Roxy Makes a Good Bed Warmer

Yesterday, our dog Roxy joined my husband on the bed and did a great job keeping my side warm for me until I came.  She went in her own bed before I even cam in, such a good girl.

Happy 4th Gotcha Day, Roxy!

 

8 Yrs. old - Celebrating her 4th Gotcha Day

We've had Roxy four years now and she is officially a senior dog at age 8.  It's been filled with ups and downs, but mostly she is a good dog and keeps us on our toes.  I think this is her favorite part of the day, after going on three or four walks during the day, she gets porch time with us and a Frosty Paw treat on warm days.  

Roxy thanked me for changing her vet appointment to a different day.  I just couldn't let it stand when I realized it was on her gotcha day which should be an all good, fun day for her.  Postponed it for two weeks.

Roxy's On TV!

This morning Channel 3's Dog Gone weather segment featured our dog, Roxy!  Hollie mispronounced Gerard's name though as many people do.  She called him Jerod.  I should have included the phonetic pronunciation (Jur-ard) in the email, but I just didn't think to do that.    

You can get your dog on too!  Just email a picture of your dog(s) to Holliestrano@wkyc.com with our name, city, and description of the dog.

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I Want This Spread, Mom!

We have a polar bear bedspread that my dad gave us for Christmas one year that we always use during the winter months.  Unfortunately, our Roxy has developed a habit of jumping on our bed several times a day and ripping it up.  I am not a sewer, but really like this bedspread so tried mending it.  I finally got all the tears sewed up and now see she just made another one!  UGH.  Apparently, she must figure if it gets too bad I'll let her have it for her bed.  I already gave her my old coat to make it softer and more comfy for her, but I think she wants this bedspread.

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My Dog Must Be a Magician!

Look, no tags mom!  It's a mystery!  This morning when we were putting her leash on, my husband noticed her tags were missing.  Yet, the ring they hung on was still closed tight!  Can't figure out how they came off or where they are.  It's so frustrating.  This is about the fourth time they fell off.  I looked all over the house and retraced our last walk of the day yesterday. but couldn't find them.  

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Bad Dog!

Biggest Bruise I ever had--thanks, Roxy!

Had an adventurous walk Saturday morning with our dog--went all the way to Brookpark, then over to W. 54th and home. Roxy rolled on some weeds that were just sprayed with weed killer on Brookpark, then pulled me over face first when she ran after doing a roll on some wet grass and had her leash between her legs. I let up on the leash a bit because I didn't want Roxy getting hurt, but then I got hurt instead (At least she did stop after I fell down)! Fortunately, just scraped my left knee and bruised my right upper leg because I had keys in my pocket that I fell hard on--stupid keys! Mostly I fell on the grass which was good! She is very strong and I hadn't braced myself enough to stay up.

A lady driving by stopped to make sure I was all right. My husband told her I needed a ride home but she was on her way to work. Another guy stopped too and was going to call an ambulance but I was able to get up on my own and could walk so told him I didn't need one.

I was able to walk the rest of the way home in pain (about 40 min.). The whole walk took 2 hrs. and 15 min. We washed off Roxy when we got home and I put Bactine and ice on my wounds. My knee wasn't hurting at all when I got home, but now it is a little. My upper leg hurt more but feels okay when I rub it. Praise God didn't break anything!!!! Went to Urgent Care in afternoon to make sure because had big dark bruise by 4:00. Now Gerard knows how I feel when he falls. Don't think we'll be doing this walk again!

Sorry mom, didn't mean to hurt you!

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"My Second Gotcha Day" by Roxy

before I was adopted--at the shelter

Me Today after Getting My Teeth Brushed

I've been with Karen and Gerard for 2 years now and am six years old.  I've come a long way since I first arrived.  I don't bust through screens anymore.  I can stay home alone without chewing things or getting into trouble.  I do not have to be crated, yay!  I don't jump on the door as often when they come back home.  I usually pass other dogs on the street without tugging on the leash to get to them.  I usually wait for permission before chasing squirrels.  

Today is was very rainy and thunder boomers came during my morning walk, but we took shelter on someone's porch that was very nice and dry.  The lady didn't seem to mind and even offered to drive us home the rest of the way, but we waited it out.  It only rained for about 15 or 20 minutes.  We have lots of nice people that live around us!  Just the other day when we got caught in a rain shower one street away, a lady loaned us her umbrella.  

I had a good "gotcha" day in spite of the rain because Karen and Gerard did not go to play pickleball like they usually do.  I had Gerard all day and Karen most of the day except when she went to the gym.  When she came back, she had ice cream sundaes from McDonald's and I had a Dogster ice cream.  For supper, Karen included a bacon treat as a surprise for me.  

I am happy with my home and so glad they adopted me!  They usually let me have the couch or the chair by the window.  (I do still bark at other dogs that go by and of course, the mailman.)  Oh yeah, and I like my new name better too!  There are still lots of dogs in shelters.  Maybe you could rescue one?  Woof!  Woof!  

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Sprawling on the Couch by Roxy

What do you like to do after a two-hour walk?  I like to sprawl out on the couch!  Woof!

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The Beginning of My Morning Park Walk by Roxy

 

The above picture is of the short cut entrance to the park where I like to go every day.  We went a bit later this morning (7:30 a.m.) so the sun was up for some time already.  The leaves are very pretty right now.

 

Speaking of leaves, I love walking through all the leaves on the ground on the way in on the path by the woods.  The leaves are in the shade, but just up ahead you can see the sun shining on the beautiful trees.  I got in a good hour and a half walk this morning--it was so nice!

How much walking do you get in on a nice day like this?  I highly recommend you go outside and enjoy nature like I do and get away from the TV!

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Morning Halloween Walk With Roxy

This senior maze was in the front yard of one of the streets we were on during our walk this morning.  I laughed out loud when I noticed it for the first time.

See the pretty colored leaves?

 

 Looks like we are at a standstill in this picture.  We are looking in opposite directions!

 Then we got it going right.

A few days ago Roxy plowed all the way through these leaves right down the middle of them.  Unfortunately, we did not have our camera with us so this morning we wanted her to do it again so we could get a picture.  Of course, she wouldn't do it when we had the camera.  I'm going to give it another try though.  I think she may have been too tired to bother because this was near the end of a 2-hour morning walk.

We went back in the afternoon, and sure enough, she enjoyed them then!  Watch this short video:

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I'm at the Playground by Roxy

Usually I only walk around on the ground cutting through this playground at Veteran's Memorial Park on State Road, but today since we went very early in the morning before any kids were there, mom let me walk up to the top of the slide where there is a nice lookout deck for me to lay on and watch over the park!  It is a good rest spot for me because mom can sit on the ledge at the top of the slide while I lay down as long as I want.

The first time I went was actually yesterday, but mom didn't have her camera with her so we did it again today.  I also had a very long fun run in the outfield of a baseball field.  It felt so good to be able to run full speed with no leash holding me back!  Mom started running along with me but she couldn't keep up so let me go on my own, then was a bit worried when she realized the big opening with no fence at the side of the field, but no worries.  I just did one big run for probably less than a minute and came right back to her.  Next time she says we'll do it on a different field that is all fenced in except for two small gate openings.

I love going to State Road park!

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A New Place to Walk and Run by Roxy

Today I got to go to Parma Heights Baptist Church for a walk around the grounds and some great play time off leash at the fenced in playground!  It is the perfect place for me to do my zoomies and not get yelled at.  The video shows me in action and is very short because the Flip batteries died before I was through with my running.  It only shows the very beginning, but I ran lots more after that.

It was fun exploring the obstacles on the playground too.  I went inside one that looked like a big frog or alligator, not sure what it was and even found a big "bowl" of water because of the early rain that came last night and early this morning.

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Scary Trails at West Creek with Roxy (Part 2)

 

 

Boy, this was a bit scary!  We went to explore a new trail--the Grassroots Gorge Overlook Loop.  At first, I thought we were already on it but that was just the trail leading up to it.  There were signs at the beginning of the trail and a upper and a lower one.  I saw "Enter" with a big green arrow on the top trail and a big red "Wrong Way" sign on the bottom trail, so we went on the top trail.  As we were moving along nicely, we passed another walker coming in our direction so I told her she was going the wrong way, that there were signs at the beginning of the trail.  A bit later, two more ladies were coming toward us and when I told them they were going the wrong way, they said I was going the wrong way!  Oops.  They told us that the top trail was for the bikes and the bottom one was for the hikers.  I was really all one trail that made a loop.  The path was pretty narrow so it was already hard to keep the 6 ft. distance when passing someone.  I thought, wow, bikes come on this path!  That thought really scared me because some places were very narrow and there wasn't much space to move off the path, the hill was right there!  When we finished the loop, I checked those signs again and sure enough, there was a bike at the bottom of them.  The bike on the red wrong way sign had a line through it and a bit farther down, a sign read "Hiking only in this direction."

The next day, I wanted to go back and go the right way, so we did.  We went early on a Saturday morning and it was more crowded.  We saw a biker with a dog running along with him enter the loop so we waited for him to come out before going in.  I hate to think of what would happen if we were walking that loop with Roxy and the guy on the bike and his dog came at us from the other direction--very scary!  I can't even believe he would do that with his dog on such a narrow trail!  Anyhow, after they came out, we went in and did pass one biker coming at us.  There wasn't much space to go off the trail to let him through, but we managed.  It was a nice loop but we won't be doing that one again, at least not with Roxy.  

Then we continued on a path across from the Grassroots Gorge entrance and found the Little Loop (picture above).  At least there was no bike on that sign, just a one way directional sign so that's the way we went.  The trail went through the woods and was very narrow--not enough room to pass anyone so I was glad it was only one way and no one else came when we were on it.  There were quite steep drops on the sides and I was glad Roxy didn't pull me too much.  We saw a couple raccoons chasing each other about midway down the hill and fortunately, Roxy did not go after them!  In the picture it doesn't look too bad, but at some places, the hill was steep on both sides of the trail.

I was relieved when we went back down to the flat circle area.  We did take a little detour to do a little loop on flat ground through the tall flowers/grass.  Some of the grass was taller than Gerard!  Roxy liked it a lot though. 

We still have more trails to explore, but those are for another day!  

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West Creek Park is HUGE! (Part 1) by Roxy

 I got to go to West Creek Park and WOW!  We couldn't even cover it in just one day so I am doing several blog posts about my outings there.  The video is a collection of several pics taken during my first two outings there.  I was so excited to actually be walking right in the woods and off the concrete paths.  They have actual dirt trails to walk on, some flat and some on hills.  

Plus, a lot of dogs come there to walk and explore.  Some I got to meet but some I just had to let go by.  They have trail signs, but sometimes my mom still gets confused.  My dad says it would be easy to get lost in the woods and they should have people stationed around to help with directions.  

So far I explored four different areas.  Our first stop was along the way to get to the main part where the big circle path is.  We explored in the woods on the Lookout Ridge trail first.  The picture to the left is of how excited I got running up the hill to dad.  I was moving so fast, he missed my head!

The main part with the big circle path at the bottom is where I was able to get a drink at the doggie fountain.  It also has benches for people to sit on.  My mom and dad were sitting on one near the end of our outing.  I spotted something move in the big high grass nearby and went to chase it.  My mom wasn't expecting that and tipped over, almost falling off the bench.  Too bad dad didn't get a picture of that!  It would have been a funny one.  To my credit though, I did stop when I heard her yell my name.  That was enough for one day--about an hour.

 On our second trip, we did three trails . . . sort of.  The first one we thought was going through the park, but it was the path that went along the main street next to the park.  My mom was disappointed we wasted time on that one.  

Then though, we followed two trails that went through the woods.  The first one we did was pretty narrow and long which led to the Skyline Overlook.  See picture to the right. we could actually see the Cleveland skyline above the treetops in the center of the tall buildings downtown from there but they didn't show up on the photo.  It was pretty cool though.

Lastly, we went on the Lookout Ridge Loop, but we backtracked to get back because we were getting tired by then and it seemed to be blocked to complete the loop.  Mom is still not sure how that trail goes.  We'll probably try it again another day to see if we can figure out the loop part.  

Next time we are going to check out some loop trails off the main circle path.  Those are really an adventure!  Be sure to look for that post (West Creek Park Adventure - Part 2)!

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Snow Rd. Park with More Woods! by Roxy (Updated with pics on 8-3-20)

My first trip to Snow Road Park was so much fun!  It's even bigger and better than Fernhill with more opportunities to go off path and explore!  We only went on the main path today, but that means we have more areas to explore yet on future trips.  I really want to come back here again soon!  It's great for hot days because the woods path is mostly shade, unlike Fernhill that has more sunny places.  Between the two, I like this is my favorite.  Have you ever been here?

Trail to Greenbriar Commons

I see a pool and playground!

 

On our next outing, I got to explore a side trail that mostly goes uphill all the way.  There is a bridge and a bench along the way.  The first time we went on it, we only went as far as the bench, but the next time we went all the way to the top and discovered it connects with an area called Greenbriar Commons!  There was a pool, a library, a playground and pickleball and bocce ball courts up there.  My mom was very excited about that.  There was a nice breeze up there and a bench to rest at. 

 

 

Hey, that's that path down there we came up on before!

 On another visit, we discovered another way down on a trail through the woods that comes out just a little way past the bridge.  It's fun to discover new things!

Another day we explored the wide open space on the other side of the park from the trail.  There are some woods over there too, but no hiking paths.

Last time we went, mom led us off the cement trail along a dirt trail that followed along the creek.  That was the most fun yet even though it was mostly flat.  There were some very narrow spots and at one point a little ditch that dad crossed first, then I jumped over and mom had to let go of my leash because she couldn't go as fast as me.  Dad had a little freak out, but he was able to pick it up pretty quick.  Sorry no picture of that.

I love walking at the parks and look forward to exploring a place called West Creek!  I highly recommend going to the park!  Woof!  Woof!

It's hard to remember to take pictures when you are having so much fun!

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If Only . . . Hindsight is 20/20!

Last night Roxy jumped up on the window sill of our bedroom window.  I heard a racket and saw she had knocked out the screen, accidentally of course!  I keep having to remind myself she did not do it on purpose to get us mad.  We have no idea why she did that.  It could have been a neighbor or an animal crossing our yard, who knows?  Unfortunately, she can't tell us.  So, at 2:00 a.m. I went outside and tried to push it back in with no success.  My husband woke up and wanted to know why I was up.  He yelled at the dog and went outside to see if he could push it back in but couldn't do it either.

During the day I noticed there was some space along the side of the screen and light was coming in.  The top and bottom were still in place though and I was able to pop it back in like it should be.  I thought I had fixed it.  This is the same window she broke her head through the screen the second day we had her, Aug. 11, 2019.  She was so excited to see us return home from church!  A friend replaced the screen then for us and we haven't had any more problem until now.  

If only I had got the full screens instead of half screens when I replaced our windows, we wouldn't have this problem.  At the time I didn't see any need for full screens so wanted to save a bit of money and went with half screens.  The window company we used are out of business so now the only option is to replace the whole window.  I think we'll open it from the top at night for now without a screen.  Birds don't generally fly around at night, do they?  Insects like bees and wasps sleep at night, right?

Oh well, live and learn. 

The good news is that when Window Nation came to give us a free estimate on Tuesday, July 28, they were able to take out the screen all the way and put it back in for us with no charge! He was very nice and saved us $1,000!

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Fun Times During These Hot Days! by Roxy

I am the one on top of the obstacle.

It's been so hot lately, in the 90s every day this week, that my mom decided to take me to doggie day care so I can be more active.  Otherwise she figured I would just lay around the house
ALL day.  She takes me on an early morning walk and then drives me to doggie daycare.  I like it very much.  It's fun to be with so many other dogs and have a big place to walk and run around in (my house is quite small).  There are two big indoor spaces and the outside space has shade in the morning, an obstacle to climb on and a pool.  I have not gone into the pool yet but like watching some of the other dogs play in the water.  Although it is hot, I am definitely more active at doggie daycare than I would be if I were at home.  I am not big on walking outside when it is upper 70s or higher.

I recommend doggie daycare to all dogs.  Woof!  Woof!

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Roxy's 1st Trip to Fernhill Park

Yesterday Roxy spent all day at the vet for her dental cleaning, a couple vaccines and to get microchipped.  It was a good day for it since it mostly rained all day and cleared up for her evening walk.  Anyhow, I felt bad for her so wanted to make it up to her.  Today we took Roxy to the Fernhill picnic area off Snow Road for the first time and boy, did she enjoy it!  It was only 69 degrees so a very good day to go with her there.  She likes cooler weather.

She made this video so she could tell you all about it!  After we got back, it was time for lunch and then she came with us to watch us play Pickleball.  She actually got to watch four others play too who were on the next court.  They were very impressed with her!

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The Sunday Crate Battle

In this video, you can see for yourself how easily Roxy goes into her crate for meals but when we need her to go in for a long time so we can go somewhere, she does not go in easily at all!  It took two of us to get her before we went to church this morning.  Since she chewed my slipper again when we left her free, we decided we can't trust her to be good while we are gone so need to crate her.  We now take her along with us when we go for an hour to play pickleball at our neighborhood courts.  She seems to prefer that even on hot days to being left alone in the crate.

We've been doing all her feeding in the crate so she associates it with good things; however, it does not seem to be working very well.  We took on on two walks not too long before trying to crate her in the hopes she would be tired enough to enjoy some down time.  Anyone have any suggestions to help us out with this?

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Thankful Thursday: Watching Pickleball by Roxy

I am thankful that twice now mom and dad brought me along with them when they went to play pickleball near our house.  They used to leave me loose in the house, but since I chewed up the slipper last time they left me alone when they played, they decided to try taking me with them.  The alternative would be to be in my crate.

They brought along some water for me and tied my leash to the fence.  I had a ringside seat to watch them play and was happy to be with them.  There are lots of other things to see there too.  Sometimes there are kids playing hockey behind the pickleball courts, sometimes there are kids playing on the playground near by, today there was a man cutting the grass around the courts and sometimes other dogs go by.

Gerard seems to play better when I come along because mom's attention is divided.  She says I'm a bit of a distraction.  Both times I went, dad actually won a game!

This seems to work okay if it's not real hot out because there is no shade there for me to be in.  Where do you take your dog?

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