That dog pulls out every trick in the book at bathtime. But guess who always wins?

Dear Harry,

Today is your 8th birthday. I can’t believe we’ve managed to keep you out of trouble for all this time!

We love you, little fella.

Good dog!

xxx

STEP ONE: Put the dog in the box

STEP TWO: Close the lid of the box

STEP THREE: Let him out of the box…

… it’s my dog in a box!

Ahh, procrastination. Is there anything you can’t do?

Christmas was lovely at The Orphanage this year. The three of us spent the day together watching old Christmas movies, eating our body weight in seafood, and snuggling up on the couch.  The shortest member of our family discovered a variety of delicious treats in his stocking, and spent the day working through them one by one.

Our extended families were greatly missed, but it was good to catch up with everyone by phone during the day.  I wonder if we’ll ever have everybody together in the same hemisphere again, as we did for Christmas last year?

I hope your day was lovely, and that Santa delivered the goods!

Merry Christmas.

Tim sent this latest Pictures for Sad Children cartoon to me today, and I can’t imagine what made him think I would like it! Perhaps it was because our own dog was a miserable sack of sadness this morning when we left the house?

I have never known a creature to convey such depths of depression. In the picture below is the (obscured) face of a dog who is so depressed about one of his people leaving for the day, that he cannot even be bothered to shake off the cap that covers his head.

I don’t know how he copes with his terrible life. I hope you’ll spare him a thought.

My camera was out a lot this weekend thanks to my 100 Snapshots challenge. As usual, Harry was happy to be the centre of attention.

Part of my 101 Things in 1001 Days challenge.

Originally, task #95 was “Knit something”. A few years ago I taught myself how to knit scarves, and have since made several in different styles. They’re great, but there comes a point in a girl’s life where she really doesn’t need another scarf!

My plan was to teach myself to knit something different, but for the last couple of years knitting has kind of dropped off my radar. I still appreciate hand-knitted items, but just lack the will to do it myself. In the spirit of my 101-list philosophy I decided to replace it with something equally challenging.

Last year I sewed this Miss Buttons doll, after coming across a cute little kit in the NGV. I have since bought several other kits and mailed them off around the world, as I think they are adorable!

I didn’t feel right submitting this as my “sew something”, considering that I made her before changing the goal-posts of my task. So instead, I found another project that I’ve always wanted to make – a sock monkey! Here he is, posing with Harry (who may have already tried to stake a claim on him…)

They’re a funny-looking pair, but they make me smile!

We think the monkey’s name might be Diego, but not sure about the doll. Suggestions are gratefully received.

There are certain sounds that are guaranteed to make my dog howl. Any sort of woodwind instrument will do it, as will repeated high notes on the piano. And, of course, the word “sing”.

This morning I recorded him singing, thinking it would make for a funny blog post. However, it got a whole lot funnier when I played it back on my phone…

I love that weirdo ♥

Part of my 101 Things in 1001 Days challenge.

Last year we were warned by our vet that we would need to think about having Harry’s teeth cleaned in the near future. His gums were nice and healthy, but there was a buildup of tartar along his gumline that would have caused serious problems later if we didn’t attend to it. And since it’s a procedure that’s done under general anaesthetic, it was obviously better to do it while he was young enough to withstand all the risks.

Harry turned 7 a couple of weeks ago, and for his birthday he gave himself a nasty knee injury. After a course of anti-inflammatories his leg wasn’t any better, so the vet decided to put him under and manipulate his leg to see what was going on. It seemed like a good opportunity to get his teeth sorted out too.

I didn’t take any “before” shots, but here is an hilarious attempt at photographing the final result:

Luckily, his teeth were pretty healthy under the tartar, and he didn’t have to have any removed. My vet tells me that tartar buildup often gets into the bloodstream and ends up in a dog’s heart so it’s worth making sure that your pet’s teeth are ok. (It’s the same for people, so brush your teeth!)

And of course, there was the small matter of his leg injury. She confirmed that his knee is dislocated (although he’s comfortable with it in or out, so it’s probably been that way for years) and that he has a ruptured cruciate ligament. It’s a really common injury in dogs, but pretty painful. He’s struggling to put any weight on the affected foot, and because of his age treating it with medication isn’t ideal.

So we’re taking the $3000 (!) quote for surgery, shopping around some other vets that my coworkers have recommended to me, and trying to keep him quiet in the meantime. It’s not easy when he’s throwing his OWN toys and running after them to keep himself amused!

Our little bug turned seven today. The occasion was marked with bellyrubs and a bowl full of warm chicken and rice.

He’s a happy little woofer today. Happy birthday, Harry! x