The 5 Year Plan

Today is our fifth wedding anniversary. We're going out for dinner tonight, and to a friend's winery thing. When we got married, we knew that there would immediately be the "when will we see babies" comment. My cousin Tracey said when they got married, they told everyone they were on a 5 year plan, and she said it worked pretty well.

Ours has worked pretty well too. Now that we have Hank, we figure out 5 year plan is complete! We even did it in just over 4 years too! Mission accomplished. Hooray! There have been a few minor squablings lately, especially when a certain mother in laws best friend is going to be a grandma soon, but thanks to a newly married brother in law, we now have somewhere to shift the pressure (thanks Jaimie!). Hank has been the BEST addition to our family, and we are so grateful to have him. Even though he slept on the bed last night and was jumping around at 4:30 this morning to play, we love him to death, and can't imagine life without him.

The 5 year plan is complete! Hooray!

Well that was odd...

Today has been a BEAUTIFUL day! It wasn't supposed to get this nice till Thursday or Friday, but it came early this week, hooray! So, after work today I raced home and Hank was VERY excited to see me (as usual, and like most people). So, we went outside to pee, and then I changed and we played a little, and then I decided to head up to Robinswood Park so Hank could run around. It wasn't hot enough to warrant a trip to Marymoor and a wet dog for the evening. So, off to Robinswood we went. He ran and ran and ran, it was great. The problem with Robinswood is that it's covered with bark, so Hank gets it in his mouth when he's getting the ball. So, I have to nudge him towards the water dish they have so that he'll drink and clean out his mouth. He usually gets it after a few times, but sometimes it takes some coaxing. Tonight was no different.

We'd been at the dog park for about 20 minutes, and it doesn't take Hank very long to get tired at Robinswood, because all he does is run straight for a while. I love it there. But tonight, he comes walking back with the ball, and walks over to the gate and plops down like he's going to take a nap. Sure it was kind of warm out, and he was running, but still, this is odd for Hank. So, I go over to get the ball, and he jumps up and runs after it again. Then we do the ball throwing a few more times, and then I was talking to another puppy parent, and he did it again! So, I walked over and we decided to go home. As we were walking out to the car, he walked over in the grass and DID IT AGAIN. At this point it freaked me out. Why can't my dog get all the way to the car without a break? What's wrong with him!?!?! So, I thought, well, maybe it's a sliver in his foot. But we got in the car, and he didn't immediately sit down. So, that got the best of me and I called the vet while I was pulling out of the parking lot. They said that it could just be he's dehydrated and to keep an eye on him, and if he's still this way tomorrow, to give them a call again.

So, we got home, and came upstairs. He hasn't been very enthusiastic about his food lately either. AND he's on an allergy pill for a month that we haven't seen signs of fatigue, but maybe they're there...so, he ate some, and we tried some different food, and some people food, and tried to push the water. He'll still get up and go, but he just doesn't seem to want to go far. If he was 10, I would just be sad. But he's 2 so I'm just a little worried...ugh. Hopefully a good night's sleep for both of us will help!

Keeping the Romance Alive

Last weekend my dad and his dog Rudy came to visit. Hank LOVES Rudy, and they always seems to pick up right where they left off the last time they saw each other, which is great for us. Rudy continues to want to sniff at Hank all the time and inappropriately, but Hank still likes hanging out with her. On Saturday morning we all went to Marymoor where Rudy barked while Hank swam. On Sunday we all went to a beer festival and the dogs stayed home alone, they needed some "alone time" together. We came home and besides that Rudy was still smoking a cigarette they seemed to have done just fine.

My little brother Jeremy and his girlfriend Cassie came up as well. So the three of us took the two dogs to the park. Sunday was a beautiful day and the park was pretty empty by 5pm when we went. So, Hank swam a bunch, and then all of a sudden...Rudy was swimming too! It was nuts, she did great, and we couldn't believe it! As soon as we started cheering for her though, she was done and came back over.

They spent the evening sleeping on the floor while we all kind of passed out around the house from the heat and the beer. Rudy left on Monday and Hank had to go to Day Camp for two days while I went off to Denver, so they said their goodbyes until next time...

He's just too cute!

I had to go to Denver for work last night, and Jeremiah is in San Francisco until tomorrow. SO, Hank got to stay at day camp last night, which he likes. Well, he's exhausted when he gets home, so I take that as a "good" sign. They gave him an exit bath today, but no nail trim, they're OK. They put on a cute PetsHotel bandanna so they knew he was clean, and he looks SO cute in it, I hate to take it off. But, he's going to day camp tomorrow, and for some reason, I think the other dogs might laugh at him. BEST DOG EVER. That's Hank.

More to come soon (with photos) from his romantic weekend with Rudy...

Hank's war wound

It's been a busy couple of weeks around the Case Household, which has not left much time for Hank stories, or for good Hank adventures. BUT, Jeremiah and I went sailing for 4 days up in the San Juan's and while we were gone, Hank stayed at the Pets Hotel that he loves so much. He ran and played at daycamp. However, on our trip, when we docked in Roche Harbor, we had cell phone service, so I checked my messages. Low and behold, Rob from the PetsHotel had called...Hank got into a "snafu" with another dog and they took him over to the vet to check him out and he's on an antibiotic to make sure there's no infection, but he's just fine and back to normal, NO WORRIES...

Yeah right.

So, I called to check. Evidently another dog in day camp and Hank went at it, and the other dog Max, got his mouth around Hank's head. YIKES! I'm envisioning war wounds, giant e-collars and more.

But the part that was more frustrating for me is that Max is an Akita, which is what Ronin our next door neighbor dog is. Ronin, the dog that we've been training with to get them to like each other, so that we can all be out on our patios this summer enjoying the beautiful weather, when ever it finally chooses to arrive. So, that was frustrating, and the girls at the PetsHotel said Hank's "breed-ist" now, which is funnier having seen THIS SHOW on Wednesday night.

In any event, Hank has enjoyed having a few days to lay around the house and recoup with Jeremiah, watching TV, oh yeah, and taking a dump on the carpet this morning when Jeremiah left for 5 minutes. Oops. Here's a picture of his war wound you can check out for yourself!

I swear it's bigger in person and in a few different spots on his head, and behind his ear. Whatever, it was traumatic to ME!