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
Over the past few weeks Doppler has become a dirty dog. It’s one of the uglier effects of a Connecticut winter. Today the schmutz has been put in its place. Doppler got a furcut!
This not a walk-in event. Helaine carries her. Doppler is apprehensive as soon as she hears the other dogs–their sing-a-long already in progress.
The results make it worthwhile. She’s white. She’s fluffy. She weighs a less.
“Like velvet,” said Helaine, while softly stroking Doppler’s neck.
Like velvet, indeed.
There’s now a 40″ snow report from our town, Hamden. I can believe it. The snow is deeper than anything I’ve ever seen before and I lived in Buffalo for four years!
Of course this presents a logistical dilemma. Doppler is approximately short. Our snow piles are approximately ginormous.
We’d convinced Doppler to piddle on our top step, but that was as far as she’d go. Twenty four hours have passed since… well, you know.
Because of my back surgery last summer (how long will this excuse last) Helaine dug a trench then an arena. Doppler was pleased. Though she usually has a full lawn at her disposal (for her disposal) she was glad to get what she got.
Naming rights to Doppler’s arena are available to the highest bidder. Act now, hopefully it won’t be here long.
We are all creatures of habit, none more than Doppler. That’s especially true when it comes to her visits to the front lawn.
We’ve just come back from Doppler doing a number one. The expectation was a three (one plus two).
“She’s working the system,” Helaine said.
That’s because Doppler knows an excursion to the lawn is always followed by a treat.
Once we come back into the house and I remove her leash, Doppler sprints to the family room where she waits in her crate for the reward. If I take too much time, like today when I began to chat with Helaine, Doppler will come into the kitchen to better gauge the hold-up.
We all know the drill. Doppler stands under the edge of the kitchen table looking up, wistfully. As soon as I begin to take her treat from the bag she turns toward the family room and hits the accelerator. There’s not enough traction on the hardwood floor.
It’s a cross between Fred Flintstone’s feet and some ‘drifting’ from a Vin Diesel movie.
We’ve seen it a thousand times. It never gets old!
We took Doppler shopping today. She accompanied us to Ikea in a camo bag slung over Helaine’s shoulder. A sign on the door said only Service Dogs were allowed. Doppler is Secret Service, Undercover Division.
I’m guessing they wouldn’t have bought that excuse had anyone asked. No one did.
Doppler was exceptionally good. After a brief attempt to let her paws hang out she settled back and took in the Swedish.
There’s a video attached to this entry showing Doppler’s pre-excursion excitement. Hyperactivity is the exception, not the rule for our puppy.
It got me to thinking about a few of Doppler’s idiosyncrasies.
Doppler must walk on the right… or from her perspective, you must be left of her. I have no idea why.
Doppler’s faster than me walking stairs. She’ll patiently wait for me upstairs then let me pass her so she can circle around and be on the right! She does it every time.
When we go outside for a walk Doppler’s also always on the right. She is adamant, even if I forget.
Today, when I gave her a large dog bone shaped treat she picked it up in her mouth then circled from the family room to the kitchen to the hallway past the front door and back into the family room. She made this circuit at least five times as Helaine and I watched and wondered.
This is not the first time she’s taken a bone on the grand tour of our ground floor.
Are these behavioral traits she was born with? Did she learn them?
Doppler came to us already grown up. We’ll never know.
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.
Doppler’s low to the ground and only weighs about ten pounds. She is small. Winter is not her season!
Snow quickly melts and sinks deeply into her scruffy white coat. Her paws soak up moisture like a ShamWow!
As soon as snow accumulates more than an inch or two Helaine goes out and digs an arena in the front yard. I suspect nature would find a way for Doppler to do her business without it, but this seems more civilized.
Back in the house Doppler lays down and waits to be towel dried. Civilized goes both ways.
Good doggie.
Recently, I was asked to write an article for CT Pet Lovers. I thought I’d share it with you here.
Tomorrow marks one year since I sent an email to the Wallingford Animal Shelter. They had advertised a dog up for adoption via petfinder.com.
My wife and I are interested in adopting a dog. Could you tell us more about Mr Buttons – – age, size, temperament?
All the best,
Geoff Fox
Yeah, I know. Mr. Buttons? Not the perfect name.
As it turned out Mr. Buttons had already been adopted. We found that a lot on petfinder.com, nearly every dog we wrote about was no longer available.
No worries. There’s never a shortage of dogs waiting to be adopted at local shelters!
Here’s the email I got in response from Marci at the Wallingford shelter.
We do also have two Maltipoos, a male and a female, that are not online yet. We have not put them up yet because they needed a little TLC. They were abandoned, blocked in a baseball field dugout. They were very thin, their coats were matted to their skin and their nails were to the point of curling. The poor things were sad and scared. After a good bath and haircut, and a much needed pedicure, two new, happy dogs appeared!. They are the sweetest. They are socialable and love everyone. Their names are Wilbur (who is the smaller of the two) and Charlotte.
Helaine and I had already decided on our ideal dog. There weren’t many qualifications.
She… yes, our dog would be a girl… would need to be small enough to travel under an airline seat. We wanted a young dog, but not an outright puppy. Everyone wants a dog that’s house trained. Us too.
I headed to the shelter on Monday. That’s when I met the two dogs which would become Doppler and Bentley. Their temporary quarters was a bathroom where they were isolated from the other dogs waiting for homes.
I picked up Charlotte. It was love at first sight.
Helaine was a little apprehensive when I told her I’d found our dog. She knew it’s tough to hold a dog then say, “no.”
I committed to adopt Charlotte right then, but I was on my way to work. She would have to remain in the joint until Helaine and I could pick her up on Friday.
We did come back and it was love at first sight for Helaine too!
As I was to learn, bringing home a new puppy wasn’t terribly different than bringing home a baby. We headed to Petco and said “Fill ‘er up!”
Charlotte had become Doppler.
We set up sleeping areas and napping areas and relaxing areas and eating areas. Doppler quickly caught on. That first night she slept in the bed with Helaine and me.
There were a few accidents, but just a few. As it turned out we’d hit the dog lottery, Doppler was a house trained, non-food begging, non-shedding rescue!
We assume from her continued laid back demeanor, Doppler is just as happy to be here as we are to have her!
If you’re wondering what happened to Charlotte’s tiny brother, Wilbur, he became Bentley and was adopted the same day by our friends Cheryl and Steve.
And they all lived happily ever after.
Blogger’s note: When Helaine read this she noticed some errors relating to times and dates. The blog entry has been updated to correct the errors.
Doppler is scheduled to have her fur cut Tuesday. If we don’t keep up with regular cuts her coat gets matted–no good.
On the other hand, it’s this time in her fur growth cycle that Doppler looks cutest! Her fur separates into sections, like a Puli without the rope curl.
OK, maybe Puli is pushing it. For sure she looks like a shag rug!
She’s adorable. There’s no getting around it.
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.
We never thought of her as territorial. Maybe we misjudged?
There are three places to sit here and Doppler has spots on each. I am keeping her from her full rotation.
I have spent much of the last week laying on a sofa in the family room. It is the only one large enough for me to totally sprawl out–exactly what I need. Meanwhile, over the past few days we’ve noticed Doppler pacing uneasily.
We never thought of her as territorial. Maybe we misjudged?
There are three places to sit here and Doppler has spots on each. I am keeping her from her full rotation.
A while ago I got up for a bathroom break. Within 30 seconds Doppler was bedded down where my head had been. She is a calm puppy at the moment.
I have moved across the room. My feet are up on the sofa’s arm rest.
The things you do for love.
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.
