Best of Craigslist: About a dog

I have a great dog. He's a little on the fat side, but he's really active. He's great with kids, unless they try to pull his nubby tail. He's really friendly to people who have food. He loves to have his teeth brushed, but is resistant to having his feet touched. He can smell a little doggy, and the tooth brushing does not appear to improve his breath, but I've smelled worse. When I read some of the things on this board, I wonder about other dogs out there and how they fare in the world. I'd just like to say the following:

* I recently moved. I found an apartment that was in a great neighborhood in a building with other dogs and dog friendly folks.....this was because did a little work and looked for a place that was right for me and the dog, and stumbled over this fantastic place where I now live.

* I recently got a new job that requires that I spend more time at work. I was worried that this would negatively affect my little pup, so I make an effort to get up earlier so that we can go for a good walk before I leave, and I arranged for someone to spend time with the little guy for a while during the day while I'm at work. My career chugs along and my little guy is still happy.

* I live in a tiny, tiny apartment, but this does not negatively affect the dog in any way. Granted, he is a little guy, but the fact is that between walks before and after work, and extended play time outdoors in the evening, the size of the apartment doesn't hurt my pup's quality of life (or mine, for that matter). He has never chewed up anything I own, broken anything in the house, or done any damage to any structure that I have lived in. He does bark a bit when people walk by my kitchen window, but mostly that's because he's crazy. Or maybe because he thinks that everyone loves him and maybe that person wants to come in and pet him or give him a treat. I don't speak any dog, so I can't ask him.

* I don't have a high paying job (or career, for that matter), so I don't have a lot of disposable cash, but I do have money saved in case the dog has a minor medical emergency, and the information for Care Credit in case he has a major medical emergency.

* Admittedly, I don't have any kids (I am both unpleasant and squishy, which makes finding a baby daddy trialsome), but I distinctly remember having pets when I was a kid, and I have six brothers and sisters that my mom had to watch over. She seemed to do OK with seven kids and a dog, and while I find her an extraordinary human being, I don't think that she has any kind of pet-care superpowers.

My dog makes me laugh and he cuddles up against me and he provides me with an opening to meet some very nice (and some very interesting) people when we're out walking and he hides under the blankets when it thunders and lets me feel like I'm soothing him and he brings me toys to play with when he gets bored and he rolls over in the grass and reminds me how much fun it is to be alive. He gives me all of this and more, and all I do is walk him, feed him, and play with him.

I hope that all the people who post their dogs for adoption on this list have done every possible thing that they can do in order to keep it before they give up on themselves. I just want to say to all of you who think that it's too hard to take care of you pet: YOU CAN DO IT! Your pet believes in you, and I believe in you, too!

SATC - Shiba and the City

Today Jon & I took Janie on a mini trip to Central Park. It was her first trip ever into NYC, and the weather could not have been more perfect.

As of Thursday night we were planning on using the train & subway as our method of transportation, then changed our minds after realizing that 1. we would need to buy a soft dog carrier, which are surprisingly pricey (a leash is not good enough, you are required to have your dog 'contained' in order to travel on the train or subway) and 2. Janie would likely be totally uncooperative if asked to sit and stay in a bag. It seems natural for a Chihuahua or Shitzu to comply, but a Shiba? How dare the thought even enter our minds!

So off we went this morning, Jon braving the nutso nyc traffic, me & Janie in tow. We were almost killed once or twice, but to be fair we almost killed a few pedestrians as well lol. Our first stop was at the South Street Seaport, there was a yo yo competition event going on and we decided to check it out before heading to the park. Anyways, parking was a bitch and unfortunately the yo yo competition was only fun to watch for about 15 minutes. It was here that we realized that my camera's sd card was left in the laptop at home! As you surely notice, there ARE pictures in this post because we made a pit stop at Staples for a cheap memory card.

So we only covered about 1/3 of Central Park (I think). We started off at the Conservatory Water. The little pond has a bunch of remote control sailboats floating around in it that kids (or adults) can pay to control for a while. Nearby were the Hans Christian Anderson & Alice in Wonderland statues.


Then we went to 'The Lake" where we were planning on renting a row boat, but there ended up being a looong line so we just walked around. Well the lake was completely covered in these teeny tiny green leaves. It formed what Janie thought was a carpet on top of the water. Yup, you guessed it!That empty spot is where she walked into the water! I was just HILARIOUS, and I'm upset that I didn't catch it on my camera. She was fine, of course...just a little surprised!





Strawberry Fields, in memory of John Lennon:















Turtle Pond & random shots:

Janie says hello

Hello, we haven't forgot about you, internet!

Janie let me take this picture of her, but she made me promise not to post it on the internet. Ha!