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Tippie's Day |
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Tippie's Day |
Tippie’s schedule changed several times since she was a puppy. However, the following was her day for the last few years. We were very fortunate that we worked from our home and could give Tippie the attention she ask for about 99% of the time.
In her younger years she would wake us about 7:10 each morning, but for the last few years she slept-in and waited for us to wake her. We would wake her, without startling her, by laying next to her bed and quietly calling her name. She would slowly get out of bed, snuggle her face to our body and twist and kick and turn her body to wakeup. We affectionately called this warm-up her snuggy loves and she would ask for snuggy loves, or we would, throughout the day.
After she was awake, while Jan was preparing breakfast, Tippie and Gary would go outside so Tips could do her little jobbies. This was always followed by Tippie taking time to check out the backyard for the scent of any wild critters that may have been in our yard the night before. During the past few years, she would proceed to the front yard and walk along the sidewalk in front of our neighbors' yards, with Gary still in his pj's and robe. After breakfast, about 8:40, Tippie would settle-in for her morning nap. But before her nap, we had a little game of chasing each other around the bedroom and having a few little treats. We tried our best to balance her happiness with a healthy diet. Tippie loved food. Some of her favorites were vegetables, but most of all crusty French bread. Before her hearing lose, she would hear the slicing of crusty bread from anywhere in the house and come running.
Sometime between 11:30 and noon Tippie would be up from her nap and ready for her walk or perhaps lunch first. Rain or shine we walked every day at San Ramon's Central Park. We would always park our car in the same area because we would let her lead the direction and duration of the walk and she would then return to the car in her own time. In her younger years our walkies would take us through the park and through the Marketplace Shopping Center, lasting between forty-five and ninety minutes. But for the last year she shortened her walk to between fifteen and thirty minutes and stayed in the park.
After lunch and her walk, by this time about 1:30, Tippie was ready for her afternoon nap. Over the years Tippie found many favorite places to take her nap. Downstairs she had two tables, both covered to the floor by cloth. A nice dark place for privacy and a nap, so we placed towels and sheets there for her comfort. Upstairs she liked to sleep in Gary's clothes closet but a few years ago she started sleeping near our bed, so we built her two beds of blankets, sheets and our old robes that she could gather together. We tried a fancy lambs wool doggie bed but Tips preferred our hand-me-downs.
She liked the two beds so she could alternate between them. In her younger years she slept on our bed until an early morning earthquake in August 1989 scared her so badly that it took her a couple of years before she would come upstairs at night. She never again slept on our bed.
We do not know how she did it, she stayed right on her schedule year around, standard time and daylight savings. Her afternoon nap was usually over by 4:45. Before dinner, again with Tippie leading the way, we would go for a slow stroll around the neighborhood (something that she started on her own only a few years ago). This stroll was done without a leash because we were in our own neighborhood. This would usually take fifteen to thirty minutes and got us all ready for dinner. We want to mention that Tippie was very aware that only her yard was for doing her business, all the other yards were only for sniffing along the edge of the sidewalk. There were times when she was several homes from her own when she realized she needed to do something. She would turn and quickly walk back to her yard. Occasionally she would look up at us and we knew she needed help, so we carried her back to her yard. She was a smart little girl.
Because we frequently encountered a wild critter, usually a skunk, in our backyard at night, Tippie quickly adapted to asking for her outside trips at night to the front yard. Tippie never had an accident in our home, she always made it outside.
Another Tippie personality, she hardly ever barked. She never barked at the door bell or at people or other dogs. She did not bark to get our attention because she learned to scratch with her paw (she was a lefty) at various places around the house or on our legs or by pressing her nose against our leg. In other words, she was always the perfect lady. She did bark when she saw cows on the open hillside behind our backyard, they had broken through their fence from the ranch on the other side of the hill.
We started to call the evening between 4:45 and about 8:00 her high energy time. During this time she kept us busy on the neighborhood stroll, at the dinner table asking for treats (wholesome of course), playing, asking for dessert (pieces of animal crackers) and going outside several more times. Tippie would snooze a little between 8:00 and 10:00, then we would take her out for her last little business trip. During the cold season we would help her put on her sweater before going to bed for the night. Even though she knew it was bedtime, she still would play games with us to get little treats, then run back to jump into her bed.
Tippie had a great influence on our lives. She helped us learn respect for all living creatures, about patience, responsibility and especially about love of animals. She was the motivation for our daily walks in the park, for keeping our lawns neatly mowed (her tummy was rather close to the ground) and for visiting with many of our neighbors as we took those daily strolls. The walks and strolls are over because they would be out of place without her and the lawn is only a chore to do when necessary. It was our choice to make Tippie the center of our little world and that part will always be missing.