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not another dog sweater

It's true. What's wrong with me?  Am I really the type of girl that likes to dress up animals in clothing?  Even when my sweet doggy runs from me the second I pull it out of the closet?  Even though she freezes in place for a good 5 minutes when she is put in her sweater?  Then walks like a zombie when she wears sweaters?  Um, yes - I am that type of girl.


I'm quite happy with the way this turned out - it definitely says "I'm a GIRL doggy" -which is fairly important because, for some reason, 90% of the world thinks she's a boy when she's naked. Can they not see what a glamorous girl she is?  I also finally remembered to leave a hole at the base of the collar for her leash to attach to her collar - which has eluded me on every other sweater I've made her so far.

I will say - that even though this is an incredibly quick knit - I managed to spend an entire weekend knitting, unknitting, and re-knitting - rearranging the color and thickness of each stripe until it felt right.  And when I say an entire weekend - it was an "I-will-not-get-out-of-bed-until-I-figure-this-out! I-don't-care-if-it's-4:00-and-you-haven't-eaten.  Make-yourselves-peanut-butter-and-jelly-sandwiches-for-heaven's-sake-kids!" kind of obsession.  I could have made 12 dog sweaters in the time I made this - if I had been more decisive.  But boy - once, they're done, stripes sure are fun - right Zuzu?

zuzu's got a booboo

Sweet ZUZU it's been a long time since we've updated this blog!  Hard to keep up with this schnoobadoob.  Zuzu's been pret-ty busy.  When she's not napping.  

You can probably guess one place she's been if you watch the first minute of this little video clip ...

Yup - that is Jon Stewart.  Yup - he was talking about Zuzu. Sometimes her daddy takes her to work.  Too bad he didn't bring her in that day.  She and Betty would have gotten along famously.  Zuzu did visit The Daily Show just a few days ago - because we just couldn't leave her home alone looking like this:

Last week she scratched and scratched and she made a bad booboo on her lip.

It got a little swollen and messy so we had to slip a cone over her head to keep her from tearing her little face apart. 

It worked.  But it was a little tough for her to eat and drink, and she she had a hard time getting cozy in her bed - although she always seems to find a way.  They have a much nicer option in Japan.

Doesn't that dog look happy?  Even with a giant blue puffed doughnut around it's neck?  The real question is - does this dog ever NOT look happy?  I'm not sure if that would have been quite enough of a deterrent for Zuzu, but it does make you think, why a horrible plastic cone?   Zuzu's all better now - and much happier taking naps without that darn cone on.

2!

This Friday Zuzu will be 2!  

In honor of her birthday Charlotte has designed a cake (for the human celebration).  As you can see, the back and front edges of the cake are shaped like dog bones.  Atop the cake is a glorious sculpture of Zuzu made out of foam and covered with fondant.  It's a technique she has learned from watching 50 episodes of Ace of Cakes - perhaps the greatest show on television.

And for the doggie's celebration - a layer cake of yogurt and peanut butter cake with sweet potato flavored icing. The bones on top are dog treats, chicken and cheese flavored - her fave.

Now all we have to do is make them!

why?

humans are just silly...

I'll admit that I do love to dress up my dog - in fact I've just knit her another sweater.  But people. Or should I say - Dog People!

All credit for the photos to the LA Times for their gorgeous coverage of the Westminster Dog Show.  Now that it's over I'm sure all of the contestants will be quite relieved to return to their little doggie lives.

big girl sweater

Poor schnuksie really doesn't like to be outside when it's cold.  She makes lots of very loud snorty sounds when I put her in a sweater, but the truth is, an extra layer really does make going outdoors much more tolerable.

Now she runs under the bushes to do her business....

And then she'll stay outside to find a nice loooooong stick,

 chew it for a whole minute,

run it up the stairs

 chew it to pieces.

and stare at the door until mama lets her in.

the great escape

Even though Zuzu is almost 2 - she's still not entirely to be trusted.  Is any dog?  OK, how about any FRENCH BULLDOG?

When we leave her in the morning, we STILL put Zuzu in her crate with her dog bed, a treat and a toy.  She doesn't seem to mind so much.  As soon as her peanut-butter-smeared-purple-treat-saucer is placed inside the crate, she plants herself next to it and stares at us while we frantically clean up breakfast dishes, pack lunches, hopefully all of the homework, and push kids out of the house.   She sits very still and focuses all of her energy on us making sure we don't forget to put her IN the crate WITH the treat.   But doesn't it seem like a nearly 2 year old dog should have more freedom in her own house?

Baby steps...or gates.  We put up baby gates in the kitchen so that she could at least roam the one room when we are not there.

But every time we come home - she's at the front door to greet us.    We've tried piling chairs in front and behind the gate and still - our little houdini manages to get free.  How does she do it?

Secret cameras reveal...

it's the old face-smush trick.

It works every time.

a sleeping dog will lie...

on her dog bed!

 More or less.

Got a little crafty over the vacation and made Zuzu a new dog bed.  When she gets sleepy she will truly plop down wherever she is but if given the choice she does look for some padding between her bones and a bare wood floor.

When she was a tiny puppy we bought her a puffy donut bed thinking it would be the perfect cozy nest.

Unfortunately, she was convinced it was a peepee pad.  She didn't mind sleeping in it once she had done her business, so it actually served a dual purpose (ugh!) but we were doing an awful lot of dog-bathing and laundry to keep her comfy and clean.  Eventually we had to toss it. 

As soon as I put this mat down on the floor she knew it was hers.  Maybe because it's pink.  It may not be as fancy as Marco's digs, but it will definitely do.  Fabric, pattern (more or less), and inspiration from the Purl Bee.

ahhh summer

Where did it go?  And why does it always go so fast?

the commuter

With everyone off to sleepaway camp and potentially long, lonely days at home for doggie,  I decided to take Zuzu to work with me in New York City for a few days.

the passenger

Getting a doggie out of the house is certainly simpler than getting kids out of the door with all of their homework assignments, lunches, instruments and everything else we forget on a daily basis.  Zuzu's gear includes food, leash, poop bags, chew toy, and water.  But most awkwardly, doggies have to be in carrying cases on New Jersey Transit.  Zuzu is used to being on a lap, or at least next to one, if any of her humans are available and seated.  She did NOT like being cooped up in her Sherpa.  As plush as the accommodations were, with a panoramic screen view on 3 sides, a cushy floor, and a treat ball,  she fidgeted, clawed,  and tried to scratch her way out of the bag.  The train ride never seemed so long - even for New Jersey Transit.

obstacle course

Once in the city we popped Zuzu out of her bag and she was ready for action.  The first day we decided to take 6th Avenue uptown and walk 13 blocks to my office.  At 9am, rush hour Midtown Manhattan isn't really looking down for a little white French bulldog.  Occasionally, she'd get a giggle or a squeal from a Swedish tourist, but as we navigated the crowds she was largely invisible.   At each stop light, the crowd would thicken on both sides of the street while people waited for a walk signal, so that they could then stampede toward each other on their way to the next corner.  

Whenever we stopped, Zuzu would try to push forward through the sea of naked calves to make her way to the front.  My big fear was that someone would trip over her leash in the middle of the street, but thankfully, that never happened.  At one particularly long stop light, while we waited in the crowd, Zuzu stretched her neck out and began to LICK the woman's calf in front of her.  I certainly didn't see that one coming! Luckily, the woman laughed.

Other than trying to extract salt from human legs,  Zuzu attempted to eat as much garbage as she could find.  And NYC is full of it.  Just about every curb has it's share.

some more than others...

It was quite a relief to get to my office! 

nap time

As soon as Zuzu got to my office and made her rounds of hello sniffs, snorts and licks she lay down on the floor and slept.  

As long as I was at my desk she was asleep at my feet.  When I had a meeting, suddenly Zuzu had a meeting too.  And if I went to the bathroom, guess who came with me?

walkies

Zuzu likes to do her business on grass and if you've been, you know New York City isn't famous for it's grassy knolls.  On my block there are a series of 3 raised "planters" filled with mulch for trees that "grow" in the center.   Until that day I mostly ignored or jumped over them, like everybody else.  Suddenly they were potentially quite valuable litter boxes.   I plopped her on top of one of them and told her "pee pees". 

After much sniffing, no action.  This cement box of mulch was far from the real thing and clearly offended Zuzu's sensibilities.  Luckily, I work near Bryant Park - the crown jewel of Midtown. 

It may not have a dog run, but Zuzu immediately sensed the park's Parisian flair and and made herself right at home behind a planter.

Employee of the Month

Zuzu was a little superstar in the office.  She is such silly little girl. She spent a lot of time sitting at people's feet and staring at them until they put her on their laps. Suckers.  Winnie, our assistant editor, took this portrait of her at lunch.

home again home again

At the end of the day Zuzu's daddy and I met and walked her back to the train station.  It had been a long day and she was happy to see a familiar face in the crowd. 

Zuzu really seemed to enjoy the fast pace of NYC and the working life.  Mostly she liked all of the laps to choose from.  If it wasn't such adventure getting her to and fro,  I might bring her more often.  Life is definitely better with doggies - all day long.