Yes, snow does melt

There is a green spot in the backyard near the septic tank cover. It is the first place to melt in almost two weeks of living through a record snowfall. No, I never got around to measuring the depth, but guessing by the agility bar height, I think two feet is accurate. And thanks to the fabulous Snohomish county plow crew, I can drive up the street. Getting out of the driveway required shoveling snow more than once, which I didn't mind as it was good exercise. During our two week hiatus from life, we walked every day, sometimes more than once. We threw the ball until it got buried by snow, read several books, cooked yummy meals and drank a lot of tea. Now that the snow is melting, I might miss it.

Today we had a little scrimish at the dog park. It was time to join the land of the living, so we headed down to Marymoor to burn off energy and enjoy the outdoors. We walked through slushly snow and water around the lake to the pier. No one else was on the trail. Just us. Carly sniffed and sniffed and peed on the interesting spots. I strolled and listened to the birds. We looped back through the park by the big field and encountered 3 hairy wolfie type dogs. Three is too many for Carly to deal with, especially when they have bad manners. Poor Carly tried every tactic to tell them to back away; snarling teeth, chomping, lunging, growling. But it was no use for these idiotic dogs. The owner, of course, was on the other side of the field and since the beasts had no recall skills, it was up to me to lead Carly away. This usually works well. A stiff "come" works to distract her away from the problem. Not this time. The beasts would not let her pass, they would not let her be. She stayed close by as we tried to distance ourselves from them. We kept walking and their owner kept telling me to stop moving so she could catch up. Finally, I was able to pick Carly up and at least get her above them. And the lady was able to get a leash on one of the beasts. No apology. We just kept walking. People think it's Carly that has bad manners, when it's all the other dogs who are too dense to listen to her tell them to back off. Many dogs do get it. A quick sniff, a short chase, and goodbye. But some just don't. Do animals take after their owners?

As if that scuttle wasn't enough, I decided to try out the new self-serve dog wash! Carly would have liked to skip this. We rinsed, soaped and dried in 11 minutes. 11 minutes of her trying to get away, climbing on me, shaking on me and a bit of whinning and barking. Now, hours later, she is dry and absolutely fluffy and clean. She really, really really needed this bath. So worth it.

Yesterday, I was cruisng Petfinder and saw Dancing Comet, a young male tri-color corgi. Too cute. His description is a great personality match for Carly. Problem is, do we want another dog? Can I emotionally handle two dogs? Would this really be best for Carly? Who would watch two dogs if I went on vacation? He's so cute. I want to meet him. Having a buddy might help her to relax and not be so protective of me, so jealous around other dogs. Would I have enough energy for two dogs? Abeit two little dogs, but every creature in this household gets their fair share of attention. Hikes would be great. Two little dogs on the trail. Food wouldn't be a problem. Vet care is not a problem. Heck, I spend more on car repairs than vet bills. It just seems like he would be a great little addition. I will call in the next couple of days to find out his history.