Pickle Sitting

It's about time we returned the favor.  After multiple Harry-sittings acquiesced by my sister, the foo and I took it upon ourselves to do the same with Harry's newest fur-cousin, Pickle.  As Pickle is only six months old and only in his forever home for two months, he was a bit shaky when we picked him up.  A few belly rubs, lots of hugs and kisses, and a house tour lightened him up.

During his week-long stay, Pickle got a little broken in.  His shrieking yelp responses to slight noises outside our city condo decreased over time and he walked outside with more confidence each day.  Being a city dog is a tough attitude to succumb to and unlike Harry, Pickle wouldn't settle for peeing on anything other than plush grass (aside from plush carpets).  It was funny to watch the two of them walk together:  Harry with an intense determined stride and Pickle keeping up with quick feet.  On their leashed walks, Pickle would sometimes run underneath Harry giving the city of Philadelphia an amusing show of a harried sweating woman (me) untangling two excited and oblivious dogs.

We did experience some puppy behavior the first day which resulted in social media dog shaming.  Pickle seems to suffer from anxiety when left alone and during his first four hours of unsupervised crate time he managed to dig a hole directly through our carpet.  He was eerily silent as I opened the door to his destruction, as if he knew he had done something bad.  We ended up tossing the rug and replacing it with a rubber mat so Pickle couldn't do the same on hardwood.  I imagine he could dig his way to China with those thick front paws of his.

Speaking of front paws, I decided that these were Pickle's most endearing feature.  Soft but thick, unlike his rear paws which are akin to a typical toy size dog, Pickle's fat puppy paws were my favorite part of him.  They seemed like they belonged to a bigger dog.  Pickle was happy to have me obsess over them.

Having a small dog is nice in that you can easily take them wherever you want to go.  Though we didn't get a chance to dine out with Pickle, he hopped in the car with us for a few errands - something that we generally leave Harry out of.  The scary part of having a small dog is constantly worrying about stepping on them and stressing about them falling down the stairs.  Pickle's famous paws often slipped on our hardwood stairs but he usually caught himself before sliding all the way down.  Pickle's long body slides and rolls while his little feet scramble.  It sounds so horrible, but since he was safe it was kind of funny to watch him excitedly get himself together.

Pickle and Harry got along quite nicely.  Harry forgets how small Pickle is sometimes and how one swipe of his paw can take Pickle down, so we had to supervise their playtime.  The two of them would play with their toys separately or engage in some sort of tag.  If we had more room in our place I think the game would've gotten extremely intense.  On Saturday, we took the two of them to the Schuylkill Banks dog park.  Pickle had never been, but after spending a little while in the small dogs park he was introduced to the big dogs park and shown around by Harry.

 

Despite their normal jolliness with each other, Pickle and Harry suffered one disagreement over a bone.  Bone time was meant to be a let's relax and get our aggression out on this rawhide type hour.  Unfortunately it turned into no sharing no caring hour.  A few snarls and a scary bark led us to a separation for the rest of the evening.  Pickle held a grudge that night and wouldn't let Harry into our room without freaking out.  Apparently dog memory doesn't necessarily last 20 minutes.  

This didn't happen after the bone fight...

Now that Pickle has happily returned to his family, Harry's been sleeping.  He's literally been groggy and sleepy for two days.  I expect he'll be back to normal tomorrow, but for now he's enjoying some peace and quiet before he starts missing his cousin.  It was fun being a Mom to two dogs for a week, but I think that we're ok having an only child for now.  That's the nice thing about nieces and nephews - you enjoy them and then you give them back!

Pet Friendly Portland

The past three weeks have felt increasingly crazy.  Wedding planning, house hunting, and general life make for a stressed out soul.  We did manage to fit a vacation in, cramming a West coast adventure into less than a week.  Our recent trip to Portland and Seattle fit the criteria of our "Cities of America Tour" and it was a great time to experience spring in the West.

First off, Portland is a supremely dog friendly city.  It was the first place I've been where a majority of lodging was advertising pet friendly.  The foo and I are super users of the website AirBnB for our vacations and most hosts had a house dog or were open to you bringing yours for the stay.  If flying wasn't so traumatic, we'd have loved to bring Harry with us!

The city itself is very walkable but if you're not into walking, Portland boasts one of the easiest public transit systems around.  They weren't advertised pet-friendly but there were certainly transit dog sightings on our short stay.  Portland is also integrated with public parks and surrounded by the ethereal view of Mt. Hood.  A stroll through Washington Park is perfectly ok to do with your dog beside you, and in May the rose gardens (which are huge and free by the way) are in bloom.  Forest Park is another free dog friendly adventure and a must see in the Western city.  

My compulsion to visit Portland was driven by the fact that the city is home to 53 individual brewers operating 73 breweries in the metro area alone.  I am a big fan of beer, and a big fan of dogs (obviously) and there's a brewery in Portland that combines both:  Lucky Lab Brewery.  While you taste all of their craft beers on tap, your dog can play outside on the canine patio with other brew loving pooches.

Photo courtesy Neighborhood Notes

One of the most memorable sights on our trip was the Columbia River Gorge.  That area of Portland itself is home to 90+ waterfalls, 77 of which are on Oregon's coast, the rest on Washington.  Of these the biggest one of all is famous Multnomah Falls, the third highest year round waterfall in the world at a drop of 627 feet.  The Gorge is surrounded by a public "highway" which feels more like a country road.  You can spend the day biking, hiking, or driving from waterfall to waterfall and of course, you're welcome to bring your dog.   

All in all, if you're thinking of vacationing with your pet via a road trip, Portland is a great place to spend a few days!

  

Harry on the Red Carpet

Maybe it's a little late for Oscar buzz (ok yea, it's really really late), but Harry and I went crazy again for Oscars 2014.  Last year, we hosted a pajama party, while this year the theme was based on Ellen DeGeneres - in that some guests dressed like Ellen and wore Ellen underwear.

Every year I try to theme food off of the best picture nominees.  Apparently, so does the rest of the internet, so I didn't have a hard time coming up with ideas when I was in a jam.  And the Oscar nominees are:

1. 12 Hours a Marinated Chicken Wing
2. Dallas Cowboy Pulled Pork Sliders served with a syringe of BBQ sauce
3. Philomena's Chocolate Stout Cake
4. Somalian Chicken Skewers
5. Gravity Defying Popcorn Bar
6. Wolf of Wall Street Classic Champagne Cocktails
7. Carmine's Homemade Limoncello
8. Nebraska style Beer (yea that was creative)
9. "Her" Mini-Pizzas

We spent the evening stuffing our faces, drinking too many champagne cocktails because we thought there would be a snow day on Monday, and playing inter-missionary games of Ellen's hit game Heads Up.  

While Harry schmoozed with our friends, some of us walked the red carpet and took a pic on the "Red Carpet Selfie Wall" which tied in nicely with Ellen's most re-tweeted selfie of all time.  Studious friends took a time-out to complete their Oscar picks on their ballots while pop culture enthusiasts made their way around our condo playing the "Guess that Oscar Winning Best Picture" game.

All in all it was a fabulous night, and an exciting way to spend a Sunday--however I highly suggest the Academy move the glamorous award show to a Saturday night so those champagne cocktails don't hurt so much the next day.

New Fur-Cousin!

Last weekend Harry met our newest fur-cousin, Pickle.  Named by my 5 year old niece, Pickle was adopted a few weeks ago from a family where he wasn't adapting well to the new boyfriend.  Timid and a little shy, it took a couple of hours for him to really warm up to Harry.  On the other hand it took less than 10 seconds for Harry to warm up to Pickle, but Harry did a good job of backing off and giving him space.

Pickle is a lot smaller than his family's former fur-baby, Jager.  About 90 pounds smaller being that Jager was a German Shepherd.  They do, however, share the same German heritage and long snout as Pickle is a purebred dachshund.  With his silky wavy hair and fast feet, Pickle is swift yet graceful - something that Harry had to get used to since his fur-cousin Jager was easier to catch.

At first Pickle kept his distance from Harry and stayed close to his mom.  Then when Harry wasn't looking or got too close, Pickle would pounce out and bark then quickly return to Mom-Base.  Eventually the two of them found that they had a lot in common.  Their moms kind of looked the same, and they both wanted whatever their family was eating.  It was when Harry got tired from racing around the backyard that the two of them enjoyed each others company quietly.

Having a new pooch, especially a puppy, is always an exciting time.  We're hoping that by spending more time together with Harry, Pickle will come out of his jar (see what I did there) and stop cherry picking Mom-Base.  We're so happy to welcome Pickle to the family!

Doggy Dining: Jimmy G's Steaks

Two polar vortices ago, our fam needed to cure some pretty bad hangovers.  A night of friends and too much wine was forcing us into the kind of misery that can only be cured by grease.  It comes along only once in a while, and that Saturday the craving for a cheesesteak was there.

When a new cheesesteak joint pops up, it's met with skepticism in Philadelphia.  The greatest cheesesteaks in Philly are legendary and have staked (see what I did there) their claim on the city decades ago.  That said, in times of distress convenience trumps reputation and so our venture to Jimmy G's steaks began.

An order of a cheesesteak (American w/ onions) and french fries was placed.  While we waited for our food we helped ourselves to sides of the array of peppers and pickles available to all customers no charge. After a short time our food was ready, our names were called, and we were ready to indulge.  

Despite the chilly weather, we were able to dine outside which meant that Harry was able to join us.  The outdoor area is enclosed during the winter months and kept warm with portable heaters.  The foo and I sat across from each other on red picnic tables while Harry sat at the head enamored of our spread.

Jimmy G's steak was up to par.  Featuring chopped steak rather than the tear through it with your teeth type at Pat's, it was easy to eat with just enough grease and cheese melted throughout.  The french fries were hot, crispy, and thick cut graced with perfect saltiness.  Normally a cheesesteak lunch isn't about decadence, but facing the hangover and the stomach bug I was about to get in just 4 hours, this was the most decadent experience I had the entire week.  Happily I engorged myself while Harry stared.

The cheeseteak cured my hangover, but it couldn't cure nor was it the cause of the GI fury that was took over the rest of my weekend.  Jimmy G's was not only a steak to be revisited, it was the gleaming, radioactive, surging highlight of a terrible 48 hours.

Snow Dog

It's been a hard winter, right?  Snowstorm after snowstorm is preventing Harry and I from getting in our much needed runs and all of us from getting along since we're stir crazy and grumpy.  The only cure for a grueling winter (besides an early summer) is watching your pooch go nuts in the snow.  

One of the best things about the dog park is that it's not plowed.  Which means when we go we get to watch all the dogs play in the snow together.  It's like a totally new dog park!  

Yippee I'm in a Winter Wonderland!!!

While we froze on the sidelines, Harry scrambled around and around the dog park encouraging his friends to chase him.  Since snow covered the entire surface of the dog park, there were no more boundaries.  Benches were definitely base as usual, but there wasn't a differentiation between turf and non-turf so mutts were everywhere.

With the new terrain pooches were slipping, sliding, and tumbling in the snow.  Yellow snow was made additionally yellow as other dogs noticed it, which made for easier navigation than usual for us humans.  

A couple weeks later when it snowed almost a foot in Philadelphia, Harry and I visited an open area so he could run around.  Harry likes deep snow a lot more than regular old snow, and had a great time romping in it.  So although the weather makes us grumpy, we might as well enjoy it while we have it, like Harry does!

Harry goes NUTS.

Harry Turns 2!

Although his level of maturity is still that of a 7 month old, on February 18th Harry turned two years old!  Being a Tuesday I felt like a bad mom for having to work all day on Harry's birthday.  The bad feeling magnified when Harry poked me in the eye with his nail first thing in the morning.  And then tripled in size when I threw my back out that afternoon.  Harry had to go without a special birthday walk, but his cooperation was rewarded when it was time to do presents and "cake".

You see, Harry knows exactly when his birthday is and what it entails.  He wagged like crazy in the morning (his favorite time of day) and by night he was snuggling soundly on the couch anxiously awaiting Dad's arrival.  When Daddy came home, birthday fun began!

Since Harry's been on allergy trials, I couldn't make him pup-cakes like I did last year.  Instead, I found the most luxurious food on his allergy testing list and saved it for birthday week.  What's more luxurious than chicken?  Than beef?  Than salmon?  Lamb.

And so lamb it was, but it couldn't be just any lamb.  For Harry's birthday it had to be special, and it had to have a candle in it.  Using about a pound of lamb, I divvied it up amongst a muffin tin, using about 1/4 cup of lamb per muffin well (side note, what do you call one muffin spot on the muffin tin?).  I pre-heated the oven to 350 degrees and baked them for about 30 minutes which was enough time to get the internal temperature to 160 degrees.

After letting them cool, I popped out one lamb-cake for Harry and made it birthday special with a candle.  His Dad and I sang to Harry in his birthday attire (which he loved) and Harry waited eagerly.

The lamb cakes were a hit, and Harry quickly swallowed a second before we began presents.  Thankfully, we killed two birds with one stone (allergy trial and birthday cake) without Harry being unsatisfied.

Harry received a bag of presents and a card from his Dad and I.  The card doubles as a bone and it was the first thing Harry completely destroyed, eating it within two hours.  In case you can't see, it says "World's Best Mutt" because that's what Harry is.

While Harry read and ate his card, I helped him open the rest of his gifts in enthusiastic fashion - ooohing and ahhhing over every item in the mysterious brown bag.  Harry sniffed each item with wide eyes.

We spoil him.  Harry was overwhelmed with his toys and quickly ate one of them (his tire) in one evening.  One of his favorites (aka my favorite) was his neon running vest which he begged to try on as soon as he got it (still me).  Now when we go running together at night time, Harry is a professional!

I'm professional!

Toyssssssss

For a weeknight Harry definitely had a special birthday with his family.  He spent the rest of the night in toy heaven, comfortably perched on his bed surrounded by his new acquisitions.  In human years, Harry is 14 - so it'll be on his third birthday that we really throw him a rager.  He grows up so fast!