Science World Park

I'm kind of late posting this, since Louise was in the office on Tuesday and it's already Friday. But we have been busy at home so I haven't had the most time to put into blogging. We went over to Science World (I refuse to call it Telus World of Science (Telus!)) so that she could romp in the park for a while.

It was a good day for photos, and a good day for a walk. By the time we got back to the office, Louise was pretty tired and settled down easily, which is pretty good for me if I want to get work done.

Louise was pretty happy to be in the office, since I was sick the week prior on her day and she didn't come in. I have a feeling she would like to here today though, since we have a new dog in the office, named Bosco. He is a brindle coloured Staffordshire with a lot of energy. But then again, that might be a recipe for a lot of barking. Best to stick to the one dog per day policy I guess.

Stealing Focus

Tonight's walk was a little earlier and a little shorter than usual because I wasn't feeling the best. But we did make it down to the sea wall and caught the sun as it set over the harbour. At one point Louise and I were sitting on a bench so I could rest and take a few pictures when she decided to get her face into the photo.

This is not like her. She normally 'puts up' with my camera at best.

Anyhow, I took the photo and sure enough she had a satisfied expression on her face. The buildings are blurry because my camera automatically focused on her face instead. Not that I mind, I would have focused it that way myself.

Davie Day

This Saturday was Davie Day, a celebration that shuts down Davie Street along a stretch of about ten blocks. There were vendors, politicians, charity organizations and more all set up in booths lining the street. Most importantly, there was a pay by donation dog bathing service.

We quickly signed up.

Louise was due for a bath, and how could we say no? There was even a waiting line of other dogs who had already paid for their turn. Most of the owners were giggling to themselves because their dogs could see what was up and also that there was nowhere to run. Luckily for us, Louise doesn't mind baths so long as you can keep water out of her face.

The volunteers were also pleased to see a smaller dog come by as the last few were larger and hairier than Louise, which meant a lot more work. After getting cleaned up, we toured the street and then headed home.

Cheering up an Angel

While walking past Bark and Fitz recently, we happened to notice Angel sleeping at the door. It turns out that she really likes to sun herself - something that Louise assumed was just cat behaviour so far, since both of our cats like that habit.

This was not a stop where we could get treats though, at least not on this particular visit. We recently changed Louise's food and since then she has had a little trouble adjusting to it. 

It meant that one night was sleepless for her and us and now we are watching to make sure that things are returning back to

 normal. Nothing too worrisome, but certainly not the environment where treats and other stuff should be added to the mix. Maybe after her digestive system settles down a bit.

Still, it was a nice morning for a walk and Louise had fun meeting Angel. 

Half a day's work

I took the morning off work on Louise's day in the office so that meant she was here for only half of the day. I think that animals get used to a routine because when it was time to leave, she was clearly impatient, like she knew she was late or something. She literally could not wait to get outside and on the way.

Of course, once we were here it was the usual routine of visiting people in the kitchen, waiting to go outside for a walk and of course, napping. She tries so hard to stay awake some days but never quite makes it.

Hot weekend

Okay, my wife would probably disagree, but according to Louise, this weekend was pretty hot, especially inside. I don't think it ever got past 'tolerable' but there were several times when we had a hot pug laying on the floor trying to feel some of the coolness. This first shot was taken at Barclay Park as Louise and I stuck to shady streets. Oh yeah! I almost forgot to mention that she jumped into the fountain. Luckily there was only about an inch of water so it was all good - just cooled off her paws a bit.

We were also trying to get some things done around the house and that included selling a few chairs (among other things.) The cats were not too pleased at all to lose several of their favorite spots and at one point Louise took up residence on our (soon to be demolished) cat tower. Well, not entirely demolished, but I did give up and remove the top piece pictured here simply because it gathered too much pet hair over time and was hard to clean. We will probably figure out something else that is less messy for the future.

Sit down protest

Louise has her own way of communicating with us. She usually only barks when she is excited, so if she is not enthused over something, we have to look for other cues. For example, if she doesn't feel like going on her regular walk, or if we are going in a direction away from the pet store, she will sometimes do a 'sit down protest' where she basically refuses to move. I've seen the same thing near the entrance to our condo when she doesn't want to go inside yet. Usually she can be coerced if need be. But she's pretty clear at getting her point across.

On the flip side, sometimes I am the one who is feeling tired while walking and I want to sit on a bench for a bit. Louise will usually sit with me until she is ready to resume walking. This typically gives me a minute or two before she gets restless, at which point she will no longer be content to sit on the bench, or really anywhere at all. If I don't get up right away, she will sometimes sigh heavily to express her impatience.

Bridge Crossing at Lunch Time

Today was fairly typical for Louise and I as we headed into the office. We arrived at the normal time, we took our lunch walk at the normal time, we even walked along the same route as usual. Nothing much out of the ordinary.

Sometimes 'Ordinary' is just all right.

Louise is starting to get more comfortable around the office people and less dependent on being around me all the time. In fact, she is at the point where I can be quite boring. Yes, as shocking as that sounds, it is true. But that's okay because she never wanders far and the other employees enjoy her visits.

As I mentioned, we took our walk along our usual route along the newly constructed sea wall for the Olympic Village. It's still pretty noisy, since construction is still well under way for many of the new condo buildings but the walkway itself has been open to the public for a while now. We went as far as the bridge (I'm sure it has a name, but I haven't bothered to look it up) and noticed they have installed some chairs in places. Just as we ordinarily do, we then turned around and headed back to the office. Which was just fine by us.