Pic Of The Day - 05.22.15 - Frost Paws

From time to time, it can be difficult to find Frosty Paws. Sometimes they can be found in the novelty ice cream section at the grocery store. Sometimes they have their own small freezer in the dog food section. Sometimes they cannot be found at all. However, the Kroger on Buffalo Speedway has designated half of a full-sized freezer for Frosty Paws. They're a bit pricier at Kroger but anything for The Calvinator.

Pic Of The Day - 07.21.14 - If Left To His Own Devices

...he chooses the Frosty Paw

Happy National Dog Day!

It was late in the afternoon when I realized that August 26 is National Dog Day.  A big WOOF to all of the dog lovers and dog caregivers out there.  And a double-big WOOF to all of the canines who provide companionship to us humans.

Readers of this blog know that The Calvinator holds a very special place in my heart.  Through an odd series of circumstances, I took ownership of him in Spring of 2004.  At the time, I didn't have time to be a dog owner.  You see...

I had a job that required me to travel during the week and sometimes on the weekends.  I was presented with the options of him going to a shelter, going to live with my parents in Ft. Worth, or him becoming my pet.  At this point in Calvin's life, he had already had two owners which did not include his foster parents.

This dog is so full of love I couldn't have him start all over again.  Plus, his second owner had changed his name from Eddie to Calvin.  So...there I was with a new companion.  He had major separation anxiety issues but I soon learned the value of a Kong, Cheez Whiz and peanut butter.  And just for good measure, throw in Frosty Paws.

The first time I left him with my parents for an extended period of time, I was told he sat my the front door waiting for me to return.  He soon attached himself to my dad because this was the person who would feed him, take him for walks and let him hang out outside.  Calvin isn't dumb.

When my dad died in November of 2011, there was one night that I couldn't find him in my parent's house.  It's not a big house and I know where Calvin likes to hang out.  He was asleep by my dad's closet.  I still tear up and get a lump in my throat when I think of that night.

The previous year in November, my mom's sugar level had dropped to a dangerous level during the night.  I was awakened by my dad trying to figure out what was wrong.  When I realized the severity of the situation and that we would have to call an ambulance, I picked up Calvin and put him a room with Frex and shut the door.  They knew something was wrong but never barked or whimpered while their was chaos in the house. 

One of my biggest regrets was bringing him back to Houston in September of 2005.  He had been with my parents in Fort Worth while I was traveling.  I returned from the trip and immediately drove to pick him up.  While I was en route, I received information that a major hurricane was heading toward the upper Gulf Coast of Texas.  I should have left him in Fort Worth because a few days later he and I became a part of history.  We participated in the evacuation of  Houston.  It was the first time so many people tried to leave at the same time and it created major gridlock.  What is normally a 5 hour drive took 27 hours.  Calvin was a trooper.  So...

Three years later when Hurricane Ike started heading toward us, I decided to stay in Houston and hunker down.  When the hurricane made landfall we were housebound.  He wasn't able to go outside for about 17 hours.  I stayed awake through most of the storm and had carved out a bunker in one of the closets.  I kept him by my side the entire time and he actually slept through most of it. 

We were fortunate that we were only without power for about 6 days.  It was long enough and an inconvenience but once again, he was a trooper.

Compared to humans, dogs have a short lifespan.  I thought I was going to lose him last Fall when he became very ill.  I'll never be ready for the day when I have to say goodbye to him but I know that he knows I love him and will always look out for him.  I hope in the afterlife we end up together because it's hard to imagine an eternal afterlife without my closest companion.

Today on Facebook I asked, "Have you hugged a dog today?"  Guess what I'm doing when I get home tonight?

aaaaaaaaaaaa-chew (part 2)

OK. So this afternoon I broke down and popped a Claritin-D 24 hours. You may recall that this pill works but makes me wired and causes me to have weird dreams. I had been taking regular Claritin but it wasn't doing the job.

Real quick:

• The party last night was fun.


• Don't use the cheap, fake blood from Walgreens. It burned my face and then stained it. I got it off before it did any more damage.


• I'm too old to be staying out until 200A.


• Didn't get a run in today. The last time I went running was on Thursday but I did get a weight workout in on Friday.


• The bois next door are having a cocktail party and I need to get over there.


• Followed by a 30th anniversary celebration for some friends.

Need to scoot and give Calvin his Frosty Party.

Here is a clue as to what inspired my costume:

HA! I got the laptop and he doesn't know it.

Hey everybody...it's Calvin. You might know me as The Calvinator. Str8 Up With A Twist is in the other room watching Big Brother 8. (Him and his reality shows. If I hear him say one more time, "I could win Amazing Race" I'll probably maul him while he sleeps!) He thinks I'm in here chewing a rawhide. I make some noise every now and then just so he won't come in and check on me; distraction you know.

I'm worn out! He got me up really early yesterday just because HE was wide awake. Can you believe he had me out there around 445A?!?! At least he slept in this morning until about 615A or so.

I really shouldn't complain. I took a nap while he was at the office reading the paper. He then went to that place he calls LeFittes. So by the time he got back I was all rested up and treat of treats he took me to Memorial Park. It was getting a bit hot but I didn't mind.

We didn't do our normal 1+ mile walk. I cut it short because I wanted to sit in the Jungle Gym area and watch people huff and puff. I know I drive him crazy with all of my sniffing and marking but he just doesn't understand that if I went more often I wouldn't get so excited.

He left me alone for most of the afternoon. I heard him say something about going to a fundraiser for Hope Stone. He came back for awhile and then he went to 500P Mass at St. Anne's. It must of have been a quickie because he came back and caught me napping. I wasn't expecting him home so soon.

After a walk that was interrupted by AttyHou, we came back and he gave me a Frosty Paw. He must have been in a really good mood because earlier he gave me some peanut butter with my heart worm medicine and then after he finished his dinner he gave me his left over pei wei (he calls it rice).

Well, I better get this posted before he finds out that I logged into "his blog". When he asks me what I know about this posting I'll just act nonchalant and ignore him; I'm good at that.

"Make woof not war." -Calvin

Frozen Crack for dogs

First of all, I'm now convinced that The Calvinator didn't slip me a Mickey. I'm now convinced that a tsetse fly bit me and I have a sleeping disease. Not sure why I'm feeling so rundown & sleepy. It took everything in me to churn out 4 miles this morning. I really wanted to do a 6 mile run but as Louis Armstrong said one time, "Ya can't blow it out if ya ain't got it in ya."

This weather isn't helping matters any. We've had three days of gully washers. The sea breeze mixes with the hot air which has something to do with a low pressure system over central/ north Texas and well, we get thunder, lightning, rain and high winds.

Before my two hour nap this afternoon, I watched one of my favorite movies, Moonstruck. I'm sitting here watching another favorite movie, The Usual Suspects. The Calvinator is eating a Frosty Paw.

A couple of years ago San Francisco Steve told me about a frozen dog treat, Frosty Paws. I searched high and low and finally found them. Little did I know, Calvin would become addicted. Seriously. He will mope around and pout and give me sad eyes until I give him his nightly fix.

Frosty Paws are difficult to find because they have to share shelf space with human ice cream treats in the Frozen Food Department. AND not every grocery store sells them. I was hoping that when Purina purchased the company the distribution of the product would improve but it hasn't. Trust me. I've written an e-mail to Purina about the situation.

One day I drove around Houston trying to track down the frozen treats. I couldn't find them anywhere in Houston. I had this fear of Calvin "going Whitney Houston" on me and me being mauled in my sleep.

I finally tracked down a recipe that I use when I can't find the real thing. It's all about keeping The Calvinator happy. (And now I'm humming Amy Winehouse's Rehab to myself.) Calvin knows that the Frosty Paws are kept in the freezer. In fact, I have to speak in code so that he doesn't go ape wild on me. So if you ever hear me say, "FP" that is code for Frosty Paws.

One last thing...you know how humans get brain freezes from eating ice cold food too fast? The same thing happens to Calvin. And ya'd think that he would figure it out. Au contraire! Every night he gets a brain freeze, comes into the living room, drags his head on the floor, shakes his head several times, sneezes and then stares at me.

I swear..."FPs are frozen crack" for dogs!