Conversations with Lewis

This weekend got off to a rough start for Kristin and I.

When I went to pick up Lewis from his new doggie day care this past Friday, I was informed that he was not a good fit for their facility and therefore would not be invited back. We were going through a probationary period where he would go to the place for two half-day visits. His first visit went well and I was not under the impression that anything was amiss. On Friday, the owner informed me that he was overstimulated and too much to handle for the employees. He would not quiet down when they put him in a crate (how many dogs do when every other dog is running around and one sits in a crate and watches). I guess between his barking and excitement, they were looking for him to be more mellow. This conversation went on for 10 minutes (the whole time Lewis is laying at my feet) and I went through stages of anger, disappointment, guilt and sadness. I did not feel as if the day care owner was giving me any practical solutions nor any great reason why he was not a good fit. But they have the right to do as they please so here we are back at square one.

It really sucks because the whole time we're there, Lewis had his tail tucked between his legs and was just watching me. I don't know if dogs have much emotional depth, but he could obviously sense something was wrong. It made me very sad.

So that was our fun Friday night.

On Saturday, Kristin and I did a 12 mile run as part of our tapering portion of training for the marathon. It's two weeks away and I'm getting a little nervous, but excited as well. This running four days a week is brutal, particularly because the runs were getting so long and time consuming. Later that day, Kelly and Nick came up from Medford. They were going to a wedding and needed a place to stay so they hunkered down with us for a night. Then on Sunday Kristin and I got up early to run in Race for the Cure-- a fundraiser for breast cancer. We've done it together four years in a row and it's become a tradition of sorts, particularly because we know people who have battled the disease. So that was fun. I guess there were about 50,000 participants. After that, we went to Equinox for breakfast which was tasty. No spinach in the meals because of all the E. coli. Mmm, tasty E. coli.

Later that day, we went out and got Lewis a Gentle Leader head collar. He took to it pretty well, but he still doesn't love it. We had been entertaining the idea of getting one for months now, as a co-worker of mine (who also had a border collie) loved it. It's not cruel, but watching Lewis pout once it goes on is kind of entertaining in a twisted kind of way. He does frequent face plants into the ground to try and push it off, but his efforts are futile. However, the change in how he walks is immediate. He does not pull or it cranks on his neck. So we've been trying that out for a couple days and it seems to be going well. He's adjusting and our arms are thanking us.

So that's about it. Oh yeah, that UO-OU game on Saturday was ridiculous. With a little luck from the refs, the Ducks staged an amazing comeback after scoring, "recovering" an onside kick, scoring with under a minute remaining, then blocking the game-winning field goal. Crazy stuff. But I see this article and I smirk.