Gratuitous Pet Cuteness

Rigby man handling a large stick...does it get any cuter than this?

Hey, what's for dinner?

Pete showing off his "winter wardrobe".

I know since Rigby is the new baby she's been getting lots of attention on this blog. But let's not forget the other adorable family members. Fergie is very curious about Rigby...but is not down for playing with her. She likes to sniff her when she's sleeping and bat her from the safety of the dining room chairs. See photo for her strategy. It's a spastic, paw and run, very convulsive. Pretty cute. Rigby and Pete are both entirely unfazed. For those who haven't met the Fergster, she has the curly tail gene. Which means her tail is always curly q'd up over her back. She also has no meow skills. It just comes out as this pathetic little squeak. I find it incredibly endearing. She's a very friendly affectionate little cat. I stumbled upon her at an adoption even last January in Indy. She had what they call "cage stress". She didn't deal with the kennel environment at all. She had massive hair loss and her front teeth were very loose from chewing on the metal bars. I'm a sucker for a sob story and she went home with me the next day. She's been a terrific pet. Spencer on the otherhand has a meow you can hear for miles. He will take any opportunity that presents itself to hiss at the dogs. Just walks around hissing, basically. He's very irritable, only affectionate when it benefits him, and otherwise just a grumpy little thing. His massive OCD is quite entertaining. If something is an inch out of place, he obsessess over it. Sniffs it, walks around it, stares at it for minutes on end. It compliments me nicely because I'm basically the same way. If he's not inspecting the house for imperfections, he's sleeping.

Puppy Prodigy

Rigby's training at 11 weeks is going so well, she's bored with the simple "sit", "lay", and "up". We're going to need to spice it up soon. I'm encouraging Michael to start working on "bang!"...because nothing is cuter when dogs get fake shot. He suggested we work on "come" next...so whatever. Baby steps I suppose. Go big or go home, I always say.

The rolly polly puppy we brought home a little less than 2 weeks ago, is starting to look more and more like an adult. The big difference I notice are her legs. I think they've doubled in length! Her muzzle is also noticeably longer. Coordination is another key change. She has the stairs out the back door mastered...however the hardwoods up to the second floor are still a little too slippery for those little feet.




Pete has been a fantastic big brother so far. He's very patient with her, and lets her gnaw on him constantly. He does give us a look of despair from time to time...asking, "What have you done? I had a good thing going here.". The cats are not impressed. Not even a little bit. Fergie does drive-by hisses at every opportunity. And well, is Spencer still alive? Of course he is. I still get the relentless cries for food when I come downstairs in the morning!

Corporate Culture

I think being happy with your career is a huge part of an overall happy life. I'm very fortunate to have found a company that is a great fit for me both personally and professionally. A fun thing about my company, The Learning House, is that we have an annual "Bring Your Dog to Work Day". I can't wait to show off Rigby's talent, and Pete's adorableness to my colleagues. This year it was truly mass chaos. In a good way! Dogs were everywhere and everyone was loving it. I have always had the motto that I simply don't trust people who don't love animals. I think everyone here passes the test. Another great part is that the vast majority of these dogs were adopted from rescue organizations and shelters. Don't shop, adopt!

I have Pete and Rigby's pictures posted right outside my office and many passersby will remark. I think dogs are a great conversation piece. Especially sharing puppy stories with other dog owners. We are implementing Cesar Milan's training methods, but I love hearing other ways people are training their dogs.

In other news, I couldn't be more stoked that it's Friday. This week has been insane and I look forward to lots of quality time at home. I start traveling heavily for my job in March so I need to get some hibernation time on the books. Seattle twice in March, and then to Vegas for the big 3-0. Ugh. Not excited about that one. The dogs will be enjoying a nice long weekend and Grandma's farm when we're in Vegas...they'll be getting a little vacation themselves!

Doggie Training: 101...and Pete.

Life with Rigby truly has me spoiled when it comes to puppies. She's way too smart for her own good, and is learning new things every day. She is officially a master of "sit". I have evidence of this in the video below.

Then there is Pete. Gotta love the Pete Bug. He doesn't master things so quickly, but his sweet and needy demeanor make up for his lack of street smarts. Well, smarts of any kind, really. Michael's sister, Ashley took the photo to the left of Pete during Thanksgiving. He's quite the muse. Pete has always been good at the little things that we take for granted. He never chases the cats, he never jumps up on the bed or couch, and he always goes to his crate when asked. He's a pretty good cuddler too. I simply can't imagine walking into a house without dogs after a stressful day!

Welcome Home, Rigby.

The real motivation behind starting this blog is the adoption of a bouncing, baby Australian Shepherd, who we've decided to call Rigby. Eleanor Rigby, actually. You see my boyfriend Michael and I are enormous animal lovers, and this is our first pet together. I entered the relationship with three of my own...a Corgi mix named Pete, and two kitties Spencer and Fergie. We had been talking about getting an additional dog for months but wanted to research and find the right puppy for us. We had it narrowed down to a Border Collie or an Australian Shepherd. Along came Rigby!


I was off work and shopping several Mondays ago when I needed to get Pete a present for his 3rd birthday. I thought he could really use a new bed, so I headed into Feeders Supply. The first thing I always do is make a beeline for the adoptable puppies and kittens in the back. Normally I just say hi, and move on. But this fateful Monday a new litter of Aussie's had just arrived! They had gotten there that morning, and already 3 of the 4 puppies were on hold. I took a picture of the litter and sent it to Michael. We decided we'd just go "look" that evening and that the one I had fallen in love with would probably be long gone by that time. A long story short...we went back and Rigby was the only one left! The one that I had wanted. We filled out an application and planned on picking her up the next evening.

Rigby has been home for a week today. I'm convinced she's a little puppy prodigy. She has only messed in the house one, maybe two times...and already knows "sit" and "lay"! We are implementing the "clicker" to train her. I hope you enjoy reading about Rigby and our adventures to come with her! (Oh, and look forward to adventures with our other pets too!)