Happy Birthday Gus!

Gus turns seven years old today! (Or 49 in people years.)

Gus On Vacation

The nasty Maine winters were getting to Gus so he is vacationing in Aruba. Lucky dog.

Snowy Beach

Pancreatitis

Gus has been diagnosed with pancreatitis. The blue bandage is covering the catheter for his IV fluids. Gus spent nine hours at the vet yesterday hooked up to an IV. He is home now and although he is tired, he is on the mend. We knew something was wrong when he didn't want to eat anything, including treats! Luckily he was diagnosed in time and should be better soon.

A Cozy Spot

The Moon Over The Beach

Fall

Better Than Coffee

Sleeping On Pillows

Night Swimming

Sunrise Shadows

"Sun"day

Still Life With Gus

Haiku: Gus vs. The Skunk

Gus got sprayed by a mean skunk
Emergency bath
Ashamed, he mopes on the bed

For Sale

Gus wants to rent this little shack on the beach. He likes the idea of me taking the door off so he could run free on the beach all day. (I don't have the heart to tell him this shack is just an out building belonging to a much bigger house that most likely is a bit out of my price range.)

Low Tide

Tug O' War

The Sunrise

Foggy Morning

Getting Dirty At The Beach

Today Gus went in the water up to his belly, (he typically just gets his paws wet.) After going in the ocean he ran and rolled in the sand until he was good and dirty. Thankfully he has the cleaning tendencies of a cat and was spotless within a few hours.

Responsibility

The Beach, Saturday Morning

There is a lot of action at the beach on Saturday morning. Boats, people, and lots of dogs. Possibly more dogs than people. If the dogs were smarter they could most likely take over the humans on the beach. Although you could just yell "sit!" and that would end the madness. . . . most likely.

Gus vs. The Chipmunk

This past weekend Gus spent the day at my parent's house in New Hampshire while I attended a BBQ. While outside, Gus spotted a chipmunk and chased it into a hole. Frustrated, Gus made an attempt to fit down the hole too. Luckily, my father was able to snap these pictures:

A Better View

How do you expect a dog to look at the ocean if he can't see over the railing?

Mobile Post: Haircut

Gus got groomed today. The groomer did a great job and Gus is much more comfortable now that it's warming up. Gus looks like a different dog after a shave-down; he turns into a puppy.

Mobile Post: The Breakwater

Yesterday Gus and I walked to the Spring Point Lighthouse. Gus enjoyed jumping from rock to rock as we walked on the breakwater, (I thought it was fun too.)

Mobile Post: Steps

These steps take you from Willard Beach to the SMCC campus. Gus like to walk up steps.

Mobile Post: Snaggletooth

Gus's teeth a quite straight with the exception of one on his lower jaw that grew in at a funny angle. He refused to get braces when he was a pup so now his upper lip gets caught on his snaggletooth sometimes.

Mobile Post: Working Like A Dog

I went into work today to pick up my laptop and I brought Gus in to see were I go every day during the week. Gus instantly noticed the picture of himself I had posted among my team's stats.

Robinson Woods

Gus and I took a nice walk in Robinson Woods this evening. Robinson Woods is a series of trails in Cape Elizabeth that is highly wooded and rough. Gus enjoys walking up and down hills and stepping over fallen trees, not to mention peeing on each one of these fallen trees. I brought my GPS with me so I could then overlay the data on a Google map of the area to see what our path looks like. We followed the outer loop trail which, based on the GPS data, is exactly 1.5 miles. Check out our path (this link is broken, sorry) courtesy of the constellation of 24 satellites in the sky, paid for by your tax dollars.

Note: You can zoom in and out with the buttons on the left side of the map. You can also change the type of map with the drop-down selection on the top-right.

Mobile Post: The Portland Headlight

Gus and I are relaxing at one of our favorite spots, The Portland Headlight. Gus went to the vet yesterday to have his leg checked out- the doctor suggested he not run on the beach for a week to allow his leg to heal. So today we are going to enjoy some low-impact relaxing.

Mobile Post: Sunrise

Gus ran around a lot this morning. After chasing a dog for a while, he stopped all of a sudden and held his front left paw up. . . .he must have twisted it. We slowly limped home and now he is resting on his bed trying to sleep it off.

Mobile Post: Relaxing On A Sunday

Mobile Post: A New Bed For Gus

Gus ordered a dog bed from L.L. Bean a few weeks ago and it arrived this week. I didn't even know he knew how to spell his name- he is even smarter than I thought.

Mobile Post: Paw Prints In The Sand

Gus was one of the first dogs on the beach this morning, (based on the lack of paw prints in the sand.)

Mobile Post: Is That The Sun?

We saw the sun this morning for the first time in five days; my vitamin D levels have returned to normal.

Gus Gets A Bath

I gave Gus a bath today. . . .he doesn't really care for the bath much. When he is actually getting the bath he just stands there waiting patiently for you to finish. He usually shakes a couple times but other than that he is very mellow in the tub.
The fun starts when he gets out of the bath. I attempt to dry him off as much as possible but he usually is able to escape my grasp- it is at this point the he turns into "Crazy Wet Dog." The video below is about 30 seconds of "Crazy Wet Dog." Keep in mind, this is an edited version. . . .the uncut version goes on for minutes. Enjoy!

Gus vs. The Gate: Recorded April, 2001

I could never figure out how Gus was able to get by the gate at the top of the stairs, so I set up the video camera to see. At the beginning of the video you can see Gus watch me go downstairs, once I am out of sight he begins his quest. Please note on his second attempt the horizontal crossbar is no longer on his side of the gate, eliminating a crucial foothold.

Mobile Post: The Calm Before The Storm

I return to work today after having the last three days off, today begins our normal workday schedule. Gus and I were on the beach by 6:30 this morning. He ran and ran and ran!

It is supposed to snow again today; I thought is was the middle of April. . . .

We Like The Beach

We sure have been to the beach a lot in the last few days. Before moving back east, Gus didn't make it to the beach much. Beaches around L.A. are not too dog friendly. They would rather reserve that sand-real estate for collagen-injected celebrities, (they only like dogs that can fit in a Fendi bag anyway.)

Baxter Woods

Gus and I just got back from a trip to Baxter Woods, one of Gus's favorite spots. Baxter Woods used to be our after work walk. Before heading to Baxter Woods, we made a stop at Planet Dog to pick up some Frontline now that we are back on the tick coast. I also got Gus a gourmet treat for later. We then hopped back in the car and headed to Baxter Woods. I am curious to know whether Gus will remember Baxter Woods, this will be the first place he's gone that he might remember- until now he is just in a new place. I parked in our normal spot and entered on Stevens Ave. The moment I unhooked the lead, Gus ran to his normal spot to take care of some business- exactly as he did two years ago. He knew every turn, and even went down the same path when the trail forked. Although there was still snow on the ground, Gus was full of energy and happy to be in the Woods again.

Mobile Post: On The Way To The Beach

Gus and I were walking to the beach today and we passed a house with this huge plastic cow on the front lawn. Notice the rope around it's neck tied to the tree, (so it doesn't run away?) Also notice the little cow on the roof above the garage. Weird. This post was sent using my cell phone, thus making this a "mobile post." This is how I will denote a post sent from my cell phone in the future.

Pro-Pet-Pictures

Here are a few pictures taken by the Pro-Pet-Transport drivers:

A Roadside Walk

Must Stay Hydrated

A Traveling Buddy

The Perfect Place To Stop For A Walk

Willard Beach

After a long nap Gus and I drove to Rite-Aid to get the pictures from his journey developed, (should be done in an hour.) We then headed for Willard Beach which will become our daily morning walk. There were a lot of dogs there so Gus was very busy introducing himself to the "townies." There was still snow on the ground although the sun was shining bright- making it feel much warmer than 36 degrees. We walked up and down the beach a few times, than I decided it was time to head home, (you've got to ease into a new workout regimen.)