Rockabye Bulldog

Usually I post about Cookie’s “sassy” side. But today, I will talk about how she is sweet. These days she has taken to falling asleep on Tim’s chest at night while we are watching TV. What ensues is often more entertaining than our network programing, and certainly just as loud. Oh, she will snore and coo, and doze and sigh. She will awaken periodically and lick her dad’s whiskery face. She will lay her cheek on his cheek and drool quietly. Then she will startle herself by letting out a short toot or two. It’s a scene I never tire of watching. Sleep tight, Cookie!

Wipe Your Paws!

Lately it has been raining cats and bulldogs in our neck of the woods. Not good news for a little four-footed girl who needs her regular potty breaks and is accustomed to a very mild climate in which to do her doggy business. However, there is a silver lining to this storm cloud situation: California is in the middle of a drought so the downpour will help AND Cookie finally has a chance to model her new red belted trench raincoat from Old Navy Dog Supply! In the picture above, she is wearing it over her St. Valentine’s Day “Heart breaker” t-shirt (also from Old Navy) so she looks extra festive. Stay dry Cookie, and don’t forget to wipe your paws!

Polo Santa Cruz, 2000 – 2009

Tim was on the roof during the inspection of our house before we bought it and this is what he saw when he looked down into the neighbor’s yard: a big male bulldog looking up at him with surprise. Tim snapped this photo and immediately e-mailed me at work. It was a sign: we had to buy this house so that we could meet Polo!

Sadly, we learned that Polo passed away last week. Apparently it happened very fast and one morning when the family awoke, Polo wasn’t snoring anymore. They knew he was gone. He was only 9 years old. It has been a very sad week for our neighbors and a sad weekend for us, because we just found out this devastating news yesterday. But, the important thing to remember is that he had a very full and happy life with a loving family who treated him as a member of their own.

Polo was very comical. He had a short low bark that sounded like this: “ROWF. ROWF. ROWF.” He would stick his head through the hole in the fence to watch Tim mow the lawn. The first time I saw this I could not believe my eyes it was so hilarious! Recently, we joked about installing a gilded oval frame around his peephole with a regal inscription announcing his presence.

When he went missing last spring, Tim went into rescue mode, and eventually found him by placing a Craigslist ad. We were as worried about him as his own family was. It was a relief to everyone when he turned up casually resting in a neighbors driveway, a little hungry and a little sleepy,

but otherwise safe and unharmed. And now he has crossed the Rainbow Bridge. Maybe he is hanging around with Petula, Mazzy, Diesel, Bella and Buddy, our recently and dearly departed animal friends. I hope so. Maybe he is frolicking around the overgrown green grasses of Doggy Heaven, chasing and barking at a holy lawnmower. That would be nice.

Goodbye Polo. We will miss you.

Hardly Working

Here is a picture of Cookie and me working from home on Wednesday. As you can see, my intern is hardly working. In fact she mostly snoozed on the job! Let me tell you, she is no good at filing papers or fetching coffee for her boss. And she took an extra long lunch hour. She needs to stick with her current day job which includes shadowing her Poppy around the office, patrolling for crumbs and sucking up all the attention from her colleagues who want to pat her on the bunz. What a life.