The Dog Whisperer

Hank has designated himself (unofficially) the neighborhood dog wrangler and orchestrator of play time for Peggy. Yesterday I asked him to return a dish to Emily (which previously contained some delicious shrimp and grits. Have I mentioned how great it is to have a friend from the south?) and he came home with Sophie and Rudy in exchange. He told me he asked Emily if they could come over and play with Peggy for a little while.

I wonder, though, if what he really wanted was a bigger dog audience for his awesome backyard wrestling moves.

Ratchet and his soldier reunited

Ratchet the Dog

Pack

Adding three dogs to the early morning run increases the feeling of safety and fun exponentially, in spite of having to deal with the dog poo. Sometimes you just got to pick up the poop and keep chugging on.

Nellie McKay -- The Dog Song

Thank you, shyestviolet, for sharing this song!

Dog song

How many songs about dogs do you have on your iPod? Gary has more than he knew. He found this one today and recommended it to me.

Happy Easter

Here's a heartwarming story to start your day:

Marine and Iraq Dog Reunited

TV

If I could, I would subscribe to a cable company that would let me buy only National Geographic and Comedy Central. That would be all I'd need. (Okay, maybe Food Network for Good Eats. And HGTV which seems to have a couple of new knitting shows...)

Have you watched DogTown yet? Go adopt a dog.

"Her work ethic is...poor."

Useless Dog
(A five-minute short film via dooce.com.)

Cabin fever

Sweet dreams

Hank got this tent from his cousin for being a ring bearer in his wedding this summer. Guess which creature in our family crawls in it every night. I think every boy should have a tent-sleeping dog in his room.

Pot and kettle

Tikka just said, "Goggy, YOU need to CALM DOWN!"

Riiight.

We're dogsitting

Having been up close and personal with my brother's large and rowdy labs, Spidey has developed an intense fear of dogs. However the dog we are watching doesn't qualify as an official dog. He's more of a nervous dustmop. But Spidey is warming up to him, especially since Tikka is exhibiting no fear at all of our canine visitor. It would be embarrassing for a superhero to be so afraid of a fuzzball.

But I've heard this twice this morning:

"Mom, can't we put him in his kennel now because I'm getting really dizzy thinking about dogs so much!"