It's officially Summer!

I took my Surgery exam yesterday, so I am now a 4th year medical student! I have July off to celebrate. Bryan always has July off because he's a teacher. And Bean...well, Bean has every month off. That means we will all be spending some quality "family time" together, and I'll be sure to have my camera with me!

This morning I had to get up early (on my first day off!) to take Bryan to the airport. He is going to Miami for the weekend to attend a meeting. As I pulled on my sweatpants in the dark I looked over at Bean snoring in her corner of the bedroom and I thought "If I can't sleep, no one will" "I bet she wants to see Daddy off at the airport!"

So I woke her up (which took quite a bit of effort) and we all climbed into my car. After she determined there were no other dogs out on the streets yet, she settled in to her favorite car-riding position - squishing her head down between the armrests.

"What can I say? It calms me."

At the airport, I got out to say my goodbyes after Bean said hers in the car. I didn't think airport security would appreciate it if we let Bean out to run all over the place and bark at all the planes. Here she is saying a final goodbye, such a touching moment.

"Bring me back a t-shirt from Miami. Green, if they have it. I'm a size dog."

As we drove off, Bean stood up in the back window and stared. She couldn't understand why we were leaving one of the pack behind. She was kind of depressed the whole way home. Not even having the energy for a good head-squishing, she just rested her nose on the armrest.

"I miss Dad already."

I miss him too, Bean. Now let's go back to bed.

Bean helps me clean out my dresser

Hi everyone! So sorry about the long time between posts. Not much exciting has been going on at Chez Bean. I am thrilled to report that the lost dog I posted about last time was found. Yay!

As an example of how dull things have become around here lately, let me tell you about when I cleaned out and re-organized my dresser....

Anyone still there? Still awake? OK. Bean decided to help/observe me since she didn't have anything better to do than wait for Bryan to come home. Her day doesn't start until she hears his keys in the door. She is such a Daddy's Girl! Anyway, she was helpful (kind of) and cute (very) so I decided to snap a few photos. Enjoy!

I think you should keep these two. Red is your color.

Here, let me help you fold this scarf.

Another Lost Dog...

There is another doggie out there on the streets of Durham tonight, trying to find his home. Here is a photo and some more info. Please keep an eye out!

"Hey all, My dog took off last night!!! He's so incredibly nosy that he probably didn't realize he was out of the yard until it was too late. Please if you belong to any of the neighborhood list serves let folks know. His is black with a white belly and old man gray whiskers. He's about 72 lbs and ridiculously friendly, barely barks, is curious about other dogs but not a fighter. He's about 13 yrs old so I'm pretty worried about him out it night he's got creaky bones and some deafness. He answers to spliff, puppy, daddy and old man (when he feels like it). If anyone spots him please call me at 919-358-3707 Thanks!!!"

Bean helps with the yardwork

Another post....you know that that means. I am in between clerkships and have the weekend off!

A few weeks ago Bryan and I (finally) raked up some of the leaves in front of our house. Bean wanted to be outside with us, of course. Since only the backyard is fenced off, we always put her on a lead when she is in the front yard with us. I don't want to take the chance of her running into the street.

The lead is not long enough for her to go down the steps to the curb, so she stood up high and monitored Bryan's progress.

Good job there, Dad. Strong work.

The crappy thing about having to have Bean on a lead is that she manages to get wrapped around something every 2.8 seconds. Then she stands there and cries until we untangle her. On this particular day, she had already wrapped herself around a tree, two bushes, and a flower pot. I thought she was done, and then I looked up and saw this.

Umm....a little help here guys?

She managed to corral two random bricks that were on opposite sides of the yard and bring them together by wrapping her lead around them. How does she manage to get stuck on something that is 4 inches off the ground??? Oh well, at least she gathered up a few leaves in the process!

Happy New Year!!

Happy New Year everyone! I hope you had fun ringing in 2009. We certainly did! Well...Bryan had fun partying. Bean is always terrified by the fireworks and spent the night running from window to window growling and barking. Occasionally I was able to get her back into bed with me. Then just when she was about to fall asleep.... BOOM!! BOOM!! CRACK!! She was so scared. She was shaking and had her tail between her legs and everything. She seems to be more scared of fireworks and thunderstorms since she was stolen. I wonder if she was trapped outside during a storm during that week. Poor thing!

We are all catching up on sleep over here at Chez Bean, so no action photos today. Instead I present to you, My Very Sleepy Family.

Go Away. Just 10 more minutes....
(Yes, I do tuck Bean in under her covers when it's cold; and yes, I realize we need to have human children)

What could possibly be so important that you have to wake me up at 11:30 in the morning???

Meh, I'm not getting up unless there's bacon waiting for me.

"Good morning my love! Say hello to the internet!"
"........."
"Bryan? Angel?"
".........mmpph.....gaurrum......naamm....."
"OK, I'll come back later."

Well, there you have it. I guess I'll go entertain myself for few hours and try again this afternoon.

Bean is in The New Yorker!

A friend called us a few days ago to tell us that he saw Bean mentioned in the most recent issue of The New Yorker. Apparently there is an article about dog-napping, and they list some of the most famous victims of 2008:

There are no reliable statistics about dog thefts, either citywide or nationwide, but a couple of years ago Lisa Peterson, of the American Kennel Club, took it upon herself to begin monitoring what she saw as a disturbing trend. Her list of the disappeared includes not only Samantha, a Maltese from Brooklyn; Misha, a bichon frise from Flushing; and Enzo, a Yorkie from Chappaqua (later returned to his owner, former Miss America Vanessa Williams), but also LeeLoo, a poodle from Sugar Land, Texas; Bean, a pit bull from Durham, North Carolina; Pixie, a pug from Boling-brook, Illinois; and more than two hundred others in twenty-four states.

I am just glad they are getting the word out about this terrible crime, and putting dog owner's on the alert. It's a sad fact, but you really cannot assume that your dog will be safe (even for a minute!) in backseat of your car, or tethered to a lamp post outside Starbucks, or anywhere outside of your sight. We were unbelievably blessed to get our Bean back (and to have a whole army of volunteers out there looking for her!), but most aren't that lucky it seems.

Thanksgiving in VA

So....sorry about not posting in so long. I am in my third consecutive month of inpatient clerkships. If you are lucky enough not to know what that means, consider yourself blessed. Basically I have been crazy busy.

I had to make the time to write this though. I just want to say that I am so proud of our girl. Bean went with us to VA to spend part of Thanksgiving weekend at my in-law's place. I have to admit, I was nervous. Would she beg during the dinner? Would she knock Bryan's 90-something-year-old grandpa over? Would she bark constantly?

I am happy to report that Bean was a perfect little angel the whole trip, starting with the drive up (although she is always good in the car).

I'm not going to look at you, woman. Please get that camera out of my face.

OK, fine. Here you go. CHEESE. Happy now? Now can I go back to helping Dad drive?

When we needed to baby-gate her upstairs (for the fancy dinner), she did not cry. She kept watch over us for awhile and then went to sleep. Here she is at the top of the stairs, looking down at everyone else in the living room. She really likes being high up!

Hey! I can see everyone from here. This is the perfect spot for keeping tabs on all my humans at once.

She especially likes how the windows in that house go almost all the way to the floor, making it possible for her to look outside without standing up on her hind legs. She spent quite a bit of time at this window looking at the other dogs in the neighborhood and watching out for squirrels.

Dog...dog...another dog....SQUIRREL!!!...oh wait, just a Chihuahua....dog...dog...

And when she finally got tired, she rested quietly on her new turquoise dog bed (which is from bow wow beds and is awesome).

Whew! It sure is exhausting being such a good dog!

We hope your holiday was just as relaxing, and there are lots more photos to come. Only, not until after my shelf exam on the 19th. Speaking of which, I am off to go study. Bye bye!

The Scariest Basement Ever

I went to take a shower tonight, and was none too happy to discover there was no hot water. Apparently the pilot light went out on our gas water heater. In the interest of basic hygiene, we called the gas company and they are sending someone out to relight it.

This house has a basement. I have never lived in a house with a basement, and am sort of scared of them anyway. But this basement is the prototypical scary basement. It has cobwebs and creaky wooden stairs and a single bare light bulb. If I was an ax murderer, it's totally where I would hang out.

Someone had to go down there to confirm that the pilot light was indeed out. We drew straws and Bryan lost. Actually we didn't draw straws. I told him he had to go down there and Bean and I would wait upstairs with the phone ready to dial 911 if he screamed.

Bean was very disturbed by the sudden disappearance of her favorite parent, and stood with her head in the doorway until he was safely back upstairs.

"Dad? You OK down there?"

"Daaaa-aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaad? Bark twice if you can hear me."