Monday, November 16, 2009

Lucky Friday the Thirteenth?

This past Friday was a scary day for me and Sammy. Erik was not accepted into UNMC nursing here in Omaha, but was accepted into UNMC Kearny. Last Monday we went to Clarkson College here in Omaha to check it out and although it was great, it wasn't as great as the webpage and brouchers made it sound. That meant we had a trip to Kearny to make. So we made an appointment for Friday afternoon since that was the first day we could make it. Since we had just been there a week before, we knew that Sammy would do fine while we were busy and we didn't need to try to find a doggy sitter.
I had geomorph which ended at 11am and that was it for classes on Friday. Erik and Sammy picked me up from campus, we hit up Petco on the way out to pick up a couple chewy treats to entertain him. Then we hit the road! Sammy is so happy with car rides, boy was he excited when we hit the road. He didn't know where we were going, what we were doing, who he would get to meet, but he knew it would be a fun adventure. For a while, to our surprise, he sat on my lap looking out the window and the wonderful Nebraska corn landscape. Even a dog has to be bored by hours of that, but he didn't want to miss any part of the adventure, so he sat there trying to keep his eyes open, watching the scenery not change. Eventually he gave in and curled up on my lap, but if I moved a muscle he went back to attention staring out the window!
We made it to Axtel, and to Erik's parents house. We found his mom and pup outside. Sammy remembered the fun he had just one week ago at this place. He remembered all the running and his new friends, but more importantly he did NOT remember a leash and collar! He bounded out with so much excitement! He remembered his new doggy friend, and she remembered him! In fact, I think she was excited to see him. Erik's mom made us chili to have a nice little lunch before we went up to Kearny. During which Sammy had the run of the yard. He just ran and ran and played and played! Both the dogs came inside and played. They played so hard that Sammy lost his breakfast! He vomited on the nice white carpeting. The last time he vomited was when he ate his bone...whole. I can only imagine how much fun they must have been having in order for him to lose his breakfast he had over six hours before! And it came out in looking like little kibbles in a thick, brown gravy!
At the same time Erik and I needed to go to Kearny, his parents were going to York to have dinner with his older brother Adam and Adam's wife Rachel. They were going to bring back Rachel and their dog Bella while Adam went on a hunting trip. Sammy was going to be in his crate on the front porch, to keep him out of trouble and mischief. It had the added bonus of calming him down and letting his food resettle. We put in a rawhide for him, his pillow to get comfortable, and then we left for our tour.
After our tour, we headed back down to grab Sammy and head back to Omaha. Sammy had heard us walking up to the house, and we could hear him barking. Not a mean, protective bark, but his playful bark, so he must have known it was us. However, the door was looked and we could not enter. Erik did not have his key, the spare key was not in the garage, all the doors were locked. We were locked out......and Sammy knew it.
Erik's parents hadn't even made it to York yet so we drove into Kearny to find something to do since it was way too cold to sit outside. Pus we would have driven Sammy even more nuts. We went into town and found him a "I'm very, very, very sorry" bone that is huge (he hasn't gotten it yet though). After spending some time at target, hallmark and famous footwear, we went back down to Axtell to grab the pup.
When we arrived Sammy was unsuccessfully dividing his time among 3 people, 2 dogs and 1 cat. He was a very happy puppy. It might have made up for leaving him in there much longer than intended. Plus, I got to meet Bella. Bella is a very happy and sweet black lab. A large black lab. So large that she is up to my hips, and I know I am not very tall (5'2") and I have a dog that might stand a foot off the ground, but that is still a tall dog! It was weird not having to bend down to pet her. Sammy came to say hi to us when we got there, but then went back to his new friends. It was so cute seeing Sammy and Bella play. Sammy couldn't reach Bella's head, even from standing on his hind legs! As Bella walked, Sammy ran alongside her jumping up and each of Bella's steps, licking her on the face. Sammy still feels that is the proper hello, licking another dog on the face. Doggie daycare has helped him realize that other dogs like to sniff, so he isn't as weirded out by other dogs sniffing his rear end, but he doesn't usually say hello that way. (That's my dog!)
Sammy and Bella had hit it off, however his older friend, the family dog, well she was happy to see them get along and have another dog to take Sammy's energy, but she was a little jealous. She was feeling left out, and she even instigated Sammy playing with her. They play mostly by going in circles! Bella felt left out and then joined in by going in the circle behind them. All three dogs were having a ball, and all five people were having fun watching them play! It was quite the moment. See, who needs TV when you have a puppy (especially when that puppy is Sammy). At one point Sammy sat down, and he had one dog on each side sniffing him. He just stared up in the air like "it's good to be king!"
When we are sitting at home, I can easily see how big Sammy is getting. I can see how tall those little legs are getting! We have a smaller apartment and not alot of things cluttering it up, so he looks like the perfect size for our place. Plus he is bigger than some of our neighbor dogs. Then when you see Sammy take down treats meant for dogs much bigger than he, he begins to look larger than he really is. Reality snapped right in place when I watched him play with the other two dogs, especially Bella. Reality also snapped in showing how special of a pup he is to be able to play with dogs probably 3 times his size and who are much older not of puppy playing age. In the car, he quickly fell to sleep from all the playing. Then he slept the whole night. Probably dreaming of more playdates with his new friends.
He doesn't know it, but he is looking forward to Thanksgiving. Sammy and I have this trip on the typically unlucky day, to be thankful for. We get to keep our little family unit in Omaha, and Sammy gets to go where he can play with both dogs and the cat, lots of people, and NO leash or stake and rope!

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