Tucker and Oreo Photos

Sorry Tully, you didn't make the cut this time around!

 

From Makayla...to Tucker

Our darling niece, Makayla, found out it was Tucker's birthday and drew him a beautiful cake!  When my in-laws were in Chicago during the holidays, she gave it to them to give to Tucker.  Such a sweet gesture.

Merry Christmas, Happy Birthday and Happy New Year...a little late!

The past few weeks at work have been rather busy - requiring me to stay later than normal.  By the time I get home, I have little to no energy to go online, let alone blog.  I'm still loving my new job and I'm happy to report I have been there for more than three months - a record compared to my last two jobs :) Hey now, those jobs were after I was with another company for five+ years.  It's all about finding the right fit and I feel very fortunate.  I have been doing a rotation on the trading desk which means I don't get to leave my desk for many, if any breaks.  Thankfully everyone is very nice and has a great sense of humor.  Don't worry, it's not like "Wall Street" or "Boiler Room"!  Oh, let's not forget about all the free food too!  My first lunch on the desk consisted of warm turkey, warm beef, gravy, mashed potatoes, veggies, crab cakes, mac n cheese, salad, dessert, etc...

I hope everyone had a very Merry Christmas!  Ours was busy with last minute shopping, wrapping, and baking.  What is it about the holidays that always causes one to embark on a mad dash to the finish line?  Here is the photo we used for our holiday card this year - it was taken in October or November during a hike at Jerusalem Mill.  I played around a little with PhotoShop to make the colors pop.  We love going hiking in the fall!  Tucker loves fall too since it means the weather is cooling down - you try hiking with lots of fur. 

This is the other photo we used on our holiday card - Tucker will always be on our holiday card as long as he is a part of our family (hopefully for MANY years to come).  Tucker turned 5 on December 26th.  We spend lots of time wondering what he must have been like as a puppy.  I bet he was rambunctious and loved giving kisses. 

Lastly, Happy New Year and here's hoping 2011 is a wonderful year for everyone.  I started the year out with a dreadful cold, but am looking forward to a new year. 

"No photos please!"

Tucker squints just like Mark for photos...

Someone was being bashful

Happy 1st Adoption Birthday to Tucker!

One year ago a special dog joined our family.  September 27, 2009 was a day we will never forget!  Tully and Oreo were hesitant to accept this 100+ pound animal, but now they love them (or at least Oreo does).

Mark and I started the adoption/rescue process late last summer.  The process is not easy by any means.  You have to submit essays, the rescue has to contact your references, the rescue has to do a homevisit, and then the potential parents have to visit the foster family's house to meet their potential new family member.

The process is also competitive.  An e-mail announcing a new adoptable dog can receive 25 replies within minutes since so many families want to rescue a dog.  The competition is a good thing since many dogs will get new forever homes.  Mark and I had lucked out many times by not responding soon enough, despite my monitoring my Blackberry quite frequently. 

We received Tucker's adoption announcement on September 17, 2009.  This is what it said:

Please, allow us to introduce an absolute gem to you, Tucker.

Sweet Tucker arrived here last Sunday and after a day to adjust, he is doing great. He still sports his summer haircut.

Tucker will be 4 years young in December. He knows some commands, such as: Sit, stay, walk, outside. He came from a home that had no other animals, into a house that has 3 dogs and 3 cats. He gets along great with everyone, but is especially fond of the smaller ones. Sometimes he gets frisky and it is a joy to watch. He does stop if you call his name and tell him no, but he will still whimper and sometimes chirp to get the others' attention.

Tucker loves lounging on furniture and it is hard for him to concentrate on commands when my Jack Russell is around.

I took him to the vet today and was very proud of him. He likes to ride in the car and if you let him, will gladly stick his whole head out the window taking it all in. Tucker is a big boy. He weighs in at 96lbs, and does has a few conditions that are resolvable and being treated.

He had fleas when he came to me and is being treated for a flea related skin irritation with medicated shampoo - and naturally, by keeping fleas away from him with appropriate regular topical applications, s.a. Frontline. Tucker was diagnosed with Lyme disease, which is being treated with Doxy for the next 30 days.

Honestly Tucker is a fantastic Golden companion. You couldn't wish for a more congenial family member. Sweet natured, loves to be around his people, wants to please and go with you wherever your steps lead. He has gotten into a few things out of boredom. At his young age, he still needs to be kept occupied, i.e. with soft fluffy toys, and he is a happy camper. He does bark at outside noises and is a good door greeter and Golden ambassador. He does very well with everyone he meets, dogs, cats, kids, and infants (If an occasional lick is ok). He is reliably house broken. Tucker is happy hanging with us, but he would really love to meet you, his new forever family….

These are the photos that accompanied Tucker's announcement:

Mark and I traveled to the Dominican Republic to celebrate Mark's 30th birthday around the same time we received Tucker's announcement.  A few days before we boarded our flight, we met Tucker at the foster mom's house.  I think a few other families were also being considered.  Being in the DR, we had little to no cell/e-mail service.  I kept sneaking into the business center to check my e-mail to see if we had received an update.  Upon landing in Charlotte (for a layover), I received an e-mail that said Tucker was all ours if we still wanted him!

The next day, Sunday, September 27th, we welcomed Tucker home!  This photo was taken by the foster mom outside her house.

What a year it has been.  We hope there are MANY more years to come with our beloved Tucker.

Sunflowers!

We traveled a few miles this past weekend to see the famous sunflowers in Harford County, MD.  We were about a week late...but better late than never.  These sunflowers even made it to the front page of the Washington Post!

 

 

 

 

 

Silly Tucker

Here are some silly photos/stories of/about Tucker...

I went to Target earlier this week with the intention of buying only a few things.  Rightttttt.  Target is a trap and it is hard for one to walk out of there without blowing their budget out of the water.  Since my local store is being renovated (they're adding fresh produce - yay!) I had an excuse to wander around aimlessly (well more aimlessly than normal).  I stumbled upon the one of the pet aisles and couldn't resist buying Tucker a new rope (come on, it was only $3/4) and a fake squirrel.  Tucker is, quite simply, obsessed with squirrels.  When he sees one, he pauses, tries to pull me, pauses, then slowly backs up if he's too close.  Then as I try to persuade him to "leave it" and walk away, he keeps looking behind to try to get a glimpse.  The best is when he looks at trees that he has seen squirrels run up days prior.

Embarassingly, the other week during a routine after-work walk, Tucker picked up a dead squirrel.  It was hidden in the bushes.  Tucker is notorious for quickly (where does that speed come from?) picking up trash during walks.  I really thought he had picked up a food wrapper judging by the way he moved...NO.  It was a freaking dead squirrel.  Thank goodness he dropped it right away.

I digress...Tucker loves squirrels so I thought that getting him a lifesized fake one would make him happy.  Boy oh boy...he's ecstatic!  I apologize...all of these photos were taken with my Droid 2. 

 Mark made me take this photo of the two of them.  So cute!

Lastly, I came home to this earlier in the week.  Surprisingly Tucker did not disturb the perfectly lined up remotes.  

My Greeters

Every day when I come home the devil cat, Tully, will be waiting at the door that leads from the garage to our house.  It's not because he really wants to see me; rather, he wants to make his great escape.  As soon as he hears the garage door opening he books it to the foyer...who cares if he slides along the way and runs into walls.  Tucker also takes up residence in the foyer area.  Sometimes he will be waiting right at the door with Tully.  Other days, if he's had a walk from our neighbor and is tired, he'll be sleeping in the bathroom that is right off the foyer.  He'll lift his head to say hello and then go back to dreamland (tough life)!

This has been a pretty long and eventful week, so I was glad to see Friday come to an end.  Even better was seeing this sight when I came home - all THREE animals waiting in line for me at the door.  There was Oreo, followed by Tully, with Tucker behind both of them.  What a lovely sight...it put a smile on my face as I tried to make them back up so I could get in the door without them escaping.  Such a nice way to start the weekend with animals that love me unconditionally!  :)  Well at least Tucker and Oreo do...not sure about Tully.

Tucker's Visit to the Fountain

The past few Saturday mornings we have been supporting the local economy.  Since we live in Town, we're able to walk to many places.  Just recently, we started walking to the Farmers' Market to buy fresh produce, dog treats, and flowers.  Then we go to a deli that serves an excellent hot breakfast.  The best part of all - we get to take Tucker everywhere with us.  Little kids squeal and want to pet Tucker when they see him.  The owner of the deli always brings Tuck a big bowl of water, and to show his gratitude, Tucker gives him many kisses.

This past weekend I took these photos of Tucker posing in front of the fountain in Town.

"It doesn't go to his head or modify his behavior, however..."

We are VERY fortunate to have a retired neighbor that walks Tucker.  He is so sweet and truly loves Tuck.  We were e-mailing about Tucker and I asked how he was behaving.  Our dog walker responded:

"He has been well behaved except recently when we saw- in our joint experience- our first rabbit. It was hard to restrain him as he took off with much more vim and vigor than is evident when he sees squirrels. He is getting more used to them, I guess. He gets a fair amount of petting from strangers and a lot of favorable comments about his good looks. It doesn't go to his head or modify his behavior, however. Seconds later he may be rolling on the grass or asphalt, sniffing the ground or trying to dive-bomb food scraps."

HAHA  

Tucker Goes to the Beach!

...kind of!  My parents have a condo on the bay in Ocean City, Maryland - we're fortunate enough to go there whenever we want.  Since we rescued Tucker in September, this was his first trip to the "beach" that we know of...who knows if his previous owners have taken him to OCM.  Technically we never went to the literal "beach", but when you say you're "going to the beach/ocean" it just generally means you're going to Ocean City, MD.  Plus, I'm pretty sure dogs aren't allowed on the actual beach in the summer.  One day he'll get to experience some sand!  Surprisingly, Tucker behaved well in the car during the 3.5 hour drive.  Thank goodness...aside from some drool, all went well!

Isn't he cute?!?!  Doesn't seeing that water just put you in a relaxing state of mind?

Tucker's Bedroom

The past few weeks we have noticed that Tucker doesn't sleep in our bedroom.  Mark and I thought this was odd considering what a velcro dog Tucker is (then again what golden isn't?!?!).  When we first rescued Tucker he used to sleep on our couch and bed all the time...no rules because Mark felt bad.  Eventually I broke Tucker of his couch privileges.

Then we worked on him being in bed...because realistically Mark and I aren't small and we only have a queen bed.  Oh and Tucker is 100+ pounds and long.  Trying to get him not to jump in bed with us was hard because he loves being with people.  When we were trying to break him of jumping on the bed he would run from Mark's side to my side all night.  He would get so upset.  Eventually he was okay.  Now Tucker only comes up on our bed if he's invited.  Even then it's only right before bed and when we wake up in the morning.  Okay, as corny as it sounds, Tuck now knows that it's a privilege to be in bed.  He will position himself in the best area so as to allow Mark and I room.  He sometimes gets excited and wants to show off so he'll roll on his back and kick his legs in the air.  What a sweet dog!


Getting back to the original point of this post...we had noticed Tucker wasn't in our room in any of his favorite spots.  Did I mention that Tucker avoids the ~$100 dog bed I bought from L.L.Bean?  It's an extra large and a kick-ass bed.  The cats love it.  Tucker...not so much.  He will lay his head on it some nights.  If he's really tired he will retreat to it but he never stays on it.

I digress...one night we wondered where Tucker was.  We got worried to be honest.  Mark eventually found him in our guest bedroom on the other side of our house, on the bed.  Ever since then Tucker seems to make his way to that room every night at some point.  Sometimes he sleeps on the floor but more than likely he makes himself comfortable on the bed.  No need to worry, we would not allow this with guests...and we wash the sheets!

When I told Mark that we needed to stop Tuck from going on that bed, he said, "Why?  I'm so happy he's doing it!"  I looked at him with a puzzled face.  Mark continued, "I love that he's doing it because he's becoming more independent and comfortable here."  Awww so sweet!

Tucker Can't Swim!

This past weekend we made a quick trip to Rocks State Park.  The purpose was to check out a "waterfall" and let Tucker play in the water.  Too bad the waterfall area was occupied by a lot of people...and not everyone welcomes a big, fluffy, harmless dog, so we kept our distance.

Instead we threw Tucker's beloved frisbee for him in some shallow water.  When the time came to try to get him to swim in deeper water, he wasn't having it.  Like.at.all.  He timidly put one paw in the deep water and then retreated to his mother (me).  Poor boy is going to have to learn how to doggy paddle from his cousins Kayla (my sister's golden) and Colby (my parents' black lab).  Considering Tucker needs to lose a few lbs, he will also need to buy Colby's flotation vest.  Kayla and Colby are intense water dogs especially when we take them swimming in OCM in the bay. 

A tired pup!

Gotta Love Family

Mark is going fishing early tomorrow morning with my brother and dad.  Lucky him!  We're talking really early, as in 4 am.  Yikes!  Maybe Mr. Owl will be up at the same time.  Don't get me started on that annoying owl that made its way into my dreams last night, drove the cats crazy, and eventually woke me up.

I was talking to my mom regarding how the guys are going fishing tomorrow and she said that last weekend her dad wanted to go.  How flattering, I thought.  Not quite...as my mom said, "yeah he only wanted me to get up early and go with him so he could keep another fish.  Apparently the limit is one fish per person."  Wow dad, nice tactics.  I wonder if Mark will catch on to this too!  Though rockfish aka striped bass (in Maryland) is VERY tasty :)  I for one will be sleeping in with the two cats and Tucker, the 100+ lb golden retriever.

It's Been Too Long!

Wow, it's been too long since my last blog post.  So much has kept me busy...mainly my new job.  It's been a difficult transition for many reasons.  Thanks so much for all of the support from my awesome friends, family, and former co-workers.  I am fortunate that my new location allows me to still see some of my friends who happen to be former co-workers.  Keeping in touch with everyone is incredibly important to me!

My schedule has drastically changed.  I took for granted the fact that I could work out at the gym every morning while with my old company.  I would park in my building, walk across the street to the gym, work out, get ready at the gym, and walk back to work.  Perfect!  Now, I'm about a 10 minute walk from the gym...couple that with the fact that I have to be at my new job earlier and well the 5 am wake up calls just aren't working.  I really need to get back into some routine because me not working out is not good!

I have also been getting home later and by the time I get home I don't want to do anything except take Tucker for a walk, eat, and watch some Lost episodes.  Ah yes, Lost.  Mark and I are obsessed with Lost.  We have been watching it instantly on our blu ray player through Netflix.  Such an amazing concept.  We just finished Season 5 and don't know what to do now until Season 6 is released.  Yikes!

Sometimes working in Finance is great...like today...since the stock market is closed!  No work on a gorgeous day.  Mark and I will take Tucker for a long walk on the trail today.  I'm sure Tuck will enjoy wading in the streams again :)

Snow in Maryland - Blizzard Style

Just catching up on older posts...

We've had quite a few snow storms and blizzards here in Maryland this winter...something we're not used to!

Some fun photos. Keep in mind Tucker is a large dog...he's 100 pounds and the snow is higher than he is.

 

  

  

 

 

Happiness is...

...Tucker, our golden retriever! He is such a happy dog. When I get home from work he get so excited and wags his tail so hard that he ends up hitting himself in the face with it...no joke! That tail is like a whip, hitting the walls and cats.

He is also so cute when he drinks water...that sounds lame, but really, he gets these little water droplets that stay on his nose.



Here is a video of Tucker having a blast kicking his legs.