A few firsts on the First

"Ugg--my favorite flavor!"

The temperature was five below zero this morning, Feb. 1, and I did not walk the dogs. I felt guilty--there was a time when our dogs got morning walks and evening walks every single day, no matter the weather. Hot, frigid, torrents of rain, we suited up and marched around the neighborhood.

I remember once walking Toby and Boscoe when it was twenty below zero--we were just going around the block, not far, they didn't mind, and I didn't either, really--when a car pulled up and the driver rolled down the window and said, in a highly disapproving voice, "What are you doing?"

But Toby was from Duluth and he didn't mind the cold, and Boscoe had a great thick border collie coat, and he didn't mind the cold either.

Toby (right) and Boscoe, the world's best dogs.

Rosie minds the cold.  So does Angus.  So this morning they raced around the back yard and then they had their usual midday entertainment of the high school girl, followed, a couple of hours later, by the dogwalker, and they will not get fat or grow lazy if they miss a walk or two.

Although I might.

Right now it is one above zero. Angus and Rosie are wrassling like mad in the living room, kind of silently going at it, some heavy breathing, a few grunts, like a couple of Romanian weightlifters. They're getting a good workout, I think.  I might not walk them tonight either.

So I promised you a couple of firsts.

1. Angus ran into his crate today when I called, "Angus, go to bed!" He didn't wait for me to toss in the shower of treats. He just ran in, turned around, and sat. And boy, did he get the treats then! (i.e., kibble, since he remains on a restricted diet.)

2.

Yep, he can get on and off the couch now with ease. Last night, I had to haul him up there. This morning, I looked over and saw him lying on the blanket, chewing happily on the edge of one of the throw pillows

Can braving the steep main staircase be far behind?