We've caught up to the present month - June! Unbelievable, I know.

 

So for May I just relaxed, didn't do a bit of studying. So Murphy and I got to go for long walks, check out some new stores such as Fetch and have nice leisurely days. Above left we have Murphy enjoying a leisurely day in "his" chair.

Above right you see my father hanging out with Murphy after a long day, for both of them. My dad has been renovating the basement, hence his tattered work clothes and Murphy and I had been out for a nice long walk at Inter River Park. Of course, Murphy has to wade in the river, roll in the grass, get all muddy and so on when we're at the park, so he'd had to have a bath once we got home. This picture shows what Murphy does after a bath - he's suddenly cuddly. Get Murphy cold wet and exhausted and he transforms into a sedate cuddler. I was busy elsewhere, I believe I was doing a previous update, so my father was the chosen target.

 

But by the beginning of June it was time for me to get back into that school frame of mind (after I'd gotten several updates under my belt of course). I've taken over one of the rooms my father has created in the basement for my study room, so we have several pictures of Murphy hanging out down there. Above left is Murphy peering over at me from the bed with his paws on the back of the couch. Check out all those binders open! I'd been given 48 hours notice for an oral presentation, so I was madly throwing it together. Poor Murphy could do nothing but watch. But he's not too sad about me having to return to studying, as the photo above right shows. Look at that smile! I think it's a lot easier on him, when I study here, since he can just head upstairs and hang out with my parents when he gets bored.

And of course Jason comes over to visit. A new city, new room, new bed, but we still have Murphy and Jason wrestling when we should be studying.

But look at the expression on his face when he's getting a scratch from Jason - sheer bliss. He practically looks high, the crazy dog. Murphy was in such a good mood I posed him for a couple of portrait shots:

 

I love both those shots. The one on the left shows him so content while the one on the right shows him looking a little sleepy, losing the model-edge he normally displays while posing for me. Playing with Jason takes a lot out of him.

Murphy is good at snoozing when he gets bored, though it is sad seeing him have to go back to napping on my school books, as above. I truly didn't know how good dogs could be at inducing guilt until I got this little guy. I'm not sure which technique is more effective, the covering up of my books while he displays his boredom or the nudging me while I work to display his pent up energy.

To your left we have Murphy snoozing high atop a pile of blankets and pillows, instead of on my books. He looks a little like "The Princess and the Pea" here.

I think Murphy likes the new room quite a bit, and he doesn't seem to mind hanging out with me down there while I'm studying. He's got a double bed, a couch and a coffee table (which he hasn't stood on yet, but it's probably only a matter of time).

But before heading back to school Murphy and I took Jason to the Canine Carnival. It was a huge event to raise money for BC Pets and Friends, an organization that does pet therapy visits to hospitals and care homes.

You can't really tell from the pictures, but the place was packed with both people and dogs. There was every sort of dog society and business there, set up in those little tents you see there at the centre of the above photo. There were dog bakeries, dog walkers, dog photographers, dog ceramics, dog food companies, dog charities, dog shelters and even a dog psychic there. The photo to your left shows Murphy enjoying a slice of Bizkitz's liver cake. All the businesses were giving out samples and selling their stuff so Murphy got to try out some new treats, like Salmon Squares from Big Dog Little Dog Bakery. He seems to quite enjoy them, so we bought a whole bag of them to take home.

But the most exciting thing we saw was...and you can see him at the far left of the above photo...another English Cocker!

A little 16 week old liver and white named Fraser. Below he is checking out Murphy. His owner seemed worried that he wasn't going to grow up to look like a real ECS, so I had to reassure her that Murphy looked just like Fraser at that age. I'd bet that tons of people keep telling her that Fraser looks like a Springer, due to his colouring. You have to be very abrupt with people here, explaining that your ECS is NOT a Springer! Check out how blurry little Fraser's body is, he was so wiggly. And so soft. And so mischievous. And look at those freckles! I couldn't believe our luck at walking straight down into another little ECS.

ECSs weren't the only somewhat rare breed there. I saw Basengis, Keeshonden and even a long haired Weimeraner, something I'd only ever seen one picture of. They're beautiful dogs, but I don't think they're recognized by the Canadian Kennel Club, which must be why they're so rare.

I love the photo below. Take a quick look and see if you can figure out what's my favourite thing about it:

The Miniature Schnauzer is sniffing Jason's butt, and the look on his owner's face is priceless! I can't tell if he's annoyed at his dog, annoyed at me and Jason for getting in his way or checking Jason out. I didn't notice it while I was taking the photo, and judging by their faces Jason and Murphy didn't notice either.

In addition to all the business booths there were dog activities and displays. To your right we have the costume competition, featuring a devil, a wizard, a bride and others. The other displays included agility, tracking, drug sniffing, police dogs and of course service dogs.

There was also a silent auction selling everything from dog beds, bowls, clothes and so on to a package of wills by a law firm, a spa package and massage therapy (one for humans, one for dogs). Murphy and I bid on, and ended up winning, a grooming gift certificate and a year long subscription to Modern Dog magazine, which is published here in Vancouver. The picture below shows me and Murphy with just a small number of the articles being auctioned. You can see dog beds, pillows and couches behind us. This shows maybe 1/5 of everything being auctioned.

Jason insisted that he take one picture of me and Murphy together, and it's the only photo of the auction I have, so I had to post it. I look confused, or maybe a little taken aback, though I don't remember why.

And finally we took Murphy outside to relax on the grass and enjoy a fiddler. He seemed more popular with the babies than the dogs, but I know I enjoyed a little rest on the cool grass with music to entertain us. All in all it was a very well spent few hours, and we helped raise some money for a worthy charity too.

Also during June Murphy got his teeth cleaned at Ballroom Groomer. They have a dental hygienist who does cleanings without any aneasthesia, with the assistance of the groomer who owns the business who calms the dogs. Murphy came through just fine. According to them "he didn't seem too bothered by the whole thing".

So that pretty much brings us up to today. I went back to school - the hospital now - June 9th, so Murphy is on his own during the days again. The good thing is that my parents are only gone 8 or 9 hours a day, and I'm working 5 days a week max, often down to just 3 days a week. So Murphy isn't suffering too badly from this new arrangement.

Email me!

Meghan

Here's the link to the next update: August 13, 2003
Here's the link to the previous update: June 21, 2003

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