A Mysterious Black Hole

I have lost my dog's favourite toy. Cadie's favourite toy is something called a Tricky Treat Ball. As you can see it's porous, orange, largish and round. It works by putting treats (though I just use kibble) into the opening, (the big hole in the middle of the ball pictured above) then you through it down for the dogs and they kick it around and food magically appears. Cadie got her first Tricky Treat Ball when she was 13 weeks old. I felt completely overwhelmed by her growing activity level, and the puppy book said she needed a "job". The book recommended a Kong filled with Kong filler, or peanut butter. My vet would freak if she thought I was giving Cadie peanut butter, and Cadie had already chewed through her teething Kong (after a little less than a week) so I knew a Kong was out of the question. I headed over to Walmart to see what alternatives they had, and that's where I found the Tricky Treat Ball.

It was an instant hit, and my vet even remarked at our second appointment that Cadie was a "pro" with the ball. It's true though, Cadie's "job" was to roll the ball around and collect the treats. At first she used her nose, which meant that she could sniff the treats out as soon as they dropped to the ground. It didn't take long though for her to build her skills, she now kicks that ball around the house like a super star soccer player.

So a couple of days ago I went looking for it, I was headed out, and I wanted to give Cadie something to do while I was gone. But I couldn't find it, I searched high and low, under beds and bookshelves, behind chairs and in closets. I have no idea where this thing could have gone. It seems to have disappeared off the face of the earth.

oh well, I'll just have to replace it. I think my mum's dog has one that she's not using, I'll just pinch it while I'm home next weekend.

Nuit Noir

So I think I made that up, but the point is that I slept. YEAH! I would feel fantastic except for 3 things:

1) I'm fighting a head cold, and I feel pretty run down
2) Cadie is starved for social interaction and exercise
3) It's still raining, which means that I'm going to have to walk the dog in the rain, in order to get some rest tonight. (This is the downside of being single for sure.)

But still let's not lose track of the fact that I got some sleep. YEAH! Here's how the story unfolded; Over the summer Monday evening was far and away my favourite television night, well...no my favourite, Thursday is my favourite, but over the summer it was all reruns, and the Monday night shows were all new to me. I would park myself at 7:30 and stay there until 10. It was a great chance to get some sewing done or just to chill. That has changed now that they've moved Big Bang to Thursday, where I'll never be able to watch it.

Anyhow, I was sitting on the couch last night watching The Simpson (AKA my sleeping pill) when my head got heavy and the next thing I knew it was 9:40 and a rerun of Big Bang was on. Ha! sleep at last, and at a reasonable hour too!

So I rushed to bed, and Teddy Bear followed close behind, and I slept through until my alarm went off. Ahh! Now I just need to shake this cold before next weekend.

Nuits Blanches

I am not sleeping these days. My mind is racing, I have no idea where it thinks it's going, but it won't slow down. Every night I head to this bed, where this teddy bear is waiting for me, and I feel a strong sense of relief, because I'm ready to stretch out and sleep.

But then something happens when I turn the covers down. The Teddy Bear strolls up to the other side of the bed, and lays down on the pillow beside me and I think that this is super cozy, so I close my eyes tightly and try to think of nice things until I fall asleep. After 10 minutes of trying to force my mind to think positively I give up, get up and go into the living room where I put on The Simpson, and almost instantly fall asleep. I start this by myself, but after about15 minutes Cadie will come out of the bedroom and sleep on my feet, it's nice to have company.

This means that I have to get again, usually either at 12, or 1 or even 2. The mid night room change also means that I am exhausted in the morning, just as I am now.

So now I have to figure out how to stay awake on an overcast Monday morning, I also have to figure out how to get to sleep tonight.

Kew Gardens

I was very excited Friday afternoon, C and I were planning a trip to Riverside Park. A park that seems to get people pretty excited. But the best laid plans are no match for erratic weather. As I have some difficulty parking in the garage, I left my car out on the street, as I came into my apartment I heard a booming crack, and then a thud, as a huge branch hit the ground. That sealed the deal, C and I agreed that the combination of the black clouds overhead, and the powerful winds meant that Riverside Park was out of the question.

However, I owe you a park review, and it occurred to me that I never did post a review of our trip to Kew Gardens.

Kew Gardens is out in the east end. You'll see here that it has a gorgeous gazebo, they use this during the Beech Jazz festival too, the musicians are in the gazebo and they arrange chairs in front. You will see that Cadie escaped my grasp here, but this is technically not an off-leash zone.

This photo may be harder to see, but here you see a lawn bowling club, and beyond it the lake, what you may not see too well is the boardwalk, and sort of lost in the mix is the off leash area.

I don't know if you remember it, but the day Cadie ate a stick of butter she found a beach ball, and I hid it in the closet. I knew we were headed to the beach, and I wanted her to have something to play with when we got there. I'm glad that I kept it for her. This beach ball gave her minutes of fun...about 3. She chased it and lunged at it and grabbed at it, and then it deflated, so I threw it out, it was a no brainer.

The dog park is huge, at least as large as Sunnybrook, but, at least twice as spectacular. There is a lot of sandy space for dogs to run and catch balls, or wrestle with each other, but it's right on the lake, so more often than not we passed people sunbathing with their dogs. Cadie and I went with C, her brother D and of course Toby.


It was very windy that day too, so I was very worried that Cadie would want to go swimming, and I had forgotten her life jacket, so there was no way I was going to let her go in. Fortunately, as always, Cadie was far more interested in chasing after her ball then in going into the water.



It was a hot day, and truthfully both dogs were really struggling with this trip. It seems counter intuitive, but I don't think this park is really suitable for a hot day. The off leash area is completely sandy, while the grassy area is shady and cool, it is reserved for on leash dogs and people. Sand doesn't hold cooler temperatures as well as grass, and there were very few trees, and no water fountain that I could see, so it was even hotter there than our regular walk. We did stop on our way back to the car to enjoy the cool shade, we were all very pleased to sit for a minute on a park bench.

That being said, it was great to get out and play in a new park. I think we would definitely go back The cherry on the cake was the fabulous view!

Stumbling blocks

We all have our strengths and weaknesses, our cleared hurtles and our stumbling blocks, I guess that's true regardless if your dog or a person.

Cadie is an urban dog, and it takes a lot to rattle her. She loves to ride the elevator, she sticks her nose in the tiny little gap of the door, and sniffs frantically as we go up and down, trying to get a feel for what the neighbors are having for dinner.

Cadie also love the subway. Inevitably she finds a person or two who will make as fuss over her, and that is after all what she loves most. Also the subway usually takes her out to see her friend Toby, and means a good romp in C's backyard.

Cadie doesn't seem to notice traffic at all, I don't think she ever did to be honest with you. She simply trots along, confident in the knowledge that those noisy cars won't bother her.

The one thing Cadie is afraid of though is being inside one of those cars. As a small puppy of 5 Lbs. she would curl up in my lap and sleep, occasionally she would stretch, and reposition herself, but then she would go back to sleep almost right away. And at the end of the day maybe that's the root of it, maybe she's only comfortable in the car when she can sit in my lap. At any rate, Cadie is not as excited about Hermione as I am.

I have tried to create a positive experience for her, putting her in the car and taking her to the park where she can play. I even tried taking her to C's place, my mum's place, and new places, but still I can't seem to get Cadie excited about the possibility of a car ride.

Admittedly I'm not a good driver, and maybe that's what's upsetting her, she fears for her life. I couldn't enjoy a car ride if I thought I was going to die. But...I didn't think dogs could fear for their lives...does anyone know the answer to this, are dogs aware of their own mortality?

But I digress. Last night on our way home from the park Cadie was accosted by a Cadie-look-alike. They sniffed hello and then the Cadie-look-alike hoped into the car, and drove off into the sunset. I turned to Cadie and said:

"see. That's what you need to do."

Cadie turned and gave me a look that said:

"don't pull on that thread. Aren't we having a nice time here?"

So I dropped the subject, and we continued on home. I guess no one is perfect, and I still have an advantage over Cadie in that I can pick her up and put her in the car if I want her in there.

There's Something in the Air

Cadie and I got up and headed to the park first thing this morning as usual. We were out for a good 2 hours, again, nothing unusual about that. But then we headed out again in the afternoon for another 2 hours. We had a good stroll up Yonge Street, and then headed down Mt. Pleasant, all in all, it was a great day.

They have already put the bubble up on the tennis court beside us, so I had thought that we had seen the last of the found tennis balls. I was wrong, Cadie found two today. The first ball she found she was happy to have me simply put in my dog walking bag.

When we got to the park, she started jumping around and clawing at my bag until I finally pulled her favourite orange ball out and threw it across the lawn. I don't know how she had the energy to chase a ball, but she did. so we spent some time in park, and then headed home.

It was fabulous, the temperature was perfect, and the roads were so full of people, though it became less crowded as the afternoon wore on.

On her way in Cadie found the second ball, and her day was complete, she had everything she could want. Then she came in and headed right over the couch where she struggled to keep her eyes open while she demolished her newest treasure.

Must..Keep...Chewing!

It's Cadie Life, I Just Live Here

It's funny how an animal can take over your life. One moment you are blissfully unaware the animal exists and the next you are completely wrapped around their little dew claw. This is how it is with Cadie. Cadie sets the tone in the apartment, if she's having a bad day everyone (meaning me) is having a bad day. Cadie tells me when it's time to go to bed, and when it's time to get up. She also tells me when it's time to eat, and when we've spent too much lounging and we're bored. It's true, Cadie is the real matriarch of the apartment, and I am just the follower.


I remember being in my first year of university and being terribly offended when my roomate, who I wasn't all that fond of told me that what I needed was a mother. Naturally I protested, I can look after myself. She laughed and tossed her head and said, "no, no you can't. You need a mother!" The obvious rudeness of this statement aside, I am at heart a routine-driven person, who thrives on knowing what to expect from each situation. Of course life isn't like that, but I think that's the biggest reason that I am such a dog person. Dogs are completely lost without their routines, (they also love cooler weather, and are happiest when they live in the moment. At my more philosophical and romantic moments I like to think that I am descended from wolves, but I digress.)

University on the other hand is so flexible. You get up when you want, you do your homework if you want, a person has to create their own routine, which was something I was struggling with in my first year. So really I don't need a mother, I mean I have one, what I needed was a dog. A little being to run my life and keep me on a short leash.