Rest in Peace, Zeus

 Zeus passed away on Monday.

 

He joined us in January of 2011 and completely changed our lives. Taking care of him was a big learning curve for me because I did my best to stay away from dogs before I got him.

His main job was to make sure I got exercise every day, but he took on a lot of other responsibilities as well. He kept me company after my daughter went to school and out in the world on her own. He ate the crusts from my toast. He took a control of my schedule, making sure I woke up on time, ate on time, slept on time. He also made sure that I took breaks from work. 

He was very eager to please but he had his ideas about what he wanted. He liked waking up early, especially when I stayed up late. He regularly changed his communication with me. Sometimes he would just sit beside me when he wanted something, other times he would whine, other times he would pant impatiently, so I did not learn what each communication meant. It took me a while to figure out what he wanted. He also had a certain order he wanted things. Feed him before letting him out. He wanted to go out but only if the neighbor dogs went inside. He wanted to go out but only if I walked with him.

 

About two years ago, he was diagnosed with Degenerative Myelopathy. DM is a spinal condition that impacts a dog’s ability to walk and stand independently, He lost feeling in his back legs and struggled to walk. He was very independent and found solutions for each new issue he had. He had arthritis so he was in a lot of pain even from walking a few steps.

Rest in peace, my dear Zeus. Thank you for the last 10 years. I love you. I miss you. I will never forget you.

2021: Week 37 of 15 Minutes to Stitch and Photo

 

The theme of the week's photo is "Something that makes you happy". This was an easy one so here is Zeus on my porch. I am going to have a hard time with next week's theme "Someone under the age of 12". I am not around young children, and I don't want to be a stalker at the local school! Even Zeus is older than 12.

 

While I am looking at the September photos, I am including more of them in this post.

There were a lot of pinks and purples in my life lately.

There are finally some bees in the garden. Unfortunately, they are making holes on the porch.

I like how the shadow from the fence makes the branch look striped.

I had a productive week, getting lots of errands done.

 

2021:  Week 37 of 15 Minutes to Stitch

I spent a lot of time sewing again this week. All of it included adding a hanging sleeve and label to the Quote Quilt and sewing down those and the binding. I finished it yesterday. I have to de-lint it, and then figure out how to show it to you. I think a video would work better than photos.

15 minute days this week --7 out of 7

15 minute days this year -- 233 out of 255 days

Success rate  = 91%

 

Linked with:

15 Minutes to Stitch

 

Another Week, More Stitching

This photo may look familiar to you, but this is a new pile of mulch that Zeus is modeling. They pile it here from time to time and then move it to the playground and spread it out under the playground equipment.

2020:  Weeks 35 of 15 Minutes to Stitch

 

I took a break from the quote quilt and made a small mini quilt this week. In case you missed it, you can see the 30s Boro Quilt by following the link.

15 minute days this week -- 7 out of 7

15 minute days this year -- 189 out of 243 days

Success rate  = 78%

My success rate can be rounded up this week. When I first started, if I remember right, the goal was to to end my year above 80. I might have been trying to beat last year's rate of 89%, but I think that is unrealistic for this year. The best I can do for the rest of the year is 85 if I stitch every day, but 80 is more realistic. With a rate of 78%, I think I might be able to manage 80.

Linked with:

15 Minutes to Stitch

November Photo Favorites in Two Collages

Once a month, I look over the photos I took the previous month and share my favorites. It gives me a reason to photograph as often as I do.  For the month of November, I had a lot of favorites, so I made two collages out of them. Both of them have the leaves theme. The first one is leaves on the ground.

I cheated a little and swapped one photo out of each collage because I liked the colors better this way. I just love how Zeus's tail looks just like the grass.

I liked the blue water with the other blue in this collage.  I double cheated on this one, because I don't normally include my quilt photos in my photo favorites, but the blue and the red fits so well with this collage that I just had to add it.

Quilting Daisy's Chickenpox

Just to prove that this is a quilting blog, I am quilting Daisy's Chickenpox.  I gifted the tile quilt to my sister, but this one has all the safety pins!  I did relent and buy more safety pins, but I still wanted to get this one done before sandwiching yet another quilt. This one was next in line, and it didn't seem fair to bypass it for another quilt.

The store where I bought the machine says I don't need a walking foot. Strange that they don't have a walking foot for the machine, but it does work just fine without one.

Edited to add: I see I did say walking foot. I meant darning foot.

Reading the Newspaper

When we were on our daily walk, someone walked by and said "Reading the newspaper."  It took me a while to understand since there wasn't a newspaper in sight.  He was saying that the dog was sniffing around to find out about community happenings.  Here his nose is deep in the snow smelling something interesting.

Snow on Dog

It snowed, big flakes, and I like how the snow drops look on Zeus.

Denim Rug Almost Finished!

Denim Rug Almost Finished

I have finished weaving the denim rug!  I actually had enough extra thread that I also made a smaller rug.  I just have to wash it and hem the binding, and I will be finished!  Somehow everything worked just right last night.  I had cut a bunch of strips, and didn't want to cut too many, so I took the remaining pant leg, uncut just in case. It turned out that I did need to cut the pant leg, but it means that I used up all of the jeans.  I also ran out of the thread I was adding with the denim strips, and the binding thread, so I didn't have anything extra of anything.  Then, when I paid the teacher for the thread I used ($10), it turned out that between my sister and I, we both had just enough dollars to pay in cash. 

Rabies Shot

It was time to renew the dog license, and the renewal of the dog license requires that the rabies vaccination is up to date.  I called my vet to make an appointment.  I asked the receptionist what other vaccines he needed, and she said it was just that one.  I knew that the city offers a clinic for cheap ($5) vaccines, so I cancelled the vet appointment, and went to the clinic instead.    The city offers the cheap vaccines a few times a year (4?) at different places around town.  The one in January was farther away than other clinics, but I couldn't wait for that one since that is in the fall.

I wasn't sure of the best time to go - whether it was better to come earlier than the appointed time to wait in line, etc. - but the instructions were simple and clear.  I drove there after our walk, and went around the building.  There was a line of people with their dogs, so I just waited behind them. The line went down one end of the building, but it was moving pretty quickly.  Someone came out to see the size of the line, and told us that there was only one vet in the morning, but there would be two vets in the afternoon, which seems strange, considering that the clinic was only for a total of four hours.  Some of the dogs were nervous, so Zeus was also nervous.  He was shaking, but otherwise was well mannered.  It was cold waiting outside, but I had dressed for the weather so I was fine.

We finally got into the building, and it seems that the line inside was as long as it was outside, but it was still moving pretty fast.  They checked the current tags, and gave him new ones.  Another table took the $5.  As we were walking by what looked like a window to the kitchen area, there was a worker who was holding her hand.  I wondered if she had been bit.

 I walked up to the table where the they gave the vaccine, and they told us to come behind the table, where they were.  I told Zeus to sit down, but then there were no further directions, so I got up to see what happened to the vet.  Zeus walked under the table.  He wasn't pulling on the leash. The vet said "get control of your dog!"  I thought that was strange because the dog wasn't doing anything bad, and neither of us had any direction on what he really needed to be doing.  I asked Zeus to come and sit again.  At that time, the vet got angry again that we were now in his way, because he wanted to take something to the kitchen.  He said "Fine, I'll go around,"  and went the other way. The other worker stayed and she told me what side effects to look for, and she was nice.   So we waited a few minutes for him to come back, and when he came back he said "Your dog is nervous."  I stayed calm and said "Yes he is."  Of course the dog is nervous.  The other worker told me to talk to the dog, but not touch him.  I knelt and talked to him.  The vet was kneeling down but then he stood up.  I said, "Are you done?"  He said yes.

I am hoping that the vet's attitude and irritation had to do with the fact that one of the workers had gotten bit, and not a regular part of his demeanor.  I am just glad that my vet doesn't treat me and my dog like that.

The booth for the city auditor was also there, so it was convenient to renew the dog license while we were there.

It only took an hour from start to finish at the clinic, to get the shot and the license.  I think it was worth it regardless of the treatment from the vet.

Block of the Month

I have finished sewing most of the blocks for my Thangles blocks of the month.  I had difficulty with the last blocks, which use quarter square triangles, because I didn't open the piece of paper.  It is so funny, they copy the instructions on a sheet of paper.  They fold it in half, and then again to fit into the packet with the fabric.  I apparently hadn't been unfolding the paper all the way, so didn't even notice the instructions on the right side. I probably did open it the first month, and the right side just said how to use Thangles, so I generally just used the instructions on the left side.  Anyway, by the last month, I had forgotten there was more on the right side.

I just need to redo the quarter square triangles - the centers.  I have also lost one of my blocks.  I am making stars around the blocks, and hopefully by the time I have made the stars,  I will have found the missing block.  If not, I will make them with fabric I have at home.

Update

Michele asked for an update about Zeus, and I am happy to oblige.  Especially now that she is famous.  I have been working long hours and he has been under the care of my daughter.  Since they don't have much of a history (she was away at school), she has no trouble with opening the door to let him out in our fenced yard and leaving him out there for short periods of time.  I didn't tell her what I perceive to be his fears, because I wanted her to evaluate him for herself.

He is more comfortable in the backyard by himself.  Even though he does still sit on the porch and stare at the door most of the time he is outside, he does spend some time in the yard when he is by himself.  Here he is playing catch.

I took him to the vet shortly before my big work stint. He had fallen off our porch and gotten a scrape.  He had gained 10 pounds since we got him. He was underweight when we got him, but 10 pounds seems pretty significant on small animal. I wondered but didn't ask if he was now a healthy weight. Apparently he was wondering too, because since I have been working, he hasn't been eating as much. He will either skip his morning meal or eat it later in the day, which makes it hard to decide how much to give him for dinner. The vet wasn't worried. He acts healthy and has energy, and he does eat, so I guess I will let him decide what is best for him.

Our Big Adventure

I take him out for a walk in the park in the mornings before work.  If no one is around (and there usually isn't) I take him off the leash and let him run around. I call him to me from time to time to keep him from going too far, and to give him practice of coming to me.   It is a rectangular patch of grass with a pathway all around.  There is a fence, but there are some spaces where the fence has been broken.  I walk around the pathway, while he explores the grass.

A couple of days ago, he was running around, and he took off the middle of the rectangular patch all the way to the other side.  He did not come to me when I called him.  Because the grass was high and wet with dew, I didn't see where exactly he went.  I wasn't going to follow him through the grass.  I followed the path as fast as I could, but he had gone through a space in a fence and did not come when called. There are several spaces in the fence, and I didn't know which one he had gone through.    I kept calling and calling and he either did not hear me, or did not heed.  I didn't want to be late for work, but I didn't want to leave him here either. I had to hold out hope that someone would see his dog tags and call.   I waited a little while, and a young man came through the fence on a bicycle.  I asked him if he had seen a dog. He said no.  I resumed my search of calling him.  Finally after several minutes he came running to me.

I couldn't punish him, since he did come to me, but I decided that he had lost his freedom privileges for the day.  I tried to put the leash on him, but his collar was missing!   I wondered if the young man had tried to steal him and take off his collar, or maybe he got his collar stuck on something and managed to slide it off his head.  If someone had found him, they might have thought he was homeless.  We walked to the car with me calling him close to me if he even tried to wander off the path.  When we got home, I saw his collar on the couch.  My daughter had taken it off when she was brushing his fur.

Quilting Finished!

I am finished with quilting the Simply Squares quilt.  I need to trim and bind it. 

You can thank Zeus for my speedy progress on this quilt.  He leaves me alone to quilt, but when I am sitting on the couch watching tv, or even on the computer, he decides he wants attention.  He is very pushy, putting himself under your hand so you will pet him, or even whining.  He won't just sit next to you; he expects attention the whole time.  Now I have to get him to leave me alone when I am on the computer.  So far, I have been reading blogs, and doing other casual things, so it wasn't a big deal for me to pet him while I was on the computer.  But when I work from home, I am on the computer a lot, and I would prefer to not be interrupted when I am working.

I have been also teaching him the "Go to Bed" command.  I have this big pillow I got for him (the label said "dog bed" and fits perfectly in the crate which we returned). I figured that I could move the pillow to whatever room I wanted him to stay in.  It would be a good command when we needed him out of the way.  We had a couple of training sessions, and he didn't quite understand. He would lie down anywhere on the floor, but we were making progress.

When he was whining yesterday while I was on the computer, I said "go to bed", not really expecting him to do it, because I didn't think he understood the command.  He went straight to the couch, because that is where he sleeps when I am sleeping upstairs. He apparently understands the command, just didn't understand why I was calling the pillow "bed."   When I am downstairs, he generally sleeps in whatever room I am, although he will leave the room if that room isn't comfortable for him. 

I know he has been trained already, but I don't know what vocabulary has been used, so I think I am confusing him by using different words for different things.  Today, I asked him where his toy was, and he got it for me!  He doesn't do it every time, but that might be because he didn't want to play tug of war on a hardwood floor. 

I don't really want to play tug of war with him until he understands the "drop it" command.  I am having a hard time teaching it to him, because when I have the treats out, he drops the toy before I can say drop it.  He still doesn't understand "stand" either, because to him it probably means "come get your treat", and he doesn't understand that it has to do with a body position, even though I am reinforcing "sit" and "down" at the same time as I am teaching him "stand".

Chit-chat

My daughter has a tendency to forget her credit card at school when she comes home, but somehow she never forgets the lists of the things that she wants to buy while she is here.  She needed school supplies for an art class she is taking.  I believe it is her only elective, since all the other classes went for her double major. It turns out that the art teacher has been to Japan, and he wants to teach them some calligraphy using Kanji words. She'll have fun with it, I'm sure.  So even her art class will help advance her East Asian studies.

In one of her classes, she has to speak Japanese.  Basically, she and her friend talk while the professor sits and makes sure they are speaking in Japanese.  When I met him, he told me that he has learned a lot about me through these conversations.  Scary!  This weekend, she wanted to know how to translate "neurotic" in Japanese.  I am hoping she doesn't find out, in case she wanted to use it in reference to me. Thank goodness she isn't taking that class anymore.


The newest member of our household is having trouble navigating our hardwood and tile floors.  Those things are much more slippery than I imagined!  I have scattered some rugs on the floors for warmth as well as traction, but I am especially worried about the steps, because they can lead to dangerous falls. I went to a home improvement store where everyone was very helpful, but the young man who was helping me with the slippery steps condition didn't quite get that I don't want indoor/outdoor sandpaper stickies on my hardwood floors inside my house. It wasn't his fault though, because the store probably didn't have a better solution.  They didn't sell carpet treads.

I did find some online here, and these Carpet Stair Treads - Black and Beige Scroll Border should do the trick. Add that to the list of what it costs to own a dog. And a fence. And a new pair of tennis shoes.  He thoroughly licked my shoes clean inside and out while I was out with my daughter.  I think I should be able to hire him out for that service. Maybe that will help offset my credit card bills.

Innocent

See how sweet and innocent that dog looks? And clean? Did you notice clean?  We gave the dog a bath. This meant this was his first time upstairs.   He was afraid of going upstairs, and then wouldn't get into the bath.  He was so scared, he wouldn't eat the treats.  He had to be carried into the bathtub.  He handled the bath okay - he loves to be petted.  Then he jumped out of the tub because we weren't quick enough with the towel. I used a medicated shampoo for dry skin, so he doesn't smell good, but he is sooo very soft. Very very soft and fluffy.

And now he thinks he can come upstairs whenever he wants.  I have hardwood floors, even on the steps, and he doesn't have much traction, but he does okay.  He is always startling me when I am upstairs because I am not expecting him.

And if that wasn't enough adventure, my daughter's friend came over.  She has a dog, and Zeus just loved her.  She lets him lick her face, something we don't do. He had a great time moving from between the three of us to get petted.  Then we decided it was time to let him out.  I've let him out once before without his leash, and he handled that just fine.  I don't have a fence yet, but he is a well behaved dog and does come when called.  We let him out again without the leash, and he bolted.  I called for him, but it didn't work.

We had a panic, and I decided to take the car to follow our regular walking path.  The girls decided to walk and look for him in the alley.  I went back home, to see if the girls had found him.  They hadn't.

We decided to try again, again with me driving, and them looking on foot. The girls went out. As I was about to go to my car,  I heard a bark, and wasn't sure it was him, but I decided to call again.  Yelling out loud in the neighborhood, bothering the neighbors and drawing attention to my predicament, isn't something I like to do, but desperate circumstances called for it.  It turns out that my daughter had seen him, and was chasing him, and he ran straight to the yard, and when I called him, he went right in the house! 

Yes, we learned our lesson.  Always take him out on a leash. And get a fence ASAP!

In quilting news, I am piecing the backing for the Simply Squares quilt.  Zeus did try to get on the fabric when I set it on the floor to see where and how much fabric I had to add, but I told him to get off, and he behaved and stayed off of the fabric.

Observations about Owning a Dog

As most of you know, I got a dog early this year.  If you would have told my family members that very same day if I would ever get a dog, they would have told you, no way, that would never happen.  But it did happen, and Michele said I could talk about him all I want. So if you don't want to hear about the dog, go blame her!

So, how has my life changed since I got the dog?

1.  I have to make space for the dog's things.  I wasn't expecting that, and I still haven't found a good place to put all the stuff.  The food, the toys, the treats, the medicine, the leash.  All of these things take up space.

2.  Cleaning has changed.  I thought I would have to clean a lot more with the dog, because he would get into things and chew them if I didn't have them out of his way.  He leaves things alone, so that isn't a problem.  Although I am not a neat freak, I had this idea that "dogs are dirty." With his incision, I couldn't bathe him. So I vacuum more, and brush him a lot so he doesn't shed as much.  And I wash my hands a lot.  I am relaxing more, after a conversation with my sister-in-law, who is much more relaxed.  She said, "So what if the dog has an accident / illness. Just clean it up, just like you would clean up a baby's accident/ illness."  Zeus spit up all over the house when he had his kennel cough, so all my floors and carpets are no longer in "almost new" condition.  And he (and I) brings mud in the house, since we go out frequently.  We are cleaning the floors and mopping more. I have to clean more often (the dust bunnies are gone), but the house isn't really cleaner, especially anything higher than the dog can reach.

3.  I am learning all sorts of new things. Like how to train a dog and not misdirecting him.  I am working on adding stand to his list of commands he understands, even though he hasn't completely mastered down yet.  And also working on getting him to understand he has to keep doing that until released.  He isn't the kind of dog that will offer different things until you get what you want.  He will just stare at you if he doesn't understand or doesn't want to do what you want.  He is getting past the honeymoon stage, so he pulls on the leash more when walking, and is starting to ask for what he wants now, by whining.   I don't like the whining, so I have to figure out how to make him ask nicely.  Especially the bathroom thing. I don't know how to tell whether he has to use the bathroom, or whether he is bored and wants attention.

4.  I have to make more decisions now.  In order to train Zeus, I have to figure out what I want. Some things are easy, but others are harder.  Is it all right for him to climb on the couch?  Can he jump on people if they are okay with it and ask him to?  My daughter and nephew are giving him lessons which are inconsistent with what I am teaching, but my methods will turn him into a couch potato, and I do want him to do energetic things.

5.  Schedule. I have to keep a more consistent schedule, and can't simply sleep and wake up when I please. No more midnight genealogy surfing.   One of the dogs next door can jump his fence, and I try to go out when they are inside.  Plus Zeus expects certain things at certain times. Yes, I am also working on not maneuvering my schedule around the dog, but making the dog fit around my schedule. I've made this mistake with boyfriends, and hopefully by practicing with Zeus I will learn to do this better.

6. I have found more uses for the internet. I can type in "coughing dog" on you tube, and figure out the dog has kennel cough by watching the video of another dog with the illness. I can search for whatever my question is, and there seems to be lots of answers, which is nice, because I can choose which ones fit my personality and way of training.

7. I am spending a lot more money. Not just on the dog, but the reason I stay away from stores is because it is too easy to pick up a few other things because they are useful and inexpensive. The trip to the store for the $12 Kong (recommended by just about everyone and shown in the picture) set me back about $112. Sure I "needed" everything I got, but ouch.

8.  We have more company now.  I am hoping this isn't a temporary increase, just to meet the dog, but more permanent, play with the dog, increase.  We have to clean more for this too, but I am enjoying the dog and the company.

Missed It

Wasn't it just yesterday when it was 10/10/10, and I was talking about finishing a quilt on that date, so I could add that to the label? Then it was 1/10/11 which is also an interesting date, and I thought it would be good to do the finishing touches on the swap quilt on that date, but then I realized that 1/11/11 was just the next day, and maybe that would be a better finish date. I am going to take the hand quilting stitches out of the heart and find some buttons or beads to put in them.  Then I got lazy, and well, another interesting date went by without a finish. Sigh. Maybe I should prepare now for November 1 (11/1/11).  If I finish it today, I am still going to put 1/11/11 on it, in honor of the date, since I did think about finishing it yesterday! 

Isn't that such an interesting tree in the picture?  Zeus is getting over his cough, and now I am trying to work with him to get over his separation anxiety.  He whines whenever I am out of the house, even if my daughter is home.  Luckily, it snowed yesterday, so as I kept coming in and going out for short periods of time to get him used to me doing so, I could shovel.  I am sure my gas bill will show how many times I did this.  He was fine as long as he had a bone to chew, but then he started whining again.  Today. I took him for a walk to tire him out first, but he still jumps every time I move.  I need to buy a Kong toy for him to chew, but that would involve me leaving the house!

Swap Quilt finished

I am almost finished with the quilt I am making for Kate's Another Little Quilt swap.  Just have to finish quilting the other two hearts.  It is stitched using embroidery floss.  I used jelly roll strips for the borders and the binding.  I don't really know how to quilt around the stitchery, and I think adding a few stitches in the hearts will be enough on this small quilt.  If not, the recipient is free to add whatever is necessary!

Edited to add:  The design for the stitchery is from a free block of the month pattern called Sentimental Journey that was offered by Raspberry Rabbit.  It is no longer available for free, but is available for sale. Thanks to Allie for finding the link for me.

Our new dog Zeus is doing fine. He has recovered from his fleas and whip worm, and is healing from his incision, but he has developed kennel cough. Poor guy, it is one thing after another. He is doing better now, and was very energetic on our walk this afternoon. I am learning quickly where all the many, many dogs live in the neighborhood. 

I am happy that we taught him the down command and he also sits and stays now while I put the food bowl down. Since we don't know how to train (except through lots of reading), we were excited that we got our first success. He might think he has to eat his treat in the down position, but I think he is getting over that as well.

Today in the mail, I got the just released book, Civil War Sewing Circle, The: Quilts and Sewing Accessories Inspired by the Era by Kathleen Tracy. Most of the patterns are simple, and range from small and large quilts. I like how there is information about the inspiration for each quilt, instead of just patterns. I look forward to reading the history and looking at the old pictures this evening.