It's been a few days since I posted. It's been really really hot here in the Northwest - around 100° every day since Sunday. I feel so bad for the pups, especially Kool with his long hair. We've been just lying around the house in front of the fans, trying to cool down. The first couple of nights, the dogs just didn't get it, and they still kept trying to lie down next to me or on top of me. I think they finally realized that it's freaking hot. Now Swift doesn't run and play nearly as often - he just stretches out and lies quietly. Kool has apparently found his cool spot - the tile floor on my bathroom. Usually, he curls up in a blanket (or clothes or towels - whatever is lying on the floor), but now he just lies down on his side and pants. It breaks my heart when I see them staring at me, panting away. I wish I could do something to make them cooler, but I don't know what to do! I can't even cool myself down. I'm tempted to bring them to work and hide them under my desk in the air-conditioning. I haven't put them in their kennel when I've gone to work - I feel so bad for them. I want them to be comfortable. They've both been pretty good - putting their housebreaking into training. I'm proud of them. If I can get a picture of them panting, I'll post it.

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Adventures at Marymoor

I absolutely love this picture of Swift. My friend, Cat, and I took the boys to Marymoor Park, the off-leash dog park in Redmond. Cat has a pretty cool camera, and she was able to capture Swift off the ground, running with his orange squeaky. (This was, of course, before squeaky died - rest in peace.) I think it's so cute how his tail is sticking straight up in the air and his ears are flapping behind him!

I've taken the boys to Marymoor several times. It's always the same story - Swift running ahead of me and Kool plodding along about 100 feet behind me. Swift is pretty good about not getting too far away, though. It's pretty funny when I turn around and see Kool all the way behind me. Since he's so little, he gets lost in the midst of big dogs. People will look at him and kinda of giggle and say, "Who do you belong to?" My doxies are usually the smallest dogs there. Sometimes we'll run into small dogs, and the boys love it - someone their size! They're pretty good with the big dogs, though - which is surprising to me. Whenever I walk them on their leash, they will bark and screech at any other dog they see. However, when we're at the park and they are off-leash, they're completely fine with the big dogs. Sometimes, though, a big dog will get a little hyper, and Swift yelps, jumps, and runs for me. It's funny because I know the other dog isn't hurting him at all - he's just frightened.

Marymoor is next to a river (not sure which one...maybe it's a lake), and there are several spots for dogs to go swimming. Swift and Kool do not like to swim. They know how to, though. I know this because I tossed them in the water! Not too deep, of course, and I was prepared to jump in after them if they went under. They immediately swam right back to land. They just do not like the water, although Kool seems a little braver than Swift. Interesting.... I'll just keep tossing them in until they like it! I should find a place where I can go in with them. I think they'd like that.

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It's Always the Quiet Ones

Here is my little sweetheart, Kool. This is a picture of him when I took him home to visit my parents. He wanted to sit on my mom's lap while she was at the computer. I guess he wanted to play on the computer, too. He is usually such a laid-back, sweet little doggie. But, as I said, it's always the quiet ones! My new nickname for Kool is Barky McBarkerson. He won't shut up! It drives me nuts. He barks at everything. He barks at the neighbors walking up the stairs; he barks at the dog in the yard in the next apartment building; he barks at people walking on the sidewalk when my window's open; he barks at everything. Kool's favorite thing is do is to sit by the window and look out and watch everything. For a while, it was pretty cute. Then, all of a sudden, he started barking at everything. Now, it's not so cute.

Sometimes Kool is quite hilarious. Both the doxies usually sleep in my bed with me, but I've been trying to curb that. (Which means convincing myself to sleep alone!) One night, after putting clean sheets on the bed, I decided that the dogs were no longer allowed to sleep with me. Of course, they were upset and whined for a while. They tried jumping up, but their little legs are way too short to get onto the bed - which is why they have a little set of stairs! I moved the stairs away from the bed so they couldn't climb up.

After I had been asleep about an hour, I hear some shuffling noises. I awaken but can't see anything in the dark. I switch on the lamp, and what do I see? Kool. Where is he? On my nightstand, trying to climb into bed with me! Apparently, I left the set of stairs next to my nightstand, and he decided he would have none of this sleeping on the floor thing. He was trying to make his way across all of the books and papers I had on my nightstand, which is what woke me up. I had to admire his creativity and courage. Of course, I then let both dogs sleep in bed with me that night! Kool is just the craziest dog. I love him to death!

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Swift's Favorite Toy is Dead

Swift is obsessed with his squeaky toy. It's an orange football. He will just sit and squeak it all night long if you let him. At first, no one thinks it's that annoying. I tell them, "Just wait. Eventually you will want to throw the ball over the balcony." However, I am afraid that if I do, Swift will chase it and go plummeting down three stories - so I just grin and bear it. Every so often, I have to put the ball away in the doggie drawer. Swift always knows where it is, though. He will run right to that drawer. Sometimes squeaky goes into my nightstand drawer, but Swift remembers. He knows where that ball is.

One night I came home after work and gave Swift his ball. I left to run a quick errands and brought the boys with me. When we got home, apparently Swift forgot where he left his ball. He started freaking out. He ran all over the house looking for orange squeaky. He kept whining and jumping at the drawers where I normally hide it. I couldn't find it, either. I thought poor Swift was going to go crazy. All of a sudden, he remembered where he left it - it was hidden next to some moving boxes I had left in the dining room. All of that drama, just for an orange squeaky toy.

Well, poor squeaky is now dead. Swift was squeaking/chewing on it, and he punctured a hole in it. It stopped squeaking (yay!) He continued to chew on it for days, hoping to bring the squeak back. He finally ripped it in half, and I think at that point, he just gave up and ate it. Yes, he ate it. Not all of it, but pieces of it. I know this because I saw orange pieces of rubber in his...well, you know. I looked and looked for another one. I had seen them previously at the pet store, but passed up that opportunity to buy them. Of course, now that I actually need one, they don't carry them anymore. I finally found one online, but I don't know if I want to spend the shipping costs just for a dog toy. Ha. I probably will! I can't wait to see Swift's face when I bring home a brand-new orange squeaky.

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Introducing Swift and Kool

Swift and Kool are my two adorable dachshunds. They were given to me as a pair in July 2007, when Swift was 1-1/2, and Kool was 4. They are named after hip-hop artists (supposedly) - Ken Swift and Kool Herc, but their names are actually quite appropriate for their personalities. Kool is a long-haired dachshund and is much more laid-back than Swift. Swift is a crazy little pup - his tail never stops wagging, and I cannot seem to train him to stop jumping! Kool is Swift's uncle, but I always call them brothers - it's so much easier to say, "Where's your brother?" than, "Where's your uncle?" or "Where's your nephew?" I would have to remember which dog I'm talking to. These two adorable dogs keep my life interesting. I don't know what I would do without them. There will be plenty of adventures to read about in the coming days...

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