Thankful, Days 7 & 8

Day 7

I picked up the Amelie soundtrack at the library yesterday. I'm thankful for Yann Tierson. His compositions are simply beautiful. They evoke emotion in me. Enjoy this sound bite of a song from Amelie:

Day 8:

After work today I picked up Heidi and went to the dog park. She was on good behavior and did quite a bit of running! I brought my book, Dracula, but didn't bother trying to read since I was so happy to chit chat with the other dog owners. Tony and Brian and Matt's wife (sorry, I didn't catch her name) and I talked about how our dogs could sense the time change and how they have interesting appetites and how they destroy screens from time to time. These friendly conversations are welcome and relaxing.

Heidi's First Birthday

The Sunday before last I baked some yummy dog biscuits from scratch and took Heidi to her favorite place, the Waterford Lakes Dog Park, to celebrate her first birthday! She even let me get a photo with her wearing a party hat!

Becky, Bill & Angie celebrated, too! They even gave Heidi a present: a bone with meat filling! Delicious!

Carlos and Pabst wished her a happy birthday, too!

Some fellow Purdue and Colts fans, Chuck and his wife, and their dog, Maggie, had fun with us at her birthday party.

Here's a great shot of the pretty birthday girl!

My friend, Zach, came out for the party! It was so nice to see him after having traveled a lot in the last couple months.

Afterwards Heidi got down to business with the present from Angie!

Heidi's First Heat Cycle

Heidi started her first heat cycle yesterday. Puppy puberty. Gross, I know, but going through this as a dog-owner for the first time has been a bit of an experience. I noticed Heidi was cleaning herself quite a bit lately, and so, to be sure things were okay, I lifted her leg and checked things out. She was super swollen! I freaked out: oh-my-god-she-has-a-tumor!-wait-what-is-that-exactly?-what-if-she's-prego?!-I'd-better-call-Dad-stat!

It's sort of repulsive, but here's what I saw (the top bit of fur is her tail; side bits are her thighs):

So, after talking to Dad and some research on the subject I realized that no, she isn't pregnant; yes, she is fine; yes, this is all very normal. I also got some bad news: no more runs or dog park visits with Heidi while she's in heat. Turns out that male dogs can smell females in heat from miles away and will go to great lengths, even harming themselves, to mount the female. I'm going to steer clear of all that jazz.

Having a female who isn't spayed can be messy. Heidi has done a great job keeping things tidy, if you ask me - at least so far. She did drip a bit on the carpet, though, so I had to take care of that. I also decided to pick up some doggie diapers. Yes, doggie diapers; you read that correctly. They look a little something like this:

Surprisingly enough she has not bothered it at all. And it has been helpful in giving me ideas on how to design and sew doggie clothes. She's doing really well; lots of lounging around and taking it easy while her hormones do their thing.

From what I've been told, heat cycles last about 3 weeks. Of those 3 weeks, the dams only bleed during the first week or so. Heat cycles occur once every 6 months-ish.

If you have any tips about tending to a female in heat, please send them my way.

October is Adopt-a-Dog Month

October is Adopt-a-Dog Month!



Heidi & I at the Waterford Lake Dog Park, Summer 2010


If you have been bouncing around the idea of adopting a dog, I want to take this opportunity to give you a nudge in the direction of doing it! Dogs make great companions, and you will quickly find that you are very happy when your puppy is happy. Getting Heidi has been one of my life's biggest joys. She's my baby, and I love her so much. I love knowing that when I put the key in the door she will stop whatever she's doing and come to the door to give me a warm greeting.

Here are some things I thought heavily on before I got Heidi:

• Can I afford a dog? Owning a dog is expensive in the first year with all the vaccinations, health checks, puppy food, toys, etc. After the first year the costs drop considerably, but you'll need to make sure you can afford to properly support your puppy financially for the span of its life beforehand.
• Do I have time for a dog? Dogs require a lot of attention. They have specific needs and things can quickly go down-hill if these needs aren't satisfied. For example, a dog needs to be outside to relieve himself 2-3 times a day at the minimum; MANY more times a day when he is a puppy and still potty training. By the way, by about 4 months the puppy should be potty trained; at least that's how long it was until Heidi had it down pat. She's almost 11-months-old now and has had just a few accidents inside the apartment.
• Why do I want a dog? So many reasons! Not in any order, here are some reasons that made me want a dog: protection for a young, single, white female, companionship, something to nurture, tend after, and love on (Ashes is great, but dogs are so much different than cats in this respect). The biggest reason for me was companionship.
• Can my living environment handle a dog? Be sure to take into account your home and whether it would be a good fit for a dog. German Shepherds make for great apartment dogs, so that's worked out well. On top of that, I make sure to socialize and exercise Heidi a lot since her breed needs that to stay happy and healthy. If I didn't work with Heidi and just kept her holed up in the apartment, she wouldn't make for a very good apartment dog, so keep this aspect of owning a dog and breeds in mind.
• What if the dog destroys everything in my home? This is part of the deal, especially with puppies. I made sure to keep valuables out of Heidi's reach, and so she didn't have a lot of opportunity to destroy things. To date she's only ruined a yoga mat, a broom stick, a hand towel and one pair of shoes. Not always such a happy scenario for other dog owners, but it's possible if you take the time to pick up after yourself. There are a ton of techniques and sprays which help with this. Potty training is another area where you have to accept that there will be messes. Just keep reminding yourself that it doesn't last forever. Exercise and socialization are huge ways to ward off a dog's destructive chewing nature. When they are stimulated in healthy ways they won't feel the need to go relieve some stress by chomping on your Minolos.

Besides! Against the tricky questions and situations mentioned above, there are so many benefits to having a dog! The list is really endless - from health benefits to making friends at the dog parks - they have huge potential to supplement your life. Heidi is the apple of my eye! I thank God every day for her being a part of my world.

If you have any questions about owning a dog, please don't hesitate to ask me! I would love to help you in your decision about whether adopting a dog is right for you. For more information, go here!

Woof!

Amanda

Please Help Keep Fleet People's Dog Park!

I've just learned that the City of Winter Park wants to do away with one of the nation's BEST dog parks, Fleet People's Dog Park. I know Heidi LOVES this dog park, especially with the lake and all the space to run around. Please support the effort of keeping the dog park by completing the survey, linked below. Thank you so much for you help!

--------------------------

In order to present relevant data to the City of Winter Park and to let them know that the Fleet Peeples Park is important to the residents of Winter Park and also to the residents of the neighboring cities and towns, please fill out this brief survey below.

The results will be viewed by concerned civic groups and will be presented to the Parks Board Commissioners of the City of Winter Park.

Please copy and paste the link to this survey into an email and PLEASE send it to anyone you know who comes to the park. Our success will be measured in numbers, so please ask as many people as you know to fill out this survey.

https://spreadsheets.google.com/viewform?formkey=cGc4ei1LMlZIdno5bkdzNnVwQ1JwZFE6MA

WL Evening

I took Heidi to the Waterford Lakes Dog Park, again, tonight. Another lovely evening and friendly dogs and owners. Heidi really likes this dog park. Tonight she even hopped in the little pool!

After the dog park we went over to the WL Town Center. I had a coupon for a small sub, chips and a drink at Quizno's - all for $3.19! We stopped by PetSmart. She lost a pound since last time I weighed her. The vet assistant said it's nothing to worry about just as humans fluctuate in weight a little bit. I gave her some treats while we were there. I decided to "treat" myself to something Sweet! Sweet is a little cupcake and frozen yogurt shop I've been aiming to check out for about three years. Finally did, and for $6 I received 4 mini cupcakes: Red Velvet, Toasted Marshmallow, Heath and Carrot Cake. I had the Heath one tonight and I am greatly impressed! The icing was just like a Heath bar! And there was toffee stuff on the bottom! Mmm!

On the way there a little boy asked to pet Heidi. I still had some treats from PetSmart, so I helped him give Heidi commands so he could reward her with the treats. Also, some nice young girls offered to hold Heidi while I popped into Sweet to make my purchase. It's nice to know there are kind folks out there.

Heidi & Eva playing

Taking a breather and looking pretty against the green grass

Pool time!

WL Dog Park

Tonight I had the great pleasure of spending the evening with Heidi at a new dog park: the Waterford Lakes Dog Park. It's a stone's throw away, has friendly folks and dogs, water, a dog-i-pot, benches for the humans and GRASS rather than sand which is outstanding! The weather was super cooperative after a really hot and humid day, so we were there for a couple hours. I always mean to get some reading in while Heidi frolics around, but I really enjoy watching her play, dog watching and chatting with the other dog owners. It all makes me smile.

Heidi with Bailey (Boston Terrier exiting the photo) and Max (whom Heidi romped around with quite a bit)

There was a sweet, old Great Pyrenees and his nice owner was the favorite among all the dogs because he gave them really great back scratches. He gave Anslow (his Great Pyrenees) a back scratch and caused some shedding; as you can see, Heidi caught some of the fluff and just left it there for a good while.

Scratchin'. It's what dogs do.

A new favorite photo of me and my girl!

In other news... Work went along okay. Busy in the morning, training in the afternoon. The training is good, but time passes slowly. I didn't get up early enough to run with Heidi, but it turned out to be a good ting since it was ridiculously humid even at the early hours of the morning. I'm going to run with her tomorrow morning, weather permitting. So I guess the running this week will be Tuesday, Thursday Saturday again. That's fine.

Normally grocery shopping wouldn't be considered news, but I stumbled upon a gem! P.F. Chang's makes microwavable steam meals!!! I had one over the weekend and am awestruck! The General Chang one is good, and tomorrow I'll try the Ginger Chicken & Broccoli! Mmmm!

I announced the book for August tonight: The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins. Anyone read that one? I read up on it, and it sounds really good, so I'm excited!

Weekend News

This weekend was fun with the 80s pub crawl and book club (for "Eat Pray Love," review coming soon) today. I got the apartment mostly cleaned and got to catch up with Kristin after a month of chaotic phone dates due to travel and vacations between our schedules. Also, I did some volunteering Saturday morning at the National Down Syndrome Congress conference that took place over at Disney this weekend. I think it is fantastic how much support and networking the NDSC provides to those raising children with DS!

This week should be a good one. I am in training at work from 1 PM to 5 PM Monday through Thursday. Friday I'm celebrating the course's completion by going to lunch with some colleagues. I'm also going to lunch Wednesday with my mentor.

Outside of work I'm running with Heidi this week on the mornings of Monday, Wednesday and Friday. We've been running 5K three times a week these last few weeks. I am trying to get to the gym at least twice; three times if I'm lucky. I like to keep up with the cross-training (cycling, elliptical and ramp) as it keeps my body constantly challenged.

Through the week I'll be working on scrap-booking more of Heidi's baby photos and having fun with her at the dog parks.

The highlight of the week will be Wednesday evening when I have some girlfriends over to spend the evening knitting! I'll be teaching the newbs, and I think I might bake a pie. I think someone will be bringing some vino, too! Should be a lovely time.

Have a great week!

Heidi lounging around while I cleaned the apartment

Heidi Today

Yesterday I spent my Sunday afternoon scrapbooking Heidi's baby pictures. I am super pleased with how the eleven pages turned out. I can't wait to show them off! It got me all hyped to document more of her happy little life, so I ordered more prints tonight! I am going to stop by Jo Ann's to get more supplies before the gym.

After work I took Heidi to Downey Dog Park, our new favorite after-work hang out. Everyone there is nice, the dogs are friendly, and the park itself is decent. My favorite part is that it's nearby; no 15+ minute drives to get there. I've been super slack about posting about Heidi, or anything at all for that matter, so today I took a photo to share with you all.

Hope you're having a great Monday!