Wednesday, September 09, 2009

 

Portie Alert!

This is not the first time it's happened but it may have been the scariest. I'm speaking, of course, of one of Oreo's infrequent dashes for freedom.

This one occurred in the parkland near our house last Sunday morning. Cheryl sometimes takes Oreo there for his morning walk and occasionally even lets him off the leash. Big mistake.

While Cheryl bent down to retrieve some of Oreo's poop, he took off. By the time she stood up, he was nowhere in sight.

Cheryl wandered up and down the field yelling Oreo's name and undoubtedly waking any late-sleeping neighbors whose houses backed onto the field. Meanwhile, Oreo had headed across the field and onto the adjoining street.

Luckily, some kind people who live on that street spotted Oreo racing around looking for an entrance back into the field. They grabbed him, tied him up and phoned the number on his dog tag.

That's when I got the call to come rescue our nomadic dog. I drove to the rescuers' house, thanked them and headed back to the field to look for Cheryl. By this time, of course, she had given up and headed home.

Eventually, I was able to find both my wife and my dog. A happy ending although Oreo had no clue as to the danger that he faced.

Tuesday, September 01, 2009

 

Porky Portie

It's been some time since I've updated our life with Oreo. But an article on Oreo's younger, more famous cousin in today's Washington Post reminded me that Oreo had a summer, too. Only Oreo's summer was hardly in the same league as Bo's. No galavanting in The White House, no evening walks with the President of the United States and no Martha's Vineyard getaway.

Not that Oreo can complain too much. For the most part, he got to lie around the house getting fat. Which brings me to the subject of today's blog: the porkie Portie.

Somehow, between sneaking in extra feedings and us being a bit slack on giving him table scraps, Oreo managed to pack on a few extra pounds. His mid-summer haircut-cum-shave revealed that our dog had a bit of a belly.

This discovery resulted in a new dietary regime for Oreo. No more table scraps, no inadvertent extra feedings and a slight (albeit noticeable) reduction in his daily portions of dog food.

Did Oreo notice? Definitely. He was not happy about this involuntary reduction in his caloric intake and tried to make up the difference by ingesting more than his usual share of grass, sticks and God-knows-what.

Despite his initial reluctance, Oreo has adjusted to his new mealtime regime. And the results are starting to show. He appears to have shed a couple of pounds and may soon regain (re-lose?) his once trim appearance.

Stay tuned for more progress in the PWD slimathon that we hope will turn our porky Portie into a dapper dog.

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