A Younger Dingo

'Ode to Odie'

Dingo

January, '96 - 2 July, 2012

(last picture of Dingo, taken 17 June, 2012)

(If you don't want to read all of this, at least skip down to the video. It's awesome.)

I remember sitting in a fast and testimony meeting years ago. This middle-aged single man stood up and bore a brief testimony saying that his dog had died and he wrote a song for the dog that he wanted to share. I remember that later being referred to as an 'Ode to Odie' (not the real title of his song, but a slightly mocking one given by a family member of mine). Don't worry, I'm not about to write a song and share it, but I do want to say a few things.

This is from an email that I sent my dad tonight while he's overseas on a Navy ship (coming home late Wednesday night!) --

About an hour ago, I sent this text out to the siblings -

'Just so you all know. Dingo is on the roof*. Okay, I mean... We had Dingo put down tonight. Hard decision. Right decision. I'm sure Granddad is throwing frisbees for him right now.'

For the past four or five days I've been praying to know when Dingo should go down. Last night I decided that I needed to state my opinion on the matter ('not yet') and see how I felt about it, praying that I'd know what the answer was. When trying to say that I didn't think it was time yet, it took me several tries before I could get out the phrase, 'I don't think it's time.' I didn't want to take that as my answer, but I was open to that possibility. This morning, again, I prayed about it. I got the phrase out a little easier, but it didn't really feel right. When I left for work I saw him on his bed in the garage. He lifted his head, and I stopped to pet him like always. It kind of hit me then, though I didn't really let myself think about it for a few more hours, that it was time for him to go. He's been in pain, and I had been convincing myself that because he kept getting excited for his walks, he was fine and still enjoying life. While I don't think he was completely miserable, I do know that he wasn't feeling great. And I know we all saw signs of that.

A co-worker of mine brought in a puppy this morning that she was selling, and meeting the buyers close to work. I held the puppy and it had these big ears like Dingo did when we first got him. While holding her, I told my co-worker that I thought it was time for me to put have Dingo put down. That was the first time I had said it out loud. After we (I went with her) took the puppy to her new owners, I told her again that I thought it was time. From that moment on, I cried on and off all day. I still have a headache from it all. But through all the crying, I really felt like it was the right time. I still do. I know I said that if he could walk into the vet by himself than it wasn't time yet. I was wrong. And God let me know it. And Dingo did too.

He's lived a great life and probably deserves 'best dog in the world' award. Adam made the comment that as uncomfortable as Dingo had to be, he was still great with the kids. Patient and gentle, just like always.

So, once it was decided, I figured it was time. I hope you'll understand that. Mom and I took him to the vet and walked him around the property first. He was still pulling on the leash. I just feel so blessed to have had him in my life for 16 years. He's been wonderful.


Some of the highlights. No way I can hit them all.

• we bought dingo from a frisbee dog show at the clark county fair when i was 14 (i thought i was 15, but recently found out i've been wrong - see below)
• he had these huge ears on this little head and that were just adorable.
• i cuddled up with him in the back seat of the van for the hour-long ride home because he was whimpering a little bit on the way home. as soon as i curled around him he curled up and settled in.
• early on he started tossing a bottle cap he found on the floor up in the air and catching it on it's way down.
• my mom bought a jingle ball for him which didn't keep his interest for too long, but did enjoy chasing.
• my mom bought a stack of frisbees and told me to go out and start working with him (the frisbee dog people had told us step-by-step how to train him to be a frisbee dog). i rolled the frisbee on the ground to try to get him interested. he lost interest really fast. i graduated to the little tosses in front of him. he caught them, then looked bored. i said, 'all right, fine.' and chucked the frisbee. he took off and that was it. he was a natural. there was no training necessary. he gave us some really good frisbee-catching years. jumping, twisting, and sometime sacrificing the catch in order to provide a show.
• he'd sleep on my bed whenever i was home. but it wasn't enough to just sleep on my bed. he had to move up to the head of the bed and then nose his way under the covers, sliding his body right next to mine. he was an awesome little space heater in the winter, and a little too much heat in the summer. but he loved being close. as years passed he started staying more on the foot of my bed. i was always amazed at how much space he'd take for not being a big dog. (then the time came when he couldn't get up on my bed by himself so I started boosting him up. then finally, he didn't want to get up on my bed anymore, i'm guessing because it hurt too much for him to get down. so i got him a dog bed and put it right next to mine. i loved that he still wanted to be close.)
• fast forward years later, i'm worried that he's forgotten me while i was on my mission for 18 months. i walk through the house to the backyard and he runs across the yard to meet me. he remembered me!
• today i tell my brother and sister-in-law that his time has come. adam asks how old dingo is and when i tell him '15,' he thinks about it and says that he's almost positive we had dingo when adam came home from his mission. which makes dingo 16. and a half. so he gained another year in his last few hours of life. not bad for an old boy.
• mixed in there we had some great running years together. he was a great running partner, and even in this last year of his life would get excited when he saw me in my running clothes because he knew what that meant. even if i couldn't take him with me. there was the summer we ran 2 miles 6 days a week and as the summer progressed my sister made the comment, 'dingo's lost a lot of weight!' (i never earned that same comment that summer. not fair.)
• through the years he's been my shadow, my companion, my best listener, and giver of unconditional love.
• even as recently as yesterday he was kind of jumping around when he knew we were going on a walk. that's part of what made it so hard to make the decision. he still loved walks even though he was slowing down.
• i cry on and off through the day today when i start thinking about him. several co-workers suffered through it (thank you!). my mom drives us to the vet. i cry on the way to the vet. i cry while at the vet. i cry through the procedure. i feel better almost as soon as it's over. it was the right decision and that is what is making it possible for me to not be a total wreck the way i thought i would be when i anticipated this event in my head.

If you lasted through all of this, I'm impressed. It was more for me. I needed the outlet.

I believe in an afterlife, and I believe that I'll have Dingo back. God is too kind to leave us without relationships that are so meaningful to us here. (human-to-human and human-to-animal. some animals. mostly dogs. just kidding... kind of...) (: So while it's definitely not a fun experience, it isn't the end of the world either. And it is so worth the 16 great years he gave us.

Thanks Dink. I love you puppy.

On a lighter note, this video is awesome. It makes me tear up. And I don't think that's only because I'm slightly emotionally charged today. (:

*an old joke that's posted here

I Really Like These Two

Two Hours Later...

At 9:30 this morning - while at work - I see my phone light up with a phone call. I don't know the number, so I let it ring. Two minutes later it lights up again with the same number. Again, I didn't answer it, then I saw that I had two voice messages.

My dogs were out walking around the trail.

Fifteen minutes later I was out the door of my building and on my way to the car to drive the half hour back home. -- With my supervisor's blessing.

This was after I had called my mom who works at home to see if she happened to have any breaks in her morning appointments. -- No answer. Twice.

This was after I had called my neighbor to see if she, by any chance, was home and had time to drive around looking for my dogs. -- She answered (my phone call woke her up), but she had to be out the door in an hour. I told her not to worry about it.

This was after I had called my dad, who also works half an hour away from home but in the opposite direction, to see if he had any ideas on what else to do. -- No answer.

My neighbor sends a text message right as I'm leaving and I call her back. She says she can go look for them after she's gotten ready, but that she'd have to leave by 11 even if she hadn't found the dogs. I appreciated the offer, but told her I was on my way home to look for them.

I called the lady who had left the two messages earlier, asked if she had seen them again (she hadn't) and asked if she would call me again if she did.

My dad called, suggested I call my grandpa who lives next door and let him know in case the dogs decided to come wondering back home. I did.

The lady called when I was two minutes away from the trailhead by the park and said that she had just seen them and she tried to get them to stay with her but they were headed in the opposite direction and wouldn't come. They were headed home.

I looped around to where the trail breaks to cross a street, parked my car, and whistled for them. Nothing.

I drove home, grabbed their leashes, and started walking toward the trailhead where I knew they were last seen. I walk to that same break in the trail where it crosses the road. Nothing. Along the way I ask people if they've seen two rogue dogs. I get a few affirmatives, 'Yeah. A big white dog, and another one in a coat?' 'Yep.' They tell me when and where they saw them (unfortunately nothing more recent than 15 minutes) and I feel good about the direction I'm heading. At the break in the trail I see a lady on the street. I ask her the question, she gives me the same answer. But points in the opposite direction saying she saw them down there about 15 minutes prior.

During this information gathering stage, I hear from a couple of people that there's also a coyote out somewhere along the trail. Dingo kind of looks like a coyote, but I think the coat domesticates him a little bit. I also run into a lady who's looking for her mom's cocker spaniel. I get her number so I can call her if I see her dog. I never did.

By this point I'm wondering how the devil can the dogs be on one side of the trail 15 minutes earlier, and then 5 minutes later I ask someone else who saw them on the other side of the trail 15 minutes earlier.

I start to feel like I'm playing a real live version of 'Where in the World is Carmen Sandiego.'

I don't like it.

When I'm almost back to my house I call my grandpa again who announces, 'They're here. They walked up to me outside about 3 minutes ago.'

Relieved, tired, frustrated, and with the beginnings of a headache, I go talk to my grandpa who said that after he got my call he went outside and saw that his gate had been pushed open by two rotten dogs (my words, not his). He fixed the gate then got in his car and drove around looking for them. After getting home he was standing outside for a minute and they came running up the street toward him. - Dingo sans coat.

While I do appreciate that they stay together (it was hard enough - and I was unsuccessful - at finding one moving target, it'd be that much harder to find two), I hate that they get out and take themselves on a walk. I'm also really, really grateful for people who call to let me know that the dogs are out. That's why I got the ID tags. And I try to do the same when I see a dog running around. Good karma and all that.


 And that's my story.

...I'm back at work.

With a headache.

Rotten dogs.

Dog Park

Saturday I took Dingo and Max to the dog park. I had looked it up last year sometime (before we even got Max) and had been meaning to go for a while. I decided I had to take them soon, because Max has been destroying things in the backyard (digging holes to get under the fence - two of them, digging random holes in the grass, etc). I'm guessing that because I haven't taken them on any good walks (or any walks period) for quite a while, he was looking to release energy / get stimulation / something else that dogs are thinking / etc.

I really started thinking the dog park would be a good idea a few weeks ago when, just having come home from a walk, I saw two of my neighbors outside with their two dogs each. They called me over to join them, and for the next 20 minutes or so, the six dogs all played together. Max was the biggest by far (with Dingo being the second biggest) but Max loved it. He ran around the yard in circles while another dog chased him. Dingo kind of wandered around sniffing here and there, and two of the other dogs followed behind him.

So, Saturday, I went because I had wanted to get them out on a walk for a while, but after running 13.1 miles I didn't necessarily feel like taking them on a long walk - which is what they needed. I figured it was a perfect day to go to the dog park. The weather was a little cool, but not terrible. I got there, and there were about 7 other dogs running around. As soon as I pulled up to park, Max started whimpering and whining to get out of the car and go play. Then, when we were walking to the gate, he kept pulling on the leash, racing to get in there.

And he loved it.

There were a couple of other big dogs that he ran around with, and some smaller ones too. Dingo just kind of wandered around, interacting with a few other dogs here and there.

Yesterday, I took them again. Sunday is the time to go, because there were 20+ (maybe even 30+?) dogs there. Max loved it. Yesterday there was this little dachshund (Bentley) that he kept playing with. Max would do the start and stop thing with him where he'd be running around, pull up suddenly, and then dart in the other direction, sometimes jumping over Bentley. It was adorable. Bentley's owners loved Max because he didn't try to eat Bentley the way one of the three huskies did.

There was one great dane when we got there, and two more showed up while we were there. The first one was so tall. I couldn't believe how long his legs were. And he was fascinated with Dingo. It was so funny. He kept following Dingo around while Dingo just wandered randomly. Then the second dane to show up followed him around too. I wish I had gotten pictures, because the first one was more than twice the size of the Dink. One bad things about the danes were their drooling. They drooled on Dingo so much that you could feel it on his head and back when petting him. (don't worry, I've given him a rub down with soap and water since then)

Good times.

I'll be taking them more often now that it's (finally!) warming up. But we've had false-alarm-warm-days before... I hope they last this time!

Without My Shadows

this picture has nothing to do with my post, but I googled 'shadow' and it came up in the images. i really like it.
'shadows of the past' by lubomir bukov
found here

This morning I took Max and Dingo in to get groomed again.

Last time I took them in (separate visits that time), everything went easily and smoothly. They both walked in with the groomers just fine. No worries.

This time they remembered.

Last time Dingo didn't even look back when they took him to the cage.

This time he didn't look back, but he started barking once he was in the cage.

Last time they told me, 'Max was an angel.'

This time as soon as he got past the counter he started pulling back on the leash, refusing to go (maybe Dingo's barks were warning him?).

Last time I walked away feeling only a little bad.

This time I felt really bad (for the dogs and the groomers), hoping that as soon as I left they'd calm down. I figured that the faster I was gone, the faster they'd get over it. So I high-tailed it out of there as soon as I could (like a bandaid, one motion, right off!*).

I'm sure they'll be fine. If I didn't think so, I wouldn't have left them there.

While I was apologizing for their behavior, one of the groomers reminded (and reassured me), 'If we didn't like this job, we wouldn't be doing it.'

ps - happy st. pat's day! someday, sometime, someyear, i'm going to make it to Chicago for st. patrick's day. and i'll see this. and it will be awesome.

*quote from possibly one of the funniest shows ever to be on television

Leaving Utah

Somehow, they always know...






... in CA for Thanksgiving. Minus the pups.

Meet Max

Isn't he cute? He's been a member of our household for the last week. Other than a couple of scuffles with Dingo (one of which drew blood), things have been going well. He's a sweetheart.

Stats:
age - 2
breed - golden retriever & poodle
feet - huge (as is his cute head)
active - very, loves playing fetch, we're hoping to convert from balls to frisbees

Sunday Naps

before I had a laundry basket I'd make a neat pile for laundry.
Dingo would drag it out of the closet, make it not-so-neat and decide it was a perfect place to sleep

I can't remember when I discovered the beauty of Sunday naps, but I have had a long-time appreciation of them.
Today, I got in a good one.
Hope you did too.

First the Fan...

... and then the heater...

Dingo's Wind Tunnel

yes, it was on at the time

Offiially Legal!

rabies vaccine - 1 May, 2010
licensed with the city - 3 May, 2010

The Beauty of Early Morning Hours

I love waking up early. I do. That doesn't mean I actually wake up early. Most the time I going to sleep 'early.' Last night was no exception. I turned off the light at 1:30. This morning, however, was an exception. Especially exceptional for a weekend.

I woke up at 6:30 with zero sleep hangover. In fact, I was so wide awake that I could have been waking up at noon after a long relaxing beautiful night of sleep.

This was not the case.

The case was this.

My smoke detector was going off. Not only was my smoke detector going off, but multiple smoke detectors were going off. There was all sorts of chirping, squawking, squealing, and wailing going on that I was sure the house was going to crumble around me.

It didn't.

I jumped out of bed and ran to the door. Before I opened the door, however, I remembered to check the handle for heat. If there was a blazing inferno outside my room, I wanted to know about it. (grade school fire safety really stayed with me :) Feeling a cool handle, I opened the door and went into the hallway. Not sure if it was early morning hazy, or smoke, I ventured out slowly (somehow forgetting that if there was smoke I would most likely be able to smell it...) keeping Dingo from running ahead. After trying to turn on a light and failing, I walked down toward the kitchen to see if anything was wrong there. Nothing. I went downstairs in time to meet up with my brother-in-law who was coming out to see what was going on.

After courageously staying with me (hovering close behind me, never really next to me) - and me having a few images of 'I Am Legend' running through my head - Dingo ran off somewhere to avoid all the noise. After things were taken care of I found him in my parents bathroom - one of the quieter places available to him at the time. I was kind of surprised he wasn't hiding in their closet, except that it was dark in there and brave beast that he is...

Best we could figure it, the power went off, and since one or two of the smoke detectors had a low or no battery - and since they're all wired into the same system - they started blaring. I wish I had recorded just a bit of the screeching going on. Oh well. You'll just have to imagine it.

So, that was my Sunday morning.

But I wasn't lying. I really do love the early morning.

And I also love the house not being on fire.

now I know why my parents
went to Hawaii this week

"Fantastic"

-I've been awake *literally* all night-
-I closed my eyes for maybe 15 minutes a bit before 4 am-
-I was not asleep at all for those 15 minutes-
-I decided to get up and be productive-
-Dingo's stayed with me all night-
-Now it's time for me to get ready for school-

-My mind keeps whirling-
-Perhaps someday I'll tell you why-

The View From My Bed

Since Friday evening I've been sick.
The kind of sick where every time I stand up I get dizzy and nauseous.
I've been lying down a lot.
So much, that I'm sick of lying down.
I'd get up, but I feel sick when I stand.

Anyway - the dingo has stayed close.
I love that he stays close.
(he's snoring right now - so cute!)

Happy Love Day

love, the Dingo

And He Shall Now Be Known As...

can you read it? it says "DINGO THE GREAT"
(this was his tag being laser-engraved)

I bought him a tag at PetSmart over a week ago but held off on the engraving.
I was thinking something simple:

Dingo
home number
cell number

My dad suggested "Dingo the Great"

I liked it.

I was given four lines.
Perfect.

Dingo
the Great
home number
cell number

and here's the great one:

not a great picture.
don't blame him.

I just love knowing that he has a tag on him now.
It seems like he's finally owned.
And if he ever gets lost
(which hasn't happened in the last...
years, so I don't know why I'm worried),
he can easily be given back to us!

although, thinking back on it,
maybe i should have put something like:
"this ain't your dog, give him back."
hmm...
i may be getting a second tag.

Dingo's First 5k!!!

A week ago Saturday I loaded Dingo into the car and headed up north a little way. I had signed up for a 5k that was organized to raise money for dogs that assist the disabled. The reason I signed up was because I saw, "well-behaved dogs on leash are welcome."

Dingo is very well-behaved.

I went planning on walking the whole thing. Dingo's getting kind of old (though I'm pretty much in denial anytime someone mentions that) and I knew he wouldn't be able to run the whole way. (I used to take him running with me almost daily - 2 miles regularly - and he was great. But he started slowing down and having a harder time with the constant running. Sad!)

To my surprise, he wanted to run right at the beginning because he was getting excited seeing everyone else start running. So we ran for a bit, but I stopped before he was ready to stop. Since I hadn't planned on running, I wasn't wearing my (now, necessary) knee brace. Oops. We did run again later-on and we ran across the finish line. Yay!

Dingo and me before the race.

Some of our spectators:

Dingo and me after the race.

There was a reptile rescue group that had some cool snakes and lizards on display. There was a large python, and this little alligator:

There was also a coyote:

I didn't have the heart to tell the guys that coyotes aren't reptiles.
his name is ... I completely spaced his name, but he's 6 months old.
when I reached over to pet him, he started licking my hands. then he did the playful gnawing that puppies do sometimes.
so cute.
and SO soft.

people said that Dingo looked like he was related to the coyote.
maybe they're distant cousins.

The day's highlights:

- beating a dog across the finish line that Dingo early-on picked as the one to beat
- a lady coming up to me, pointing to Dingo and saying, "Is this..." I looked at her, not at all sure of what she was going to ask, and she finished with, "I heard someone has a coyote...?"
I told her that Dingo is just part dingo, but that he was flattered to be thought of as a coyote.

For some pictures of Dingo's relatives (some of whom I think he looks remarkably similar to) click here.

ps - this was my first race since the marathon and mud run in the spring/early summer
i loved it!

Fraidy *Cat*?

Dingo hates thunder.

A few weeks ago I came home and was called to the basement by Caitlin because Dingo had been hanging around her since she was the only one home and he needed protection.

She said he was looking for a place to hide but the best he could find was right next to the bed.

Shortly after I came downstairs he found a better place to hide.

yes, he placed himself there. ...and he seemed to be comfortable.
from then on, until the thunder stopped, he was my close shadow.

Outrunning the Rain

Friday I missed my daily walk with Dingo. Saturday morning he kept following me around trying to herd me toward the door (he is part cattle dog...). I promised him that we would go later in the day. And yes, I'm pretty sure he understood me. I also promised him that we would go for a longer walk than normal to make up for missing the day before.

One gorgeous scene from walking (featuring the clouds holding the rain that we were trying to outrun)

The dingo (just because I think he's cute)

We didn't outrun anything.
Not at all.