Spring Tease

Yesterday was BEAUTIFUL! The sun was out, snow melting (a little), birds moving north, and the temperature was nearly 40 degrees! It was the first time I can remember in the last month or two where I didn't see my breath! Sammy's cabin fever was loud and proud. So when I got home from class he played out in our yard for a while and once Erik made it home all three of us set out for a walk! A real walk, not one of those ones to just go around the building to get "it all" out. Nope, a real walk up and down the hills of the neighborhood, by other dogs in their yards, smelling all the smells and seeing neighbors returning home themselves.
It was picture perfect. That is until we remember what it's like when the snow starts to melt. And melt in the cement where all the gravel has been, let alone the parts where cars have been. Yesterday was that yucky phase between winter and spring, where it is nice temperature but we still have to wear our yucky pants and winter shoes out with our dogs because we don't want to ruin our good things.
Sammy had a great time. He still jumped and plowed through the snow. He stopped to roll in it alot. He had fun with all the sounds of birds and dogs. Sammy loved all the smells. He looked like a little hound dog out there with his nose to the trail. Only peaking up when a dog barked. It was fun. I had a great time enjoying my walk with my pup. I really miss our walks.
The nastiness of the ground only reared it's ugly head when we got back to the apartment and I could see just how dirty and wet he got. Well, I will let him show it off:

With a winter this long....what a tease mother nature! Ugh. Oh well, it was still fun. Thank goodness for that corgi outer fur where a towel just wiped off 95% of the yuck! Today we woke up to snow. Another 2-3" thus far as the snow system moves across the midwest.
As a weather notice I thought I would share another weather bit. A friend of mine is in school as a meteorolgy major. She told me her professor told her that we will probably still have snow on the ground in until late March. Furthermore that spring could likely be just a change in air flow and if that is the case, tornados on the snow are possible! Can you imagine snow tornados whipping through? Thank goodness we are on the basement floor! It's a crazy weather year!

Corgi Love

Everyone loves corgis.
That seems just so obvious to most, but until you actually have a corgi it's impossible to imagine just how much love these cute little pups get. It is remarkable. Either being lazy and going through a drive-thru turning into a discussion about corgis and how they are little herders etc. with the person holding your food, to the overwhelming excitement of petstore employees who see that LITTLE smiling dog dragging in it's owner, to the vast number of blogs and websites dedicated to experiences with corgis. (In the past couple of weeks I have begun to click from webpage to webpage and I am amazed!)
But don't just take my word for it. If my science and math classes have taught me anything, it's that a simple statement that "everyone loves corgis" is not enough by itself. Although it should be as simple as saying gravity pulls objects down. So in additon to the couple of sentences in the previous paragraph, I am going to give a couple of examples that inspired me to this blog.

Two nights ago while Sammy, Erik and I were all curled up watching the Olympics (We bought digital rabbit ears just for the Olympics. We have like 8 channels, it's amazing! But it only works with the TV in the bedroom. lol) we recieved a phone call from my mom. My grandpa (nearly 91) had fallen and he and my grandma (nearly 89) were unable to get him up. My mom lives next door and is usually able to help out, but she was busy at the time. We jumped out of bed, put on shoes and coats and put Sammy on his leash and we were out the door. Unfortunatley we live a good 15-20 minutes from my grandparents' house. By the time we were able to make it, my grandma felt that a rescue squad needed to be called. In all actuality it was better that they were called. A firetruck came hurling up the road maybe 2 minutes after we had arrived. In came 4 very large and powerful all business firemen. My grandparents built the house they still live in after moving back to Nebraska. They had the first house on the block. What that means is the bathroom my grandpa fell in was about the size of my grandpa and half a fireman. Erik and I tried to keep Sammy out of the way, but really what's the use. Everyone loves corgis. In Omaha we haven't seen many corgis. And unlike other cities, our humane society hasn't had a meet and greet for local corgis. But to our surprise, one fireman was delighted to see Sammy. And the first thing we hear, "Is that a corgi? That is a corgi." Come to find out, he has two corgis of his own. For the next 15 minutes while two fireman are able to pick up my grandpa and move him into his bed and check him out (no broken bones, heart rate, blood pressure....etc) two firemen, my grandma, Erik and I discuss corgis! Everything from size to smiles to their dwarfism! And they all gave him a pet on their way out! See, everyone loves corgis!
That is not to unlike our apartment. The maintence staff has routine checks to all the buildings. When we moved in, we had a few issues from mold around the window, to broken curtains to soap holders falling off in the bathroom. All simple things that our maintence staff fixed quickly and easily. We had one guy in particular take a liking to Sammy. He just loved him! Sat and petted him for a good five minutes. Told us all about his lab at home. Everytime we saw him around the complex, he always came and gave Sammy a pet. Every month (maybe every other month) they come in and check our furnaces. We always have the same guy to check our furnace! I think he tries to come back to our apartment! Furthermore, we haven't gotten in trouble for not crating him while we are gone. The apartment hangs up signs for the days they will come into buildings to check things like the furnace and to crate your dogs. It says there could be a fine for not doing it. Well, we have yet to do it, and yet to get into trouble! They must just get so excited when they see his little face they can't give us a fine! All because everyone loves corgis!
Corgi love goes well beyond my Sammy. (It's hard for me to realize sometimes.) It ventures into the TV world! Has anyone seen the Pedigree Dentistix commercial? Sammy and I nearly lost it when we saw the corgi!

Even more spectacular, they are using corgi love to sell cars! Nissan got on the corgi bandwagon with their Nissan Leaf Olympic commercial! Check out this commerical. At exactly 42 seconds look at the little smiler on the right!

Another commercial I have seen with these fancy rabbit ears is the Pup-Peroni commerical.

If that isn't enough....the Queen of England LOVES corgis! One of my favorite articles I have read about Queen Elizabeth and her corgis often reminds me of myself with Sammy. My middle name is Elizabeth, so I often say that the Queen and I must be on the same wavelength. Haha.
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-1187578/They-terrorise-footmen-drive-Philip-mad-knocked-Paul-Burrell-stairs-Queen-giving-beloved-Corgis.html

Now who can deny the fact that Everyone Loves Corgis?!

Drools McGee

To those that know me, it is no secret that I find a slobbering, drooling dog insanely endearing. Oh heck, downright cute! I can't explain it. I am not fond of the people slobber, often I will wash the sheets on a dime if any drool slipped onto the bed during the night. But when a dog has those drool strands, I just can't hold back the little giggle of "Oh My Gosh! Look at that drool!" Probably why I was drawn to basset hounds in the Pre-Samerson days.
I don't know if it is a corgi thing or not, but Sammy began his drooling about a month or two ago, and now excels at the drool. Sometimes when I look at him I wonder if his lips are too big for his snout. Or maybe because he usually smiles so much it has stretched out the lips at the corners that it bunches up when he is not smiling. Ok, so I don't think that, but it's a nice idea. I don't know, but his oversized corgi tounge salavates and produces a lot of drool for his little chipmunk cheeks to handle. In the end, when there is a tasty dish with wonderful smells, the end result is this:

And on a side note. We now wake up often with a wet spot below Sammy's head. Yep, he is drooling at night, now!

Sleepy Sammy!

Yesterday was a wonderful day for Sammy. He got to go to Bone Jour! Bone Jour is the doggie daycare here in Omaha that is part of the Humane Society. Unfortunately he doesn't get to go too often. Hopefully it makes it more special when he gets to go. It is quite exciting. The dogs are separated into two groups, big dogs in one group, and small dogs and most puppies in the second group. The last two times Sammy went he was able to play with Chloe, a part lab part golden retriever mix puppy just one month younger than him. I was so happy for him to be able to play with a puppy, that is another dog with as much energy and playfulness as him. The small dogs and puppy group is anywhere from 20 to 28 dogs dependant on the day. I imagine it is a bliss for Sammy.
Sammy's day at dogcare goes a little like this:
615am: Get up, get some breakfast and potty. Getting up takes him a little bit if he doesn't want to, so we allow extra time for this! Sammy is not a morning dog!
7:00 Sammy gets checked in. Sign him in, and take him to his crate (which is really a 3'X4' area all to his own that has a white picket fence around it with his name on the front. He gets a little bed and whatever we bring for him. He has a blanket from home and his little rabbit.)
7:30 All the dogs get let out into their play rooms. Sammy's playroom has astroturf ground and those little plastic jungle gym things for kids as well as other toys around the room. Each room has a door into it's separate yards so the dogs are able to go in and out as they please.
11:00am: Naptime. Sammy would go back to his little crate for naptime. At this time some dog parents pay for their dogs to be groomed, and this would happen during naptime. Sammy does not get groomed, but always comes home smelling like the shampoo used on the other dogs!
1:30 pm: The small dogs are let into the big dogs yard. The big dogs have more jungle gym type things to climb. I don't know how much Sammy enjoys it, I am curious.
2:00: The small dogs go back to their playroom for the remainder of the day.
5:30-6:30 is pick-up time. We come in and they send him out of the play room. We also get a report card for the day to tell us how he did and who he played with most! Yesterday, Sammy got a Valentine from Ledger. Ledger's crate was next to Sammy's. They must have had a fun day together!

It almost sounds silly to talk about doggie daycare, but it has done so much for him. It has helped with Sammy's socialization not to mention letting him get to run around to his hearts content. Since we don't have a yard, I really appreciate this. This time of year, this year especially, it is so cold out that I have been unable to let him out as much as he wants, but at doggie daycare he gets that option as well as a new enviornment. I imagine him to have cabin fever! Since going to doggie daycare, he has done alot better on walks. Sammy was able to play with other dogs and lessen his curiousity of dogs on walks. Plus it makes him exhausted for about a day and a half!

"Why do you have me up? It is 6:30 in the morning! I need my beauty sleep!"

"Hmm....this is beginning to look a little familiar."

"This is looking ALOT familiar! Lets go, let's go!!"

Sammy after his 11 hour day of doggie daycare:

Sammy today, after sleeping the whole evening, the whole night and all morning!

"Boy this bed sure is comfortable with these extra blankets. Shall we take a nap, Mom?"