Going to the Dogs!

Firstly - since some of you asked - the shoulder seems to be healing well - I'm still doing PT three times a week. The doctor expects that I will be able to "fire" Hoke (of Driving Miss Daisy fame) and start driving on my own by the end of the week.

A couple days ago, I was able to raise my hand over my head without pain for the first time in months. That was a thrilling moment, to me anyway. I am now allowed to walk three to four miles so I am slowly getting back into stride.

:)



Recently while walking, I encountered a Basset Hound I call Fred even though I know his real name is Hank. I was warmly welcomed by a ton of barking and much running back and forth along the fence. I tossed him my peanut butter covered cracker, mostly to get some quiet. I've not seen Fred (or Hank) in a while and wondered, briefly, where he had been hiding.

Since I was at the end of my walk and nearly home, that thought didn't have time to...percolate and progress very far along a mental path before I had to turn my attention to other things, like battling with the contraption on my shoulder and the sling to get it off so I could shower.

While showering, I thought to myself, "I wonder if I can retrace my steps and mentally list the dogs in the neighborhood that I pass while walking?" and so the restless mind proceeded to do so. I exited the shower mentally exhausted!

I thought it would be a neat entry to include a photograph of each dog but when I got done the list I decided that project would take forever since I see:

Exiting my house and turning to the left -

1) "Winston" the English Bulldog
2) "Daisy" the tan Mastiff
3) A black long haired Collie dog I can't remember the name of...
4) "Meatball", a brindle colored mutt
5) "Hambone", a grey mutt that must be about a gazillion years old
X) A dark grey long haired cat that gets walked on a leash but it's a cat!

- That is just three houses and I'm finally off my street! -

6) A white dust mop I've never met the owners of...
7) A huge Rottweiler named "Adam"
8) Adam's figurative brother - a little Poodle mix of some sort - name unknown
9) "Abby" the Black Labrador
10) A brown, black and white collie of some sort actually named "Smore"

- The end of the block, turning left -

11) A really adorable little Shetland Collie that barks and does back flips, but shies away when I approach him or her

- Now out of my neighborhood -

12) A big Black Labrador that has really good lungs
13-14) The two big dogs in the second floor window that I took a picture of before
15) A big Yellow Labrador puppy whose feet and legs are way too big for him
16) The Yellow Lab's figurative older sibling, a white-ish Pomeranian that always greets me from behind the front door
17-18) A matched couple of Pugs that I call "Wart" and "Moldy" but don't remember why

- Heading back to my neighborhood -

19) A Lassie-like dog that is really old and stiff
20) A mostly back Border Collie named "Ollie"
21-22) "Hermann" the German Shepard and his figurative little (in size) brother "Peewee" which I've talked about before.
23) A white dust mop-like dog I call "Dusty"
24) A middle aged Black Labrador that I don't really like because he is always smelly
24-25-26) A house with three dogs, 2 Yellow Labradors and a Rottweiler

- On the homestretch now -

27) A boy Beagle that really bays when I walk by
28-29) A twin set of Rhodesian Ridgebacks who are actual brother "Easy" and sister "Harly"
30) An Elkhound named "Pete"
31) An old mutt that always runs up and licks my hand - I just call him "Ol' Tongue"
32) A Spaniel of some sort... its not a Cocker, but what it is, I don't know
33-34) A Chihuahua I call "Squirt" (real name "Squire") and his figurative brother a small Welsh Corgi that I call "Yaps" who's real name is "Tiny"
35) An old black mutt that's part Black Lab named "Perky"
36) Another Shetland Collie who I think they call "Roland"
37) A Boston Terrier
38) ...and finally Freddy the Basset Hound whose real name is "Hank" and who's picture is above.

This list is the result of a short one-mile walk out and about the neighborhood and probably omits a half dozen or more dogs I can hear barking but never can seem to locate or see. Next time I'll try to remember to count how many houses are involved here - I'm sure its not more than three or four dozen.