Bringing Vinnie to work with me seemed like a good idea until he had a sneezing fit all over an important form. Luckily I had an extra copy.

Bringing Vinnie to work with me seemed like a good idea until he had a sneezing fit all over an important form. Sigh. Reprint.

Roof guy called me while standing at my front door; I was at work. I knew he was at the right place because I could hear Vinnie saying hello to him. :)

Sweet dreams with a puppy

On Friday, I was spending the night at a friend's house. It was a bit cold, and she had already gone to bed. She was asleep a few feet away from me, so I didn't want to make a bunch of noise getting up and opening the door in search of more blankets. Also in the room were Vinnie and my friend's dog, Mimi, and I knew that if I got out of bed, I would end up stepping on one or both of them, or at the very least, waking them up as well. Once they were awake, they would remember the existence of each other and start to rough house again, even though it was past 1am. Mimi loves her cousin Vinnie. And it's totally mutual.

But... I was cold. Usually at home, Vinnie sleeps by my feet, and on the super cold days, I cuddle up next to him and we sleep back to back. Body heat. So this time I decided to use him again. I whispered, "Vinnie?" and snapped my fingers as quietly as I could. I heard him stir a bit, and then slowly stand up from his warm and comfy bed. Seemingly sensing the sensitivity of the issue, Vinnie carefully and quietly crept over ... quite a feat for an otherwise boisterious 2-year old lab! He got about an inch away from me, his nose in front of mine, breathing steadily. "Lie down," I said, and he obediently tiptoed back to his bed! Well, he is super obedient... I guess I wasn't clear in my instructions. I called him back over and again he walked up to where my face was. "Lie down," I said again, but this time I reached up and grabbed his collar. Would he understand this time? Yes. He looked at me and then settled himself by my feet. Instant warmth. Sometimes it just takes a puppy.

Famous Vinnie

Vincent, you're famous. People who have never even met you still "know" you. My favorite story was the time a friend was watching you outside a random grocery store in Seattle while I was inside buying ice cream, and some guy walked by and said, "That's Vinnie!" Our friend had no idea who that person was, and they were gone before I came back outside. Or there's the time where my brother and one of my friends (the 2 didn't know each other) were at a party in Snohomish, and my brother mentioned you in a conversation. And my friend came over and said, "You mean Vinnie, the dog?" I took him for a walk this morning." You are unreal. <3

Mr. Mayhem

A friend recently posted on Facebook that she had a dream her horse was causing mayhem. She also mentioned in her post that she had a great time at dinner at my house the night before.

One of our mutual friends said that maybe seeing me caused her subconscious to think of Vinnie, and maybe that was what caused the mayhem theme in her dream. Ha. Vinnie is famous.

Creepy Vinnie

On Friday morning, Vinnie freaked me out. I was in bed and when I casually opened my eyes, I saw him standing on the side of my bed with his nose about an inch from mine. He was just watching me sleep, his eyes locked on mine. I have no idea how long he was standing there. I jumped back in surprise. Don't be creeeeeeepy, Vinnie.

Sometimes I say, "Vinnie Vin Vin" over & over again til he runs over to kiss me to shut me up. That can't be the reason I'm still single, can it? ;)

Sometimes I ask Vinnie for a kiss, & he declines. And I say, "What, you have something better to do right now? Like looking at me contemptuously?"

After a week at grandma's, Vinnie loves reuniting with... his toys. They are completely new to him. And I'm chopped liver.

I do that with my dog all the time. Wrap him in bear hug, give him unwanted kisses while he wants to wrestle, etc. @ThatJennGraves

Vinnie's grandmother just texted me that they went for a "crazy walk. He gets crazy in the stream." He DOES love water.

Working Dog

Good news: The snowflakes and flurries are beautiful. Bad news: Having to work outside in it this morning. Good news: Vinnie joined me today and he loves the snow. Better news: It just stopped snowing. Best news: Vinnie just found half a hot dog. He always finds food outside in obscure places.

I had a sudden realization today. As much as Vinnie's craziness annoys me, my constant picture-taking & kisses probably annoy him more. Whatta team! <3

I love it when Vinnie & I are sitting at the border & he thinks it's the Dairy Queen drive thru. He always whines at the border agent for a puppy cone.

If he did the dishes or swept up his hair while I was at work, fine. But he just cruises Facebook and growls at the scary hummingbirds all day.

Geez. Once, just once, I'd like Vinnie to field any important calls while I'm in the shower. Is that too much to ask? Some calls you don't wanna miss.

Ok, Vinnie. How about we start a day WITHOUT you vomiting up one of your toys? Just for variety. This is a horrible way to wake me up.