Ahhh... A relaxing day out on the water. Clyde likes the boat, but we have to have the front of the boat open and he must sit while at a steady speed. If not, he gets sailor's legs and we might need to slip him a dramamine pill! He also gets a little chilly at night, so as you see in this photo... he gets dad's sweatshirt tied around his neck. Yeah, life is rough for the 50 pound pointer. :)

Can you see the moth on the window? Clyde can...and he loves pointing them out. It's just one more bug that Clyde persistently points out to us daily.

Well, I do not have a photo yet, and I'm not sure I'll catch Clyde in action, but lightning bugs are back. Clyde spends HOURS out in the yard at night, chasing one right after another...trying and trying to catch them. Poor Clyde.

Under the Bed, Fred.

So, Clyde has done this since he was only about 3 months old. He hides under the bed. Sometimes he'll hide with a toy (to keep it from the other 2) or he'll just run under there and chill. The funniest thing is when he turns around and just sticks his head out and looks up at you. All 50 pounds of him...stuck under the bed.

Food for thought

Clyde is having fun, playing games with his food in the mornings. He likes to eat a little of his and then see what he can get from Butch and Cassady's bowls. Some mornings are a bit challenging. I've had to get creative and put some of Butch's food in Clyde's, so he thinks he is getting something special. Butch and Cassady are on "senior" dog food, but he still wants what he cannot have... He doesn't realize he's getting the good stuff, with all the yummy calories. :)

jump in

Well, this past Sunday was the day... Clyde got in the water... life jacket and all. It was a bit cold, but he did a quick lap around the boat and as Sean pulled him back in... he was ready for a warm towel. It was a rough day. It was very warm...almost too warm to sit and tan in the sun, but too cold in the water. After a couple hours out, he was ready to come home. Needless to say, he went to bed early and slept late!

how my garden grows?

Clyde and I enjoy our lunch hour in the sun. I think I mentioned before that Clyde LOVES the garden. Yes., he loves carrots, potatoes, and today... pulling on the tomato plant. We must find some fencing soon. I'm surprised those strawberries look as good as they do in the background. :)

there's no place like home...

Well, for the first time in Clyde's life...we left him at home for a bit to go on a trip. We were very worried about how he would react. I probably drove the poor neighbors nuts by calling every morning to see if he was ok. He slept in his kennel just fine, and still ate- but not as much. The neighbors were amused by his jumping and running mad circles in the backyard. I think we'll try to take him on the next Missouri trip, because the condos are pet-friendly. He would be so much fun to take. Hopefully the weather will be good this next weekend, and we can take him on another boat ride.

Fast Forward

Well, I wish I would have started this blog a long time ago, but you know how time flies and we've had fun. Clyde is now 51 pounds, and still my "bebe" (as Sean and I call him). He is spoiled rotten. In the past 9 months or so, he gained weight, found all the bird's nests in the back yard, took over a space in our bed, and dug out all the carrots in the garden. He was so much easier to train than our first two, but we know more about dogs now than we did before. He was housebroken in only about one month.

Anyway, back to my fast forwarding......He took his first boat ride this past Saturday, and other than having 4 little sea-legs when the boat is idle, loved it. He watched every bird from every angle. He didn't get in the water, but we have the life jacket ready.

First posting: some history

This first post will tell you a little bit about my dog, Clyde. Clyde is one of the true loves of my life. I had no idea I would end up loving this little dog as much as I do. My husband, Sean, and I are very involved in the Benld Adopt-A-Pet shelter. Clyde's mother, Amy, came to the shelter as a very starved and VERY pregnant dog. The man that dropped her off insisted that the shelter take care of her or he was going to "take her out back and shoot her.". ..Words can't express what I would like to do to him, but that's another story. I'm glad he brought her to a safe place. Clyde was born at the shelter, along with 11 others. Sean and I saw the puppies, and we couldn't resist. We wanted to help. We drove down to the shelter, and I told Sean to pick two. A male and female that we could "fatten" up and make healthy. We named the two "Bonnie and Clyde." They were very ill, and after one day we had to take them back. We did not have the time or vet supplies to take care of them. It broke my heart. The shelter would bring the puppies back and forth to Springfield for mobile adoptions, and Sean kept begging me to take Clyde "just for a little while." Well, we ended up being horrible foster parents, and had to keep him. He was soo much at first. Our two old yellow labradors, Butch and Cassady did not have a quarter of the energy that Clyde had. I forgot what it was like to have a puppy. He was bouncing off the walls, but learning the rules of the house very quickly. I still think he watched Butch and followed the leader. Clyde was only about 15 pounds...much smaller that his 7o pound companions in the house. This was back in August of 2007.....now let's fast-forward to today.