Stoutpup

After a long dry summer in Washington, it has finally rained…for days…and continues to do so! That’s okay. It means Lucy doesn’t have to mow the lawn, but if she did, she would be properly attired with her little paddington bear outfit. Here she snoozes on the couch. Bulldogs hate the rain and will do everything in their power to not go outside if it’s wet, including poop in the house! Bad Lucy! Very bad. You have to watch them like a hawk. Turn your head when it’s raining for five minutes and a bulldog will run into another room where you are not and sneakily crouch!! Another problem that the rainy weather poses is the fact that there is no toy-toy playing outside. So all rain and no play makes a very frustrated bulldog. Here you can see that Lucy has turned into a wresting maniac because she has not been able to get her ya-yas out by chasing toys outside. She does this every day when Corey comes home.

I recently watched the movie “If Lucy Fell” starring Sarah Jessica Parker and Eric Schaeffer. It was on cable and I couldn’t resist — remembering how I had gone to the theater by myself to see this film, something I used to do a lot in Tucson. I have always loved the movies and I guess have always had a fondness for all things Lucy.

It’s once again Fall in Tacoma and I stole this picture of curious Lucy looking out the living room window at something she heard outside. This picture is so full of childlike wonder — I love it. We were in the middle of a bulldog clothing change for a photoshoot I was working on and as I turned to get the next Lucy outfit, I found her gazing at the street naked as can be. So funny to me. She’s like a kid.

I love my friends’ stories about the funny things their children do. Almost always I catch myself relating a similar story about what my dog did that was so childlike and as hilarious to me. Then I think. “Oh, I hope my friend did not think I was comparing her kid to a DOG.” Of course I am not comparing a child to a dog, but the things they do are so similar sometimes it makes me laugh. It’s only because (I think) on some level I can relate to the (at times)frustrating humor of it all. Animals are so human-like!

Anyways, we were doing a photoshoot because I have made all these reversible dog bandanas for my Aunt Louise’s craft fair to benefit my cousin Gabe’s Scholarship Fund. I wanted to show my merchandise in use. I tried to take pictures of the dogs outside because the lighting was better, but Lucy was crazy and would not sit still. In the above picture she is acting like a maniac, but I like the picture because you can see her little baby teeth, and she sort resembles a rabbit with those front teeth– not a Velveteen Rabbit (see previous post). But alas, she is the singing Warner Bros. frog because when I brought the photoshoot inside, she would not do a thing, just sort of started melting into the crack of the couch.

Lucy turned 3 years old this Halloween. It’s really hard to believe how time has gone by so quickly. I don’t remember my life BL (Before Lucy). Oh well. If Lucy looks possessed in this picture, it’s because she is! Possessed by the raggedy frisbee, that is! I didn’t buy her any toys this year, because really she’ll find any old ratty thing and think it’s the best thing ever. The more pitiful looking the toy, the better. Here’s a home video to prove it. This puff of a toy is also 3 years old, but it used to resemble a gingerbread man shape and has been sewn up more times than I care to count.

I guess it’s like the Velveteen Rabbit. Those of you who do not know that wonderful story will have to look it up! For an early birthday present Lucy got a Velveteen Warthog from her Aunt Dawn. It’s not really Velveteen, but as much as Lucy loves it daily, it is sure to become a REAL warthog with REAL warthog tears any day now. Lucy has gotten over the initial shock of the toy and now can relax with the thing in the same room instead of going nuts and forcing me to take the toy away.

While Lucy was celebrating her birthday at home in Tacoma, her littermate, Beauty, was also celebrating somewhere in her Washington home. I can see the resemblance of these two sisters. Here’s a picture of two other sisters on a recent trip to California. We are at Pt. Isabel where all the dogs run free to roll in mud. I saw a crazy eyed Frenchie at the snack bar - one eye blue, one brown.

Lucy and I want to give a shout out to Tim! Happy Birthday!