Moose's Tenth Birthday!

Moose turned 10 on Friday, May 18th. We had some fun - she got to go the chiropractor and get adjusted (yeah, it's good for dogs, too!! after an adjustment, she shakes then runs around like a puppy. Loves it), then we had playtime, then another car ride to Sope Creek, then swimmin', then home, food, toys, more playtime. I wish my birthdays were so good!

Billy got his top 10 list a month ago, so here's Moose's: Top Ten List: my favorite things she has done. Prepare to wince (and laugh).

1. Ah, my $79,500 dog, who ate the deed to the house in Milwaukee. See my April 1st post. Some less expensive things she has eaten: biking shoes, my two CD Dave Matthews Live at Red Rocks set, two cameras, batteries, the arms of a futon, about 5 blankets, a tub of butter, anything she can sneak off the table, about 10,000 tennis balls, no less than two dozen Kongs)
2. Puppies she has mutilated or traumatized: Hm. Jakearoo; Billy; Ginger; Ru; Toby and Dixie; Ming and Wolf; the cute 8wk blond lab who had to get stitches and had a broken tooth. Numerous others I have blocked out. My dog is a carnivore, and she prefers beta meat.
3. Looking up at me every day for nearly ten years with that grin, and the full-body wiggle: HI MOM!!! WHERE THE HELL YOU BEEN??
4. Rolling in feces. Whenever she has the opportunity. Most noted ones: climbing in Iowa, when she was two (i think it was human feces. way to impress my new climbing friends.); backpacking in the upper peninsula of Michigan with Tom (that was feces and something dead); colorado, on the way to crested butte, camping - i let her out of the tent unsupervised for TWO SECONDS!!!!!!!
5. Outweighing Darcy by oh, twenty pounds or so. And therefore walking her, not vice versa. I picked up her dog food today and check this out for a number: in ten years, I have hauled roughly 4800 lb dog food into the house for her (that's right, 40 lb/month, 120 months... over two tons) and probably cleaned up about the same weight of poop.
6. Eating the better part of a 10 lb bag of friskies, and promptly having exposive diarrhea all over my kitchen in Milwaukee. now THAT was pleasant to come home to.
7. Chasing Ralphie, Billy, Miss, Babes, and whoever else will dare to run away. Mmmm, kitties.... they taste so good...
8. Defeating the grim reaper, repeatedly. "Hm, raging river crossing in Colorado? I think I'll jump right in! Hm, natural waterslide in Wisconsin? I'm there, even if I get caught in a hole at the bottom! Hm, Redbones? Gimme! I'll shatter it and swallow the bone shards! Hm, pesticide? My favorite! Biking? Mom, you wanna go biking if it's 85 degrees and I am wearing a fur coat? I'm in, even if you're really that stupid! Heatstroke? Bah. Oh, look, my favorite, 5.3 slab! Look at me, mom, I'm up so high, the view is great! Hmmm hah hah Grandma opened the door and I am SOOO across that highway!!"
9. There she goes with the grin again. Did you know that labs can move their eyebrows? I swear, she smiles at me.
10. Training me to be her slave.

The first five years had quite a few rough spots (Mom and Dad, do you remember me crying on the phone about how she was just out of control, and i just wasn't sure i could handle such a high-energy dog?) but the last five have been so sweet. Well, with a few momentary exceptions. Wow, what this dog has done for my sense of humor :)