Stitch

We were only there for the discount strawberries when we saw a 10 week old puppy that was up for adoption by the Tri-Valley Animal Rescue. A corgi/jack russell mix (they think) was given up by his original owners who got him from Oregon because he had a skin condition that they didn't want to treat. TVAR got him on meds and fixed him up (and fixed him permanently :p) so we were able to bring him home on July 5. He had stayed with a foster mom for a couple of weeks until he was ready.

We've been debating about getting a second dog for awhile now, and it was the perfect time with me out of school (and out of a real job). Bailey generally takes to other dogs quite well, but when we brought him home, it was the first time I've seen Bailey actually growl at another dog. Maybe he knew that this was a permanent arrangement.

Either way, as the days go by, Bailey has gotten used to Stitch (yes, named him Stitch) and they play together really well. Bailey is so gentle with him, despite Stitch biting and crawling all over his face. Bailey's 4th birthday was July 15, so we took the boys to Monterey to play on the dog friendly beach.

Potty training has been tough, but after a week and a half, I think the little guy is finally figuring it out. He has now started walking toward the door when he needs to go. Yay! Let's just see how many days he goes accident free. The real test is leaving him home alone, he barks and howls and if he potties, he screams bloody murder when we come home to his mess.

He's about 6 lbs right now but I feel that he's getting bigger. Especially since we carry him around a lot. I hope he doesn't get too much bigger, he's a really good lap dog.

Other than the potty thing, he's been relatively good. He doesn't chew on random things, and he plays with his own toys (and likes to take Bailey's). He has a bit of separation anxiety that we will need to work on once he's potty trained. He's really friendly with people, especially girls and he is really good with dogs in general. He's only had one bad encounter with a boxer puppy that tried to stomp him. That was the first time I've seen him scared.

Otherwise this guy is fearless, unlike Bailey who is scared of everything. Stitch is still hesitant when climbing down stairs, but I feel that once he's used to it, he'll be jumping off laps instead of wanting to be on them. I think most of the time he sits quietly on our laps is because he's scared to move.

Other than barking while we're gone, he's pretty quiet and only whines and grumbles if we are out of his line of sight. I hope he starts getting used to it, because we can't always be home 24/7. We'll have my aunt babysit him this weekend which should go smoothly since he adores people.

That's pretty much what I've been busy with the last two weeks. I can't wait until Stitch can take longer walks and then we'll take them both hiking. Right now it's just dog parks and walks around the local park.

Update

I have made the first steps to making my own web site and I'll be hosting my own blog eventually. Although it's not a good sign that I can't even keep up this one. But I like to tell myself that once everything is up and running, I'll actually update. We'll see. The Dreamweaver for Dummies book is kind of long. BUT! At least we have a server... there's a start.

I've been doing an internship at a gaming studio for the last month or so. It's been fun and interesting so far. Everyone is really laid back, to the point where they like to come in at 11. That also means no one is leaving until at least 7pm which is way too late for me. I go in twice a week to do some testing or sit in on some meetings and then work from home the rest of the week doing research and game design. It's nice to know that people value your opinion because you play too many games and they want to know what you think and how their ideas compare. I don't mean to say that my opinion means all that much, but at least I've played a wide variety of games and have read a lot about them to know whether people like it or don't like it. That's what happens when video games becomes a hobby where all your disposable income goes to.

Right now I'm playing Okami and I was playing Tomb Raider Anniversary before I lent it to a coworker. I think I'll try to play Super Paper Mario next....

In other news, we're adopting another furbaby! They think he's a Jack Russell Corgi mix and he's only about 11-12 weeks old right now. We should be able to bring him home by Thursday. I just hope he gets along with our lab. We're going to name him Stitch so I hope that doesn't jinx us. He seems like he really wants to play with Bailey, but our dog now, he's 100 lbs of chicken and freaks out over the tiniest things. At least he loves dogs though, I just don't think he cares too much about dogs that don't come to his eye level. Either way, I think Stitch will be very fond of Bailey and I hope they only learn good things from each other. I have nightmares about this little demon tearing up the place, but hopefully he'll be an angel, just like Bailey ;)

Canada Day was Sunday, and obviously it goes by unnoticed here. The fourth of July is tomorrow and we'll be spending it eating and gorging ourselves. We paired up with a friend to host day long festivities since we have the BBQ. I hear it's going to be hot... which is disappointing because so far the weather has been perfect. So perfect in fact, that we've actualy gone hiking twice!