoon: I gave my full attention to the pan I was washing. I know, I know. I should have known better. I should have kept my head in the game. I should have bolted every cabinet in this joint closed before turning my face to the sink.



Here's what happened in the time it took me to wash one (small!) pan:

Flour. Everywhere. We've seen this before, haven't we? But now we have a dog. In the initial scuffle, Jasper's water bowl was up dumped, turning the flour on his paws and nose into glue.

I'm not even going to talk about the floor. The kicker, though, was that after I had scolded Lucy thoroughly, cleaned up the mess in the house, placed the remaining flour into a plastic bag and knotted it shut, and then taken the dog outside to beat the flour out of him as though he was a dusty carpet....after I had done all of these things, I came back into the house to find this:

She did it again.

As it turns out, pastry flour glues up just as easily as regular flour. I guess that's useful information to have. However, if you happen to be seized with a sudden desire to bake while at my house, be prepared to add an additional 20 minutes into your prep time to access the now heavily guarded flour. And pray for me.

Two Peas in a Pod

Lucy, who has been walking since before she was 9 months old, has taken to travelling on all fours again. The better to communicate with her new best friend, I guess..
Jasper declines his breakfast of dried-lamb in lieu of Cap'n Crunch, courtesy of Lucy's appalling table manners. (Note the chairs set in a circle around Lucy's high chair. I did that, thinking it might keep Jasper from reaching her. He's grown a lot more than I realized.)

I love this dog, although he is driving me crazy...but I love him (but he does drive me crazy.)

I broke into hysterical and not-entirely appropriate laughter the other day while talking to a group of women. I was talking about how similar training a puppy is to raising kids, and I said something like, "What I realized after getting the puppy was..."

One of the other women interrupted and finished my sentence by saying, "...what a mistake it was?"

Jasper is going to be a great dog. He is a good dog already, he's just.....rambunctious and still confused about where to take his bathroom-business. When he's great, he's a total joy. When he goes over to the window, scratches and whines once before immediately urinating all over the floor, then gets caught up in all the commotion (because the girls are all screaming) and runs through the puddle, leaving disgusting little paw-prints all over the floor.........and then jumps all over me with those paws while I'm trying to clean it up, desperately, you see, because Lucy also likes to run through puddles and leave footprints.......well, then he is not such a joy. Then, life itself doesn't seem like such a joy.

Right now, though? Lucy is sound asleep (oh thank you, Lord, for making that particular wild animal need naps!), the house is quiet (thank you, also, Lego Indiana Jones), and Jasper is curled up under my feet, fast asleep. He keeps shifting, but he always keeps at least a paw on my foot, and occasionally comes to just long enough to lick my hand. And I'm totally feeling good about having a dog.

Talk to me in another hour, however, and it could be a completely different story.

(As an aside for anyone who might feel like answering: Would it be reallyreally bad of me if, when Jasper bites onto Lucy's diaper and prevents her from moving, I took a picture instead of immediately removing him? Because, aside from the look of terror on Lucy's face, they look exactly like that famous sunblock ad.

I am stealing this caption from Uncle Mike

Sorry (yet again) for the long silence. There's been lots going on around here, what with the start of summer, a week-long visit with my Chester cousins while the grown-ups went on a cruise, my in-laws' long awaited move from Illinois to near-here, and a computer crash (it is still not working -I'm writing this from my laptop.) I'm finally back, though, to announce an important addition.

Life has been in danger of getting manageable around here, so we've done what we always do when we get to this point - we've added to the family! This time it's different, though, because.....

It's a boy!!!!!