Little Pearl joined my house three years ago today. I got her from the Washington Animal Rescue League, and they do fantastic work placing friendly critters into happy homes. If you are looking for an animal companion, please consider WARL (or any other adoption agency) before thinking about buying a pet.

I can’t believe it’s been three years. :)

Happy birthday to my dog Pearl, who is three years old today. She survived the terrible twos and has turned out to be quite a nice young lady.

Pearl’s big achievement this year was graduating from her crate. I used to have to put her in her crate when I left the house because she kept chewing things. She still “punishes” me every now and then, but I’ve trained her and she’s trained me. We’ve negotiated.

Pearl’s other big event was breaking her left pinkie toe. This didn’t slow her down one bit, especially after she chewed off and partially ate her plastic splint.

Here are some pictures of Pearl from the last year.
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Here’s the raw truth. My dog Pearl eats poop. I’ve tried adding stuff to the dog’s food to make their bombs taste worse (?) and that didn’t work. There’s a new plan of attack coming online soon, but in the meantime we have to deal with the only thing worse than a dog eating poop: the gas and belching that accompanies it.

Enter the International Veterinary Sciences Anti-Gas pill for dogs. Purchased from Wal-Mart, the pill

is a pleasant tasting tablet specially formulated to promote healthy digestion and curb unpleasant gassy odors.

Does the product live up to it’s claim? Let’s break down the above sentence one bit at a time.
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My youngest dog Pearl has always been a bit of a klutz. I think part of it has to due with her mixed breeds (Akita and Border Collie), and part of it has to be due to her odd position within the house pack. Both sides of her heritage tend to be super-active, which leads to adventurous chewing when she is bored. While she is the youngest in the house, she is more assertive than Porter, the oldest. This leads to some interesting romps between the two of them as they half-play half-argue their way into some sort of social hierarchy.

All of that can lead to exciting times, like when Pearl inexplicably broke a toe on her left front paw last Friday.
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Lady Jaye and I adopted Pearl two years ago today. Time flies when you are busy eating everything you can possibly put your canine mouf on. Despite having absolutely horrific gas and puking up half-digested nuts and bird guts with alarming regularity, I am very glad we rescued the little white dog with Tina Turner eyes. Pearl has turned into a really sweet dog and I hope I have given her a better life than she would have had otherwise.

My youngest dog Pearl is two years old today! I can’t believe she’s been with me this long.

I adopted Pearl from the Washington Animal Rescue League in Washington, DC. They have a fabulous facility and try to do everything they can for the animals staying there.

Here are a few of my favorite pictures from Pearl from this year, and I think they show her many sides.
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My dog Pearl likes to eat things she shouldn’t. Whether it be batteries, mobile phones, DVDs, stuffed animals, or paper, it’s mostly just an annoyance and I worry about things getting stuck in her stomach. One thing I really don’t like her eating, however, is poop. I have often looked out of the kitchen window to see her wolfing down some doggie leftovers. I have even caught her waiting, MOUTH OPEN, underneath Porter or Rosie.

What’s worse is that she’s taught Porter that eating crap is a great idea, so now he’s doing it, too.

I researched this online, and found a few suggestions on adding things to a dog’s diet to make their deuces less tasty. I thought this was kinda odd, since I figured droppings were nasty to begin with. But after reading reviews on Amazon.com and a few pet Web sites, I decided to give For-bid by Alpar Labs a try.
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I am sure this happens other places in the United States, but Virginia has more than its fair share of crazy weather swings. A week ago yesterday, we got pummeled with eight to ten inches of snow that shut down most of the city for a few days. We don’t really get snow here at all, let alone that amount, so it hit the area pretty hard.

By Wednesday, however, things were heating up. By Friday, the high was in the 70s. I rode to work for the second time since we switched to standard time last fall. I sure as hell missed it, and I was smiling when I walked into work.
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Hard to believe that it was a year ago today that Lady Jaye and I brought Pearl home. A lot has happened since then, but Pearl has gotten along fantastically with Porter and Rosie. There were some rough spots: puppy squirts, eating two DVDs whole, and refusing to jump in the bed even though she’s twice as big as my other dogs who can jump up there just fine. However, I am really pleased with how she’s settled into the rest of the pack after a year. Pearl is super sweet and is always happy to see me. After “cookie,” her favorite phrase is probably “give kisses,” which she does enthusiastically. Petting her really helps me to relax from a rough commute.

Happy adoption anniversary, Pearl!

Pearl, right, with her “big” sister Rosie.

Every good horror film (and most bad ones) gets a sequel. Less than a year after the first installment, my dogs are somehow killing birds in the yard again.
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