Dreaming of a Wright Christmas...

While this is technically Reuf's Second Christmas, it is his
First Wright Christmas!

It's taken a bit of time and a pound of patience, but Our Little Reufus is embracing The Traditions and Manners that surround The Christmas Season in our home.

Happy, Smiling Reufus!
Usable... Take 17
Merry Christmas!!!

Because it's funner this way, we present to you
...in reverse chronological order...
Reuf's First Christmas Photo Shoot!

16
Wearing Down...

15
Reuf is finding his inner joy and
Giving it all he's got...

14
Wondering if the photo shoot will ever be over...

13
Pouty, but compliant.

12
Somber and
Just. A little. Miffed.

11
Yes, Ma'am.

10
Everything I learned in Training... is all coming back to me!

9
Bucking Big Authority...
One. Last. Time.

8
Training Collar... Check!
Leash... Check!

7
The Mom makes one last attempt to direct attention,
achieve order, request respect and
GET A GOOD PHOTO!

6
A quick catfish moment...
well, it appears happy!

5
Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaagh!!!

4
Torture.

3
Treats aside...
Christmas is.. Torture.

2
Merry... No, wait... Torture!

1
Naivete
The Mom thought Reufus would cooperate for a few treats.
HA!

Credits

Photographer... The Mom
[Get a] Grip... The Mom
Director... The Bleu

I hope you all enjoyed Reuf's photo shoot. That boy has one ROBUST personality... that's for sure! I enjoyed my time behind the camera, but stay tuned... In my next post, I'll show Reufus how to rock the Christmas Headware!

My Christmas Wishes have been fulfilled.

I wish you the same!
Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays!

Tis the Season...

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas!

Christmas is a fun time for a Sweet Boy who has been good all year and is never, no never ever naughty! *There is a difference, though it may be subtle..., between ornery and naughty. Just saying!

The explosion of boxes and containers and figures that come out of "The Christmas Closet" leave me a little unsettled... but I do enjoy checking out the ornaments as they are unpacked. And I like to watch them placed on the tree. [Pardon the messiness of the process!]

We normally decorate two trees...

The Eclectic and Collectible Tree. Located in our formal dining room, we decorate this tree with the Mom's collection of ornaments that go back to when she was a young pup, living with her the mama and daddy.

These ornaments include gifts from her friends through the years, as well as many given to the Mom's Mom by her friends and students. Some are expensive, and some are even more valuable... hand made! Each has a story, a memory. Each is a treasure.

This tree also displays the Mom's extensive collection of Krinkle Ornaments by artist, Patience Brewster. This passion began with Reindeer Dog (photo below does not do it justice), and has grown to be quite a large and whimsical collection.

Other fun ornaments on this tree reflect things the Mom loves, like farm animals and kitsch.

The Golden Tree. This is a tree that we decorate in our family room. Due to space limitations, it has to be small, but it's loaded! This tree is inspired by the Mom's first Golden... Comet [Check out her blog... Goldens Rule!]... but it is all about the Mom's love for ALL all of her fur children!

There are many Comet-the-Reindeer ornaments and many stars. There are many Golden ornaments, including a great many that honor The Luke, The Me, The Wright Brothers... And I'm guessing that Reuf might be honored on there, too!

Among our Treasures is the M.D. Anderson bone ornament (above) was designed by a child with cancer and given to the Luke and the me by our Aunt Dav, just days before his diagnosis last year.

 We.

This year... We decided to celebrate and decorate The Golden Tree only. And by 'We', I mean... the Mom and I! 

The Reuf has no knowledge of the customs, traditions or manners of Christmas... tree or otherwise. He watched the decoration and lighting of the tree from his 'room'. He was allowed to sniff and walk to the back of it once... and then we quickly blocked his access. 

For several days, We left some low value ornaments on the coffee table as a test... and he passed. Clearly, our little Reufus is growing up! We don't think We need the gate, but our motto is "Never intentionally set the Reufus up to fail."!

The Stocking.

When he and I had our first sleep-over on December 26, 2008, The Luke had the most beautiful stocking ever! And in 2009, the Mom happened on the same stocking design and bought it for me. This is mine!

This is Reuf's first Christmas... in our family. And the Mom searched high and low for a stocking, befitting his ALL BOY personality, and she finally found it!

Check out the custom made stocking for Lil Reuf... by PIXELCHIC Designs on Etsy!!!

The Mom is thrilled with it! The Reuf is curious about it. And I am not surprised that it faces a different direction from mine! If the stocking fits.. Haha.

The Golden Tree, tonight... room lights off.

[This year, the tree is located in the NW corner of this room. We normally put it up in the SW corner, but since Reuf's arrival here on April 16th... the SW corner has been his, for his room! We decided it would be best to relocate the tree and move display shelves, rather than disrupt the security of Reuf's 'bedroom'!

The Golden Tree, tonight... room lights on.

We are going to finish up our decorations this weekend! Reufus is enjoying the season and has reallyl surprised us with his recent good behavior! The Mom thinks that the all of the training is working... I think it's because he just remembered that Santa has made and is checking his list, not just once... but twice!

Christmas is a Special Time.

It is Joy and Generosity and Fun...
It is Innocence,
a Time to Reunite with Your Inner Pup.

And it's a Time to Remember...
The Reason for The Season!

The emotions of loss seem to mount this time of year... but our the Mom does her best to overshadow her sadnesses with Songs and Specialness and Joy in our home.

Last Christmas, we quietly embraced what we knew were the last days of Our The Luke. I think you can imagine how she feels this year, but...

I'm feeling great, and that gives her great reason to raise her hands to the sky...

Time is the Greatest Gift!

The Wright Brothers

The Luke Who art in Heaven

Me, The Bleu

The Reufus

...
I think I might be adopted.
tee hee...

A Little This and That, Hodge Podge Things

Welcome back, Friends! And thank you for your willingess to venture into the heat and drought of Houston, Texas to join me as we close out another wonderful weekend!

We've not been too terribly busy this weekend, so I thought I would share a little this and that, you know... just a few hodge podge kinda things.


Outdoor Life. Though I love out-of-doors, I don't spend a great deal of time out there, even under normal conditions... but these days of triple digit temperatures, I am even more efficient with my time out there!

Little Reufus seems to be wired with a different thermostat than the rest of us, so the Mom is forever letting him go outside and calling him right back in! He seems to think there is merit in living outside... Silly, silly boy!!!

Gosh... This heat makes me YAWN!

Have I mentioned that Houston is almost 18" behind our normal rainfall for the year? And the last 12 months have been the dryest in the state's history? Probably not, because drought statistics are so not fun...


Well, very little will actually grow in this heat and drought, but there IS one thing that seems to be starting to grow nicely...


Reufus Fur. Check it out, Little Reufus is starting to grow some Golden fur! It's hard to see in photographs, but his fur is thickening around his neck and through his shoulder blades. His undercarriage, pantaloons and tail are also filling in and growing! 

It's kinda bittersweet, because a boy only has the puppy looks for just a short while.. and the Mom wants to hang onto that memory. Photos don't do Reuf justice. He really, really, really is "a pretty boy". And I'm pretty sure his looks have carried him a long way in this life!

And on the other paw, we are hoping we can get him approved or certified by the AKC under The Purebred Alternative Listing (PAL) for pure bred dogs who don't have papers.


If recognized, it will mean that he will be eligible to compete in Obedience, Rally and Agility events... I, personally, don't see this ever happening, but it's his dream, and I don't want to squash it. After all, I still have dreams of having my own dance crew!

For The Love of Luke... and Great News. The Fund has been quite successful, and we are pleased to introduce Rusty Flomar... the first awesome Senior slated to receive treatment via this fund!

Rusty is 7 years old, and he was abandoned at a pet supply store in Beaumont, Texas. This handsome boy definitely has "The Luke" factor!  He is supremely handsome and has confidence galore. He was recently neutered and is heartworm positive, but brace yourself for the greatest news ever!!!


Rusty met his Forever Family yesterday! And I mean, this handsome boy scored. They are as wonderful as he is. And they are ALL at the brink of a beautiful life together. I just know...

Beautiful Life. I treasure each and every new day. I also treasure times past. Sometimes I long for them. And here is Our The Luke, one year ago...

What a brother...

And here we are, working the door together....

Those were the days.

And so are these. Just saying.

Bubble Bath... And Beyond Basic!!!

As you know, Thursday nights are bittersweet for me. On the one paw, my the Mom is away from home... And on the other, the Reufus is also away from home!!!

Bring on the bubble bath, cookies in bed, and all my other guilty pleasures! Join me if you will!!!
 

Close your eyes and picture me here in my pink bathrobe and shower cap. Why, you ask, do I need a shower cap when I'm taking a bubble bath???

To ensure that my ears are dry when the Mom gets home... of course!!! But I digress...

Tonight is the first night of Reufus' new class... Beyond Basic. You might wonder, as I did, what is involved in "Beyond"... And here is the course description:

Beyond Basic See spot come, jump and sit up! During the six-week session, you will teach your dog to go through, up, and over obstacles. As your dog becomes proficient with the jump and sit, you will introduce him to a variety of tricks. In addition to teaching new skills and tricks, you will continue to enhance your relationship and rapport with your canine companion by reinforcing the skills introduced in previous classes. After mastering the skills and concepts introduced in this class, your dog will be ready for Hollywood!




[My the Aunt Karen sent us some new photos that she took at last week's graduation... so I thought I would use them to illustrate his experience tonight.]

Having eaten half of a koozie on the trip, The Reuf arrived... did small business outside, sat politely at the door until invited to enter... and then greeted his favorite trainer, Tracie, with enthusiasm!

Reuf was pretty wound up, as he discovered that NONE of his friends from the last class were joining him... but the arena began to fill with other, fresh and new friends (i.e. distractions)!

Here he is, fully engaged with the Mom, as he is supposed to be. In truth tonight... at least at first... he was checking out new pals, that included:

Toy Poodle
Standard Poodle
Border Collie
Australian Shepherd
Lab / Lab Mix
Great Dane
Golden Retriever Mix
Who Am I Missing?

First, there were loose leash walks... varying speeds with sits. Reuf did pretty well, but did have some distractions. Next... the group gathered in a circle. Each dog connected with their person, as one by one... dogs took turn weaving in and out of the circle, an arm's length from the sitting dogs.

Reuf did great with the distractions (or make that he AND the Mom didn't get it right away... but they did learn with the help of Sandy and Tracie)... just like he did last week, when Tracie was his distraction!

Next, the students demonstrated their SPINS and REVERSES. This happens to be a favorite of Reufus. And he did it over and over and over... with enthusiasm!

Next... a new trick was introduced... "the wave".

The Mom worked with Reufus. Sandy worked with Reufus. And Tracie worked with Reufus. Sandy and Tracie were able to identify small measures of compliance, and they rewarded him. The Mom promised them that she would continue to work with him at home...

And she did when she got home. The first time she waved at me... I waved back. She waved with the other hand, and I waved with my other paw.

She turned to Reuf, and said... "Seeeeeee?????"

The Reufus loves to be an example in class, as he was in class last week... but there was no need for his volunteering spirt this week [in part, due to the maturity of the other dogs... and also because the other dogs and their people seem to be focused and on point. My the Mom worries that this is too much too soon for the Reuf... and she worries that she won't be able to keep up!!!]

Reufus did GREAT with the A-FRAME (42"-48" high), up and over, quickly and then recall. He also did great with the BOX. Sit until release!

And Christy worked with him on his SIT/STAY and JUMP. The Mom is also grateful to her for addressing the LAZY SIT. I think it's safe to say... this will be the primary focus of this next week!!!

Ok... that and the lazy lay. This is not the lazy lay. This is the just hanging out, chicken / frog leg lay. And this photo was taken of Reuf last week when he was letting it all hang out... after his obstacle course. He was proud!

Reuf leaves you with another glimpse of his lazy sit. And if I know my the Mom, she will be asking that I fill my blog with his newly learned pretty sits. We'll see. This is MY blog, after all, and not his!!!

And for now I leave you with a tender "Good Night". And the Reufus is just asking to be put to bed.

Knock on wood: Reufus is slowly and quietly assimilating into every day life. Once last week... and again once this week... the Mom missed him, sought him out... and discovered him relaxed, just hanging out like a normal boy! I kinda think that a normal family is in bloom for the three of us!!!