Adventures of a pet therapy dog and his Ninja sister
For those of you in the Northern Hemisphere, Happy Spring Equinox. While ‘Spring’ isn’t fully in evidence in many places, it’s one step moving toward the season of renewal. For those of you buried under mounds of recent snow, we hope today is just the beginning of a shift toward warming days, Spring bulbs and fresh green sprouts. Happy first day of Spring.
Live, love, bark! 🐾
It’s Monday so that means it’s time to start out the week with a smile. Stay warm; we plan to huddle up together a lot today (it’s -3ºF /-19.44ºC at publication time).
Hopefully your hindsight is crisp and clear for a pawsome Monday.
Live, love, bark! 🐾
Well…here’s a change of pace for you. Elsa here. It’s a Monday (FYI, that’s not the change, that comes whether we like it or not) but instead of a Monday Musings post, I’m here to tell you today is that big oaf Norman’s Gotcha Day. Three years ago as COVID was still kind of hiding in the background, and my pogo-stick of a brother Sam was still the Concierge of the Ranch, Mom brought home this enormous pile of fur. A huge new brother that turned us Knuckleheads into a terrific trio. Sadly it would only be for a short time since our precious brother Sam decided that Mom was left in Norman’s capable paws. Happy Gotcha day, dude. I may be a pill to you at times, but you’ve turned into a pretty special boy and I am glad that you enjoy the limelight since it allows me to continue refining my Ninja skills in the background without a lot of front stage scrutiny.. Us Ninja’s like being in the shadows.
From your first car ride, it was clear you were going to be a nice addition. So doggone polite, sheesh. Is that because you’re a British breed? Us poodles might learn a thing or two about getting along with everyone from you. Then again…why should we have to?
I will say, you were a fast learner which helped me out because that meant I didn’t have to teach you how to, for instance, walk nicely on a leash.
Mom was a bit surprised though by one of your traits as she specifically had asked the foster if you got up on the furniture. He said and I quote, “Never!” Erm…so ten minutes after you arrived…how do you explain this?
But no matter, that’s one of Mom’s favorite pics of you and whenever she sees you hogging up on the sofa, she laughs out loud. Thanks for making my Mom smile, big guy.
Right away Mom thought you’d be a welcome addition to the pet therapy program at Lutheran and that you’d manage to fill Sam’s paws quite nicely as soon as the hospital reopened and she was right. Too bad that just as you began the approval process, the hospital shut down for the next 18 months. But eventually they reopened (better late than never, right). But she had no clue how much the nurses and staff would be filled with joy whenever you make hospital rounds. They frequently shower you with treats, toys as well as loads of attention. So sorry you have to work on your Bark Day but I’m sure they’ll make it worth your while this week.
You continue to charm Mom by letting her dress you up (and ridiculously I might add…but hey, whatever floats your boat). Sure glad somebody enjoys it…count me out!
You’ve been a great sport every since you lumbered into the Ranch.
And for all that and so much more, you deserve a pawsome Gotcha Day. Happy Barkday, fuzzball.
Live, love, bark! 🐾
It’s a two-fer today for smiles. We figured everyone could use a double chuckle, I know I needed it after yesterday’s holiday preparations. Nothing like trying to get a bunch of baking done and a full berry smoothie gets knocked over spraying the entire kitchen with reddish blue goop everywhere. I’m still finding splooges on surfaces. Sigh.
So…are your stockings hung and the tree all trimmed? Have you finished making your cookies for Santa?
I always wondered if Santa conformed to social norms or if he did his own thing?
In an age where more and more vehicles are heading toward being electrical, this one seemed pretty in line with current trends. Snorf.
We hope you have a super-duper, two-fer Monday. Yikes…just realized there are only thirteen days until the big day. We tried to finish up and complete the shopping over the weekend since a large storm is expected to arrive tonight and I am not a fan of being on icy streets with all the crazy drivers around here. They’re bad enough on dry streets, add snow and ice…well…no thank you. We’ll see if the hype matches the reality on the weather forecast. Happy Monday.
Live, love, bark! 🐾
Hiya, remember us? Today is the first day I’ve actually felt well enough to post. Man, oh man…that COVID bug sure leveled me and once I got over it, I had no creative juices. Enter Dogtor Norman to provide relief to me as well as others.
We didn’t get a chance to visit at the hospital in November so when we were asked to provide a bit of stress relief, e.g. a spot of pet therapy for shoppers at our favorite store, Orvis, well we jumped at the chance. Since I’m über sensitive about all the assorted bugs/viruses floating around these days just waiting to muck up the holidays, I masked up like crazy, used plenty of hand sanitizer and brought a nice batch of treats for Dogtor Norman for our visit with customers and staff. The manager had specifically requested that Norman be one of the canine attendees and…well I mean, who are we to not want to make that happen, especially when we totally love the store? This lady was particularly taken with Norman and after she and her husband shopped, she returned multiple times to spend a few moments with the big guy. It’s always inspiring to see folks with physical limitations make special efforts to administer a few tender ear rubs particularly in jammed retail spaces. Making the effort to navigate around store’s that are filled with merchandise and customers, her attention was especially touching.
With COVID, RSV, flu cases and inflation putting a damper on holiday festivities, folks are beginning to realize there are less than three weeks until Santa makes his midnight run to houses all over the world. Shopping for the holidays can be stressful for some folks but ever the professional, Norman knows just how to fix holiday stress for young and old alike.
When taking pics of kids with Norman, I’m extra sensitive about posting them online without obscuring their faces. Alas, with the latest update to Apple’s OS, I’ve been experiencing some issues with the photo editing process. This was the best I could do for this sweet little girl’s face. She told me they had two mastiffs at home and totally loved big dogs. Norman was equally smitten with her-giving her a nice hug while she laid on the floor next to him while her Dad shopped. He kept checking on her to make sure she wasn’t a problem. I love it when parents are attentive to their children’s well being as well as Norman’s. We don’t mind being an unofficial ‘kid wrangler,’ but feel like too many folks are more than happy to simply dump their kids on complete strangers. This kind of thoughtful parent ranks right at the top of the “good’ list and I genuinely hope their holidays are very merry and bright.
What’s a Monday around the Ranch without a smile to start out a busy week during the holidays? I’ve always enjoyed the Marmaduke cartoons and hope this one makes you smile like it did me. 
We may not have been to the North Pole lately, but finally feel well enough to get cracking with holiday preparations. With time being of the essence, it’s time to get cracking. While I no longer put up a tree, a few holiday embellishments will come out of storage to brighten things up. And I did manage to even knock out the Christmas cards. Yay.
Here’s hoping life has been treating you well and your stress levels are low as you head toward the big day. Make it a ‘pawsome’ week.
Live, love, bark! 🐾
Greetings, mates. Norman here. Welcome to Monday of Thanksgiving week in the US. Remember us? We apologize for being absent for so long. Mum decided to get sick with COVID so I’ve been busy making lots of hospital rounds to make sure she gets well. She finally turned the corner under my and Elsa’s special care though she’s still very tired most of the time and it will likely take some time for her to get back to full strength. At least she no longer sounds like a barking seal coughing so there is that in the plus column.
Here I am this morning during one of my many daily rounds, taking her vital signs.
May I just say, we’ve missed you all and hope to start visiting all of your blogs and hope you’ll be patient as we catch up. Any comments will likely be small, but our Thanksgiving week wishes will be huge as you celebrate the howl-iday with your friends and family. We’re so grateful for you all.
As you can see Mum finally opened her computer, and lo and behold, she found out I’m the Pet Therapy Dog of the Month at Lutheran. Too bad we won’t be able to visit my hospital friends this month until Mum is cleared to go back to work. I was so hoping I’d be able to hear all their congratulations but hopefully they’ll still be glad to see me the next time we go back to visit. As this is my first time being honored, I’m quite chuffed.
And lastly, in other news, we’re pausing for a moment of respect to honor Mexico’s beloved search and rescue dog, Frida, the Golden Lab, who recently passed away. Frida worked earthquakes and natural disasters in Mexico, Haiti and Ecuador. You may recall hearing about her brave rescue work during the Mexico City earthquake in 2017. You can read a bit about her amazing rescue work here. We’re sure our beloved Sam greeted her at the gates of the Rainbow Bridge with a furiously wagging tail, welcoming this amazing dog whose work brought respect to dogs throughout Mexico. Well done, Frida. Good girl.
With that, we wish you a safe and happy Thanksgiving holiday week.
Live, love, bark! 🐾
Today is ‘Howl-oween,’ a day celebrated by kids of all ages who enjoy dressing up and receiving treats from total strangers. Could it be our own pets think EVERY day should be like that for them? I know the Ranch Hands think they should get treats all the time but aren’t all that keen on the dressing up part.
Whatever your thoughts about today’s festivities may be, do you think you’ll be visited by a bunch of ghosts and goblins this evening? After tonight, our sights will focus on the next holiday-Thanksgiving, which lends itself well to today’s smile.
Norman for one, will be pleased the season is coming to an end. He’s somewhat over all the costume changes as evidenced by his expression here.
Elsa, on the other hand, simply glares a “don’t EVEN think about it” look every time I pull out a costume or go through the hat box and am sure she’s thinking up ways to punish me whenever I cast my eye toward her. But come on Ninja, you gotta admit you look pretty fetching in your new Ranch Hand chapeau.
Despite the grumbling and/or eye rolling, both Ranch Hands and I wish you a safe and happy ‘Howl-oween.’
Live, love, bark! 🐾
While it may be Monday, chasing a ball as a form of therapy won’t be necessary since Norman will be visiting the hospital this week. Assuming I can get him out of bed this morning, that is. We had the teensiest speck of snow last night and the big guy is taking his sweet time getting up from the smallest bed in the house. Let’s just say Elsa wasn’t amused he bogarted her bed. Luckily everyone just snuggled in their respective spots staying cozy and allowing the storm pass. Today will be crisp but sunny. Typical weather for Halloween week. Sorry kids.
Here’s hoping your Monday is full of joy and sunshine.
Live, love, bark! 🐾
Happy Monday. Today the Ranch is sending extra special Happy Birthday wishes to my baby sister from Maryland. We recently had a lovely visit with her at my Dad’s and I hope today is as special as she is. Sending digital hugs and kisses, Happy Birthday, sweetie.
With Halloween just around the corner, I’m sure a lot of us are getting ready for little goblins and witches to show up for the annual Trick-r-Treat evening. I used to buy whatever candy was the cheapest (knowing full well I wouldn’t eat the leftovers and could take them into work where they would quickly disappear thanks to co-workers who resembled corporate mice in a granary). I always felt somewhat smug about unloading junk food calories sharing Halloween treats with my fellow co-workers. But when I retired, I had nowhere to off load the leftover candy. If it was going to be around, at least I wanted it to be something I might want to occasionally enjoy. Costco to the rescue…with their ginormous bags of mini Snickers bars. So today’s smile is a nod to the annual Halloween treat sharing. I can only hope any Halloween visitors will pick up the slack so I’m not tempted with the leftovers. I’m running out of hiding places.
This past weekend’s Fall Festival at Lutheran featured Ranch Hand Norman walking in the pet therapy parade along with a few of his fellow therapists. I’ll do a separate post later this week sharing some of the best of the photos once I’ve had a chance to go through them all. Here’s a sneak peak of the hunky guy posing in front of a fire engine/photo booth.
We hope you have a pawsome Monday and an even better week.
Live, love bark! 🐾
Happy Columbus Day (or Indigenous People’s Day if you’re so inclined). Today is also World Mental Health Day. For the Ranch Hands, it’s more like “can’t we just sleep in a little longer today, Mum?”
While the Ranch Hands enjoy a couple of extra minutes of zzz’s, let’s enjoy a smile to start the day, courtesy of the Ninja.
While picking up scattered carcases toys over the weekend, I noticed more than a few missing ears and noses. I can only shake my head at this compulsion of hers. Now to find where she stashes her list of victims.
Wishing you and yours a ‘pawsomely’ victorious day and week. Happy Monday.
Live, love, bark! 🐾