Smart Dog

It’s a tradition every year that my mom make eggnog cookies on the day we get our Christmas tree.  2010 was no different.  My mom made cookies, we decorated the tree, and the remaining cookies were put in the basement to protect them from Benny.  The following morning my mom got up and threw a load of laundry in, leaving the door open after she finished, and took Benny out for his walk.

 

Benny is seven now and sometimes he does not want to wake up to walk.  On these days my mom will drag him outside so he can do his business and then put him back in the house and go finish the walk by herself.  This day was one of those days, so my mom put him back in the house, forgetting that she had left the basement door open.

 

Upon coming back from the walk, my mom discovered that Benny had eaten two dozen cookies.  There was nutmeg in them, but due to the very small amount and Benny’s size, this only resulted in him drinking a lot of water and having to pee every two hours.  Sometimes I wonder if the reason he wants to go back inside is so he can search for food while no one is around, and this time it paid off.

Snowicane 2010

Last week we were finally blessed with our first big snow storm of the year.  Yes, it is kind of pathetic that upstate NY went most of the winter without getting more than three inches of snow at a time while parts of Virginia had two feet.  But, hey, we can’t control Mother Nature.  This particular snowstorm was dubbed a ‘Snowicane’ by most of the newspapers on Wednesday and snow began to fall early Thursday morning.  Unfortunately, this did not result in my 8am class’s professor canceling class.  The snow continued to fall all Thursday and it really picked up Thursday night and was joined by winds that while not nearly hurricane force, were strong nonetheless.

I woke up on Friday unable to see out of my window because of the snow and ice coated to it.  My sister, Linda, texted me telling me that she had a snow day, which made two in a row for her.  All the area schools near my college closed as well.  My old college was closed, and another college near my home town delayed opening until mid-morning.  My college did not close (it never closes), but quite a few professors canceled class.  I don’t have Friday classes so it didn’t matter to me.

Most of the cars in all the parking lots were partially buried due to the snow plows.  We only got about a foot, but with the wind it drifted into two and three foot drifts.  Linda told me that we have a drift on our deck that’s waist-high.  The snow is up to Benny’s neck, which must be adorable to see.  He swims and leaps through it, rather than walk, and he’s been enjoying eating it.  My dad said he’d try to get some pictures and videos, so if he does I’ll post them here.

Here are a few pictures!  It’s melted a bit now, so I won’t have to shovel out my car.  Plenty of people did, though.  My dad even helped University Police push someone’s car out while he was visiting this past weekend.

My car

Townhome across from mine.

Bench

Snow bank in a parking lot in town

Benny, Meet Benny

Yesterday my dad told me about Benny’s encounter with himself.  Apparently he decided to jump up and put his front paws on the sink counter in my parents’ bathroom.  There’s a huge wall size mirror above the sinks and as soon as Benny jumped up, he noticed the ‘other dog’ in front of him.  He stood there for a bit just staring at himself and then when he decided to jump down, he saw the ‘other dog’ doing the same and stopped.  He kept watching the ‘other dog’ doing everything he did and then he started growling.  I wish someone had gotten it on video so I could have seen it.  I’m going to try to get him to do it again the next time I’m home and if it works I’ll definitely get a video!

Yes, I Do Talk to My Dog

This post idea is completely stolen from Yoonamania‘s most recent Thursday Thirteen. I found it so entertaining that I had to do a version of it myself, even though it’s not Thursday.  My excuse being that it is summer and due to my eratic work schedule, I find it difficult to keep track of what day of the week it is.

Without further ado, here are thirteen things I say to Benny on a regular basis.

1.  Benedict! Said in a low, slow voice, usually when he’s sticking his head in the garbage.  He then turns and looks sheepishly at me, as he backs away from the garbage.

2.  Don’t eat that! Probably the most used phrase, for obvious reasons.

3.  That’s not food.  Again, something that is used on a regular basis, although Benny has not fully understood the concept.

4.  Be good. Another highly used phrase, usually when we’re walking and we come upon another dog.

5.  Has there every been a time when we’ve forgotten to feed you? Used when he starts begging for dinner at four o’clock, a full hour before he gets fed.

6.  Just do your business.  Used on walks when he’s just starting to squat and he sees another dog/human/other animal/the wind blows/a car honks/you get the point which causes him to decide not to go.

7.  Hold your horses. Used when I get a bag and treats before I take him out and he can’t possibly understand that I have to take two seconds to do that.

8.  What?! Used when he jumps up on me, and no he does not answer.

9.  You don’t need a treat every time you pee.  Because he usually expects one, but you know, peeing is not that impressive.  One does not need a treat for peeing.

10.  What did you do? Often the first words out of my mouth when I come home and see whatever mess he’s made while I’ve been gone.

11.  You’re insane.  For obvious reasons.

12.  Walk normally. Because sometimes he walks like he’s drunk.

13.  You know you’re cute. He does know he’s cute and he uses that to his advantage.

I Guess I Kind of Asked For It

Not a day after I was lamenting the fact that nothing blog-worthy was going on, did something blog-worthy happen.

My family has never been known for the ability to go off on vacation without a hitch.  It’s always quite the production.  The last minute need to buy a bathing suit, the hotel ‘loosing’ our reservation, the car breaking down, etc.  Camping is a whole nother category in itself.  This vacation could not escape the wrath of our ‘luck’.

Benny has been going to the same kennel ever since we adopted him.  He likes it there as much as he can for it being a kennel and we’re happy with it.  The staff are really nice, they feed the dogs their own food, it’s sort of in the country, and to top it off, they have the best hours.  Open every day, for at least a few hours.  Sundays, when they’re only open until noon, have caused a few problems, but we’ve gotten used to it.

We got a bit of a late start on Saturday, arriving at the kennel at 12:30.  None of us thought much of this as we walked to the door since their Saturday hours are until four.  Well, they used to be until four, as we found out when I opened the door and it was locked.  Apparently they changed their hours in June and are now only open until noon.

We walked back to the car and tried to figure out what to do.  Eventually it was decided that my dad would stay home another day with Benny while the rest of us drove to the resort.  Thank goodness for those Sunday hours.  It worked out fine in the end, but my dad still had to miss out on a day of vacation.

So, this one will go on the vacation hall of fame.  I believe it fits in nicely above the time the van’s transmission broke while we were camping and below the time all of our luggage fell off the top of the van as we were driving down the highway.  But hey, we had the best weather we’ve ever had!  It only rained a little bit on Saturday night and a little bit today, just before we left.

Nothing to See Here, Folks…

I realize that I haven’t updated this blog in over a week.  Not only that, but my past five or so blogs have been about Harry Potter.  Why?  Because nothing that exciting has happened.  Nothing blog-worthy has come about in my life.  But, I feel the need to update despite the lack of excitement in my life, so I figured I’ll update everyone on the non-Harry Potter related stuff in my life.

Benny.  What can I say about Benny?  He’s as crazy as usual.  Just yesterday he cornered a fly in the house and ate it.  He looked psychotic as he did so and it was something I really wish I’d captured on video.  Besides that, he’s been his usual loving, adorable, hungry self.  I’m going to miss him once I go back to school.

School.  I managed to get an A- in the French class I took, although the lovely college has yet to put the grade online, which means I can’t get a transcript sent to my regular college.  Nor have they replied to my emails.  I would really like to get this worked out before I go back in August.  For my last year.  Wow, that’s scary, last year of college.

Nothing very thrilling.  I spend my days online, at work, reading, or knitting.  However, I cannot say that I am bored (except when I’m at work).  The summer is a time to laze around and be a bum, something I do not get to do during the school year.  And that brings me to the next topic.  Vacation!  I’m leaving for vacation tomorrow.  We’re going to a resort.  Everyone’s excited.  Well, everyone except Benny.  He has to go to the kennel.  Four Internet-free days of lounging around by the lake, boating, and eating until I explode.  Sounds good to me!

Happy Birthday, Benny!

Four years ago today, on Friday the 13th, we brought Benny home.  He was two years old then and now he is six.  I can’t believe it.  Time has flown by.  The past four years have been so chaotic and fun with him.  I’ll try and take some new pictures when I go home, but for now, here are some from Christmas break.

Happy 6th Birthday, Benny!!!

1 Year Anniversary…A Little Late

I missed it.  March 13 was the 1 year anniversary of my blog.  It’s hard to believe it’s been a year since I spent two or three hours in my old school’s library trying out various blogging websites while I should have been studying.  I decided on WordPress after not liking FreeWebs.  Although I did turn my FreeWebs site into a fan fiction website.

I know I haven’t been updating lately, but I can’t really think of anything to post.  Life just isn’t very exciting at the moment.  It’s Spring Break and I slept until 11am today, which was nice.

The weather has been abnormally warm this week.  It was close to 60 yesterday and we gave Benny a bath.  Poor dog.  I come home for a week and give him a bath.

The semester is now half over, which is hard to believe.  The year has gone by incredibly fast.  It’s strange that I’ll only have a year left until I graduate after this semester.

Thirteen Really Random Things (TT#6)

I haven’t done a Thursday Thirteen in a while, mainly because I can’t think of anything.  So, today I’m just going to post thirteen random things.

1.  I watched a movie in Creative Writing today that was about a Nursing Home Beauty Pageant.   It was possibly the strangest thing I have ever seen in my life.  I could have done without the scene where the old lady put on her stockings.

2.  I am very addicted to MyLeaky, The Leaky Cauldron’s newest form of online communication.

3.  Benny ate half of a homemade bread the other day, because my mom didn’t put it in the microwave when she left.  The only reason he didn’t eat the whole thing is because there was only half of it left.  I’m just happy he didn’t eat the tin foil it was wrapped in.

4.  It is very cold today, yet sunny.  It is going to be 40 degrees on Saturday, which is pretty much a heatwave for Upstate NY in the beginning of February.

5.  They keep the dorm rooms way too warm at night.  The heat is on too high if you have to kick off your blankets when you’re trying to get to sleep in February.  Why don’t they turn it down and save money?

6.  I am not very good at the drums on Rock Band 2.  I am decent at the guitar and not very good at the singing.

7.  I have to write a 3 page paper about research methods for psychology, but not in my Research Methods class.  It is for my Honors class.  That means I have done research methods in every single class this semester except Creative Writing.  Maybe I can write a story about how much I detest research methods and then I will have done something involving it in every one of my classes.

8.  Dr. Foreman did something incredibly stupid on House on Monday.  Something that could have cost him his medical license and probably would have if it had been done in real life.  But since it was House, he was able to keep his license.  Also, 13 (another doctor) got cancer due to Foreman’s stupidity, but was cured the same day she was diagnosed.

9.  My iBook’s battery is dying and I will soon have to purchase another one.  However, my bro informed me that 2.5 hours is a perfectly acceptable amount of time for a battery to last.  He would think this since he does not have a Mac.

10.  I have a bunch of pictures to post of Benny, but have not done so because uploading pictures to WordPress takes forever due to the fact that you can only upload one at once.  Also, WordPress no longer lets me post pictures from Photobucket, which drives me insane.

11.  LeakyCon is less than four months away!  I cannot wait to meet other people who are obsessed with Harry Potter as I am.

12.  I have way too many classes on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays.

13.  Nobody has shown up to my tutoring sessions for Statistics yet.  This might be due to the insanely early hour I hold them.  Nobody wants to do Statistics at eight in the morning.  Thus, the three sessions I have had so far were in essence study halls for me.

Believe it or Not

There is a food that Benny doesn’t like.  I never thought we’d find anything he disliked, but we did.  We had fish on Saturday and my dad wanted to give Benny a piece of lemon to see what he’d do.

So, I held out a piece of lemon and Benny sniffed it and backed away!  I tried this numerous times just to see if it was a fluke, but it wasn’t.  He does not like lemons.  This is the dog who will sit there and drink hot Buffalo wing sauce with his tail wagging a mile a minute.  This is the dog who would eat hot salsa and beg for more.  This is the dog who actually likes wasabi.  But he does not like lemons.