Mocha & Maddie

The snow is still here (and will be for months), but at least the whole width of our street has been plowed.  I ran outside yesterday for the first time since last Friday.  It was good to get out.  Don't know how long it will be before the trail is runnable again.

Mocha got a new collar - she is ready for Valentine's Day!

She loves it.  What a girly-girl.

Today, I am helping with Maddie (friend).  She is quite the puller on a walk - until she gets tired, which is after about 1/4 mile.  Neither Mocha nor Maddie really like the snow...  it's hard to find a place to go - there's just not much grass showing!

Too Much Snow

The big snow storm hit over the weekend - 24 inches or so here.  Mocha was not thrilled with it.  She didn't want to "do her business" even though Dave had cleared out a patch of grass for her.  She is quite stubborn when it comes to where to relieve herself.  She can hold onto all of it for quite a while. 

Finally, she was able to get out and about (at least a few houses in each direction), and she found someplace acceptable to go.  Today we walked down the middle of the street on our usual walk, and she is now okay with the snow.

We saw Dexter (old dog down the street).  Dexter's mom and I were talking and the dogs were waiting patiently.  However, Dexter must have been cold and wanted to go home, so he started barking his old man bark.  Mocha didn't like that, but I told her it was a "play bark". 

More shoveling today - summer's just around the corner, right?

Getting it Done Before the Snow Storm

Big snow scare - blizzard warning goes into effect in a couple hours.  So I wanted to get in a run before all the snow - who knows when I'll get to run outside again?

I did the same route as Wednesday, and I did it even faster!  The wind chill made it feel like 17F, according to Smashrun.
I had to call my friend Holly first to get a pep talk - I wanted to run, but I needed a little encouragement.  She had run at 22F, and she told me I should do it.  So I did. 

Mocha & I went to our usual trail and got in a quick walk.  I thought I saw a couple snowflakes when we got there, but it hasn't really started yet. 

Here's hoping the storm will be less severe than predicted.

Cold Walk and Chickens

Today Mocha & I went for a walk with her uncle to a place Mocha had never been before.  It was a hilly and cold walk, but at the end, she was rewarded by getting to see chickens!

She was VERY interested in them.  She stuck her nose right up to the cage, and lucky for her, no one pecked her.  I'm pretty sure she had never seen chickens before.  She has a toy chicken that she  chewed up, starting with the belly.  Maybe she was thinking these chickens might be tasty!

Running news:  I ran at 25F and a wind chill that made it feel like 18F.  I didn't know about the wind chill before I left.  It does make me run faster though - all I can think about is getting home and warming up.

Big snow scare in place for Friday - hope it goes another way!

Jacket Day

Today it is very cold here - it was 18F when we went for our morning walk, and got up to 23F (and windy) when we went to the trail.  Mocha wore her jacket today for both walks.  She looks very pretty in it:

Ann & I were going to run around noon, since we thought the temperature would be better (25F we were hoping), but since it was still so windy, we walked with Mocha instead. 

We also collected some pine cones for Ann's porch decor.  

Hoping to run tomorrow before the really bad weather (snow) comes in this weekend.  Maybe the weather-guessers are wrong. 

Cold Outing

It is very cold here today:  20F when I got up, and only up to 26F mid-day.  In spite of this,  Mocha & I did our usual walk and a trip to the trail.  By the way, it is also windy.... brrr.

We didn't see any other dogs at the trail, but we did see a few people, dressed for the weather, walking.  We didn't stay long, and when we got home, Mocha found her patch of sun:

I am hoping that tomorrow morning will be a little warmer, since it is a running day.  At least we don't have snow or ice!

Cold Cold Cold

Very cold morning run today!  At least there wasn't a wind chill.  I ran pretty well, and got home while it was still dark out.  Mocha was waiting for me, and wanted to go for a walk when I asked her.

We did a quick one, since it was so cold - no dawdling today.  We saw her friend Cooper, who had his jacket on (smart boy!), but we didn't stop to talk.  Mocha & I both wanted to get home to our warm house. 

I had made coffee before I left, and was glad to enjoy its delicious warmth!

Eye Ulcer

Last Wednesday, I noticed that Mocha's eye was red, partially closed, and watery.  I took her to the vet, and she was diagnosed with an ulcer.  The vet said she would treat it as a traumatic injury, and gave us some eye drops and pain meds.  If it didn't clear up in 3-5 days, other scenarios would be considered.

Well, today I took her back in for a re-check, and her eye is all better!  She hated getting the drops, but they worked.  And the pain meds were always accompanied by peanut butter, so they were something to look forward to.

She was good at the vet today.  We had to wait a while, and she spent her time observing the other dogs in the waiting room.  She got very relaxed and was lying on her side for a while. 

Now she's home and here she is, eye all better:

After the vet and before coming home, we went to the trail for a walk.  We went to a different part of the trail than we usually go to, and there were lots of new smells, sights, and sounds.  We didn't see any other dogs.  Mocha is now cozy and taking her afternoon nap.

Cold Morning Run

Good morning!  I ran today at 7:00 with Ann.  It was 33 degrees, but the wind chill made it seem a lot colder!  In spite of that, I had a very good run.  I had enough energy, even though I started out feeling hungry.  It was sort of light out when we started - I'm glad the days are getting longer now.  We didn't see any other runners, which is unusual. 

Before the run, Mocha was awake, so we went for a short walk.  As soon as we came out of the garage, she saw Max (Schnauzer) across the street, and started to get agitated.   Max doesn't pay much attention to her, since he is deaf, and may not even know she's there unless he sees her.  I got her to calm down before we continued on the walk, and today we went the opposite way than we usually go; otherwise, she would have been following Max the whole time, and trying to pull me along.

Now Mocha is back in bed, and I'm going to undecorate the Christmas tree today.