Down at the Pool

Sorry, I'm not in this video. It was just too hot to go out, and stepping in the pool is a great challenge for a girl of my age. But, as you can clearly see, Saki and Chula are cool with it (ha, ha; I made a pun).

Best wishes, Juno

PS: Chula looks really happy, doesn't she?

Chula's Still Swinging on the Proverbial Learning Curve

Chula's going to a therapy session today; wish her well

She still has issues, but I'm doing the best I can
(and never mind Joan's foot, which you probably didn't notice until I pointed it out to you)

So, it's another beautiful day in uptown W. Babylon. That makes three beautiful days all summer. Chula is on her way to the park for Crazy Dogs Anonymous meeting. We hope it goes well and teaches her that she should never be afraid of dogs—only people are scary.

Anyway, she's a little scared of me. ME! And I don't know why because I'm so damned nice. She's not scared of Saki at all, but sometimes she just prefers to sit on her daybed with her stuffed turtle. Alas. I do what I can.

Best wishes, Juno

Rebel

See that? Kids never forget. Happy birthday, Rebel.

Rebel 22 August 1956 - 10 March 1958

Jason and All That Alpha

Chula & Saki at the lake teaching Joan some alpha moves

So, yesterday, Jason Mickalauskas, the dog genius of Best Paw Forward, came to the house with three dogs—big Ranger the Pit Bull & two little bitty dogs who love to stand in the doggie pool on a hot day. Allegedly, Jason was going to teach Chula how to chill. But, the truth is he was really trying to show Joan how to be alpha.

You wouldn’t believe it. The yard was suddenly filled with dogs—the two little ones hanging out in the doggie pool, Ranger Macho Dog being the boss of the world; tired Saki panting in the shade; rambunctious Bailey trying to steal a ball from Ranger, which isn't the best idea ever; me going in and out of the house, occasionally barking just because I can, and constantly watching this crazy party; and, through it all—well, almost it all—there was Chula acting pretty much like a regular dog.

Jason did refer to me as “the old lady.” At first, Joan took umbrage to this, but I didn't mind at all. After all, there are certain privileges that come with being the old lady in the group. First, I have the right to be grumpy; second, I can bark and complain all I want and everybody leaves me alone about it, saying, "She can't help it; she's old"; third, I get to go inside and rest in the air-conditioning while all the humans have to stay outside with sweat pouring down their back trying to impart alpha-ness on Joan's psyche.

It’s good to be the old lady in the yard (or house).

Anyway, I’ve got to say that Jason is a miracle worker. I mean, to get Chula to chill with a pack of dogs—it's nothing short of wondrous.

Ahhhhhh, air-conditioning.

Best wishes, Juno

Learning to Play & Chill

This is the day Chula learned to play

I've never known how to play, and I admit it. It seems that Chula has the same problem, but it's way worse because she WANTS to play. Now, Saki. Saki knows instinctively how to play. So, after an hour or so of learning how to get the ball without getting mad and pulling on a pull toy without attacking the world, Chula stood in the pool to cool down and then condescended to have her picture taken with me and Saki.

See? She's getting there. She'll never be chill like me, but she's trying.

Best wishes, Juno

Too Hot for Words

SAKI: Hey Chula, you want to go out?

CHULA: You're kidding. I'm not going out there. Too hot. I'm staying in the air conditioning.

SAKI: You think Juno would like to go out?

CHULA: What are you, nuts? I just moved here, and I already figured out that Juno doesn't go out unless Joan forces her out.

SAKI: So, what are we going to do today?

CHULA: We're doing it already.

SAKI: Yeah, I guess this is good.

CHULA: Nice bed. What is this, some sort of memory foam?

SAKI: Yeah. It used to be thicker, but I ate the top layer.

CHULA: Was it good?

SAKI: Yeah. I was a lot younger then. I wouldn't eat it today.

CHULA: I'm getting sleepy.

SAKI: Me too.

CHULA: zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

SAKI: zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

JUNO: It's about time.

She's Home

When Joan came home, I wasn't sure if she had really been gone. I remember waking up and hearing her come in the house. So, first I thought that was normal. Then, I realized, it wasn't normal since she hadn't been around for a while.

I was so happy that I sniffed mightily for maybe five minutes and even wagged my tail. Hey, I'm an old girl and can't manage much more than that.

Now, all is well. Joan's back from wherever she was; Saki's happy (that's him perched on the back step looking at the world); Chula's learning to be a dog in a dogs' world. Now, to sleep; perchance to dream.

Best wishes, Juno

Where's Joan?

An entire month without writing! How could this happen?

Yo! Joan? Come home!

I'm on my way, Juno.

See you tonight.

Chula's Doggie Rehab Hope

SEE, CHULA, THIS IS WHAT HAPPY LOOKS LIKE! (Not to worry; you'll get there.)

So, on Monday, Chula--former garage dog who lived in the corner of a garage tied to a tool box, who slept on a filthy piece of cardboard, never got petted, never even knew a kind word (see below for more Chula news)--WELL, Chula is going to doggie rehab for at least two weeks.

We will keep everyone posted as to her progress. Jason Mickalauskas at Best Paw Forward seems to be Mr. Alpha Cool Miracle Man, and we're all full of hope that Chula will learn how to live in the world as a happy dog.

I'm not saying she could ever be as chill as I am or as cocky as Saki, but she might just learn to wake up with a smile on her face every morning and sigh a contented sigh at night. Yeah, Jason. We all have some serious hope for that!

Best wishes, Juno

A Little Chula Update

Chula: A Garage Dog No More

Chula. Yes, here are two pictures of Chula--sad Chula and happy Chula. Just imagine, they were taken about one week apart.

Chula spent around two years chained up inside a garage in New York City. No one cared anything about her--no one even washed her or petted her or spoke to her. That's why she looks so haunted, so tormented, so hopeless.

Then, along came people who wanted to help, and Kyla brought her home. We want her to come and live with us, but she's got some major dog issues before she can do that. (Yikes, when I say major I mean crazy major!)

I guess the people who read my blog already love dogs, so I'm barking to the choir when I make this quiet observation that humans who don't like dogs shouldn't be adopting them to begin with. I just don't get it.

You can read more about Chula here, and maybe you can even help.

Best wishes, Juno

The Perks of Summer

Pool or Sleep

Need I say more?

Sleepy Spring

Wow. I've been remiss. How profound my need for sleep these days, so I hardly manage to haul myself to the blog. It's been a sleep month, indeed.

For a while, everyone thought I was a goner, but I surprised them and came back with a rambunctious waddle across Charles's lawn. However, that spurt of energy was short-lived, and I retired to my favorite perch in the sunroom to sleep it off and half listen to Saki and Bailey romping around outside, tugging and pulling on their toys, and racing around just for the sake of racing around. They always end up back in the same spot at the back of the house, so I don't really get it.

I'm a happy dog. I hope you're happy, too.

Best wishes, Juno

Who Am I?

There's a discussion on Facebook about my origins. It's stirred up quite an interest, so if anyone would like to leave a comment here, I'll be happy to relay it to my Facebook friends. Majority guesses are Newfoundland + Great Pyrenees.

I don't think I look like Beethoven at all.

Anyway, it's not absolutely essential that I know who I am or what my tendencies might be given my origin. As they say in Italian, "Ormai?" That means, at this point, does it really matter?

Best wishes, Juno (And, yes, my Italian's not so bad.)

Trouble Getting Around Today

Here we are, just yesterday, for our annual picture in front of the azalea. This is the first year without Shane, but we remember. We're here. We're not here. It's life.

I’m not having an easy time getting up. Ouch. That’s what I say to old age. Ouch again. However, the good part is that everyone’s testing my state of health by offering me biscuits. Of course, what am I going to do—refuse them?

So I take the biscuit, and everyone says, “Well, she still likes her food.”

Then they appear to be all relieved for an hour or so. Then they get worried because I haven’t moved from my spot, and they bring me another biscuit. Of course I take the biscuit. I’m not one to turn down something like that.

“Well, she still likes her food,” they say. And the seem happy about that.

Well, of course I like my food. Don't you?

I was able to walk in the park yesterday where I met three nice dogs and a nice man who said I was beautiful. What more could a dog want? Biscuits and compliments a happy dog make.

Best wishes to you all, Juno

Summer's Back

It must be summer, because the pool is out and Bailey came over to play. What a run-around day for Saki. It’s just as well since he’s packed on a few pounds over the winter. Not that that’s a bad thing, but he gets all tuckered out a little too soon. Not like me, but a little exercise doesn’t hurt.

No, really, Saki, you look great, and everyone loves you just the way you are. (Whew!)

Best wishes, Juno.

The Cat & Cool

The orange cat on the other side of the fence drives me and Saki crazy. She’s so la-de-da about rubbing up against the chain links, knowing perfectly well that we can’t do anything but bark and look dumb. And that’s just what we do—we bark and look dumb.

Sometimes, especially when Saki’s inside and I’m alone by the fence, the cat comes over and we stare at each other. I’m calmer about the whole thing when Saki’s not there to tempt me into barking. She’s very cautious about me, but I can tell she’s curious and maybe even wonders what it would be like to befriend me. After all, what can I do at my age? And I’ve never been given to violence or rowdiness.

She’s a pretty cat. Maybe she thinks I’m a pretty dog. I don’t know. But, she does love to tease us strutting the way she does, pretending she doesn’t notice us, looking like she’s the queen of cool.

My trick is to wander nonchalantly into the sunroom, climb up on the couch, and pass out. It perplexes Saki, but he doesn’t know cool the way I know cool. Not yet.

Best wishes, Juno

Absences

Life goes on, and so does the fun.

We’re having a beautiful spring. Shane would have liked it, but then this is the time of year when we think how much everyone would have liked it if they were still alive. (That's him and Saki and me in front of the azalea last May.)

A picture of Joan’s Rebel is now in the living room, and that makes his absence less of an absence. I can’t tell her how dogs feel about dying, because we don’t think about it. We just accept it. Just think about the flowers. They blossom and they’re so beautiful that people stop and stare and breathe deeply. Puppies and kittens and human babies have the same power. Then, the flowers wilt, the puppies, kittens, and babies grow up, puff up, and then wrinkle up and drop off the face of the earth. But that doesn’t mean they’re gone. They’re just not where you think they are.

Seems easy enough to me.

Best wishes, Juno

Love Spilling Into the Years

So, 52 years have passed since the first two pictures were taken. That's Joan and Rebel and Henry in the first picture, and Joan and Rebel in the second. Fifty-two years! Wow. And here we are all these years later. Instead of Henry and Rebel, Joan is loving me and Saki. So the love never goes away, does it? It just grows and grows and spills into the years.

Is that what they call good Karma? Yes, I believe it is. So, Rebel and Henry wherever you are, you are also here. I like that notion.

Best wishes for love splashing across the centuries,

Juno