Geoff Fox: My Permanent Record
Back when I was in school teachers would always scare me with stories of how my exploits would end up in my permanent record. I believe this is it! – Geoff Fox
Doppler has few responsibilities. This week I changed that. Doppler learned her first trick. She can shake hands.
It wasn’t difficult to do. Just a few tiny treats when she’d normally get rewarded anyway, like when returning from a trip to the lawn. She caught on quickly.
At this point I’m worried because she’s offering up her paw before I ask!
If I had my way (and had the persistence) I’d teach her to jump through my hands or into them. Are there enough treats?
Helaine’s at the dentist. I’m doing some things around the house. I left Doppler to her own devices.
Doppler has her favorite spots. She likes her bed in a corner in the kitchen. She likes the blanket we leave on the floor behind my desk in my office. She LOVES the sofa in the loft. That’s where she went today.
I didn’t see her for at least a half hour, but when I did she was quietly enjoying a freshly constructed blanket and pillow fort.
Doppler’s only job is to be cute. She gets an excellent employee review every time!
Once in a while, for reasons beyond my ability to explain, Doppler will start licking my arm. Fresh out of the shower or after working up a sweat, it makes no diff. She is driven.
Take a look for yourself!
If dogs could speak they’d let you know they never want to leave your side… even when traveling.
We had a bunch of people stop by the house over the last few days. That really messed up Doppler’s schedule.
She says she needs at least 20 hours a day prone. Why argue with success?
Today, with just the three of us around, Doppler became invisible. Consider this catch-up day.
At one point I asked Helaine where Doppler was, though she was in the room with us! She’s that good.
“She’s polite,” I said to Helaine this evening while explaining Doppler’s last trip outside.
Doppler was sleeping on the sofa. I was watching TV.
She got up, walked over and climbed vertically up my chest. She was perfectly positioned to lick my face. This is her way of telling me she’s got to go.
We walked to the front door. As I picked up her leash I realized its little reel of plastic bags was empty.
There was a minute or so of busy work to get more bags and put them in their enclosure. I looked down. Doppler was at my side, her head up, her butt down. Motionless. Waiting. Patient.
We took her shopping this afternoon. Doppler rode along in a travel bag. She didn’t balk. She didn’t kvetch. She was glad to go with us.
Good dog.
She is every bit the good dog her photos portray!
This is the one thing Helaine and I still have trouble believing. She is amazingly sweet and endearingly cooperative. She is a go along, get along companion.
She doesn’t even shed. That would be out of character!
We really did luck out when we rescued Doppler. She did OK too.
Yesterday I posted a before photo of Doppler pre-furcut. My intention was to post the after picture today. That was before I saw both pictures together!
Doppler’s still got loads of fur. She won’t be cold when she hits the lawn.
She sure has a lot less than she did yesterday!
Doppler goes for a haircut tomorrow morning. I just couldn’t resist one ‘before’ picture. I’ll try and post an after tomorrow.
11:00 PM, Wednesday
The dew point at Bradley is 2°. On the shoreline the numbers are in the teens. The air is bone dry. It is static cling season.
Doppler suffers greatly. Her fur is attracted to blankets and carpets. Her hair stands up like Professor Irwin Corey’s.
I’ve sparked her while hooking leash to collar. My guess is she gets sparked a lot.
I like the scruffy look on Dop, but this time of year she’s probably better served with less fluff factor.
I had all sorts of plans for Doppler when we brought her home. Fail! I never even attempted to train her.
Why bother? Doppler came from the pound with all the skills we desired. She was cute. She was sweet. She was photogenic.
I just took a few more photos of Doppler. She was up on the couch. I was nearby with a borrowed lens. Any excuse.
Doppler is endlessly adorable!
Her birthday is coming up. We don’t actually know November 18 is Doppler’s birthday. We adopted it when we adopted her. We’ll say she’s five. That’s a guess too.
I had all sorts of plans for Doppler when we brought her home. Fail! I never even attempted to train her.
Why bother? Doppler came from the pound with all the skills we desired. She was cute. She was sweet. She was photogenic.
OK, that last ‘skill’ wasn’t as important to Helaine as it was to me. Doppler has been photographed hundreds, maybe thousands of times. She never disappoints.
Because I write about and photograph Doppler so often people just assume she’s ‘my’ dog. Truth is, she gravitates toward Helaine who provides the bulk of her care. That’s a good thing too.
I hope she enjoys being here as much as we enjoy having her. If she ever hires a photo agent I’m screwed.
I didn’t do it. Doppler made the sale! Doppler is the poster child for good doggie!
There are lots of big, powerful dogs in local shelters. That’s great for some people, but not as good for others. For instance, we wanted a dog small enough to fly under an airline seat!
Doppler came to the Fox family last November. We sprung her from the joint! Doppler, then named Charlotte, was abandoned in a most upsetting way then plucked from the streets by Wallingford’s Animal Control officers who lovingly cared for her in their shelter.
I’ve spent a lot of time on this blog talking about our experience in rescuing Doppler and what a perfect fit she is. Our friends Cheryl and Steve adopted Doppler’s brother/father Bentley. Same outcome.
Surprise–people read! I got this note from Nancy Benson a few days ago
Well Geoff you did it – you turned me into a dog owner at the age of 52.
Thanks to all your Doppler stories and the fact that my 15 year old cat died in May I started looking and found WALLY at the Meriden Humane Society. We brought him home on Saturday. He’s a chihuahua mix and we found out yesterday as he was barking for the first time that the other part is probably beagle!
He’s warming up to us and had two milestones yesterday in that he finally went up our office stairs during the day (up and down a few times on his own after that) and went up our home stairs last night (after about 20 minutes of intermittant barking and whining during which I actually fell asleep).
He’s a welcome addition to our family!
I didn’t do it. Doppler made the sale! Doppler is the poster child for good doggie!
There are lots of big, powerful dogs in local shelters. That’s great for some people, but not as good for others. For instance, we wanted a dog small enough to fly under an airline seat!
Just because every dog isn’t for you doesn’t say one won’t be! If you’re looking for a loving family member start at a shelter where there’s undoubtedly a puppy waiting for you!
Congratulations Nancy. Congratulations Wally.
You know you’re suffering dog withdrawal when you start friending strangers who have one! That goes for the four dogs pictured below, even the two in a car! We collared each of their owners so we could get in a quick pat and scratch and attempt to ameliorate our jones.
I’m writing from Seat 4F onboard Southwest 315, nonstop Seattle to Chicago Midway. We’re on our way home from our Alaskan adventure.
I’m tired… beyond tired. I got about an hour of airline sleep which like airline pretzels comes in too small a quantity to be satisfying!
There’s a blog entry coming about our day in Seattle. This was a first time visit under full sunshine. I know that’s not a realistic condition to judge Seattle, but I really liked what I saw! It’s a clean city full of fit and happy people that seems not to be participating in our nation’s economic downturn.
Liked or just jealous, does it matter?
For now, let’s talk dogs. We both miss Doppler. She was boarded for a few days, then spent the rest of the week with her brother/father (we don’t know) Bentley at Cheryl and Steve’s¹.
You know you’re suffering dog withdrawal when you start friending strangers who have one! That goes for the four dogs pictured below, even the two in a car! We collared each of their owners so we could get in a quick pat and scratch and attempt to ameliorate our jones.
¹ – We can’t begin to say how grateful we are to Steve and Cheryl. When Doppler’s with them she’s well taken care of, but more importantly she’s loved as if she was home.
Doppler must have caught on. She decided as a member of the family it’s only right she be involved.
Good doggie.
This year’s big vacation is rapidly approaching. Helaine is our logistics specialist. Staging areas have been set up.
So far my big contribution has been two immense camera lenses which will travel in a carry-on bag and a power strip. Yeah, a power strip.
Doppler must have caught on. She decided as a member of the family it’s only right she be involved.
Good doggie.
Back when the late Richie Ashburn called the Phillies games he’d sometimes look at a base runner and declare him “runnerish.”
We see that in Doppler too. She did some wind sprints up-and-down the hallway today. Yes, we encouraged her, but she looked runnerish!
Doppler has developed a strange behavior. It has to do with a “Busy Bone.”
Doppler has developed a strange behavior. It has to do with a “Busy Bone.”
Busy bone chewbone treat with the meaty middle. Its delicious taste and fun twisted bone shape make Busy Bone the perfect alternative to rawhide chews. Some pet behaviourists have shown that toys and treats like Busy Bone also provide dogs with healthy outlets for acting upon their natural instinct to chew. – Busy Bone sales schpiel from Amazon
Doppler is small, but even the small dog size Busy Bone looks oversized when in her mouth. She used to take these bones and chew them up. That’s what dogs are supposed to do.
No more!
Doppler now treats the Busy Bone like some sort of companion or toy.
Last night’s 4:00 AM trip to the front lawn is typical of what’s going on. She showed up at the front door with the bone in her mouth as if it were a stogie!
She’s been taking it upstairs, leaving it on our bed or sometimes her bed in my office. She’s been taking it downstairs, parking it on the sofa or in her crate. The only thing she’s not doing with it is eating.
Her current Busy Bone is getting ready to enter day four. It’s uneaten, but well loved.
Four days must be some sort of Busy Bone record!
