Tito's Rascally Day

9:02 am - Prichard Park
Only one other dog is there, and the owner is about to leave. In an effort to get the dog to stay and play, Tito tries cute antics, but also jumps on the owner. They leave. After chasing sticks all the way down the beach and back, (and rolling in only one dead crab) I decide to take her to the off-leash dog park nearby.
9:44 am - off leash dog park
No other dogs there – no surprise because its starting to snow. Still I throw the ball until I get freezing cold and want to leave. Tito, however makes it clear she is not ready to leave and won’t come. She spends about 15 minutes sniffing the park thoroughly. Finally, I pretend like I’m leaving without her. I go out the gate and up the hill and watch from behind a tree. She comes to the gate, but when she sees me returning, she runs away. Eventually, by throwing balls again, I manage to grab her.
10:35 am- home
As soon as we get home, she immediately wants to go out. Was that not enough fresh air and exercise? I open the door and reach for her rope. She squiggles out and runs off. I decide to ignore her and get to work.
11:20 am - still home
I notice Tito chasing someone going down the road on a bicycle. I manage to get her to come into the house.
3:38 pm - Battle Point Park
Despite the falling snow, or maybe because of it, we walk up to the park. I figure that (1), since it is snowy and no one is around and (2) Tito has had plenty of excursions today, it is safe to let her off her leash. (silly me!)
4:09 pm Near the bunny area, she runs off after a flock of geese – it took her about 7 seconds to run the 400 yards to the planetarium. By the time I get over in that direction and continue on to gate, she is nowhere to be seen. I whistle until I see someone coming over with Tito following. It is the teenage boy I saw earlier with a soccer ball. Well, we all know how Tito loves soccer. He tries to send her my way, but why should she leave him? He is playing with a soccer ball. So we have to actually meet for me to be able to grab Tito. I try to give Tito to the boy, but he refuses. Maybe he thought I was kidding.

Nights with Tito

Tito starts out the night in her designated spot on the bed - the corner by my feet. But during the night she migrates up the bed, until by the time Dan leaves, she is right next to me. In exchange for tummy rubs, she will let me sleep longer.

Some nights, if she has spent part of the day eating goose poop, she has an upset stomach and needs to go out several times. If only she could make that connection - goose poop = tummy ache...
Last night (5am) she was up pacing until she coughed up ... a rock!

Tito notes

Our neighbors, meeting us on a dog walk, commented on how cute and frisky Tito is - entertaining herself in our yard with her flattened soccer ball. If only all of us could be so easily entertained...
Dan borrowed my car and just noticed for the first time that Tito had chewed up the paneling on the inside of one of the doors. Yeah, but that was back when she was a puppy. Also it happened because her bones slip down next to the seat and are hard to retrieve.

Morning Escape

If the morning walk doesn't happen soon enough, Tito gets antsy. I wanted to read the paper and have some coffee, so I attached her to the rope outside. I've been rather proud of myself for outsmarting her in the rope design. At first, I just used a long rope, but she chewed through it close to where it attached to her collar, so for the last 6 months she has stayed connected because the first 12 feet is cable.
I realized I gotten all the way to the comics without hearing from Tito and looked outside. No Tito, and the rope is broken at the cable connection. I call her and she comes running happily from down the street with a 12 foot cable trailing behind.
When we finally did our first walk of the day, I was not pleased to see that the osprey nest was being removed from the top of the cell tower. I was reassured by Dan at Parks & Rec, who said they would be building a platform up there for the osprey who has been rebuilding the nest every year.

The Dog Bath

On a walk with Julie (that required only a minimum of trespassing) Tito rolled in something stinky on the beach. Usually it is week-old crab. Julie has an interesting theory about why dogs roll in stinky stuff - to mask their scent. It's a dog disguise!

When I get home, I set up the bathroom with three big dog towels before I bring Tito in the house. After the bath, I dry her off with a towel, but she still insists on shaking herself, getting water and black hairs all over the walls. She runs off while I clean out the tub, clean off the walls and floor and gather up the towels, along with other dog towels, her collar and harness to start a load of laundry.

I go in the bedroom to change out of my stinky wet clothes and see that she has rolled around on the bed! Bad! Now I have to do three more loads of laundry - the comforter, the sheets and the mattress cover!
Warming up by the fire after her bath.

Tito & Me - the pin cushion

Two days ago, I checked on Tito because she was being suspiciously quiet on her bed in the other room. Sure enough, there between her paws, were the remains of a pin cushion (the one that was proudly hand-made by daughter when she was in elementary school, therefore, irreplaceable). The stuffing was pulled out and the fabric was ripped. Moving closer, I saw that her bed was covered with pins and needles. Did she manage to pull them all out? With her mouth? Without sticking herself? Did she swallow any? We'll never know. I watched her all evening for signs of sharp stomach pain. But she is fine.

New Book Idea

I've decided to write a book entitled, Tito & Me all about the mischievous antics of my dog, Tito. Her rascal-ly behaviour will appear endearing to everyone else. (and will become a best seller and movie.)