Dogs and Babies: A Refreshing Wake Up

WARNING: Long, but informative, post alert. Take the time to read it if you have a dog and a baby (or are expecting a baby!).

I'm sure this comes as no surprise to those of you who follow this blog that I am completely obsessed with my pitbull mix, Moe. I've said it before, and I'll say it now (and I'll say it again!): he is one of the true loves of my life. He is everything a good dog should be: sweet, kind, gentle, playful when the time calls for it, mellow when he needs to be.

It should also come as no surprise then that I am incredibly defensive of my dog and his pitbull heritage (my friend Trav is rolling his eyes at this I'm sure; incredibly defensive doesn't even BEGIN to cover it).

I feel the plight of the pitbull owner is one of defensive education. No, my dog is not inherently bad. Yes, I trust him and he trusts me. No, he will not try to eat my child when we bring him home from the hospital (by the way, I know most people are joking when they say things like this, but I don't find it funny; I actually find it completely rude... Yup, wasn't lying about being defensive; I should probably calm down a bit).

So, on Tuesday, when I attended a class offered by our hospital (aptly titled, "Dogs and Babies: Play It Safe"), I went in with my protective attitude. Having worked with and spent time with children AND my dog simultaneously, I can honestly say Moe likes kids. Thus, I was surprised when the following happened.

Our instructor, Madeline Gabriel: "How many of you here believe your dog is capable of biting a child?" Two hands out of almost 20 went up. Only two (and mine was not one of them). Her response: "By the end of this class, I am hoping that every hand in this room, no matter your dog's personality or breed, goes up. Because EVERY dog is capable of biting a child."

I should mention that she gave us some stats at the beginning about dog bites and maulings, and it should be mentioned that when it comes to "family dogs" mauling or killing the children in their families, it is very RARE for it to actually be a true "family dog." Unfortunately, in the media, when these stories are reported, they use that term, but many of them are dogs that are not socialized with family members; they're kept in the garage or outside, essentially removed from the lives of their "owners." I feel it's also important to know that 50% of all children in the U.S. will be bit by a dog before they turn 18 and that (quoting directly here) "because young children under age five present their faces to dogs, when they get bitten, 77% of the time it is to the face or head, leaving little margin for error."

The most interesting thing she said, however, was, "We care about dog bites to children because children are vulnerable and dogs pay with their lives." We live in a society where cute dog and baby interactions are rewarded, but it's setting both parties up for possible failure.

The following is a bulleted rundown of some of the things she covered. I'm probably going to do a horrible job of it, but I cannot recommend her wisdom, training, website and blog enough. If you live in the San Diego area, are delivering a baby at Sharp Mary Birch and love your dog, take this course! 

Avoid the "Curse of the Good Dog."  
I am probably the most guilty of this, but as I mentioned, I am constantly trying to convince people that my dog is a good dog. However, one thing Madeline mentioned is that if you are completely, 100% convinced that your dog would NEVER bite a child, you can be blinded to their possible warning signs that they are uncomfortable. To quote her directly, "Children who grow up with a 'good dog' are often allowed to take more liberties with that good dog." And at the end of the day, as much as we want to convince ourselves that are dogs are like us, they are DOGS. They are animals. Some dogs are much more tolerant than others, but that does not mean they do not have a tipping point. She put it in this perspective: Imagine you're at the grocery store and someone is standing directly behind you in line, thus violating your personal space. At first you might turn to them and shoot them a "what the hell are you doing?" kind of look. If they continue to stand their and don't catch the signal you're giving them, you might say, "excuse me" in a rather firm tone. If at that point, they still haven't moved, you're probably gonna yell something like, "Hey, back the fuck off, you are right up on me!" Dogs do this too when they're uncomfortable in a situation, but they do not have the gift of language to communicate it directly and succinctly. As their owner, you're the best person to know if they are relaxed or on edge. 

Know and help your dog. 
She encourages dog owners (before their babies arrive) to really know their dog's body language, because each one is going to be unique. They're going to have their own experiences, tolerate different noises, behaviors and situations... it is very important to remember that one dog's relaxation behavior might be another's worried behavior! You can tell when your dog is happy and relaxed, and when they're unhappy or worried. In recognizing these signals that they're displaying, you can help train your dog to have a wider range of relaxed expectations. Example, maybe your dog startles easily. Before you have a baby, it's not too big of a deal, but think about how much noise a baby makes. A baby throws things on the ground, screams, cries, acts wild; it's what children do! Thus, knowing this about your dog can help you train them to be more relaxed with the situation before it actually happens.

Know and help your baby.
Babies and children are curious about the world around them (as they should be)! Knowing this, realize that you can help your child avoid being mesmerized or fixated on your family dog. Have you ever been at the park or walking down the street and seen that kid who is all about your dog? "Doggie! Doggie!" is their usual calling card. Personally, I do adore this kid. I was this kid. You cannot fault a child for wanting to get close to some cute, fuzzy animal. However, take a step back from the adorable child and the dog you love, and look at the possibilities. This child is most likely going to come at your dog the way they would another person: head on. Face to face. In the animal kingdom, that sort of approach is actually a threatening behavior, so you're putting your dog in a situation that he or she is unsure of and your setting up this sweet, innocent child for a good (or very bad) experience. Here's another thing about babies and toddlers: they're tactile beings. They want to feel and touch and experience everything with their hands and feet. They're also gaining more muscle control by the second. Ever held a baby and had them suddenly grab onto your hair with the force of a kung fu master? I know I have. Now imagine you're a dog and being pet by a baby and that baby is petting you gently... until it decides to grab your fur with all its "holy hell, how is it possible you're this strong" strength. Some dogs have a higher tolerance for this behavior, but others don't and why should they be subjected to the whims of a baby who is innocently doing what babies do. Essentially, don't set your child up to be able to engage in this kind of behavior with dogs and instill respect in a dog's personal space from the get-go.

Understand that most dogs simply tolerate babies and toddlers until the age of 5.
Your dog loves you. Your dog may or may not love your baby the way you think or hope they will, and that's OK! Madeline was saying that until a child turns 5, it is difficult for them to fully participate in the kinds of scenarios that make your dog love you (feeding, playing, walking, etc.). Also, take into account what a dog goes through when a new baby is introduced to the family. You're sleep deprived? Well, so is your dog. I find I'm much more cranky when I haven't gotten a full night's sleep, and people should realize that the same things apply to their dog. Another thing I'd like to point out is that we were shown a diagram of the rate that "issues" between babies and dogs occur. There's initially a "what is going on" period at the onset, but for the first couple months, babies and dogs get in a good routine. It's around the time that crawling and walking start to happen that these issues spike, due to the fact that it's unfamiliar territory for both the child and the animal.

Ok... Anyone still there? Honestly, I have not even begun to cover a quarter of the stuff I learned in this Dog's and Babies class, and I feel I may have done a horrible job of succinctly conveying what I did. If you're reading along and some "a ha!" moments are happening for you like they did for me, please check out Dogs and Babies Learning for all the accurate, informative and amazing deets.

You may commence with your weekend.

If You've Ever Loved a Pet and Had to Say Goodbye

I'm not gonna lie... the below video is not necessarily one I would call happy. But in its own way, it is all about happiness and our pets and the unconditional love they provide us.

A friend from college posted this earlier today and I am almost certain I have never cried so hard at a video or film or movie as I did watching this six minute short. For me, it encapsulates all that it is to be a pet owner: the indescribable joy they bring you, the support they provide when you feel like not a single human in the world understands you, the fear and sadness of recognizing the inevitable fact that they will likely die before you no matter how much you wish and hope to the contrary.


Last Minutes with ODEN from Eliot Rausch + Phos Pictures on Vimeo.

Of course, I say all this knowing that Moe will live forever no matter what. He just has to.

What Can Happen in 9 Years

For the last 2 years, I've been saying to Kyle, "This is our year. This is totally gonna be our year." Friends, 2010 was NOT our year and 2011 was DEFINITELY not our year... but for once, I'm thinking 2012 might actually be the ticket.

Today is special to me for a couple reasons. One, before Kyle and I got married and had an "official" anniversary of June 20th, we had our anniversary of just being together (you know, the whole exclusivity, off-the-market game). Today marks nine years. Nine years! That's almost a decade, which is almost a third of my life of being with the same person.

Kyle and I met the first day we moved into the dorms freshman year. I introduced myself to him along with two other guys (who still happen to be some of my best friends to this day), but only walked away remembering his name (sorry, Trav and Jacob! I've got it now!). I feel I should mention here that I was dating someone else at this point. We were together the entirety of my fall quarter and he lived a couple hours south, so we did the long distance thing.

All I can say about that boyfriend is that he was one of the sweetest, funniest guys I have ever known... I could not say a single bad thing about him if I tried. But sometimes sweet and funny is not enough, right?

I spent a lot of time with Kyle (and Trav and Jacob), though just as friends. We had a sociology class at an ungodly early hour with the pudgiest Indian teacher known to man, so we'd meet beforehand at the dining commons and have breakfast (we eloquently called it "Breakfast Club"). On Tuesdays, bagels were served and Thursdays, donuts. Kyle really liked Thursdays.

I started to realize how much I looked forward to waking up at the crack of dawn every Tuesday and Thursday morning.

Fall quarter came to an end shockingly fast and during winter break, while snug in my bed in Laguna, I had a dream. I dreamed that Kyle and I were hanging out on a couch holding hands and when I woke up, I remember feeling so calm and peaceful that I started to get a nervous tight feeling in my stomach. The nervousness came from realizing that this dream in my head felt so right in my gut, but seemed sticky when I considered reality. Breaking up with my boyfriend became a thought I seriously began to consider, not because I wanted to "trade him in for Kyle" or anything like that, but because I knew dreaming and thinking of this guy, who I had come to think of as one of my best friends, hinted at feelings that were not necessarily... platonic?

So I ended it with my boyfriend, which was hard because I couldn't give him any good reason for it. I figured if it was meant to happen with Kyle, it was meant to happen and I kind of sat back and relaxed about the whole thing.

Little did I know, Trav and Jacob (yes, the same two from the very beginning!) had heard of the breakup, sat Kyle down and told him to go for it (it being me, I guess?). My husband used to be a very shy guy, so they had to assure him they thought it was mutual.

They really had to assure him.

And luckily for me, he listened... and made a move on January 17, 2003 (the man's no Rico Suavé, but I can remember every detail of it, which I will not be sharing here, and it is a very sweet memory).

Here's the thing about having a blog: you get to filter every bit of your life that you write about. It's easy for me to talk about the love and the happy moments and sweet memories, but it's also easy to ignore the hard stuff, the gritty things people can gloss over when they talk about their daily lives.

Being with the same person for nine years has been no easy task because, let's face it, relationships and marriage are not easy! They take hard work and effort on both parts, forgiveness and acceptance and constant reminders of the good, the great, the love that's there at the root of it all. Focusing on the reasons you fell in love with a person is sometimes more difficult than dwelling on the things that drive you crazy about them. But if you can, if you can force yourself as often as you can to concentrate on the positives, relationships can really be an amazing, synergetic thing.

I guess what I'm trying to say is, thanks for putting up with my bullshit all these years, Kyle... it sure has been fun putting up with yours!  ;)  I love you, honey.

The other reason this date holds significance in my life is that it is the day we officially welcomed Moe into our little family! I've already told you the story of how we found him and decided he was "the one," but I haven't told you about the buildup toward his official appearance.

 

We met him and his foster parents at an adoption fair outside of Centinela Pet Feed at the very beginning of 2009. It was a set appointment through Forte Animal Rescue and apparently 7 other people/couples had already tried to get him. His fosters were a discriminating couple, and didn't want to give him to just ANYONE (this is a good thing, because sometimes the people who want pitbulls want them for the wrong reason); they didn't get the right feeling with any prior visitors. Luckily, they felt good about us, and once they had done a house inspection and he had met the neighbor dogs, we set his "move in" date for two weeks later.

I was in New York for work the entire week leading up to his arrival, and while I do love myself some Big Apple, the days dragged by because I knew what the end of the week held for me: my dog, Moe.

The plane ride home was excruciating. Since it was our six year anniversary, I swung by the grocery store on my way back to the apartment to grab a bottle of champagne in order to toast our togetherness and as a celebratory welcome to our new furry family member.

His fosters dropped him off, which I know was not easy for them; he had been a part of their little family for four months and they had grown to love him. It wasn't easy for Moe either. He was depressed (and I mean DEPRESSED) for about three weeks. He moped around our apartment and sometimes had to be goaded into getting out of bed.

It was like living with the pitbull version of Judy Garland, minus the major drug and alcohol problem.

I don't know when it clicked for him that he could be happy with us, but it did, and since then, he's never stopped smilin' and he's never looked back.

So you see, what seems like an innocuous date to some is truly a huge one for me. It is the day two of my soulmates came into my life to stay. For good.

And I am forever grateful for January 17.

Christmas Card Failure

I have a confession to make: this was the first year I dropped the ball on sending out Christmas cards in nine years. Nine years!

It started my freshman year of college. During my free time between classes, I'd often meander through the UCSB Bookstore looking at books and tchotkes and sweat pants. It was a relaxing and enjoyable ritual, and I always got a bit excited when the week after Thanksgiving rolled around. Why? The arrival of the holiday cards, of course! It would take a few days to weed through my favorites and eventually select "the one," but I truly looked forward to it and loved sending them out to my family and friends.

Once Kyle and I got married in 2009, I figured it was acceptable to start sending out photo cards. He cried and moaned and bellyached the entire time (although you couldn't tell from the finished product):

It was such an intolerable experience the year before (what with all the arm twisting and pathetic pleading on my part), I decided to make Moe the star of 2010's Christmas card. He's much more photogenic than either of us anyhow and he thoroughly enjoyed his photo shoot at the beach.

Really, just a great looking dog, am I right?!

And finally we come to 2011. I thought my holiday season was already crazy and stressful, so why not put myself through mild hell and try to get Kyle to take another "family" photo? Why not?

A friend agreed to suffer with us, and after hundreds of shots of Kyle complaining and making the faces you'd think only a preschooler could come up with, we had a winner! I even went so far as to design the card... all I had to do was print it on cardstock and seal it in envelopes. That's all I had to do.

If you haven't caught on (and I am a little worried for you if that's the case), no printing or sealing or mailing happened this year. I even gave myself some wiggle room by making it a "New Year's" card. Alas, the farther we plod into 2012, the more ridiculous it seems to send this out. I think my holiday card ship has sailed.

It doesn't mean I can't share it here though, right? I figure enough of the people who would have received it via the US Postal Service read this blog, and I'll allow those who don't to just believe they didn't make the list this year. Serves them right, the unsupportive bastards!

I kid. I kid! We all know I excommunicate all from my life who don't read Running Into Screen Doors... because there is some Pulitzer Prize-worthy writing going on up in here. Pulitzer Prize-worthy.

Happy weekend, everyone, and of course, happy 2012!

Hipster Puppies and Hipster Moe

In case you missed it, Hipster Puppies came out with a book a couple months ago, which inspired me to come up with a list of "Hipster Moe" quotes.

For those of you who don't know about this wonderful site (and now wonderful book), dog owners take a photo of their dog with or sans a "too cool for school" look, as well as a quote that hints towards their hipster nature. It's equal parts mockery, dress up and showing photos of one's cute dog, so of course you know I'm all over it. 

Here is a quick breakdown of my favorite "Hipster Moe" quotes (the last four were created by my dear friend, Matt Mong (a high falutin' lawyer, by some standards)):

“Moe would most likely never forgive Elle for sitting on and crushing his favorite fedora.”

“Moe’s favorite activity at Outside Lands was critiquing the Urban Outfitter wannabes.”

“Upon purchasing their latest LP at a concert, Moe admitted at the Broken Bells merch table that he had previously downloaded it illegally.”

“The best part of Moe’s unemployment and ultimate move-in with his parents was finding their secret stash.”

“After losing his ears in the ‘Great Vespa Crash of ’08,’ Moe took up hula hooping to Belle and Sebastian to get his groove back.”

“Moe was a lover of all things Scandinavian.”

“Moe’s go-to party trick was reciting Shel Silverstein’s ‘The Giving Tree.’ He swore to memorize ‘Where the Wild Things Are’ by Christmas.”

“When stressed, Moe colors with crayons and listens to Pinback.”

“Working at the co-op provided Moe with the steady income he needed to get his blog, Quaalude Junction, up and running.”

“Moe was pissed upon realizing his mooch roommate had thrown out this season’s Free People catalog.”

“Moe made it a priority to put the unopened “Franny and Zooey” dead center on his coffee table.”

“If he ever finds the balls to do it, Moe swears he’s going to move to the countryside and live in a yurt.”

“Moe walked to the grocery store to save bus fare, but spent $15 on a slice of specialty cheese from upstate New York.”

“One day, Moe was going to get a shark tattooed on the bottom of his foot.”

“If you’re not gonna dress up for Rent at the Hollywood Bowl, don’t fucking come.”

“When he’s drunk enough, Moe admits he would give his left paw for the ability to grow a beard.”

“Moe feels a deep resonance with the LGBTQ community after taking a course on transgendered youths in college.”

“Moe prides himself on his vegetarian lifestyle, but can’t refrain when it comes to exotic, handmade sausages.”

“One trip to Seattle, and suddenly Moe was an expert on all things microbrew.”

“Moe loudly expresses his disdain for republicans and Fox News, but cannot carry a political conversation to save his life.”

“For fun, Moe likes hassling Kat Von D via Twitter.”

“Should his macaron store, Biscuit Shoppe, not pan out, Moe’s considering crafting furniture from reclaimed wood.”

“Moe never drinks soda, unless it’s in a glass bottle and made with real cane sugar.”

“At the library bookstore, Moe bought a well worn copy of Maya Angelou’s “I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings” to impress any girl who might stop by.”

“Moe enjoyed the attention wearing his D.A.R.E. shirt from the 5^th grade at his local hookah bar afforded him.”

“On Halloween, Moe loves dressing up as Holden Caulfield and constantly proclaiming, ‘Goddamn money. It always ends up making you blue as hell.’"  

“Though he doesn’t have his own Facebook page, Moe enjoys stalking people through his girlfriend’s profile."

"Moe doesn't know what a Darfur is, but has been deeply affected by it." 

"Moe frequently dines at a hole-in-the-wall Vietnamese restaurant in Echo Park … his favorite is the orange chicken."

"All Moe needs is an axe and a blue ox companion to officially become Paul Bunyon." 

"Sometimes, when he’s sipping a finger of bourbon and twirling his handlebar mustache, with the Victrola playing in the background, Moe forgets its 2011." 

Pit Proud: The History of the Pitbull

Let me take a gander at what you're thinking (please note I'm assuming the voice you hear in your head is that of a crotchety old man)...

"Burberry baby dresses one day, pitbull videos the next? What the hell is this blog about, anyhow? Why am I here? Where's my medication? All I want are some bran flakes, stewed prunes and a good healthy dose of Andy Griffith, for Pete's sake!"

Calm your marbles, will ya?

It's been a rough day, everyone. Moe was scheduled for a leg surgery that should have him out of commission for the next two months. He was supposed to spend the night, so you can imagine the tears that were shed this morning when I dropped him off at this facility. They told me he was going to be sedated the whole time, but I still worried.

They called two hours later telling me he had a nearly undetectable infection that needed to be treated before they could operate. Poor little bugger had already had a catheter inserted as well as an IV before the discovery was made, so you can imagine how shell-shocked he was when I went to pick him up.

To say I feel like a guilty bastard is an understatement. He was supposed to be drugged when I arrived to get him, not lucid and feeling betrayed! He's snoozing by the window now, but for a good three hours he get shooting me a look that was equal parts "Why do I feel funny?" and "How could you?!"

Please note his delicate pink bandage. I think he would've preferred red.

Anywho, I realize I've been doing quite a few dog posts recently and I apologize if it's a bit Moe overload. This surgery threw me for a loop and it's been on the forefront of my mind for the last month.

And then, of course, a friend (thanks, Sadaf!) posts a video titled Pit Proud: The History of the Pitbull and you know I couldn't resist. 

There are a two things I loved about this short film: (1) I'm a sucker for anything that promotes the debunking of pit myths and (2) it did a good job of running through the history of this misunderstood breed. Check out a couple of my favorite pittie spotlights from the 1920's, 30's and 40's:

SGT Stubby, the most decorated war dog of WWI

Petey from The Little Rascals (who Moe occasionally gets compared to)

And of  course, some Life Magazine covers portraying these special guys

There is a reason old people have such a fondness for my dog when they see him, and it's because when they were growing up, pitbulls were known to be GREAT FAMILY dogs. Many don't understand how this breed's loyalty to humans has also led to their downfall in today's world. With the wrong people, they can do harm because their OWNERS have taught them to; if those they love and trust the most in the world want them to attack, they will. 

It's sick and it's sad, but it's true.

People who don't know much about pitbulls always comment about Moe's ears and ask if he was born that way. The answer is no; he was not. When he was a little, itty-bitty, helpless puppy, someone cut his ears off with a pair of scissors. Yup. Someone wonderful, obviously.

Luckily, this same human ditched him and he was found by a couple who didn't judge him for his breed, but by his loving personality and spirit.

If you have 10 minutes to burn this afternoon, please, please, please watch this. It was produced and featured by Dog Files, and the filmmakers are trying to turn it into a full length film. If you'd like to donate to their goal, here's your chance!

I should warn you that this video does have about 10 seconds of some pretty disgusting dog violence. It was hard for me to stomach, but sometimes ignorance is not bliss.

"The greatness of a nation and its moral progress can be judged by the way its animals are treated."
            Mahatma Gandhi

Happy National Dog Day!

I had much planned for yesterday (mainly, the 40th anniversary of Chez Panisse (I love you Alice Waters!) and a delicious bruschetta recipe), but I'll have to hold off until next week, for you see, it's...

National Dog Day!  Woot, woot!

I am a true lover of dogs, but clearly prefer mine the most (as most owners tend to do). I've said it before and I'll say it again, Moe is one of the true, great loves of my life. I know we were meant to find each other and I knew it the second I saw his face for the first time; I'm so happy I trusted my gut.

Picture it, Christmas Day, 2008. My then fiance, Handsome K, woke me up and led me to my mom's kitchen. He handed me an envelope with a piece of scratch paper that had "You get a dog!" scribbled on it in BIC pen. His delivery is a little lacking at times.

Up until this point, I had been BEGGING for a dog. K and I had been living with one another for six months and had been together for six years, so for me, it seemed like the logical next step. I grew up with dogs in the house, two cocker spaniels, one named Sally, the other named Bailey. K, however, didn't. He had a string of sickly, poor cats that all managed to die some horrible death or another until Pumpkin, the coolest cat ever, came into the picture. He's still alive if you're wondering, and still patrols the neighborhood like the little prince he is. Either way, K didn't understand why I wanted a pup so badly.

Back to Christmas. I'm pretty sure Handsome thought he was getting a bargain gift in that he knew I wanted to adopt a dog, well, adopt a pitbull more specifically. I think he assumed "adopt" meant free.

He was wrong.

Anywho, I had been trolling AdoptAPet.com for a while, morosely looking at all the dogs that needed homes, that needed some love, that needed a rescue from death. After my Christmas gift, I hit the ground running and quickly searched out all the pitbulls available at that time on the site.

Sometimes I wonder why I was so gung-ho about getting a pit, and I've come to the conclusion that I love rooting for the underdog, for the animal or person who's been dealt a rough hand in life and needs a second chance. For me, I like it when good things happen to good people, but I love it when good things happen to good people (or animals) who really need it.

I was looking for one that was friendly with people, kids and other dogs, adorable and youngish. With those criteria, I quickly found 17 and emailed them to myself to review. As I started clicking through, I kept going back to him.

I couldn't resist his little nubby ears, and his description made him sound like an all-star, so I emailed the rescue group that was in charge of finding him a forever home. "This dog sounds pretty amazing and almost too good to be true," I typed. "Will you please give me a little more information about him?" The response I received was the following:

Thanks for your email about sweet Elmo! You are 110% right, he is the best! I was there when the fosters, adopters of two other Forte dogs, found him as a stray. I fell in love with him then. He reminds me so much of my own pup, he is extremely dog friendly, submissive (it's a good thing), and affectionate. I adore him and I don't adore all of our dogs, I promise!


We saw him in person for the first time two days later, straining on a leash while his foster parents (the amazing people who found him and took care of him for three months) scanned the FORTE dog adoption fair for the people (us) who had arranged to meet him. 


It was love at first sight. When Moe wags his tail, his whole body wags with him. He lights up with excitement and it warms my heart every time.


Luckily, his fosters thought we were the ones for him, and two weeks later, he made our twosome a trio. 

For the record, we dropped the El in Elmo, but do sometimes reference his Spanish name as "El Mo."


I'm not a parent yet, and one day hope to be, but this is what I think about when I look at my dog, my Moe: My heart literally explodes with happiness when I look at him, so I can only imagine what it is like to be a parent and to love your child. It must be pretty friggin' awesome. 


I love you, buddy. You make my life better.

Canine Costumes

Thanks to an amazing forward by my bestie, B, I've figured out Moe's Halloween costume.

Antoine Dodson.

However, due to his chasing tendencies, I'm going to alter the sign to say "Hide yo cats, hide yo mice."

Happy Friday, everyone!