A Shower & A New Blue-Doo

Cooper got into something black that smudged across his chest.  I don't know where he got it but it looked like motor oil or something.  He needed a shower BADLY.  His hair had faded to a light color of purple, headed for the pink shades, so I decided to color his hair too since I would be showering him.  

Light purple, almost pink hair for a boy?

Some people picture his hair coloring as an episode of torture every time I create his Blue-Doo again.  This time I took pictures of the whole process to ease people's concerns that maybe he hates this process.  You can see that the half hour he has to lay there for the color to set, he SLEEPS.  It's hard to know if I get all his hair because his head is limp and hanging from my lap.  I can't pick his head up because my gloves are all blue and I don't want to get the blue all over the rest of his face.  It usually is a little uneven unless someone else is there to help me get his head up so I can see.

I couldn't get pictures of the rinse because I need both hands.  I sit in the shower with Cooper on his back across my legs with his back feet in my armpit to stabilize him from rolling while one of my hands is washing his hair and the other hand is manning the hand-held sprayer.  We rinse until the blue stops coming out, then we shampoo and get even MORE blue out.  This is when I wish I had another set of hands.  I'm glad he helps by stabilizing himself with his feet in my armpit.  It's weird, but he pushes with his feet so he won't roll off my lap.  VERY HELPFUL.  

Once the blue stops running out I can let him stand in the shower without fear of making blue streaks down his face.  At this time I shower the rest of him.  I got a video of his shower.  (he's not modest,  you can look)  He's not thrilled with his face being rinsed, but the rest of it can be entertaining.  He watches the bubbles run down the drain. 

Happy Memorial Day!!!

~Happy Memorial Day~

We hope everyone remembers our Fallen Soldiers  and thinks to Thank A Veteran For Your Freedom!

We HONOR ALL veterans including Cooper's Daddy, the men  The Veterans Brotherhood VMC

Of which Jesse is a member, and the all too frequently forgotten Women who served our country!  

~Thank You All~

ღ˚ •。* ♥ ˚ ˚✰˚ ˛★* 。 ღ˛° 。* °♥ ˚ • ★ *˚ .ღ 。

 ˚. ★ *˛ ˚♥* ✰。˚ ˚ღ。* 

ღ。* ˛˚ ♥ 。✰˚* ˚ ★ღ

 God Bless America!!!

 ˚. ★ *˛ ˚♥* ✰。˚

♥ 。✰˚* ˚ ★ღ

 ˚. ★ *˛ ˚♥* ✰。˚ ˚ღ。* ˛˚ ♥ 。✰˚* ˚ ★ღ

 ˚. ★ *˛ ˚♥* ✰。˚

Visiting Daddy In The Hospital

Jesse has been in the hospital this week.  He's waiting for minor surgery that keeps getting pushed back day by day.  Hospitals aren't always the most reliable places to put your faith in.  

So, Cooper has been missing his Daddy all week.  Things are anything but routine lately, but more this week than any other.  Cooper really doesn't feel like playing.  Sometimes he gets a toy, but isn't really into the game, so he quits before he really gets to play much.  He mopes around, sleeps on Jesse's pillows and is very unsettled most of the day.

After the excitement wears off a little.  

Each afternoon I have taken Cooper to see Jesse in the hospital.  The first time I didn't say anything to him about why we were there.  I knew if I said 'Daddy' he would get excited and I really wanted to make sure he didn't get loud.  So we took the elevator, walked the halls and focused on how to walk properly without having his nose to the floor.  I led the way and we stopped at Jesse's bed.  Cooper looked up and saw Jesse and his head SPUN AROUND to look at me.  He was so excited!  He looked like he was going to explode.  His look was to question, 'can I go now?' He had been under strict behavior expectations and he knew it.  I quietly said, "Ok" and without hesitation he jumped up on the bed and buried his head in Jesse's chest and stood there pressing in while Jesse greeted him.  He knew not to make a lot of noise, and he was PERFECTLY well behaved.  

Burying his face

Lovin' Daddy

After a short time he was content to lay against Jesse's legs while we visited.  He was relaxed and didn't care what was going on anywhere else in the hospital.  All he cared about was what was going on in that bed.  If I got up, he looked worried.  When the nurses came in he didn't care.  He just stayed where he could touch Jesse.

The second day we visited, he knew where we were and could lead me straight to the elevator and right to the room.  He had NO interest in the ladies at the front desk who wanted to pet him.  He kept looking down the hall where the elevators were.  They thought it was so cute that he just wanted to go see Daddy.  His pace was determined and focused on getting to that room.  He went right to the bed and jumped up without hesitation.  He buried his head in Jesse's chest as he had the day before for his greeting, then settled in for his visit against Jesse's legs.  

Having Mama and Daddy at the same time is all he wants in his world

He was content to stay put but as usual, when he begins to be known, other's require his celebrity appearance.  He was requested to visit the nurses station.  I carried him out the door and started down the hall when we got to a crowd of other people who were visiting their mom.  Cooper waved 'Hi - Hi - Hi' to all the people and created an audience in the middle of the hall.  The nurses came to the gathering in the corridor since we didn't make it to the nurses desk.  It was a lot of fun.  We hope to welcome some of the people we visited to this blog.  We visited the Mom in her room too.  Cooper was as well behaved as I knew he would be.  

Saying Good-Bye Again

Saying good-bye to Buffy again seemed to affect them a little bit this time.  They looked at each other through the door while Buffy was to stay home, Lisa was going to lunch with Paula and Kim, and Cooper and I were leaving on the bike to go home.  

Buffy standing by for moral support

while the humans dress Cooper up.

"AWWW  MA!"

Buffy trying out Cooper's bike seat

Buffy makes it clear that bigger IS better

They really enjoy each other's company and are very comfortable with each other.  See how they hung out this weekend.  They were very comfortable and seem to enjoy each other a lot.

They sure do enjoy each other

Visiting Dallas

During the yard sale on Sunday in Maine, a big beautiful two year old Rottie named Dallas came to visit and hang out.  He was just what Cooper wanted!  A big puppy to play with!  

They were so funny together.  Cooper had been waiting to tear around and run with someone and he LOVES big dogs. (probably because he can outrun them)

Watch this video... you'll love it.  This was the best entertainment we had all day!

Sunday's Yard Sale In Maine

On Sunday we had a yard sale at Lisa's house to raise money to donate to Breast Cancer Research in the name of Mainely Agnels chapter of Women On Wheels®.  Women On Wheels® sends a lot of money every year for the cause.

We got up early and started pulling stuff out of the cellar and setting up tables.  Cooper and Buffy supervised us quite well.  Other WOW members showed up to help so the dogs had fun greeting and sniffing everyone.

After we were all set up Buffy and Cooper were the official greeters.  They would watch for anyone new to show up so they could trot down the drive way together to say hi.  They were so cute.

Our official greeters in action!

Toward the end of the yard sale we left for a few minutes to exchange Cooper's new riding harness at Sooper Dogs.  That was fun for the dogs too.  They never had a minute to sleep or rest or even WANT to relax at all for the whole day.  They didn't want to miss anything.  

Trying on a hat at the hard sale

We left around 3 PM to go home on the motorcycle.  Another chilly ride.  It never got above 55* but at least it didn't rain.  134 miles was our daily accumulation of miles with a grand weekend total of 505 motorcycle miles.  Woo-Hoo!

First Ride With Buffy

On Saturday after our ride to White Horse Gear we got to go for a short ride with Lisa and Buffy.  This is the first time Cooper has ever ridden with another dog.  Buffy is still getting used to riding, so it was a nice slow putt-putt around town ending at the beach.  

When we got to the beach, both dogs had their noses in high gear.  There were so many smells for them to experience while we were there, but it was CHILLY there so we didn't stay.

From there we visited Buffy's Auntie Paula for a few minutes.  When we got there we realized that Buffy was shivering so we put Cooper's snow suit on her.  She looked so cute.  By the time we got back home she wasn't shivering any more.  She was plenty protected with the snow suit.  

I got some great video of Lisa and Buffy on the bike.  Check it out...

Back To Maine!

Lining up with Lisa

Cooper and I left our house by motorcycle at 7:30 AM on Saturday and didn't park the bike till after 4:00 PM at Lisa & Buffy's house in Maine.  Cooper and I did 371.5 miles without any trouble.  We went to visit Buffy and her Mom Lisa and to go to White Horse Gear (motorcycle gear) open house and tried to find a better motorcycle carrier for Buffy AND Cooper.  They both need something more comfortable, bigger and weather proof for when they ride.  I didn't feel like it was too long a day.  He does fine with long rides like this as long as he gets to pee and walk around some every couple of hours.  We had plenty of breaks.  

Pet carrier is JUST a TINY bit too small

But it's fun to have people watch us try

He had to wear his rain gear for the first time.  We got caught in rain for quite a while.  He did fine.  I know he didn't like the rain on his face, but the rest of his body stayed dry.  It was a good test run for his rain gear before we go cross country.  

Rain Gear

Walking to the open house

We also went back to Sooper Dogs to return the harness I got for him.  He needs the next smaller size.  They had to order the harness because they don't have it in stock, so we'll either go back to pick it up, or maybe Lisa and Buffy can come here for a visit and bring it with them.

Since when we go to CA we'll have to do about 300 miles per day, I wanted to see what that would feel like.  No biggie really.  We're going to make it with no trouble, weather permitting.  This weekend proved it.

Watchin' TV With Cooper and Gabrielle

The other night, I was home with Jesse.  We were supposed to have gone to NY for the weekend to deliver a motorcycle to Uncle Howie but the truck REFUSED to make the trip.  Jesse got a phone call from work that he had to go fix a water leak that had leaked into the apartment ceiling below.  Jesse being part of the maintenance crew where he works, took the call.  At least it made up for the hours he was missing  from leaving work a little early to go to NY.

When he left, I got comfortable on our little couch.  Gabrielle got up on my belly and mad herself quite at home.  Cooper decided he would like to be there too, but NEVER challenges the cat.  She has sharp pointy things that defend her space, so he wasn't sure where he would snuggle.  

I moved down on the couch to allow room above my head.  That was exactly what he wanted.  He got up on the couch and laid down by my head, Gabrielle on my belly and I was perfectly comfortable in my sweat pants and tank top with my coat made out of a throw blanket watching one of the 'Pirates Of The Caribbean' movies on regular tv.  I was perfectly content and comfortable through the end of the movie, at which time Cooper and I went to bed.  I read and Cooper snuggled with Jesse's pillow as we waited for Jesse to get home.  It was such a quiet night.  Perfectly stress free, just the way it should be.

First Ride Of The Year

Usually I have my first ride some time around April 1st.  This year things didn't work out that way for me.  I've had way too much stuff going on.

On Saturday last weekend, I decided to go get my inspection sticker on my bike.  Jesse came too though he will get his sticker someplace else.

We were on our way there when we passed the local ice cream parlor.  As we passed there were MANY familiar bikers there waving at us as we went by.  They were a group of Women On Wheels members.  This was their last stop on their ride.  They had gone out to cruise back roads and cranberry bog roads.  They had been out all day.

We turned around to go say 'hi' to them.  We didn't have any ice cream, but got lots of hugs.  Cooper barked a lot with excitement.  He recognized so many of his Aunties and an Uncle.  What an exciting treat for Cooper to see everyone.

After about 20 minutes we continued on.  We went to the place where I always get my sticker.  The guys there remembered Cooper from the previous couple of years.  He got some attention, and quite content to stay on the bike and watch everything the guy was doing to my bike to make sure it passed inspection.

While we were there our neighbor from across the street came to have his bike inspected too.  We talked for a while and Cooper got MORE attention.

When we left there with my new inspection sticker and a socially satisfied Cooper, Jesse led me through some nice back roads with wonderful smells of blooming Lilacs and fresh cut grass.  Someone was having a cookout that caught Cooper's attention most of all.

We rode and rode for maybe an hour until Jesse pulled into a convenience store to get a cup of coffee.  He got a bottle of water for Cooper. I didn't have anything for him to drink from so I went in the store to get a paper cup to cut down for him to drink out of.

As I cut the cup, Cooper watched and acted excited.  Jesse thought it was funny to see him get excited over the activity of cutting a cup, but since Cooper has seen me do this before, he knew it was for him.

I gave him a drink of cold water in the cup.  He drank his fill and then became most interested in socializing with the two bikers we parked near.  He got much more attention especially from the lady who was there.

After we finished our coffee we took the scenic route home.  No one was in any hurry to end our ride.  We enjoyed the ride and the weather until it started to get cool.

My bike was so filthy, having not been bathed since last fall.  When we arrived home I decided to give it a quick wash.  I got a bucket of soapy water and a rag.  Cooper watched my every move.  This is a very un-familiar activity for him to watch.

He stayed on the bike the whole time I washed it.  He watched and wondered.  I could see him acting as if he was ready for me to give him some instruction for the first ten minutes.  After a while he decided this was no big deal and he could feel safe in taking a nap while I continued washing my bike.

We washed Jesse's bike too, then put both bikes away.  Cooper likes to ride up into the shed on the bike when we put it away.  When the bike was tucked in well, Cooper was content in following me into the house to see what was next...

LIKE DINNER!!!

Buffy's Message to Cooper on YouTube

It's TRUE LOVE and it's ALL OVER the internet now for 

EVERYONE to see!!!  

                                                                                  (¯`v´¯)
                                                                                  `*.¸.*´
                                                                                  ¸.•´ ¸.•*¨)¸.•*¨)
                                                                                 (¸.•´(¸.• (¸.•´¸¸.•¨¯`•.¸¸.♥ 

Buffy's Message to Cooper on YouTube

♥♪♫•*¨*•.¸¸♥ ¸¸.•*¨*•♫♪Cooper and Buffy Sitting in a tree♪♫•*¨*•.¸¸♥ ¸¸.•*¨*•♫♪  

♪♫•*¨*•.¸¸♥ ¸¸.•*¨*•♫♪♥W♥A♥G♥G♥I♥N♥G♥♪♫•*¨*•.¸¸♥ ¸¸.•*¨*•♫♪

          ¸.•*¨*•.Vo""wV.•*¨*•.¸ Wink

¸.•*¨*•.. \ O / .•*¨*•.¸ 

¸.•*¨*•.... U....•*¨*•.¸

Out To Breakfast!

We're selling our house.  On the day of our first open house, Jesse and I went to breakfast at one of my favorite places to eat.  It's a local place called Pogo's.  This place is a popular favorite to many of the locals.  It's known for it's DELICIOUS food and HUGE portions.  I will go there over any other breakfast place.  Some day I want to eat my way through their menu, but for now I totally enjoy one dish they offer that has all my favorites combined in one breakfast that comes on two plates.  Mmmmmmmm!

Back to the day of the open house...  Cooper came with us of course.  He sat in his own chair.  Actually he 'slept' in his own chair.  Well, that is, he slept when the waiters and the owner of the restaurant stopped coming to our table to say 'hi' to the cute little dog with the blue hair.

After our food came, the waiter couldn't believe how Cooper never even looked at the food.  He told the others about it, and back they came.  Another stream of visitors who wanted to see how well behaved he is.

Jesse and I ate our breakfast at our leisure while talking about what we'll do after the house sells.   We talked about how, if we sell before the end of the school year, we can take a trip cross country on our motorcycles.  What a GREAT DREAM with a real possibility of coming true!

We enjoyed spending over an hour having breakfast while Cooper slept in his chair.  It was a wonderful beginning to our day.  When it was time to go, I took my bacon from my plate and packed the rest of my meal in a to-go box.  We wend out to the car and Cooper got to enjoy my bacon for breakfast.  He was vary happy.  He's always sure I'll have a tid-bit for him when we leave a restaurant.  It's kind of OUR DEAL we made with each other so being SO GOOD.  I like to make it SO WORTH IT!

Going To The Doctor With Mama!

I had to go to the doctor for what seemed to be an infection setting into a cut I got.  I made arrangements to go to the medical center near Andy's house between jobs so I wouldn't have to cancel my afternoon with Andy.

I had never taken Cooper to a doctor's appointment with me before.  He's allowed in with me since he's a service dog, but my doctor didn't know I had him... until now.  I showed his ID when I checked in and then sat in the waiting room.  A lot of people asked questions about his blue hair.  Children smiled and pointed.  When I was called into the examining room he became a little nervous.  I think he felt like maybe we were at the vet's office.  That would make sense considering some of the smells are similar.  He whined most of the time we were in the exam room waiting for the doctor.  Once the doctor came in, Cooper watched closely while the doctor looked at my infection and talked to me.  

The Doctor left the room after he wrote a prescription.  We decided I should get a Tetanus booster because it had been 10 years or more since my last one.  

More waiting for the nurse to come in with the shot caused Cooper to whine some more.  When the nurse came in with the needle intended for me, Cooper saw it and cowered in his chair.

 How I wish during these times that I could simply explain things to Cooper to ease his anxiety.  That's how I was with my children and they always trusted me.  Cooper lacks the trust in me in some areas because he doesn't know why I allow some things to happen to him.  I can't tell him the plan.  I can't do anything to ease his level of stress.  If there is one area I fall short in with Cooper, it's trust when there is something like this that he doesn't understand.

When we left the doctor he was happy to walk out with me.  He probably felt like he narrowly escaped that needle, when it was never intended for him in the first place.

Donating To Animal Shelters

I thought I would share some pictures from when we have donated to animal shelters.

Rather than writing a story I thought I would just post pictures and explain each of them.

I hope you enjoy.

Coming back from a walk/pee break while waiting for other
riders to show up at the meeting place.

Ready to go when all the bikes get to the meeting place

Tricks for the camera in the parking lot of one of the shelters

Carrying stuff in

Meeting a kitten in a cat shelter near by

Some of the donations for this ride

A group shot from one of our shelter rides

A group shot at another one of the shelters