My dogs have a way of laying on the guilt trip. Whenever I put on my jacket to go out, my thirteen year old pug, Jelly, transforms from an arthritic perennial lounger to a pup at heart, hopping up and bounding about, tail wagging, barking. It’s her way of saying: “Finally! We’re going out! Allow me to lead the way!” And then parks herself in front of the door, waiting. If it isn’t immediately opened for her, she’ll glance back at me and bark, clearly annoyed. “Come on! What’s keeeping you?!”. There are times when I feel compelled to explain to her that every time I put on my jacket doesn’t necessarily mean I plan to take her for a walk. My other pug, Bubba, uses a more impassioned version of the same approach. He’ll spin and howl, happily jump and down. In contrast to Jelly’s more matter-of-fact “Yeah, we’re going out – as expected” attitude, Bubba opts for outrageous appreciation. “Oh, thankyouthankyouthankyou!”he’s no doubt saying. “You’re the greatest. Thank you so much for this walk.” And then adopts a quizzical head cocked, brow furrowed look when I shut the closet door without retrieving his leash. “Huh? Oh, I’m sorry. I mistook you for someone who cares.” And, finally, there’s my french bulldog Lulu who prefers the more subtle approach. She’ll just park herself in front of the big window and stare longingly out at the street. “Yes, sirree,”her little tableau seems to say. “Sure would be nice to go out for a walk. Yep. That’d be mighty nice.”
In addition to taking them out to the backyard, we make it a point to walk all three dogs every day – weather permitting. And, if the weather is especially nice – like it was yesterday – one dog will be treated to a special excursion. Yesterday, it was Bubba’s turn to go out and about. We took him downtown so he could ham it up for passersby, then over to Granville Island where he showed some seagulls who was boss.
When we got home, he was so excited he actually took on the usually dominant Lulu, leaving her totally bewildered.
And, to reveal the big mystery in yesterday’s blog – that picture Akemi drew besides Bubba’s name was not his rear end (as I assumed), but his tooth. It was a reminder that Bubba had to go in for his dental today. They removed two teeth and sent him home – groggy but as hungry as ever. Below, my post-op boy –
While Bubba was at the vet’s and the ladies were home missing him, I was on a conference call with my writing partner and agents. Over the course of our conversation, we discussed the game plan: Dark Matter, the pilot, the horror script, in addition to a number of opportunities. Paul and I have decided to pull the trigger on one, a near-future mini-series that we begin spinning next week, and have more in depth discussions about a fantasy pilot that, should all go as planned, will go to series here in Vancouver. But, of course, this being show business, nothing ever goes as planned.
Speaking of plans, I hear that some of you are coming to town for a Renaissance Fair or Farscape covention (or something). Will I be running into any familiar faces downtown? If so, be sure to come armed with dog treats!
Can you imagine having two teeth pulled and then running around like Bubba? Dogs are so cool. 🙂 One more Riley (who is now Buggybug to me and Squishy to Lauren) picture and I’m off to bed, got my butt kicked again today by 14 lb (gained 2 lb this week) of puppy. 😉
http://i656.photobucket.com/albums/uu284/pbugsmom/RileyandLauren020.jpg
Hi, Joe,
Curious to know if you’ve seen Neil Patrick Harris’s Food Porn twitter account (@NPHFoodPorn)? Some really interesting meal being had by him and his partner. Between you and NPH my list of restaurants to visit before I die just keeps getting longer.
@ Deni – I can see Riley growing! He already looks bigger, older. Such a cutie!
Bubba is a tough pup! I don’t envy you the “guilt stares”. Our cats don’t beg for walks but my big cat begs for food. This diet is hard for both of us.
Deni: Riley is very cute!
Narelle: My little Sony PRS-300 died but I found a PRS-T1 for $40.00 off. It’s pretty sweet!
Our day in Downtown Memphis was fun. I went to this bakery I’ve heard about, Muddy’s Bake Shop. Sadly, they didn’t have macarons but the cupcakes were good. It was nice taking a day off.
Plus, I got my brother’s kindle replaced. Amazon exchanged the defective one with no problems. I had it mailed to me so I could set up the new one with my Wi-Fi and then mailed it to my brother. If anyone is thinking of a Kindle for a gift make sure whoever gets it has Wi-Fi access. Lesson learned.
Off to download Dark Matter #4!
My baby does something like that when she wants to go out, too — waiting by the door or rushing me usually. She tries to get herself dressed, too, and she gets tangled up or frustrated so that forces the decision to help her or take the clothing away.
—-
I knew it was a tooth.
Hey Joe,
💜Love💜 reading about the pups. The pictures are wonderful as always. Akemi is 😊cute as ever. One day I may actually see one of those cookies and try them out.
I have three of the four Dark Matter comics. I’m looking forward to having the complete set.
Hope you enjoy a 🌹beautiful🌹 weekend with your sweet family.
Best to you Joe,
Always,
Cheryl🌸
@
Miss MannersSparrowhawk – Thank you…but…WHY DIDN’T YOU STOP ME??!*Note to self: Keep yer fat mouth shut, das, and no one will be the wiser about how nutso you are. 😛
@ Tam Dixon – Could we work that armed guard thing around my nap schedule? 😉
@ Deni – Squishy is just too cute for words! Also, she needs a new soccer ball. 😉
@ Bubba – Go Bubba, Go!!
@ Akemi – Your English is as charming as you are. 🙂 Don’t let Joey make fun of you – OR fool you – it’s probably one of the things he loves best about you. It’s like my husband, who was born into the English language. He butchers idioms (“Never bite the foot that feeds the hand” – honest, he said that during a department meeting at work) and even makes up his own words (“Crippletize” – as in, “Careful, don’t crippletize yourself”) – and it’s one of the things I love the most about him. I find it endearing.
@ Joey – Yesterday while walking along the beach with my friend, I mentioned that I considered myself reserved, and she busted out laughing. With her Michigan accent and laid back delivery, she said, “Honey, if you look up the word ‘reserved’ in the dictionary, your picture will NOT be there.”
I’m totally disillusioned about myself now. 😛
das
All the best to you in your new endeavors Joe! As we all know showbiz never goes as planned, i.e. SGA 🙁 but here’s to hoping for the best.
Love the doggie pics!
@Das: The soccer ball is Elway’s and its name is Bopbop. He loves to play soccer and score many goals.:) He has 5 other soccer balls out there, no worries! Looks like we’ll have another soccer player in the family. 🙂 I keep a broom on the back patio and Riley has decided that it’s the best toy ever. Last night, she dragged it in the house, through the dining room, into the living room and finally into the bedroom so she could sleep with it. My house is a mess but I’m having a blast!
Aren’t dogs great at the guilt trips? Keeps us on our toes.
We’ll be out to Vancouver in mid to late June with the new pup (and doggie treats!). Any interesting events in Vancouver happening around then?
@das: Do you send me your comments for pre-screening? Eh? Well?
As for no one knowing how nutso you are: too late; that horse is out of the barn. And we like to think of it as ‘charmingly eccentric’.
@Joe: Doggie guilt trips. Mine is an expert, too. She’s been giving me the cold shoulder all morning ever since I tried to clean her teeth this morning. She was not amused.
Good luck with that fantasy series!
Who’s heading to Vancouver? Did I miss something? Vancouver probably isn’t on my short list for this summer. But things could change. I may be going to Seattle and Vancouver is a (relatively) short drive from there. And I almost always have dog treats in my pockets.
🐶A dog is the only thing on earth that 💜loves💚 YOU more than he loves himself.
~Josh Billings
It looks precisely like a tooth!
Loved the video.
OK…cannot resist saying to Akemi and Joe – regarding the pix of Akemi and the macarons from Bel….I want!
oh…that sounded like something Das said for the chocolates.
Thanks Das….great inspiration.
Actually, I wudda gladly accepted and been happy with the “blue poopy” versions…LOL. What kind of filling did you guys put in those?
As others have stated…
TO JOE….thanks for your blog and the laughs and opportunity to laugh!
@ Deni – Awwwwww! I think we need a picture of that! (The broom thing, I mean.)
@ Joey – Captain Jack Sparrowhawk’s pickin’ on me!!! (Yeah, yeah…she does have a valid point, but STILL! )
@ Sparrowhawk – 😛 (I sure hope by ‘charmingly eccentric’, you don’t mean it in a great aunt Cornelia kinda way. 😉 )
das
@ sylvia – You’re welcome! (At least I inspired something other than stomach cramps and a frantic run to the bathroom. 😛 )
das
Hey Joe!
I won’t be in town for the convention, bit I WILL be there starting this week on Tuesday! I’ll be in Vancouver until Friday as a stopover break on my trip back from Australia. I might not have have any dog treats with me so I’ll have to take them out for a steak or something.