Today Is National Dog Day!

Since today is National Dog Day, I'm celebrating my dog with a post all about him.

This little guy stole my heart.....

In the 30+ years that my husband and I have been married we've had 4 different dogs - a black Lab mix name Belle, a full blooded Shih tzu named Susha, a full blooded Yellow lab named Max. The hardest to loose was Max. He was old and didn't survive a heat stroke after playing on a farm. I didn't think we would get another dog for a very long time... but a long time turned out to be about 6 months I think. This time my husband chose a breed that he had wanted all his life - a Chesapeake Bay Retriever.   We named him Remington - Remi for short.  At the time, my husband owned his own business so for the first 4 years of Remi's life he was an office dog.  He was so used to going to the office that if my husband was out of town, I would still take him to the office and drop him off in the morning and pick him up in the afternoon.  His main office tasks were guarding the door and sleeping all day.  At lunch time, he would take a break and change big sticks.

Remi shows his emotions... in the picture above he is actually smiling.  His loves his sisters and when they come to visit, he is just beside himself.   When Remi was a puppy, Kirsti would take him to work with her occasionally when he needed a break from the office so I think they have an extra special bond.  When Jeff sold the business and went to work somewhere else, Remi had to adjust to becoming a Stay At Home Dog.  We installed doggie door so he could come and go as he pleases out back.  I get to work from home 2 days a week and on the mornings that I get up to go into the office, Remi lays in the bathroom floor and pouts.  

At Christmas, Remi dresses up in his best bow tie collar.   He knows what presents are his and usually can sniff them out.  Last year, Jeff went Christmas shopping and brought some things home he had bought for Remi.  He put the bag in the closet to wrap the toys later.  Well, that night Remi comes walking into the family room with one of his brand new toys!  He had gone into the closet and sniffed it out and pulled it out of the bag!

And finally, this is the look we get if we are not paying enough attention to him. This is a face that is hard to resist.   He is a dog of routine habit.  He goes to get the paper every morning - I do not read it - it goes straight to the trash but Jeff won't let me discontinue it because it is IMPORTANT to Remi to get the paper every morning.   At 8:30 EVERY night Remi thinks it is time to go out and chase the 'red light'.  Not 7:30, not 8:00, but you can count on the clock saying 8:30 if he is staring at you.  He will sit and stare at Jeff until he finally gets up to go out with him.  He will NOT stop staring.  He would most certainly win any stare down contest.  He must think he has mind control.... well I guess he does somewhat.  We always give in.  

So today, I salute Remi!  He has a made a huge difference in our lives. It's his day and we'll do something he wants to do, But wait, isn't that EVERY day?

Happy National Dog Day everyone!