Happy Frankie Day 2013!

Can you believe it has been three years since we got a dog? I can't believe it either. Frankie is still a great dog for our family.  I can't remember what it was like before he came.

I didn't plan any celebration and the kids were disappointed. B made some cards. They wrapped up a toy we had stashed after Christmas. I offered to give him a slice of meatloaf from dinner but decided against it because of the possible "after effects".














Frankie didn't care much for the reading of the cards, but he really enjoyed getting a new football. He destroyed the one he got for Christmas within a week. I wonder how long this one will last.

Treed

Frankie's favorite new pastime, treeing squirrels.








On Saturday he sat at the base of the tree for 30+minutes. We had to leave and he wouldn't go inside. We yelled 'treat' which generally gets him super excited. Nope, he turned his head and went right back to the tree. We took the treat outside to him. He walked toward it. The squirrel saw his chance and tried to make a move. Frankie ran right back to sit under the tree. It took several treats and lots of yelling by DH and the children to finally get him in.

Today, he sat under the tree guarding another squirrel. The squirrel "barked" at him. Frankie barked right back.  They kept it up for awhile. It started to rain, DH & I went inside and Frankie finally gave up and came inside. The storms have finally passed and he's abck out there sniffing for a new one.

Happy Frankie Day 2012!

I can't believe it has been two years since we came home with a dog.




A went to a cake decorating party. She used nerds to add an "F" and a heart to re-fashion it into a Frankie Day cake. We all enjoyed a small slice. She also took the dog on a walk, so he got some fun on his day too.

Happiness is.....

  a new ball and a pile of leaves!

Happy Frankie Day!

One year ago, we came home with a dog. I can't believe it's been a whole year since he joined our family. He's such a nice addition and we're all glad he's around.

the dog and the yard

Three or so weeks into this, we're discovering that owning a dog isn't so simple.

For the first week the dog had digestive issues. We weren't too concerned about where he went as long as he made it outside, which for the most part, he did. Now that he's back to healthy digestion, we've become concerned about where he poops. Because this is his favorite spot:



Right in front of the playset, in the middle of the yard. Yelling "Watch out for poop" was getting really old.

We have an ugly side yard that we decided was the perfect place for a dog run. But it had issues.



We spent some money last year to lay down brick to cover up the scrubby dirt around our shed. However, we didn't spend much money and it wasn't laid properly. They raised the grade in front of the shed enough to stop drainage and the side yard floods whenever it rains. Which has been often this winter. If we wanted to use this as a dog run, I had to fix it.

I devoted several hours this weekend to pulling up brick, digging out sand & clay dirt, laying more sand and dumping pebbles.



Hopefully it will solve both of our issues at once.

Now we just have to convince Frankie that this is the best place in the world to poop!