The Third Dog

Harry Lime.  Harry Houdini.  Prince Hal.  The Harry Monster.  How can it be that he joined our household back in February and I've just gotten around to posting about him?  Was I worried that it wouldn't take?

And "joined", with its implications of harmony and melding, surely isn't the word to describe his coming.  No, Harry landed in this family like the Marines on Guadalcanal.  We were overrun.

The introduction of Izzy two years prior had schooled us, sometimes the hard way, in the finer points of adding a dog to Sadie's house, the finest being that you can't take things too slowly.  We knew not to rush this time, but what we didn't know was how easy Izzy had made it for us.  Unable to climb the stairs, he never invaded Sadie's turf before she was ready.  And his ready deference on every topic kept arguments between them short and one-sided.  A few bumps in the road, but soon the kingdom was peaceable once again.  Two years on and their relationship has a sweetness that we all savor.

But Harry?  Oh Harry.  Sadie brooks no insolence, and Harry is the soul of it.  In her face all the time, and "what's your problem, sister?"  It'll be fine we kept telling ourselves, more prayer than conviction.  And so it is.  Very fine.

Bringin' it all back home

The beach, that is.

I went to the woods . . .

. . . because I wished to live deliberately. -- Henry David Thoreau

. . . to chase my sister. -- Izzy

The Bot Speaks

What I Did On My Summer Vacation, by Isadore Levine

Summer is very hot.  Especially at the beach.  Especially if you're wearing a black fur coat.

Me, on the beach, inappropriately attired.

In spite of the fact that my brain was baking, I learned a trick.  I learned to jump onto my foamy box and sit there.

Makin' it look easy.

The best thing about learning a trick is that you get lots of treats.

Queen of all she surveys

A 9.5 from the German judge

Izzy's a jumper, a springbok in a dog suit.  Call him, and he'll run at you full speed and launch himself into the air about six feet from where you're standing.  He flies toward you looking straight into your eyes, mouth wide open, four legs splayed in five directions. Just as your amygdala screams "Duck!"  to the rest of your brain, he lands at your feet, finishing with a perfect sit. He always sticks the landing.

Ecce canis!

A Night to Remember

Izzy turns two today.  Today-ish; we don't know his exact birthdate, but April 15th is the date his namesake, Isidor Straus, went down with the Titanic.  Isidor's wife Ida was lost too, because she refused to board a lifeboat without her husband.  "I'm not getting in the boat," she was heard to say, or more probably, "Ich komme im Boot nicht!"  Now that's liebe.

Izzy's original name was Colby.  We changed it to Isadore because he is adorable.  And because, like the Strauses, he knows how to love.  And because no self-respecting dog wants to be named after a cheese.  Unless it's Wensleydale.