Cabana is a Young Adult

Happy 3rd birthday to Cabana! Translated into human years, that means she's 21, an official young adult. I guess Cabana isn't considered a puppy anymore, but that's okay--I look forward to each age and stage.

One thing Cabana is bound to never outgrow is her love of edibles. I figured why mess with toys and special outings, when what Cabana loves best of all is eating, plain and simple. So we started her birthday off with a special treat of canned Natural Balance (Duck and Sweet Potato), mixed in with her kibble. Here, Cabana waits patiently to be released to chow down.

I always reserve a handful of kibble from Cabana's breakfast to put in her treat ball. On the occasions when I forget to do the treat ball, Cabana knows how to remind me with a nudge and a head turn in the direction of the empty treat ball.

We took our usual trip to the park, where Cabana always thinks the party is for her. Today, I brought some big dog treats to give out in honor of Cabana's special day. Not my smartest idea ever--I left the park with more than the usual amount of dog slobber and muddy pawprints on my clothes. Hope that won't be repeated tomorrow, and every day following!

Happy birthday to sweet Cabana, the best dog I could ever hope for. How did we get so lucky? I don't know what I'd do without her in my life right now.

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Cabana & Me

A few weeks ago, while out on a walk, we passed by two lush and fluffy samoyeds. Cabana was overly intrigued by these dogs and got fabulously upset when we didn't stop to play with them. One of her "episodes" ensued, as she tried to jump on me and bite my shirt sleeve. While I was busily trying to calm her down, a passing woman laughed, "Hahaha! There's Marley!" Of course, she was referring to the dog from Marley & Me, commenting on the similarity of Cabana's appearance--and behavior--to the dog in the book/movie. NOT really helpful at that moment, but whatever!

This past weekend, we finally got around to watching that movie. I had read the book several years ago, but we weren't dog owners at the time and hadn't even contemplated getting a dog back then.

Personally, I found the movie extreeeeeemely disappointing. Not only did they barely show the dog (wasn't that the whole point, being that it's a DOG movie?), but when they did show the dog, he was almost ALWAYS doing bad and annoying things, thanks to the hapless owners. And the parts where the dog was being tender and sweet were cut to almost zero.

However, I did find entertainment value in the fact that some of the dogs they used for filming bore a HUGE resemblance to Cabana. (I know they used like 50 different dogs to play Marley). The reddish ears, the dark nose, even the pale stripes on the shoulders! All very Cabana-ish.

I used to think that all yellow labs looked the same. But now I see there are a myriad of different "yellow" colors, as well as other differences. Cabana's eyes and nose are very dark, whereas some yellow labs have pale eyes and pink noses. Cabana's coat has a lot of red in it, while other yellow labs look closer to white.

Although not exact, I had fun comparing. What do you think?

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Our Puppy Compadres

Last night, our puppy raising group met in the downtown area of my little hometown. We walked across bridges over water (not troubled water, unless troubled means dirty), up and down stairs, and through bustling sidewalks. I brought my camera and took photos of all the pups in training (except I forgot to take a photo of Cabana). We were missing Persia, but here's all the other pups in our group.

Handsome Hamlin--I think he might be the oldest in our group. He's a big fellow with gorgeous eyes. He'd be good to squish, don't you think, Poppy?


Newcomer Morrissey the Golden, in a folded up position.


Tara (left) and Cherish (right), checking each other out. Tara is just a week older than Cabana, and Cherish was our introduction to puppy raising (we got to puppy sit her during our application process).


Here's another of Cherish, all stretched out on the sidewalk.


And Cabana's buddy, Poppy, with her starry eyes and perpetual smile.

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