(Pit Bull) Stereotypes

Stereotypes are ridiculous.  They hinder our progress as a society and they prevent us from recognizing the beauty in individuals.  We are all guilty of stereotyping.  Whether it be based on race, gender, dress size, or dog type.  We all have expectations associated with certain characteristics.  We weren't born that way, yet sadly, as we age, we begin to fall somewhere on the judgment spectrum.  Each day I try to slide myself one notch farther away from judgment and on my way to loving.  It is a struggle for me.  I am very judgmental about certain things.  Yet I try to open myself up to new experiences and new people to reverse my tendency to judge.  Watching this video helped me today.  It brought me tears and chills and meshed with the intention I set during my yoga practice:  Judge less, love more.

Children and Their Pit Bulls

I hope this video moves you in the way it did me.  Happy Tuesday :)

The Surry

During our first Christmas, David gave me the most thoughtful present I have ever received: a heated body pillow.  I tend to be cold. All.The.Time.  Something to do with low blood pressure/poor circulation, blah blah blah.  Anyhow, I love nothing better than to snuggle up with a warm body to ease my chills.  Well, for those of you who don't know about our relationship, David and I spent our first year together in a long-distance relationship.  Therefore, I spent many a chilly Chicago night wishing I had him here to snuggle and warm me up.  So he bought me a heated body pillow and dubbed it the Surrogate David, Surry for short.

Since we are now married and living together everyday (yay!) I rarely have need of the Surry.  It comes in handy on the odd night that I head to the couch by myself to battle insomnia with terrible late-night television.  I break it out and snuggle up and after allowing my brain to become numb, I eventually zonk out.  As it turns out (much to David's chagrin) I tend to enjoy falling asleep being cuddled, but once I am asleep, I turn into a nasty ninja warrior who hates being touched for any reason.  This means that anyone and anything sleeping with me will likely be kicked off of my side of the bed, or in the case of the Surry, right off the couch.  Well, a few months ago, Raisin woke up and decided to join me in the family room.  Before she could make it to the couch, she stumbled (literally) upon a warmth-emitting cushy surface.  From that day forward, she was hooked.

"Y'all have been holding out on me! Hmph!"

As has been previously documented Raisin will snooze on just about any surface.  However, when the Surry is out and heated, this is her number one choice.  She has spent this entire dreary Monday sprawled across its surface.  She hopes that you have a similar cozy spot that makes you feel good on yucky days like today.

"Catch ya on the flip side, loyal readers :)" - R-Dog

One Word Wednesday

Smile!

Icky Fridays

We don't know about you guys, but on gross days like today, this is all we want to do:

Who are we kidding, this is all we ever really want to do :)  Happy Friday everyone!

Tender Hearts

"When we honestly ask ourselves which people in our lives mean the most to us, we often find that it is those who, instead of giving advice, solutions, or cures, have chosen rather to share our pain and touch our wounds with a warm and tender hand. The friend who can be silent with us in a moment of despair or confusion, who can stay with us in an hour of grief and bereavement, who can tolerate not knowing, not curing, not healing and face with us the reality of our powerlessness, that is a friend who cares." -Henri J.M. Nouwen


I was instantly struck when I read this quote.  It brought up so many emotions and thoughts and I tried to envision who this was for me.  Several people came to mind, but when I read through the quote several more times, I realized that the individual who truly embodies this for me is not a person at all: it is our dog.  It made me think of all of the times I have sat, crying on the couch, and Raisin has intuitively known her presence is needed.  I tend to be an emotional person and allow my tears to flow naturally as part of the healing process.  Although David is learning to be supportive without immediately needing to know why I am upset, it does not come naturally to him and with regards to that, I am working on being more understanding.  Fortunately for both of us, it is ingrained in Raisin's very being.  She knows when my heart is aching and when her warm body will offer comfort.  David thinks that she just likes the saltiness of my tears, but I believe that she knows that licking my face will brighten my outlook, even if just momentarily, and will help me along the road to overcoming whatever has saddened me in that moment.


Some people view animals as lesser beings than humans.  I'm not one of them.  I think that we can learn a lot from the animals around us, starting with our very best companions: dogs.  Sometimes, what a person needs is a judgment-free arm around their shoulder (or paw on their chest) saying: It's not okay right now.  I don't have the power to make it okay.  But I will be here with you while you hurt and I will do what I can to make it hurt a little less.  For me, that is what true friendship is about: whether that friend be furry or human.


Sorry if you visit this page for the normal light-hearted, happy posts about the world's cutest dog.  To make sure you come back for more of those (because, really, that's what this blog is normally going to be), here is a picture of the Cuteness Queen herself:

One Word Wednesday

Cuddlebug!

Bad Habits

While we all do our best each day, everyone among us has developed a bad habit or two (or nine or ten...). Our little family is no exception.  But as the great Katharine Hepburn said, "If you obey all the rules, you miss all the fun."  Well, we certainly wouldn't want our little Raisin to miss out on all the fun things in life.  So below you will find some of the bad habits we have picked up as dog parents.

Destroying EVERY stuffy she's ever been given.  We are working on teaching her to be gentle with her friends...thus far, this has always been the end result:

 "Seriously guys, this thing SQUEAKED at me!  The absolute nerve of some stuffies."

 Sharing people treats.  This particular transgression happened only once, during Raisin's first Christmas, when Daddy was still trying to curry favor with his new little girl (fun fact: Raisin still has her full tail in this photo!)

 "Oh yeah, Dad, a couple more licks and I will be like, Mommy who?"

Riding in the front seat area of the car.  When Grams and Gramps come to pick us up in the beloved van, Raisin usually rides on the front passenger's lap.  When she is forced into the Hyundai, she prefers the safety of this little nook:

 Big smiles for her major accomplishment of fitting down there :)

This particular bad habit is 100% the result of a Grandma who loves to spoil her granddog.  We know it is bad, but she ADORES ice cream cones:

 How are we supposed to resist this adorableness?

Getting a closer sniff at dinner time.  We never feed her from the table, but sometimes I might just encourage a little lap time to make sure she knows she is truly part of the family:

 "Surely you two will not eat ALL of that food.  Ya know, you've both been lookin' a little chunky..."

Inserting herself into any situation...convenience be damned.  Raisin has somehow gotten it into her head that she has the right to be anywhere/anytime.  This often results in her hopping onto a lap already taken up by a computer.  Both David and I have developed superior work around skills because, honestly, who could kick her off when all she wants is to spend time snuggling?

"Look Mom, I fit perfectly in this natural nook Daddy had to create when I forced myself under his arm."

Clearly, these are not every day occurrences (except the computer thing...that really does happen almost every day).  They are special occasions and oops moments caught on camera.  We want Raisin to be a respectful pooch who recognizes that she is, in fact, a dog, maybe with just a few of the comforts and extravagances normally reserved for humans.

Field Days

Living in a condo with a dog is not always easy.  Obviously, there are some major space constraints, lots of barking at noises in the hallway, and having to take an elevator every time we want to get a little fresh air.  So, when we get the opportunity to head to the suburbs to visit Grams and Gramps, we usually jump on board (well, at least Raisin and I do...sometimes David needs to be bribed with some Taco Bell).

As you can see below, Raisin very much adores her Grandma:

I think the feeling is mutual.

She also LOVES car rides...

"I'm a big girl with my very own seat!"

But what Raisin truly loves most of all, is sprinting around full speed in the great wilderness that is Grams' and Gramps' back yard:

Raisin, under the influence of her father, is somewhat convinced that she is a super hero dog.  David likes to sing her the Batgirl song, but I'm pretty sure she is Superdog, able to leap wide ravines in a single bound:

After a little bit of fetch (consisting of throwing a stick for Raisin and then chasing after her to get it back), we like to switch it up and play some keep away:

"Come on Gramps, lemme at it, lemme at it.  I'll show that stick who's boss!"

This usually lasts for about two minutes, until Raisin accidentally sucker punches someone in the gut and gets her beloved stick.  She then proceeds to another favorite pastime, stick deathing:

"Mmmmm, this wood has been aged to perfection."

Once we get too nervous that she might get a splinter in her tongue, we take the stick away and the whole process starts over again.  Raisin is definitely more of a sprinter than a marathoner, so her stamina only allows for about 3-4 rounds of this routine, then she resorts to happy back scratches:

"Mom, Dad, I think you guys should consider installing some of this stuff in the condo...ya know, so I can get my rubs when you take off on me for hours at a time."

And finally, what every dog owner hopes to achieve, even if only for a few minutes, exhaustion:

So even though Raisin is certainly a city dog who loves her walks and exploring the sights, sounds, and smells of Chi-town, she doesn't mind a trip out to the country every now and then to get back in touch with her natural roots.  She takes after her mama like that.

The Raisin Belt

Raisin has gotten it into her head (maybe because of her mom, maybe not...) that she is a lap dog.  A 50 pound, pure muscle, lap dog.  Although we have a three-seat sofa, a day bed, and lots of choices for her on the floor (please see "Snoozin'" post for details), her favorite place to be is on top of someone else (typically either David or me, but any lap will do in a pinch).

So why call it "The Raisin Belt"?  Well, Raisin doesn't just randomly jump onto the couch and cuddle.  This particular action occurs only when she believes that the person in question is planning to leave her shortly.  This is Raisin's last line of defense (and cuteness) to prevent her humans from leaving her alone for hours on end (or minutes...really, what's the difference when a pooch is being left?)  In the photo above, it is clear that David is getting ready to go to the gym.  He has finished his protein, is fully dressed, and would be out the door by now if it weren't for one little pit bull standing laying in his way.

"She may look like she's in for the night, but shortly after this picture, Mama left me for a movie!  Raisin belt failure."

Sometimes, on her best days, Raisin manages to belt both of us at once.  She considers this to be the ultimate accomplishment and is VERY reluctant to move at all when she has achieved such belting perfection.  Sadly, the ever elusive double belt has never been captured on film because, well, we haven't had a human child yet and trained it on how to take pictures of the three of us snuggled on a couch.  All in due time...

While I tend to "ohhh and ahhh" over her adorableness and put off leaving for a couple of minutes, David remains undeterred by the belt and will gently slide her off into a ball on the sofa.  This usually results in the most adorable pouty face you will ever see:

"You're LEAVING me?!?  How can you even consider such a thing?"

The Raisin Belt: The only fashion accessory you'll ever need.

Snoozin'

Raisin has quite the array of preferred sleeping locations.  She is not terribly picky, but she certainly has her favorites.  Her favorites usually include anything in the sun OR anything soft.  She very much does not like laying in the sun on something soft.  Weirdo.

A list of some of the favs...from the Raisin's POV.

On a couch, with a person:

On a couch, on a person:

"Daddy, you're my perfect"

Waiting for mama to get out of the shower:

On a heated body pillow:

On a perfectly made bed:

On a messy bed:

Under the covers on a chilly day:

On the yoga mat, with my monkey:

On the papasan, a new favorite:

On my dog bed...yeah, sure, I guess that works, too:

Hope you get a good snooze in tonight!

Our (Unofficial) Flower Girl

If you haven't figured it out by now, Raisin is pretty much the center of our world.  We really wanted to include her in our wedding, but, unfortunately, she was not allowed at the Refectory where our actual ceremony took place.  Lucky for us, we were able to schedule a day-after session to get a bunch more pictures than our rushed wedding day would allow and Raisin was able to join us for that day.  Thankfully, my mom was able to come down from the suburbs to help manage the Raisin and we ended up with some really beautiful shots including our precious little girl.  Enjoy!

 "Hey, what's that?  There are WAY too many interesting things along this lake front to pay attention to the lady with the camera..."

 LOVE her crooked little nose.

 Blink.

"Really, you're taking a picture of them kissing?  They do that ALL the time...no need to remember what it looks like"

So that was our little family photo shoot.  We are so grateful that Erica Rose (check her out if you want the most amazing photographer for your wedding, engagement, baby portrait, etc.) was able to meet up with us and capture this happy time with our little girl. (Please see the cover photo for my very favorite picture of our whole wedding weekend).

We ALL have issues

I stole this title from another blog about a black and white pittie with some issues: http://maisieme.blogspot.com/2011/02/nobodys-perfect.html.  I absolutely loved the quote: " People have asked me why I went through with the adoption after knowing her issues...but we ALL have issues, myself included.  If I can't love a damaged little soul like her, why should I be deserving of love?"

I couldn't have expressed my feelings about Raisin any better.  She is not perfect, but neither am I.  We both do the best we can with what we've been given and we are both lucky to have each other and everyone else who loves us, flaws and all.  That being said, there are certainly days when I wish we just had a "normal" dog.  I experience feelings of jealousy when I see other people talking on the street, their dog-social dogs greeting each other properly.  I also get wistful about the good times we could have had at the dog park, what it would be like to be able to bring Raisin on errand runs, and all of the other things we don't get to enjoy with our little girl.  However, mostly, I just wish that Raisin could have some doggy friends.  I feel like she is missing out on a huge part of being a dog and it breaks my heart.

But then, I look at her smile in her sleep, feel her warm little body snuggle up against me, wipe the kisses off my face, and I am happy because we found our perfect match, and I love Raisin, issues and all.  So what are her issues, you ask?

Well, Raisin is very leash reactive around other dogs and any unexpected stimuli (e.g. runners who come up too quickly, bikers who ride too close to us, etc.)  When we're surprised with a runner, Raisin will sometimes give a warning yelp, but the second the runner passes, she is over it and moving on.  The same cannot be said of our experience with other dogs.

When we first adopted Raisin, her foster family sent an email stating that she sometimes got grumbly with new dogs, but that for the most part, she was very good on leash.  Our adoption coordinator told us "She may never be a dog park dog".   We totally accepted this and stated it was okay, because we didn't have to be dog park people.  During the first week, we approached new dogs with caution and Raisin showed appropriate interest and was able to handle sniffing and being sniffed in greeting.  We even spent a blissful Christmas week with my family where Raisin played with my parents' dog, Toni:

Sadly, forgetting about the trauma Raisin suffered before coming to us and moving too quickly for her comfort, we left Toni and Raisin loose on Christmas Eve with over 20 people, several small children, and lots of noise present.  After a couple of hours, something caused Raisin to get upset and she attacked Toni.  She gave her a warning bite on the ear before we were able to separate them.  The next morning, we brought them together again and Toni immediately growled at Raisin and Raisin lunged at her, trying to attack her again..  Obviously, looking back at it, we handled the entire situation incorrectly.  We should have done longer introductions, we should have separated them during a high-stress occasion like Christmas Eve and we should have given them more space before trying to reintroduce them after the fight.  But, hindsight is 20/20 and by the time we got back to our condo, Raisin had full-blown leash aggression.  She couldn't see another dog, let alone be close to one, without her having a major meltdown.

We contacted her trainer (due to Raisin being adopted through OTAT's Court Case Dog Program, she comes with free training for life) and told her about the issues we were having.  She came over and we began individual training sessions.  I learned how to anticipate other dogs, keep Raisin's attention diverted, and try to work with her on positive associations with new pooches.  Unfortunately, a year and a half and a Growl class later, and we still have a very dog reactive pooch.  On the bright side, my confidence in handling Raisin has never been higher.  I know how to help her through a dog sighting.  We can now confidently pass other dogs across the street without any reaction and she settles down after a close encounter within a couple of minutes (as opposed to freaking out for the rest of the walk).

Although I know Raisin will never be a dog-social dog, I couldn't love her any more if I tried.  She is perfect for us and I cannot imagine our lives without her.  She is a daily reminder that we are all doing the best that we can with the lives we are given and that we should all be doing a little less judging and a lot more loving.

Mommy/Daddy Morning Cuddle Time

Everyone has a favorite time of day.  Our family is no exception.  Our very favorite time of day takes place every morning and we call it Mommy/Daddy Cuddle time!

When Raisin first joined our family, David was adamant that she not be allowed on the furniture.  After a few weeks, in a desperate attempt to ingratiate himself to the Raisin, he invited her up on the couch one evening.  The moment this mama found out about the transgression, all bets were off and from that day forward, no piece of furniture was off-limits for our little girl.  Our bed included.  However, we only have a full-size bed.  Since the hubby is six feet tall and I am a very independent sleeper (no touching, PLEASE!), Raisin had a hard time figuring out where she would fit in.  Turns out, she is a foot of the bed kind of girl.  Every evening, after David and I have found our places, Raisin will carefully tuck herself in and around wherever we placed our legs (read: Raisin gets up first and we make the rest work around her comfort...)

"Oh, sorry, were you thinking of joining me in this mess I made of the bed?"

However, sometime during the night, Raisin must begin to feel unloved.  Because the very second that David or I stir in the morning, Raisin pops up, gives a little stretch (you can look forward to a full post on how to properly limber up in the morning, Razor style), and scooches her little body right in between us. Her strong preference is to face me and lay her head directly on my chest, while David curls his whole body around hers.  Basically, she would like to be snuggled as closely as possible from as many angles as possible for as long as possible.

 "Mama, what are you doing with that camera?  Come back and snuggle please!"

"OK, fine, I guess I will just stay here and snuggle Daddy while you do whatever is more important than loving me!"

So that is our favorite time of day.  Some days, it can only last for a minute or two as we have to tend to our responsibilities.  But on certain lazy Saturdays and Sundays, it has been known to last for hours and we all get up feeling a little closer and a whole lot more loved.

While our family's favorite time of the day is MDCT, I suspect that Raisin's diary would look very similar to this one: http://www.goodeatsfanpage.com/humor/otherhumor/dog_cat_diary.htm.

Big News!

So today our little family received some really big news!  I found out that I was accepted into the 2012 Teach for America Teaching Corps.  Words cannot express how excited I am about this opportunity.  I have always wanted to be a teacher (in spite of what my educational background might indicate) and I cannot believe that I will have my very own classroom this Fall (or, well, at least my very own students...)

Since this is a blog about our little pittie, I feel obligated to tell you that the very best reaction I received was from Raisin.  She and I were home alone when I received the email telling me I'd been accepted and when I yelled with delight, up popped 50 lbs of butt-wiggling happiness.  She jumped right on top of me and gave me all the smooches I could stand.  For a good five minutes, she actually prevented me from checking to make sure I'd been placed in Chicago and discovering what I had been assigned to teach (Special Education, by the way...)

I immediately called David, but since he didn't answer, I got about 10 more minutes of celebration time with the Raisin.  She and I did our happy dance; the dance includes an embarrassing amount of wiggling on both of our parts and then I gave her a special treat and fed her dinner early (so that I could actually get back on my computer and read, in more detail, about the big news).

Once I had talked to David, I started making the family phone calls and since Raisin had finished her dinner (a feat that takes no more than 60-90 seconds) she clambered back on top of me to continue with the celebratory slobber.  Now that things have settled down a bit, I have been talking to her about how things are going to change in a few months.  I am going to go from working at home, being with her nearly full-time, to working out of the house and going to class two nights a week.  Since David will also be starting work full-time this summer, things are going to be drastically different for our baby girl.  We are going to have to find a dog walker for afternoon potty breaks, figure out feeding routines on nights David and I will both be gone late, etc.  On the plus side, having two full-time incomes means that we will finally be able to seriously search for a house!  I have been telling Raisin about the glories of having a yard for so long and I know that it will be a dream come true for her.  She loves visiting her grandparents in the suburbs and running free around their huge yard.  She is also looking forward to the likelihood that we will have a car in the not too distant future.

"What's that you say?  More car rides!?!  I accept."

Her love of car rides is fodder for a future post, so I will leave it there.  More celebratory kisses are coming my way :)

Drama Free is Not for Me

I like to think that I am not someone who purposefully attracts a lot of drama into her life.  However, it does seem to pop up around me every once in a while.  So, while the process of finding and choosing our precious Raisin was an emotional one, it was somewhat surprising that it entailed very little drama.  That is, until we had been approved to adopt and were supposed to actually GET Raisin.

Although One Tail operates in Chicago, it is an entirely foster home-based organization.  That means that some of their foster homes are outside of the city.  Which is great.  Suburban homes tend to have yards, big happy families, lots of love for dogs who need as much as they can get.  However, for a car-less couple that relies solely on public transportation, this meant that we were relying on the foster parents to bring our little girl to us.  Unfortunately, because Raisin clearly is the greatest dog ever, while the family was fostering her, they apparently fell in love.  And while One Tail allows foster families to officially adopt dogs, they do not allow this when a pending foster-to-adopt is in place.  However, the difficulty came when the foster family started pushing off the date for Raisin to begin her foster period in our home.  At first the foster mom couldn't get out of work on time.  Then there was some bad weather (and in December, of course, there really was some very bad weather).

However, after nearly two weeks of waiting and being pushed back, our One Tail adoption coordinator, Anna, finally decided to take matters into her own hands and go down to pick up the Raisin.  Tragically, the Sunday she was supposed to get her, we had the first blizzard of that year.  Conditions were terrible and it certainly wasn't worth her risking her life so we could have Raisin that weekend (of course, that is easy for me to say 1.5 years later when I have Raisin every day...during the moment, I was pretty devastated).

Finally, later that week, our fearless adoption coordinator, after working a full day at her job, drove an hour down to the suburbs and an hour back to snatch up our little pittie.  That night, David had class until the mid-evening.  When Anna arrived with Raisin, I was by myself and nervous as could be.  I met them downstairs at the service entrance and we brought her up the elevator.  This may have been her first ever experience with an elevator because she was visibly nervous (though this may have been from her fear of small spaces...something we discovered when trying to get her in her crate in the following days...)

When we got in the condo, I was very worried that Anna would judge me to be a bad potential dog mom  if I did something wrong with respect to introducing myself to Raisin.  So while every natural instinct in my body told me to get on the floor and start playing with her, I held back my urges and politely talked with Anna while holding my hand out to Raisin and allowing her to take her time checking me and the new place out.

Raisin was super sweet and very timid (something that is hard to remember when one meets our exuberant pooch these days).  Our trainer described this period as a type of shell shock, and looking back on it, I would have to agree.  Raisin was in a state of near constant change and we were just another new set of people who were, hopefully, going to be nice to her like the last few.  Within a day, Raisin started to come out of her shell and transformed into the playful, but snuggly, girl that she is today.

But back to the day of her introduction...After a little bit, David came home and met our girl.  Raisin immediately liked him better and I admit, I was VERY jealous.  David also seemed to completely forget his silly pit bull bias and seemed quite smitten with our little lady.  We spent a bit of time talking about Raisin's needs (a new type of harness, high-protein dog food, etc.)  Then it was time for Anna to go.  She quietly snuck out and just like that, we were a family!

The story of us (at least, of the three of us).

This "tail" begins shortly after David and I were engaged.  We had been living together for nearly half a year and, although things were very nice, I felt like something was missing.  In November 2009, I started telling anyone who would listen how badly I wanted a dog.  Although neither David nor my parents thought this was a great idea, nothing could dissuade me from my mission of becoming a dog-mom.  So after searching Craigslist on an hourly basis for unwanted dogs around Chicago, and sending every single option to David for nearly a month, David finally broke down and agreed that we could get a puppy.  His two specifications were that he did not want a rescue dog and he did not want a pit bull.  Naturally, after carefully considering all of the very cute, very adorable puppies that we could purchase for way too much money, I decided that we had to adopt.  Once David acquiesced to this desire, it was only a matter of time before I happened upon the most irresistible face I have ever seen:

We lovingly refer to this as her "adopt me" face.  It is also good for: "You're not really going to eat all that yourself, are you?"; and "I'm pretty sure it is time to get off the couch and give me some attention"; and "Surely you can squeeze little old me in the middle of that big old bed, sofa, soft thing, etc. you're laying on at the moment..."

Honestly, from the moment I saw this picture, I was a goner.  And one look at me told David that there was no use in trying to dissuade me.  So after an email, an application, and several weeks of waiting (something to be discussed in a future post...), this little princess made her way into our home!  We adopted her through One Tail at a Time.  They are, honestly, the most incredible NFP I have ever encountered.  We felt 100% supported throughout the foster-to-adopt process and, because Raisin is part of their Court Case Dog Program, she receives free training for life (something that has been a life saver, for sure...also to be discussed in the future).

So that is how our little family began.  Since then, we have had a year and a half of adventures.  Lots of ups, quite a few downs, and plenty of smiling, snuggling, snorting love in between.