A fond farewell to k2k9's DogFather

Yesterday, my sweet, beautiful, wonderful fella, Gil Markle, crossed over to the other side after a brief illness.  He was taken mercifully fast. The outpouring of condolences from people he knew around the world has been mind-blowing.  But there's one thing that was only mentioned by one person -- Gil's love of dogs (and cats).

Around here, the pets and I refer to him as "Daddy".  We bought him a sweatshirt that depicts a spoof on the Godfather movie logo, "The DogFather"!!

His favorite dog was Hector.  His favorite cat, Newman (aka "Hairball").  Gil gave every cat a nickname.  Newman is "Hairball" because when he came to us, he had a skin problem and had been shaved everywhere except one tuft of fur on the end of his tail, like a pom-pom.  Tux's nickname is "Bullet" because he flies through the air, without touching the ground.  And Cali is "Lady Kitty" because, well, she's the only female!

During recent days and weeks, friends and family have been sending me photos of Gil from the past. I started noticing the dogs.  So many dogs.  I thought I'd share them here on the blog, as a tribute to our Gil, one who loved dogs (and cats) just as much as I do.  Enjoy!

Little toddler Gil, with a pit bull (or Boston terrier?) 1944!!

Gil, his mom, Connie, brother Bill, and sister Janet.  Dogs are Salty (leashed) and Julie (being held by Billy)

Gil approx 12 years old, with Collie girl, Julie

Gil with his first Collie as an adult, Cassie

The Markle family's first dog, Irish Setter, Molly

Salty in the living room in front of the fireplace in Tenafly

Before Hector, Gil's most beloved dog was the short-lived Schulz;  another Collie mix

Gil and Hobie, 2000

Hey, he likes to wear Speedos! 

Hobie the lap dog!  Can you spot Hector in the picture? Look closely!

Still at it!  2009!

Gil, Hobie and me on the dock at Mike M's house

More recently, Gil admiring Hobie and Cali (Lady Kitty), around 2009-2010.  Again, did you spot Hector in the picture?!




                                 

Hobie, Charlie and Gil at home, 2012.

                             
All the "dogs" like hanging out with Gil when he's working, including Hairball

                 

During our last trip to Eastham together (who knew?!).  Look at the admiration and love!  August, 2014

                                 

Best friends, forever.  Gil and Hobie, in Spencer, autumn 2014

Gil would get so annoyed with collie-mix Charlie Brown, but....
the man's hand on the dog, and the dog's paw on the man's leg about says it all.
photo ca. 2014-2015




RIP to our DogFather
Gil Markle
July 7, 1940 - March 20, 2015

52 Snapshots of Life, Week 10: Mischief

MISCHIEF is a topic no pet blogger should have any trouble blogging about!  With six pets, we've got mischief in spades around here!  The clincher is being fast enough on the camera buttons for a photo blog hop like 52 Snapshots of Life, hosted by our pals at The Lazy Pit Bull. When you're trying to catch your critters in the act of mischief, blurry photos and runaway pets are a huge part of the equation.

Newman must have received a message about this through the kitty cosmos, because all week I was trying to catch someone in the act of mischief-making, and kept falling one step short.  Yesterday morning, he practically staged the event for me!  I woke up to the sound of paper ripping.  Sure enough, Newms had gotten ahold of a roll of paper towels, as he often does.

The view from my bed! 

Not having a camera handy, I grabbed the first device I could find -- the iPad that I keep beside my bed so I can play Words With Friends in the middle of the night while Hobie is outside relieving himself at, oh, 3 a.m.!  Unfortunately, the sun was blazing through a nearby window, so the best mischievous moment of the day (Newmie with paper-towel stuck to his lip!) didn't come out great.

 



Nevertheless, I got some great shots with both the iPad, and, eventually, the real camera.  He was nice enough to keep playing while I ran upstairs to get the Canon!  Snap, snap, snap!  Enjoy!

"Cooper can't have any."

"What? I'm not doin' anything."

Really getting into it now.

"Must. Concentrate. Must. Concentrate."

"Nom, nom, nom." 

"Yum!"

"But look how cute I am...."

"...You can't possibly be mad."
   

"I want you to know, I had absolutely NOTHING to do with this.
I'm way over here, across the room! "     

"Heh.  I'm all done, now."

"Ho-hum.  That was boring."

"Where to next?"

"Out there, maybe?"

"Think I'll just leap off this table...."

           

52 Snapshots of Life; Week 9: Purple

Purple is my favorite color.  50 Shades of Purple!!  As I look around the house, I have so many purple things, in so many different shades from pale, lavender to deep, dark purple, and every purple in between.  The purpler, the better, I always say.

This week's topic for 50 Shades ..... I mean, 52 Snapshots of Life... is PURPLE.  Hosted by our friends over at The Lazy Pit Bull, 52 Snapshots is a weekly platform for sharing photos and thoughts about the week's topic.  (If you visit The Lazy Pit Bull, you'll notice that they have the exact OPPOSITE reaction to this week's topic, because they have NOTHING purple!  LOL!!).

Well, we have had a lot going on around here, and I haven't been taking many photos with my nice camera.  But I did happen to snap this funny one of Hobie, with my iPad.  He's using the Dyson Purple Animal Vacuum Cleaner Extraordinaire as a pillow!!

On a related note, because everything IS a Tori Amos song, here's our girl doing her best Purple:

52 Snapshots of Life, Week 8: Mirror

This week's theme for 52 Snapshots of Life, hosted by The Lazy Pit Bull, is MIRROR.

I had several opportunities, over the last week or two, to take pictures of the pets looking in a mirror, walking past a mirror, lying near a mirror, or (with the twins) looking at each other with a glass door between them, thus appearing to be a mirror.  Alas, too slow with the camera to catch any of these mirror moments!

So, dragging out a photo of Yours Truly from the not-so-distant archives.  This was about two months ago, when I got my hair cut! hah!  I snapped the sorta-selfie to show to the person who recommended my new hairdresser.  Admittedly, I don't exactly get my hair "dressed" these days.  It is all natural, no style and yes, that is my natural color.  Voila!  There ya have it!

Mirror, mirror.

The blogger, herself.

52 Snapshots of Life; Week 7: Love

L.O.V.E., love!!

That's the topic for this week's 52 Snapshots of Life blog hop, hosted by The Lazy Pit Bull.

This is going to be one of the easiest posts of all 52 weeks for me, since today is my parents' anniversary.  Not their wedding anniversary, but the anniversary of the day they met.  For their entire lives, my Dad always celebrated both today (the day they met) and tomorrow (Valentine's Day), by giving my Mom two store-bought cards and writing mushy, lovey-dovey things on the inside.

As everyone by now knows (and if you don't, where've you been!?), my folks signed their cards to each other "MTAITW", WWIIs version of "texting".  The letters stood for "More Than Anything In The World".  This became the title of my series of books containing my Dad's WWII love letters.  He wrote to my Mom every single day while he was deployed in various locations throughout Europe and the U.S.  If he missed a day, he'd send her an apology or even sometimes a telegram!  The missed days were extremely rare, and my mother kept all of the letters -- approximately 1,000 of them.

But, back to the day they met.  It was February 13, 1942.  Like today, it was "Friday the 13th" but for the Mueller-Altenburg family, it would be nothin' but lucky.  The event was one of these USO dances, stateside, where women (mostly nurses) and soldiers would jitterbug the night away in a church, barn, other available building, and even in railroad cars! My Dad was always a heavyset guy, and he thought this gorgeous nurse would never like him in a million years.  But, she, too, was smitten.  They saw each other again the next night, on Valentine's Day, and then kept dating.   They were married in December of that same year, in a hurried and secret ceremony at city hall in Chicago -- like so many other couples of the day -- to make sure they "tied the knot" before Dad was deployed.

My parents' "formal" wedding photo. No, the bride didn't wear white!  

Valentine's Day was always very special for my parents, especially my Dad.  He was very romantic!

So, in honor of my folks -- here's this week's blog post of LOVE!

52 Snapshots of Life Week 6: Create

I'm a little late posting my week 6 post for the 52 Week Snapshot Challenge (hosted by The Lazy Pit Bull).  This week's topic is CREATE. 

My mother was a talented artist.  I did not inherit that, or her penchant for being a nurse (I do not have the iron stomach she had).  I inherited my "talents" (ahem?!) from my dad:  writing and accounting, not necessarily in that order.  We both loved writing, and we both did accounting to pay the bills (oooo, see what I did there?  I made a funny!).  So, coming up with something for the topic CREATE is a real challenge.

I am writing "a" book (or is it three books?  I sort of have not come to a conclusion on that, yet).  It is a work in progress, and making little progress these days.  

It has been an extremely hectic week here, and for reasons I can't go into at the moment, I'm going to cheat just a tad and post a throwback photo as this week's snapshot.  It's a picture of my cat, Tux, lying among my father's WWII letters.  [insert shameless plug alert, here]  This photo became the cover for my second book, "More Than Anything In The World, Volume 2" which I published on CREATEspace.com.   

I really love this picture because it conveys so many things I love:  my pets, writing, my parents, and my sweet "un-husband" (that's his desk and his Rensselaer Polytech lamp!).  

Next week is Valentine's Day (already??) so we will be posting about L-O-V-E love.

Until then, stay safe, particularly if you are in the snowmageddon zone like we are!

Super Sunday #kittenbowl #puppybowl #thelucybowl

K2's K9s and Kitties is a proud supporter of  Lucy Pet Foundation!



I cannot believe I am about to write a (very wordy) post about the Super Bowl.

Thirty years ago, I went out for a drink on Super Bowl Sunday, with this amazing guy.  Well, neither of us were sports fans, so we sort of didn't realize it was Super Bowl Sunday (Super Bowl XIX, Dolphins vs. 49ers, for anyone keeping track).  We arrived at the bar in town for a drink, and the place was mobbed with football fans.  We still had no idea what the heck was going on!  LOL!  At the time, Massachusetts was in the middle of a January thaw, and my potential boyfriend thought he'd be cool and drive his sports car on that day.  Only problem was, the bar didn't have a paved parking lot, and the car got stuck in the mud!  To make matters worse, both of us were all dressed up, and he was wearing white jeans!!  Of course, he wasn't going to let me drive his sports car, he didn't even know me! So, somehow he managed -- with no help from me -- to get the car out of the mud.  By the time we got back to his house, one of the tires had sprung a leak and was almost flat.  Here we are, 30 years later, and yep, we are still together!  So, I guess you could say our "anniversary" is Super Bowl Sunday.  Which is hilarious, because, like I said, neither of us is a sports fan, and even though our hometown team (the Patriots) is playing tonight, we will not be watching!  By the way, said significant other has no recollection of that night in 1985!!  (Men!!)

Back in the day!  Gil, me, and our dog, Timba -- at Long View Farm

Some differences between 1985's Super Bowl (which, it was pointed out to me, was the aftermath of the 1984 season), and today's mega-event:

• The game in 1985 occurred on January 20th, a full two weeks earlier than the games that are played nowadays!
• The game was held in Stanford University's stadium; not in a pro-NFL stadium!
• The game was the very first to be broadcast by ABC!  (whaaat?!!)
• The game was played on Inauguration Day, so Ronald Reagan was sworn for his second presidential term on the same day!
• President Reagan appeared live via satellite from Washington, DC and performed the official coin toss (the first -- and perhaps only?? -- time a sitting U.S. President had ever done so). 
• One of the TV commentators, Joe Theissman, was an active player in the NFL -- he would be the last active player to ever provide television commentary during a Super Bowl.
• (This is my favorite fact!)  Celebrities were not yet performing at half-time... from Wikipedia, here are the headliners of the half-time show:  The halftime show was titled "World of Children's Dreams" and featured Tops In Blue, an elite performing tour ensemble consisting of members from the U.S. Air Force. Additional performers were recruited from USAF active, retired, and their dependents

My, how things have changed!

Today, we are watching Kitten Bowl on the Hallmark Channel, and Puppy Bowl on Animal Planet, in addition to Columbo on MeTV tonight.

Keep your eyes open for the Lucy Bowl Ad during Kitten Bowl.  It will air throughout the day, and provides a super-important message about adopting pets.  Unlike some of those for-profit companies advertising during the real game, and using cute puppies and cats in order to make money (hey, I get it, I'm just SAYIN'!), the Lucy Pet Foundation's ad is intended solely for bringing awareness to adoptable pets.    Here's the ad teaser that's been going around the internet for a few days



Pssst!!  If you click on the Lucy Bowl Ad link, in the paragraph above this video, you can see the whole ad!!  :)

Go Pats!!

Happy Anniversary to my amazing boyfriend of 30 years!

52 Week Snapshot Challenge, Week 5: Winter #52Shapshots #PBSG

52 Snapshots of Life, week 5

This week's challenge topic for the 52 Week Snapshot Challenge (hosted by The Lazy Pit Bull), is WINTER.  Well, living here in Massachusetts, the subject matter for photos this week was a no-brainer!  Winter Storm Juno unloaded 34 inches of snow in our back yard.  We even closed our office last Tuesday -- something we have only done a couple of times in the three decades we've been operating from our barn up on the main road.  It's not stopping there:  today we have dangerously low temperatures and howling wind, Monday there is expected to be another foot of white, fluffy stuff!

Just five of the EIGHT Subarus driven by me and my co-workers, in the driveway at our office.  Mine
is the black one, 2nd from left, with all the dog magnets on the tailgate.
Note reflection of humongous snowbank in barn window.  We love our 1850s farmhouse and barn!

Ho-hum, I've seen it before... this is still "nothing" compared to the Blizzard of 1978.  And when I say that, boy, do I sound OLD! I was a senior in high school when the '78 blizzard happened, and I always remember thinking "Some day, when I'm OLD, I'll be telling people about this."  Well, here I am.  Sigh.

I took so many photos this week, and already posted many on social media, but here is my selection of faves from the Blizzard of 2015.

This one makes me laugh every time!  Cooper's head bobbing out of the snow, like a seal at the ocean!

The shoveled "tunnel" is higher than Hobie

Good grief, Charlie Brown!  Are you eating snow?

Glad for the soft, fluffy snow... otherwise, they'd be able to just walk right over the fence.

52 Week Snapshot Challenge, Week 4: Dream #52Shapshots #PBSG

Here we are on week number four of 52 Snapshots of Life, a weekly photo challenge hosted by The Lazy Put Bull.  Already?!  Week four!!

This week's photo topic is DREAM and I happened to have noticed this was coming up a couple weeks ago, so I took some photos of Hobie sleeping while I had the chance.  He's so old and hearing-impaired now, that when he sleeps, he is practically comatose.  It can be quite disconcerting, and I find myself checking to be sure he is breathing quite often these days.  He also falls asleep with his eyes open, which is kinda creepy.  Sometimes, I'll find him with his tongue hanging all the way out of his mouth, sound, sound asleep, as if he is on anesthesia, or something.  Ah, I just love the ol' guy. During this photo shoot, he didn't even know I was there, taking pictures of him.  I hope my readers and followers enjoy the photo gallery this week for....

DREAM

I cut his nails later on that same day!  Horrified!!  lol

Sound asleep, with one eye open.

Bonus pic!!  The pack, sound asleep! 

5 Tips for Surviving January Thaw With Your Pets

Wouldn't you know it?  After a week-long deep-freeze (the opposite of a heat wave!), we entered into January Thaw yesterday here in Massachusetts.... and then came the rain!!  

Last night, it poured buckets of rain.  The entryway to Hobie's new "apartment" became flooded, so instead of stepping on a sheet of ice or snow when he takes his first step outdoors, it was ankle-deep water.  Ankle-deep for a human, I might add, so he was submerged up to his legs!  I took the snowshovel and made a lame attempt to "bail" the water, as if we were in a sinking ship.  To no avail.  But, this morning, it had all dried up overnight, and everything is chilly again, but not a deep-freeze.  Normal winter temps today.  

This all got me thinking about January Thaw here on the lake in central Mass., home of wait-a-minute-it'll-change weather, hockey players, ice skaters, ice fishing enthusiasts, and snowmobilers.  Here are a few things folks should keep in mind for their pets during January Thaw (or early spring, which is just around the corner!):

1. The Lake Is Not Safe.  As my brother, a retired police officer, always told us, "The lake is NEVER safe."  Well, last week, in the deep-freeze, that could have been debatable (but who wants to be out there in those temperatures?!).  But once we get into a thaw with temps in the 40s, the lake begins to thaw just like everything else.  All the snow in our yard is gone from the rain overnight.  The lake has visible patches of slushy areas.  My rule is, I never, ever, ever let my dogs out onto the lake (heeding my dear brother's advice).  Ice fishing enthusiasts have argued with me, "The ice is safe".  They can do what they want, but the dogs are staying behind the fence at home, thank you very much!  We have lived here for 30 years, and, yes, a few neighborhood dogs have fallen through the ice -- some have not survived.  You don't want to be "that guy" whose dog-falling-through-the-ice story ends up on the evening news.  Not to mention that a dog with access to the lake can easily run to the other side of the lake, those woods, those other neighborhoods, and poof!, he's GONE.  I can't count the number of unknown dogs who appear on our doorstep, having wandered across from the other side of the lake in winter.  Are you going to run across the lake, into the woods on the other side to try to catch him?  Probably.  Don't get yourself, or your dog into that situation.**

   

   You mean, if it was frozen, I could go over THERE?!

2. Ice, Mud, Salt, Sand...and Poop.  That oasis you call a back yard has turned into Poop Soup!  All has been revealed!  And you thought you were doing such a good job cleaning up after your pooches.  It must have been the holidays... the task got away from you... yeah, that's it.  You let your senior dog out to do his business and he has all of these things to contend with.  He slips on the ice, or mud (or both) and down he goes.  Your cat gets salt crystals on her foot and starts twerking trying to shake it off.  Your young, enthusiastic hound drags gobs of sand into the house, and your three-legger hops into the house and plants single footprints of mud all over the brand-new carpet.  What's a mother to do?!  

   

   My new hobby? Stamping!! all over the floors!
3. Loosened Fences and Wobbly Gate Latches.   When temps rise, after being so low, fencing material can buckle, shift, or even collapse.  Walk around your yard and check all gates to be sure the latches are still holding securely.  One lunge onto a fence at a passing dog or car and whomp! an entire section of fence can fall over.  Think I'm exaggerating?  It has happened to us!  Inspect all sections of fence for stability.  If a section feels wobbly, keep an eye on it, or twist a bungee cord onto that section to hold it up until spring.  Full-on repairs may not hold because of continual weather changes (especially around here!), so unless it's crucial, try not to repair or replace until spring when the ground is more stable.

   

   Note loose wire at bottom of fence.  Photo from last spring.

4. Cold little paws! After being cooped up for so many weeks, it seems like a grand idea to take the dogs for a walk, right?  Keep in mind that roads and sidewalks can still be slippery, with either mud or ice, and sand or salt-covered roads are a real concern.  Use doggie mittens or shoes for your pup if you absolutely have to take that walk.  (And don't forget to wear shoes with good traction, yourself.) If you don't have paw coverings, be sure to wash off Rover's paw pads with a paper towel soaked in warm water when you get home.  Ahhhh, it will feel just like a spa treatment!

   

   I could just stay out here all day, I love it so much.  Cold paws?  Me?

5. Bring Your Pet Indoors, Anyway.  If your cats are like mine, they can't wait to go outdoors, and are usually climbing the walls, swinging from curtains, and tearing up toilet paper rolls in an effort to be thrown out!  While a January Thaw can seem inviting for them, it's still chilly out there, especially at night.  Don't let your outdoor-loving pets stay outside too long.  Even if they seem to be enjoying themselves, they can get chilled quickly.  [Our cats do have a safe place to retreat to in the event they refuse to come in... it's a small cubbyhole in the roof rafters of the guest cottage on our property (pictured above). Just the right size for the kitties, and they glean the heat from the cottage!]  It's always nicer to have them snuggled on your lap by the fire, no matter how much they try to tell you otherwise.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                         **how come cats know enough NOT to walk out onto the lake?!

This post is part of the "Keeping Your Pets Warm" Collaborative Event hosted by Felissa, Davinia and Indiana at Two Little Cavaliers! We hope that you will drop by and visit all of the other posts participating in this event. The linky will be open through Friday 1/23/15 in case anyone else would like to join us. Please only link up a post if it focuses on Keeping Pets Warm. Your post can be tips, tricks, ideas, DIY projects, Crafts, or anything that will help pets or feral animals stay warm during this really cold winter!