First you need to try when your human is receptive, i.e. in a playful mood. Bring them one of your toys that you can easily hold in your mouth. Present it to them and give them your best LOOK while assuming the play posture. Remember that maintaining eye contact is essential.

What you want to look for is when they toss the toy, even just to get it out of their way.

Once they have the toy in their hand, watch it intently then chase it and, this is very important, bring it back and lay it before them again — be consistent. When they seem to tire, stop, but watch for the next time they are receptive.

It takes a bit of effort but is well worth your time to bring enjoyment to your human companion.

I adopted a little dog named Atticus and brought him home a week ago today, ending the longest time I had been without a pet since the mid-1980s. Losing Bode was hard, but I am grateful for the six years we had together. There is no way there will ever be a replacement for Bode. When I got up the courage to visit Orphans of the Storm on April 18 though, the volunteers introduced me to a dog who was distinctly different in size, color, breed, and personality so we are now getting to know each other — building a new relationship.

I do find myself comparing the two dogs though, like Bode was an omnivore and would eat almost anything (including veggies) that couldn’t crawl away and at any time of day or night. Atticus is rather cautious, mainly likes meat for treats, and only eats in the afternoon and evening. There is one of Bode’s characteristics that Atticus shares: everyone is his friend.

There are reminders of Ling Ling too. Atticus is cat size, has soft fur and a dark face with big eyes and whiskers. He loves to curl up on my lap or snuggle up to snooze and has claimed the bed for his own. There were gestures too. The first night or two were frosty and Atticus came to the edge of my blanket and pawed it exactly the way Ling Ling used to when he wanted to go under to get warm. He loves it when you run a hand under the blanket for him to chase too. Walking Atticus is a lot like walking Ling Ling on a leash. Ling Ling would fetch though and so far Atticus doesn’t seem to care to play that way.

There were some mistakes, like the first day when I thought Atticus was whimpering because he wanted food but he needed to go out. The sound I hear the most is when Atticus shakes, which is cute, especially when the vibration reaches his little butt raising his hind legs from the ground. The loudest sounds he has made are two yips when the vet checked his ears on Wednesday and reverse sneezing which doesn’t happen very often.

The shelter listed his breed as Shih Tzu with some Jack Russell Terrier. At 8 pounds, Atticus is smaller than either breed, so the terrier part may be a toy breed like Yorkie, Maltese, Chihuahua, perhaps even Affenpinscher although I have not seen a lot of that breed around here. His body is long, like Shih Tzu, but narrow in the shoulders, chest, and hips and longer legs. With his tail clipped short it often looks like a question mark rather than a plume when it curls over his back. He looks really cool when he is out on the leash, trotting or bounding on those little feet, the tail curved over his back, and his ears laid back against his round head, leading with that little snub nose. It will be interesting to see how his appearance changes as his fur grows out. The verdict is that whatever is in the mix, he came out very cute and with good characteristics of several breeds.

The people at Orphans said that Atticus was very shy when he first came, so we had frequent visits before I took him home on April 27. By the time of my first visit though he had gotten beyond that. When we left the shelter, he took me on his regular round of the exercise field confidently, but when we went to my car instead of back inside he was a bit anxious, did his little whimper and looked out the windows. Looks like we will need to work on having car rides that end up at fun places.

We have dealt with separation anxiety. He didn’t want me out of sight and showed concern when I approached the door at first when I brought him home. He used the sweater that I wore to the shelter for visits for a blankie, figured keeping the familiar odors was worth a delay in washing it. Yesterday he handled my several trips to the laundry room just fine and greeted me calmly when I came back.

I hope for the best, but should my medical problems become worse so that I can’t care for him, the shelter will take Atticus back to a place he knows with kind people to care for him while they find him a new home. He should never have to share Bode’s experience of becoming a stray.

I went to Great Clips in the Indiana Commons, on Oakland Avenue in Indiana PA. They donate their time to cut and style your hair for your hair donation. I brought my digital camera and when I asked, discovered that Jessica Uptegraph not only was willing to take photos but has her own photography studio.

I arrived with my hair in the usual bun. Jessica removed the hair pins and combed it out:

She then parted it into four sections and secured them with rubber bands:

There was plenty of hair left for a chin-length blunt cut:

When Jessica measured the locks and they were 22 inches long! You don’t have to have hair this long to donate though.

I especially like this photo with the reflection in the mirror:

I suspect that it is because I usually wear my hair up in a bun but so far people don’t seem to notice the change. It was a good experience and I now have a better profile photo for Facebook.

Yesterday I said a last goodbye to a little shaggy sheep dog, my canine companion of six years.

One of the assistants at the vet’s office said that Bode always seemed so happy. He wanted to be happy and spread happiness to everyone who met him. This is despite having lost his first owner and a number of health problems, most painful.

I am remembering our walks and road trips and his supervision of all activities in the kitchen, my K9 KP.

The links below are blog posts about how Bode came into my life.

The dog on the hill

Becoming “my” dog (read below the rant)

A name and official adoption

Getting further acquainted and herding Ling Ling

He was aging gracefully, but in February what looked like inflammation from an ear infection turned out to be something a lot worse: squamous cell carcinoma. In just a few weeks it grew to about the size of the ball of my thumb, completely blocking Bode’s right ear canal.

Fortunately I was able to get out for groceries on Friday before the weather turned, so can stay indoors except when Bode needs to go out.

On impulse I bought a couple blood (Moro) oranges at Giant Eagle in Indiana. I hadn’t had this variety for a couple years. I usually try to buy local produce but oranges are an exception. In Western PA you don’t grow citrus unless you have a greenhouse. So I watch for the different varieties that come in season as winter progresses.

I peeled the first blood orange after a breakfast of corn meal mush this morning. The flesh was deep red and the juice had hints of mulled port wine with just a trace of bitterness. It was like a vacation from the wintry blast.