She Might Need a Rinsing...

 

Sisters

So cute...

❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️

Dora is Three - ish

 

Today is the day that Dora’s dad chose as her birthday. She’s 3! A lovely grown up young lady. What special adventure was planned for her special day?

A trip to the dog park. What else? We love you, sweet girl!

Dee Dee, Too

Dylan and Dora have been taking a break from the dog park because Dora developed an infection in the folds on her neck. Think it could be due to all the time she spends lying in dirty puddles... Nah.

Dora’s doing much better, so today Mom and Dad decided to take the whole crew to a smaller park nearby. Dee Dee, too!

Dylan and Dee Dee protected the perimeter.

They practiced some agility work - sort of. 

Then Dora decided to stir things up a bit. 

Everyone had a great time. Maybe we’ll do it again tomorrow. 

Sign Us Up

Mom and Dee Dee saw this yard sign on their morning walk. 

We’re Just Fine

It’s been awhile since Dylan, Dee Dee, and Dora did a blog entry. The entire Red Head crew is doing fine... just not much new going on.

Dylan and Dora head to the dog park each morning where Dora searches for the muddiest puddle she can find.

She leaves no stone, or tunnel, unturned in her quest

That’s gonna need a good rinse...

No one is better at making friends than Dora, whether two or four legged  

Dylan looks forward to his post-dog park rest.

While Dee Dee and Mom enjoy their long morning walk, followed by some quiet time. Mostly the crew is trying to stay safe. 

Mom and Dad have developed a plan for taking care of the crew should they become ill. The first goal is to not become ill. So we wear our masks, keep our distance, and stay home. Do we miss friends and dinners and cocktail parties? Zoom and FaceTime help. But honestly, what more do we need than this...

Sharing....

It would seem Dora needs a lesson in sharing...

Dylan wanted in on it too. 

Dora would not be outdone. 

Muddy Belly

Dylan knows how to have fun at the dog park just like those young whipper snappers. What a sweet boy.

Dee Dee’s Morning

It’s clear that Dylan and Dora have fun each morning at the dog park. Dee Dee has her own special morning as well.

Dee Dee and Mom set off early to miss the heat and make a 1.5+ mile loop through the beautiful neighborhood.

The streets are canopied by massive old oak and cedar trees covered in Spanish moss. Magnolias and palms are interspersed. It’s a beautiful walk. We see squirrels and Dee Dee’s nemesis, two black cats, and even an occasional deer.

It’s a special time each morning leaving Dee Dee tired and happy. Mom too.

We Need More Shampoo

It rained most of the day yesterday. That meant the kids were stuck on the boat. Mom and Dad paid for that transgression last night... Dylan, Dee Dee, and Dora had to get some exercise today. Mom formed a plan. Rather than take two dogs to a potentially muddy dog park, the whole crew took a walk this morning and then Dad took Dora to the park by herself.

Turns out it was a wise decision.

Mom’s pretty smart but she definitely needs more shampoo.

Shampoo, Rinse, Repeat

Another morning, another dog park visit, eight more muddy paws.

It’s Worth It

It rained last night, hard. At 9:36 am, Mom received a text from Dad, “Mud everywhere...” It’s an SOS concerning Dylan and Dora’s time at the dog park. Mom meets them on the deck of a Red Head with shampoo and towels.

Here is a small example of what happened. Now that’s fun. Even Dylan gets in on it.

A bit of a wash and towel off leads to an afternoon of this.

And this. Make sure the volume is up.

Thundershirt Results

Since Dylan’s Thundershirt arrived, we haven’t had a single thunderstorm... until this afternoon.  Mom heard it coming so quickly put the shirt on Dylan before it arrived. So does it work?

It seems to help. Dylan is definitely calmer. He paced a bit and looked worried after the first thunderclap, and ran to snuggle with his mom. But then so did Dee Dee. Only Dora ignored the storm - she’s the bit of black sleeping behind Dee Dee.

It’s a great improvement. The storm wasn’t as extreme as past ones. We’ll need one more test with a real doozy of a storm. Overall, his mom is pleased. If Dylan is happy, everyone is happy.  Sweet boy.

Thirteen!

Today is dear, sweet Dylan’s 13th birthday. We celebrate with two traditions. First with Dylan’s award winning picture (honestly). It’s hard to believe that little puppy grew into our big old handsome boy. 

Second, the whole crew gets mini cupcakes following supper. Yummmmmm.

Thirteen is quite a landmark. We love you Dylan and are hoping for many more happy times. 

The Short Straw

Yesterday, the crew’s dad spent several hours under the engine room floorboards cleaning and pepping the bottom in preparation for painting.  It’s dirty. It’s greasy. It’s hot. And it’s uncomfortable. Given all those things, Mom still ended up with the short straw. She bathed, cleaned ears, and trimmed nails on all three dogs. It was exhausting.

Dylan, Dee Dee, and Dora hate all three events, ears being the worst. It’s no spa treatment for them. Although they do get their favorite treat when it’s over. The only time Mom breaks out this prize.

But the results were, almost, worth it. For Dee Dee it’s hard to tell anything was done. She looks the same before and after. Pretty girl.

With Dylan there’s no doubt as his beautiful back curls come into all their glory. Handsome boy.

Dora is a bit more subtle. Her white fur brightens considerably.

For now the Red Head crew is clean and sweet smelling. Of course, that will probably change once they head out to the dog park. Sigh....

Thundershirt

Dylan, Dee Dee, and Dora had a great run after leaving Key West. Eight days of great to practically perfect weather. Well, almost. Unfortunately, there were several brief but rambunctious thunderstorms in the evenings. Red Head and her crew were safe but poor Dylan was very unhappy.

Dylan appears to be following in the footsteps of his grandma Dyna. She went through a period of about a year where thunderstorms sent her into a panic. The time coincided with her hearing declining. We surmised that the sounds became strange to her. At any rate, she stopped when her hearing was pretty much gone.

We’ve noticed lately that Dylan seems to be having trouble hearing. Not really surprising, he’ll be 13 soon. Now he has also started to become distressed in a storm. When the thunder starts, he becomes inconsolable. He often “escapes” to the tub or shower, clawing at the tile. It’s heartbreaking to watch and frustrating as we are unable to settle him down.

We know several dog owners who swear by the Thundershirt, so we decided to get one for Dylan. It arrived today and we think old Dylan looks rather distinguished. We’ll give it a try the next time the thunder rolls in. Keeping fingers crossed.

On The Road Again

Dylan, Dee Dee, and Dora were happy to head out early this morning after months of standing still. It’s been a strange season for the crew as they traded romping on Bahamian beaches for lockdown in Key West. They still managed to have a good time and will certainly miss the dog park.

But hurricane season approaches, so the Red Head crew is heading north. No need to worry about these kids. They manage to live the good life no matter where they land.

Double Good Luck?

After a day of high winds and rain, the sky cleared in the early evening and gave us a beautiful double rainbow. (The second rainbow is barely visible on the right side.) Django’s dad snapped a picture of it over Red Head. Hopefully another good omen.

There’s an additional surprise in the picture.  Can you spot it?

Dora heard Jason on the dock and had to have a peek.

Good Luck

According to legend, a bird on your boat is good luck. We have had several over the years. This afternoon a beautiful tiny black bird with gold markings was flying around the salon. It landed near the window in the mezzanine. Jeff opened the window and the little guy eventually flew out unharmed. What about the kids you ask. They didn’t bat an eye.

We are leaving soon to head north out of the hurricane zone. We’ll take this as a good omen.

Quarantine

The kids have been making good use of their time in quarantine.

She’s 7!

Today is Dee Dee’s seventh birthday.

Dee Dee joined the crew on aCappella under the tutelage of First Mate Dylan. Life has never been the same.

After weeks of brutal heat and humidity, there is a break in the weather. The crew is enjoying sitting out on the back deck again and the sisters even played some bitey face at the dog park.

Happy Birthday, Dee Dee! We all love you, even Dora...

A Gentle Giant

Django often comes to the dog park on the weekend. Dora featured her friend on the blog just last week.

Dora and Django always have a good time.

Today Dad decided we should let Dee Dee join in too. We’re not sure if it was the training we’ve been working on or just the fact Django is twice her size, but Dee Dee was the perfect dog park buddy. What a good girl.

Dora Too!

For the past few weeks Dylan and Dora have been tearing up the dog park with a new friend. A sweet boxer named, wait for it.... Dora!

Dora and Dora love to play bitey face and chase and tug-of-war. The girls had so much fun the two Doras even started meeting in the afternoon for a second play date.

But alas, all good things must come to an end. The “other” Dora’s parents are leaving this afternoon making this morning the final play date, for awhile anyway.

Stay safe, Dora, until we meet again.

Runs With the Big Dogs

Django is one of Dora’s dog park buddies. Dora loves Django.

At something over 150 pounds, Django is a bit bigger than Dora... That doesn’t deter Dora.