Archive: Dogarazzi

Saturday, at our house:

“It’s game day!  Game day, game day, game day!”

It was the day of Delaware’s first home football game! To get the full atmosphere, picture Ted propped up against JG’s knees with his paws punching the air in Rocky-esque jabs.  College GameDay is roaring in the background, JG and I have put together a list of what we need for the afternoon’s tailgate, and Ted is suitably garbed for the occasion.

It takes Ted a few minutes to get used to his jersey, but he stopped swatting at it after a few sharp corrections.  He looked very much the part of a Fightin’ Blue Hen doggie, and I think he was excited because we were, too.  Much to Ted’s chagrin, we couldn’t take him with us to the tailgate because it was much too hot and humid for him to camp out in the car during the game. Maybe next time, puppy!

For JG’s birthday last winter, his mom and I conspired to do a tailgate theme, and he was fully outfitted for the this game.  It would be our first time with a new tent, two collapsible chairs, and a caddy I put together so that JG wouldn’t have to raid the kitchen for the normal supplies.  We arrived at our usual tailgate lot more than three hours before kick-off, and we had set up camp in less than ten minutes.  JG and I retrieved drinks out of the cooler, slid them into our chairs’ cup holders, and tried not to stare at a family across the way who was struggling to erect their own pavilion tent.

JG grilled burgers and hot dogs for dinner, and we packed up our equipment with enough time to walk briskly to the stadium and catch the pre-game show, sporting our new jerseys. The stadium boasted a new scoreboard and sound system, and I was optimistic for a smooth performance for the team. The traditional home opener against West Chester wasn’t going to be a stressful game; we fully intended to blow them out of the water.  I anticipated a clean, practice-like atmosphere, and I hoped the team would be surprisingly put-together, despite last week’s loss against Maryland.

Even though we won by a large margin, I was not so pleased with the game.  The new quarterback was not entirely impressive, and for whatever reason, the defensive line chose to slap around the other team instead of tackling them.  At one point, I was so annoyed that I jumped to my feet and screamed at the top of my lungs, “Wrap! Him! Up!” The surrounding spectators glanced at me uneasily, and I immediately felt ashamed of my outburst.  Seconds later, a large man nearby did the same exact thing, and my shame flipped to vindication.

Let’s go, Blue Hens!

Ted received two presents this weekend!

During her trip to Scotland, OPH e-mailed me saying that she found “the cutest postcard … mostly for Ted.”  Of course, I passed along our address, and sure enough, an adorable Westie postcard showed up over the weekend!  I love how dignified they look in their native Tartan colors and how the one on the right has his head cocked at an angle in quintessential terrier style.  Maybe appealing to Ted’s heritage is the avenue to take en route to Happy Costume Land…

While I was hanging around JG’s team’s volleyball tournament on Saturday, I took a side trip to visit some family friends, Clint and Colleen, who still live in JG’s hometown.  More specifically, I went to visit their Westie, Roxy. Several years ago, we went to Clint and Colleen’s house for a function, and a younger and more sprightly Roxy bounded over to me to be petted.  She was and is incredibly sweet, and she will go down in history as the first dog I ever liked.  Despite myself, I also fell for their new dog, Romeo, a long-haired chihuahua, who was so affectionate and non-yippy that I couldn’t help but snuggle all six pounds of him.

I made small talk with Clint and Colleen while the dogs fought over a toy, and Colleen asked me if Ted had ever tried a Long Bone (Longbone?), the much-desired toy.  Apparently, seven-year-old Roxy loves these bones, and she has never had to have her teeth cleaned because she chews it so much.  Not only that, she never chews furniture or household items!  Sign me up!  Where can I get one?

Oh, no, Colleen did not let me leave the house without two of the bones, and they have completely lived up to the hype.  My internet searches are coming up short, so I am not sure what the toy is made of, but it appears to be some sort of chewy rawhide-type material.  Regardless, Ted loves it.  It is his Precious.

For any other kindhearted souls out there, Ted loves getting mail and chew toys!  Oh, and uh, Swedish fish and cute stationery, too…

As of yesterday, it has been a whole year since we brought Ted home! While it has been lots of fun to see the transition from a tiny, timid puppy to the best, cutest dog ever (sorry, other dogs), I have to give myself a small pat on the back for coming around to this whole dog ownership thing. I was not totally on board at the onset, but Ted won me over, with the help of JG and Cesar Milan. I wouldn’t say that I am a dog person now because I don’t love every dog I meet, but I’m certainly an our dog person. Ted is so sweet and smart, even if it doesn’t always mean that he does what we would like. I love having a dog that makes passersby coo, likes to run around the yard, and can still be picked up, that is, if we can catch him! Ted is small, (mostly) quiet, and cute, so the original requirements of the Dog Agreement have been satisfied. However, if we had adhered to all of my stipulations, we wouldn’t even have Ted yet, and I can’t imagine our house without that jingle-jangle of his tags.

With the arrival of Ted came the suggestion of his own weekly dog feature. I was hesitant at first, but I finally succumbed after a whole two days of consideration. Give the people what they want! Stalking down Ted and capturing his antics has been a challenge and a pleasure, and we love to joke about Ted’s ever-growing “Internet superstardom.” I can’t believe that I’ve written over 50 posts and built the largest photo set in my Flickr stream around this one topic.

At this point, though, I have concluded that the weekly posts have run their course. JG, Ted, and I have settled into our routine, and I’m enjoying the opportunity to sit back and pet Ted while I read, instead of having the camera at the ready for the first time he chews a tennis ball or when his ears refused to flop.

So, today, on the anniversary of the very first Dogarazzi post, I’m passing the Thursday torch to Julie and Bailey, who I am sure will carry on the tradition with pride. That’s not to say that Ted will no longer grace this neck of the woods; he just won’t do it every week or even on Thursdays, necessarily. It’s not a goodbye to Ted, just a “see you around.” With that, I leave you with highlights from our first year with Ted!

Get your daily dog dose with Smalls, Kaya, Rufus, Ben, Bailey, Gus, Foxy, and Zapp!

Yesterday, JG and I spent the day together in one of my favorite traditions we’ve built: Theme Park Day! So far, we’ve gone to Hershey Park and Dorney Park — last year, we held off over the summer because we went to Busch Gardens in the spring — and this year, Six Flags Great Adventure was our target. I love taking a day off from work in the middle of the week to go to an amusement park with JG because it is such a departure from my daily grind, and we always have so much fun.

JG scouted out a good deal on tickets with a coupon on a $3 box of Tastykake Butterscotch Krimpets, which saved us the full cost of a day pass. The drive to northern New Jersey took about two hours, and we stayed at the park past rush hour. Overall, I was not impressed. The big thrill rides at Six Flags were very good, especially the Superman ride, where the seats tilted downward, and we “flew” horizontally. I also enjoyed El Toro, which was the longest, most sustained ride on a wooden coaster I can remember in a long time. However, the indoor Batman ride was horrendous, the Great American Scream Machine practically gave me whiplash, and three different coasters broke down before noon. In general, the park operations were clunky and inefficient, especially an odd ticketing system intended to prevent line-jumping. I’m glad we went, and we got our money’s worth, but we will return to our old stomping grounds of Hershey Park next year. It is the sweetest place on Earth, after all.

Our all-day absence meant that Ted had to spend the time in his crate, like a workday. We asked a friend to stop by to take him out in the afternoon, and JG walked him after we got home, but it was probably a rude awakening after the past few weeks of having free rein in the house with JG. Thankfully, the extended crate stay was a little easier because we picked up a new crate for Ted at the beginning of the month. He barely fit in his original one when he was all stretched out, which I didn’t really understand, because it was supposedly Westie-sized, and Ted is a smaller Westie. Regardless, Ted didn’t like spending time in his crate, and the cramped quarters did not help one bit.

We took a cue from Quincy’s owners and opted for a larger, wire-grid crate that collapses for traveling. Ted has a habit of barking at new, sizable additions to our decor (coolers, large shipment boxes, etc.), so JG set up the crate in our living room for an afternoon and let Ted wander around it to get acquainted. He nosed around the new structure, cautiously stepping in and out, lured by the treat JG had tossed inside. By the end of the day, Ted was happily situated in the new digs with his old towel. Even though the new crate looks more jail-like, Ted doesn’t mind going inside. Sometimes, he even beats me to the punch by hopping into his crate and waiting for me to lock the door.

Eventually, we’ll soften up the floor with some sort of padding, but for now, I’m relieved that Ted enjoys being in his crate. Shoving him into the old one made me feel awful, and he sounded so pitiful when he scratched against the door. These days, when I come to get him for the morning walk, Ted is simply lying down on his towel, patient and quiet.

Stay tuned for next week’s special one-year anniversary celebration of Dogarazzi! In the meantime, get your daily dog dose with Smalls, Kaya, Rufus, Ben, Bailey, Gus, Foxy, and Zapp!