Bean Goes Multimedia!

I got an awesome new camera for my birthday on Monday (thanks Mom and Dad!) and decided to play around with it after Bean and I got back from the vet on Wednesday. It has the ability to take short (1 min) videos, and thought "Finally! I get to show Bean in action!" So I taped the destruction of the fleece toy I gave Bean in reward for not killing any cats in the waiting room.

I taped it in three parts. Unfortunately, the last part (which is the most thrilling) is kind of blurry. I tried to get fancy and mess with the settings without actually reading the manual first. Oh well. There will be many more toys for Bean to destroy I am sure!

So without further ado, I present to you:

Bean vs. Squeaky Toy - Part I



Bean vs. Squeaky Toy - Part II




Bean vs. Squeaky Toy - Part III




Notice in that last clip that she is able to remove the stuffing and the squeaker in less than 60 seconds. Now that is impressive!

Close Call in the Cat Room

Yesterday we went to the vet for some routine blood work. Our vet, like many others, has separate waiting rooms for dogs and cats. In the dog waiting room, there is a selection of toys for sale. The proceeds go towards the clinic's Stray Fund. We always buy Bean a toy on the way out to reward her for being a good girl at the vet.

Well, yesterday, I stayed in the waiting room while they took her back (it was just a quick lab visit). I had already picked out a toy for her (a pink fleece squeaky horse, more on that later) and stashed it in my purse. I don't like to give it to her until we get home, because she tends to make a mess with her toys. Well, there I was, thumbing through the latest issue of Dog Fancy, when the door from the lab bursts open and Bean comes tearing out of it, dragging her leash along, and followed closely by a vet tech. She had gotten free from the tech on their journey back to the waiting room. And her destination?

The cat area.

Oh yes. Bean decided that instead of the usual plush toy, this time she wanted a living, breathing chew toy to take home. One that meows instead of squeaks. She was caught before she could make it there, and no cats were harmed during this ordeal, although there was some hissing and back-arching. When they brought her to me, I wasn't sure if she still deserved a toy. Should I reward this behavior?

OK. I know how that looked. But let me just say... the cats started it.

I ended up giving her the toy once we got home. How can I resist that face? Besides, she looks sorry, doesn't she? Man, I am a pushover.

Profile shot

Here is a nice shot of Bean in my back yard scanning for squirrels. She is lovely in profile, isn't she? As you can see, there is a huge old tree in the middle of the yard. There must be hundreds of squirrels that live in that tree. And every one of them has tormented Bean at one time or another. Their newest trick is to climb out to the end of a branch and fall. That's right. They just fall to the ground with a loud thud! and then tear off for the tree trunk as fast as they can.

Uhhh. Where'd he go? Where'd he go!!! Let me at 'em!!!

As you can imagine, this drives Bean absolutely insane. By the time she focuses on one of them, it is already too close to the tree for her to get it, and in the meantime, the next one has jumped. It's pretty much the craziest thing I've ever seen squirrels do. Kind of like a real-life version of Whac-A-Mole. Either they have a death wish, or they are confident in the knowledge that Bean is the Worst. Hunter. Ever.

She doesn't so much as glance at me during this, even when I open the gate. Like this past weekend, when I needed to go inside and grab a sweater. Nothing. I did not even exist to her. But when I came back? It was a whole different story.

Hi mom!! I missed you!!! Don't ever leave me again, OK?

Dog Years

I saw this posted on dooce yesterday, and just had to post it here. It is so funny, and so well done. I also kind of teared up at the end. It is surprisingly moving.

I give it 4 paws up, which is the equivalent of "2 thumbs up" in human, because you only use two of your paws correctly. Just one more reason why I pity you poor, confused creatures. But that is a topic for another day. You'll laugh. You'll cry. Just watch it.

Coworkers

Both Bryan and I have desks in the office, each of which are in front of a window. That way we can stare out the window, which greatly enhances our ability to procrastinate. The downside of this is that Bean can't see out of these windows like she can in the others in the house - by standing up and putting her paws on the windowsill. Her solution is to just stand up and put her paws on our desks instead. Occasionally, she will do this while one of us is working, and it looks like we are discussing some very important project. The other day she did this with Bryan.

See, if you move this sentence here into the conclusion, I think it makes the whole piece flow much better, don't you?

It can be very distracting when you are trying to study or grade papers and there is this gigantic dog head in your peripheral vision like that. But we love her anyway!

In other news, it seems that we have found a new house, and will be moving in August. There are 2 windows in the office at the new house as well, so Bean will be able to continue to "help" us with our work.

Objects in Mirror are Closer Than They Appear

We spent some time this weekend driving around town with Bean. Mostly, we were all enjoying the lovely weather. We were also looking at houses, as we are considering a move. Since Bean will be spending more time in any house we take than we will, we thought it best to bring her along so she could give us her opinion.

See, this one is big enough, but there aren't many trees around here. That will seriously impede my squirrel-hunting. Also I'm not sure I like the widows. They are too high for me to see out of. I like the porch, though. Is this a Cape Cod or a Bungalow?

I kept getting distracted by this scene in the rear-view mirror on my side of the car:

Is that Christy's car? That looks like Christy's car. Where is she anyway? I miss her.

And when I tried to talk to Bryan about what we were seeing, I turned my head to face this:

If you take this next left you can cut across town without having to take the freeway.

This whole process could take awhile....

Gizmo has been found!

Thanks to the help of volunteers and the media, Gizmo has been found and reunited with her foster family! All the dog-nappers in this town had better pay attention. This is just not acceptable. Congratulations Gizmo!!

Another stolen dog!

I can hardly believe it, but another dog has been stolen in Durham. Her name is Gizmo and she is a 12 year old Pekingese female. More info and pictures at Animal Protection Society of Durham. The weird thing is that Gizmo was stolen from her foster home. That's right, she was up for adoption! If anyone wanted her that badly they could have adopted her for the $120 fee. Ugh! Humans!!

Bean't first fashion accessory.

We went out of town this past weekend to visit Bryan's parents in Virginia. Bean stayed at the Doggie Spa and Daycare. This was her first time staying there and we were very impressed. When we picked her up, she was so happy! She clearly had a good time. Earlier today she got a bath with the works (nail trim, ear cleaning, teeth cleaning, and anal gland maintenance...don't click on that link unless you really want to know). After her bath, they dressed her in this shamrock bandanna, in honor of St. Patrick's Day. Bean has never worn a bandanna before. Doesn't she look so pretty?

Give me the cheese, I want the cheese, give me the cheese, I want the cheese, give me the cheese...

To get her to sit for this picture, Bryan stood off to the right and held up pieces of string cheese, which she got after each shot. I was able to take like twenty shots! I can never get her to sit still for that long by myself. Bryan may just have to become my official photographer's assistant!

Have it Your Way!

I'm not sure if I mentioned this before, but remember how we took Bean to the vet the day after we got her back? Well, not only did our Bean not waste away to skin and bones during her week on the streets, she actually gained two pounds. I think we figured out why.

Two days before she came home, I wrote about a dog spotted hanging around the local Burger King that looked a lot like Bean. When Bryan got there he saw a loose dog, but it was not Bean. He made sure this dog got back to his owner, and came home.

It turns out that Bean probably was there at the Burger King that Friday afternoon. But before Bryan could get there, another man picked her up and took her home with him. This was the man who saw our flier on Sunday and later gave her back to us. So all those people who called us actually had seen Bean hanging out at Burger King. (Thanks, people!)

Judging by her weight, it seems she spent quite a bit of time feasting on Whoppers and french fries culled from the dumpsters behind the restaurant. Since we got her back, she has been on her normal, no-frills diet. She had to go back to the vet this past Monday to get her vaccinations, and is now back at her pre-dog-napping weight. While we are pleased that her very becoming girlish figure has returned, we will miss calling her Fatty McFatdog.

Do you smell fries? I could have sworn I smelled fries out here...

Back on the streets

Because walking Bean is a lot like walking a Clydesdale, she wears a Gentle Leader when we go out. Like most dogs, Bean despises wearing this thing. The first time I put it on her, she thrashed around the living room for 20 minutes, rolling around on her back and pawing at her face to try to take it off. So we were not surprised to hear that, within hours of getting away from the man who stole her, Bean was spotted wondering around without her Gentle Leader and leash. I am sure the first order of business after getting free of him was to roll around and paw at her face until she finally got that thing off. Now that she is back (Yay!!!), I have bought her a brand new leash and head collar. She was none too happy when we pulled it out and put it on her.

Damn you!!! How did you find this??? I thought I threw it in the creek...I'll have to find a better hiding place next time...maybe in that dumpster over there...

Even with the collar, Bean is very happy to be back patrolling the neighborhood like usual. Now all the residents can sleep soundly, knowing that they are protected from squirrels, cats, blowing leaves, plastic grocery bags, the wind, and everything else that Bean thinks is suspicious.

Also, Bryan wrote a wonderful article in which he discusses what the search for Bean taught him about community organizing. It can be found in multiple places, including here.

Friday night film festival

We spent last night in bed watching movies with Bean. Here she is right after we watched The Painted Veil with our friend Christy, but before we watched more of the series Planet Earth. We highly recommend both.

If you don't come back to bed right now, I am claiming your pillows (and your husband) as my own. Also, enough with the flash, OK?

However, if you are grossed out by cockroaches and bat droppings, you might want to skip the episode called "Caves." I kind of wish I had....

Now that the search is over....

The city has very nicely asked us to take down the Bean fliers that were put up all over town. Since so many people put them up in so many places, it would be really great if everyone could take down the fliers they put up. If you are unable to do that (because you put up fliers in an area other than where you live) please let me know where you posted them, and I will get someone else to take them down.

Also, if you happen upon a flier in your daily travels, please take a moment to rip it down. It will be such a happy task compared to putting the posters up! We don't need them anymore because we have our Bean back!

The city has been unbelievably understanding about these fliers, and I really don't want them to have a reason to regret it. So if we could try to get those fliers down as soon as possible that would be awesome!

No photos. Sorry. Just business, since I am sending this from school. I am pretty sure we can all guess what Bean is doing right now anyway!

Sleeping Beauty

Here is another photo of Bean. As you can see she is still sleeping most of the time. This time she is on the bed.

Go away. I'm sleeping.

I did however get her to at least raise her head this time, so that you all can see that she is not dead:

Please leave me alone.

I am happy to report that her stomach has settled down, and we are adding the dry food back into her diet. I am also happy to report that I passed my psychiatry exam!

Also, I feel that I have been done wrong by the press. From reading some of it, you would think I didn't even exist! It is bad enough I was left out the photos for the paper, I am also barely even mentioned in any of them.

I would just like to point out for the record that I am the one who wanted a dog, I am the one who picked Bean, I am the one who is on the official adoption papers, and (most importantly) I am the one who created and maintains this blog. There is some reference to "Bryan Proffitt's blog" somewhere. Please give me URL. I would love to see this blog, because as far as I know he doesn't have one.

This is kind of a sore point for me, as you can tell. Why? Because when I started this blog 3 years ago, Bryan was mortified. He laughed at me. I think his exact words were "What kind of a nerd makes a website for her dog?"

Who's laughing now, baby?

Finally a photo....

I'm getting up. Just ten more minutes...

Here is a photo of Bean sleeping in the living room this afternoon. This is proof that we do indeed have her back. As you can see, she is healthy and settling back into her routine quite well. She has been pretty much sleeping non-stop since she got home. I couldn't even get her to get up off her blanket and move into the light for this picture. I ended up having to use the flash, which is why it's not such a pretty picture. I am sure the one the professional photographer took will be much, much better! He took a bunch of photos of us outside. Bean was sitting on her bench on the deck, and we were standing beside her petting her. After a few minutes, for no apparent reason, she got up and went back inside through her dog door. She is such a diva that she is actually walking off the set during photo shoots. We are so proud!

So, we reached the goal of $1000 in less than one day! At $1000 per day, Bean is now the breadwinner of the household. We are not going to tell her that, though. She is already letting her celebrity status go to her head.

It's so good to have her home.

WOW!

So, I post this plea for donations to Bean's Recovery Fund, I eat my lunch, pack a bag, meet Bryan in Durham for lunch, come home and do a photo shoot for the paper (more on that later), and then check the blog. Now we are 93% of the way to the goal!??!

Wow. Just....Wow.

We have gotten calls from both local papers today. One (The News and Observer) sent a photographer over to take some shots of Bean and her family.

Why was I left out of the final shot? That's cold.

It's a photo of Bean kissing Bryan on the chin. I am off in the background welcoming visitors. That pretty much sums up how things work around here. Bryan gets all the love! But when he is not around, and it's just me and Bean, it's a whole other story. Then she's all "Mom, I totally love you best. I just do that stuff with Dad because he's insecure. Seriously....Let me get in the bed. Please?...Mom?"

I just took some photos of Bean. She is sleeping on a blanket in the living room. All of her beds and things are in the laundry from the puking last night. The vet says she is totally healthy. We are trying her on a bland canned food for a day or two, and if she keeps that down, we will mix in her dry food until she is back to just dry. Bean probably stuck her paw down her throat last night while no one was looking, just so she could get some of this canned food. She LOVES this stuff. She had some after her knee surgery too. Bryan gave her 1/2 a can when he got back from the vet, and he said she almost hurt her face she was trying so hard to get all the food in her mouth at once.

Unfortunately, I didn't pack the cord that let's me download photos from my camera to the computer, so you will have to wait until tonight for those. But there are professional photos coming! I will let you know when they are in the paper and link to them from here.

You all are the best!

Rebecca

Passing the Hat for Bean!!

Are you still giddy from the news that we have found our Bean?? Do you want to make that feeling last a little longer??? Can you spare five dollars?? Then this post is about you!!!

In the last days of Bean's disappearance, there was talk on this blog in the comments about us increasing the reward, and that some folks out there would be willing to help donate for us to do so.

Well, the good news is that there was no need to take such drastic measures. The less good news is that even with the reward set to $1000, that is way more than we actually have. Our thought process went like this: "We will cross that bridge when we get to it, and PLEASE GOD let us get to that bridge!!" In fact, at this moment we owe most of that amount to the various friends who ran off scrambling with their ATM cards trying to get the cash together yesterday afternoon.

There are many costs of getting her back which either cannot be recovered or we will come up with the money on our own for, including: the HUNDREDS of hours put in by us and everyone involved in the search, the astronomical copying costs of making thousands of fliers, and the vet costs (which we are hoping won't be too bad!) for getting her back to her usual excellent health. But we are really hoping it is not too much to ask for more support in this one last thing.

So, I have set up a campaign where YOU (yes you!) can donate and make this happen! There is a little icon in the top right of this page, which you can click on to donate (via Paypal). You don't even have to have a Paypal account to donate, just a credit/debit card. There is a progress bar so we can all watch as we reach this goal.

I have done some math (which is really painful to do post-exam, by the way), and figured out that the following scenarios will all get us to the $1000 goal:

1) Every person who has checked this blog during the past week donates ONE dollar

2) Every person who was involved in the search in some small way (from putting up a flier to combing the streets for Bean) donates FIVE dollars

3) Every person who wanted to help, but because of time/distance (hello out-of-state Bean fans!) constraints were limited to praying and hitting the refresh button on this page every 3.6 minutes donates TEN dollars.

4) Oprah Winfrey (a well-known dog lover) sees this, checks the cup holder in one of her cars for loose change, and donates ONE THOUSAND dollars

Which will it be? Stay tuned to find out!!

The Story...

I just got home from my exam. I definitely passed, so no worries there. I talked to Bryan. He says that Bean threw up again this morning, and has an appointment with our vet in a couple of hours. I think it's just something she ate, but we'll have her checked out head to paw anyway.

Bryan sent out an email to friends/family last night with the story of how we got Bean back. I am posting it here, but with all the names changed (except for Bryan and Bean, of course!):

I'm on my way back from Chapel Hill today, after a long day of crying and exhausted naps. I was getting to the point of really feeling like we wouldn't see Bean again. Listening to the blues and everything.

Then I got a phone call from a young sounding dude (late teens?) who said that he had Bean and could I meet him around 9th St. I said sure, told him which parking lot I'd be in, and headed straight there. He called back and asked about the reward, was it still $1000? I said that it was, but that I wouldn't have it on me. I then told him what kind of car I was driving and what I looked like, and asked him to do the same. He hemmed and hawed for a minute about not being sure what car he'd be in, and then told me he'd have on red pants and a blue short.

At this point, I'm pretty sure that the dude is going to try to rob me since he sounded so shaky and wouldn't give me any info about himself.

So my two most ride-or-die-for-Bean comrades Elizabeth and Jane came out and parked nearby and waited to make sure that I was cool. We waited for about 45 minutes and decided to leave because the person obviously wasn't being serious. Or, he'd been dissuaded when I told him I wouldn't have the money on me. Whatever, we didn't have any more energy to waste.

Then, Elizabeth gets a call from Fitzwilliiam saying that he's at the bike co-op and he's looking at Bean. He said that the guy who was bringing her to me rolled up to get a flyer, and that he had jumped out to stop him. Elizabeth's all, "yeah right," because there were about 1500 phone calls from folks saying that they had her, and of course, none of them were her. So, the 3 of us speed over there, and sure enough, I get out of the car and see my baby pulling on her leash like she always does.

It was Bean for sure.

So I go talk to the guy and he tells me that he had picked her up two days ago by the Burger King at Club and Guess (by the mall). She was wandering around. I'd actually gotten several calls that she was over there, and Elizabeth and I went, but we found another loose dog that people could have mistaken for her. It turns out there's about 10,000 loose dogs in this town.

He had gotten her, taken her home, and kept her in his garage to try to take care of her. His nephew saw the flyer at Walmart on Saturday, and they called me today. We stood there and talked a while, and he was the nicest guy. He had just lost his dog, an 11-year-old chihuahua/poodle mix like 3 weeks earlier and he'd been real sad about it. Elizabeth and Jane went to get the money, and we brought Bean home.

Then came the phone calls, the visitors, and the lovin on our Wonderdog. She looks healthy, but she's exhausted, and clearly just ready to lay in bed for like the next week or two. We're taking her to the vet tomorrow. She'll be snuggling in bed with me tonight.

Y'all have all been so amazing with the constant walks, posting the flyers, calling your friends, telling your co-workers, saying your prayers, having your dreams, driving around yelling her name out of your windows. It's overwhelming really, and y'all can't know what it means.

There will be a Bean party later on in the week, maybe Friday, so be on the lookout.

Goodnight y'all. Going to bed tired, but so so happy.

love

bryan

Waiting to take my exam..

Just a quick post before my exam starts. I am shockingly unprepared for this, but I can't make myself study anymore, so we'll see.

I called Bryan a little while ago. Apparently, Bean threw up earlier this morning. Probably a combination of whatever she's been eating this past week and all the excitement/treats after getting home. Oh well, back to her plain old healthy kibble I guess! We will have her checked at the vet just to be sure.

I'm going to look over my atypical antipsychotics one more time...wish me luck!

She is home and HEALTHY!!

OK

I am taking a break from Bean's impromptu welcome home party (which she is sleeping through, she is so tired!)

The story is detailed, and Bryan is the one who really was there for the whole thing. He didn't call me until he had her safe and sound.

She is FINE. She has a scratch on the top of her nose, which she probably gave herself when she pawed her head collar off. She had one tick. Other than that, she looks EXACTLY like she did before she was taken! We are taking her to the vet tomorrow, just to be safe, for a check up.

I will have Bryan write a detailed account of the whole day, and will post it tomorrow. For now, just know that she is safe at home, curled up in the middle of our bed, snoring.

I can't thank everyone enough.

PS - Photos to come - I was so excited I left my camera in Chapel Hill. I will take lots tomorrow!