Active Dog Looking for New Home - HOW TO PR THE RUN NEXT SEASON

Hi Blog Followers -

A good friend of mine in San Francisco has to give up her one year old dog, Toby, and wants to find him a good (and active) home. I've copied her email into this blog post, along with some pictures of Toby. If you are interested (regardless of WHERE you live), send me an email (laurenharrison00@gmail.com) or comment and I'll put her in touch with you. Toby would be a GREAT way for you to PR your run next year. I guarantee it!

Hi,

I am writing with sad news and because I need to ask for your help.

Due to personal circumstances, I need to find a new home for my 13 month old puppy, Toby.

If you know anyone who might want to adopt a 13 month old, incredibly energetic but also incredibly funny, smart, and loving dog, please let me know. I am more than willing to pay to fly him or drive him or whatever if you know anyone out of state (or just not nearby) that would take him.

I have put all of the breed, medical, temperament details about Toby below, and attached a few pictures.

Thanks for your help,

Deirdre

Breed
He is a mix, but the vet’s guess is that he is part Flat Coat Retriever and part Border Collie. I buy it. He looks just like a flat coat (I know I am partial, but I think he is gorgeous), has the energy and instincts of a border collie, and the intelligence and sweet personality of both breeds

History
- I adopted him from the San Francisco SPCA when he was about 3 months old. They had only had him for about 5 days before I adopted him. They don’t know his history before thato I do not want to give him up, but my circumstances have changed and I can’t afford him anymore·

Health
- He is 13 months old and healthy, strong, and happy
- He has been neutered (all rescues from the SPCA are neutered before they can be adopted out)
- He has had all of his first vaccines, but will be due for his next set when he is a year and a half, which is in March
- I give him Frontline and Interceptor, so he is covered for heartworm and flea stuff
- He weighs about 45 pounds
- I can provide full medical records. My vet is Pets Unlimited on Fillmore St. in SF
- He has never been sick but was recently bitten badly and needed surgery and stitches on one of his hind legs. I was really scared, not so much for his physical health because I knew that he would get better since he is so young and healthy, but that the incident would change his personality. Thank goodness, it has not. He is physically 100% better and his temperament is as wonderful and hilarious as always. Which leads me to…

Toby – Force of Nature
- He is an incredibly great dog, but he is also a force of nature. His new owner needs to be ready for a really, really high energy dog. Toby is the first pet that I have ever had, but even seasoned dog owners tell me that he is truly one of a kind
- He is loving and loyal beyond belief. He keeps close tabs on me
- He wags and wiggles his entire body upon seeing someone because he is so happy
- He loves and is great with kids. He loves and is great with just about everyone and everything, for that matter (except pigeons… I think his goal in life is to one day catch a pigeon)
- He gets along with other dogs, no problem, despite the biting incident I described above
- He loves – and needs – to play and get a lot of exercise
- During the week, I have a dog walker that takes him out for 2-3 hours during the day, and then I take him out for an hour to an hour and a half when I get home from work
- On weekends, I take him to the beach for about 2 hours in the morning, and then out again in the afternoon / evening for another hour or so
- I take him out for short bio breaks as well, but they take all of about 3 minutes
- He loves to swim, chase, tussle, etc.
- He barks – A LOT – when he plays, but only when he plays. He is totally quiet in the house unless he is really startled or worried about something outside (which I actually don’t mind… makes me feel safe)

Shoes
- I don’t want to sugarcoat this, so I will admit – Toby has been known to chew shoes. This is largely my fault, since my house is a mess and I leave shoes lying around, but still – beware. If you do take my baby boy, put your shoes away!

Thanks,

Deirdre

Throwing down the gauntlet in the deep end

While doing a bit of house cleaning on this blog, I recently came across a draft of a post Lindsey was writing while en route to New York on the "Bolt Bus" last weekend (this is why I live in California....don't particularly like 6 hr bus rides without bathroom stops).

Excerpt from abandoned purse post:

"Swimming: A RETURN TO EQUILIBRIUM! LAHP and I have comparable times when I'm SCM and she swims SCY... THIS Even though my swimming volume is below the 20k threshold and workouts are dominated by one-armed swim drills and 25s sprints,"


Perhaps she hasn't yet perfected her "tone" but do I sense a bit of cockiness in her story about how "little" she swims to maintain this so-called "equilibrium?" Granted, I will never quite know what was to come after that hanging comma, but what's a girl supposed to think!

Regardless, I shall print this out and post it next to a few other "memoirs" I keep next to my bedside table to motivate me to get out of bed and swim.

We'll see where this "equilibrium" goes with the launching of the LAHP "make every swim count" slog challenge today. While Lindsey is busy getting a tan in Maui, I will be focused on GTWD with every meter on my schedule in the frozen tundra outdoor pools of the bay area.

Happy Swimming.



NO...this is not a picture of me.

A Slog Race Report...

When not gchatting with Lauren about being down to my FINAL PIECE OF TRIDENT LAYERS STRAWBERRY/CITRUS REAL FRUIT (FLAVOR) gum, horror of all horrors, she and I gmail with pro: triathlete/pharma sales rep/half and full IM MEX race announcer Amy Kloner*.


Today's topic of discussion: race reports... and keeping it real. We like honesty at the slog, and if our race reports are any indication, year one of pro racing is no cake walk.

In a Lauren race report (RR), you'll see a combination of the following:

-extreme bitterness and focus on self... the only volunteer shout out she provides is to the guy who directed her off-course at Oceanside 70.3 (granted she volunteers at her husband's Xterra races)

-images of flames

-the words: hell, fire, blasted foot, tears, crying, drowning, shut up matt, shut the ___ up matt

-jpgs titled "run death march"

2.5 WEEKS into the 2010 season already, and Lauren is singing a different tune (out of key, just like her piano she promised would be tuned months ago) and foresees RRs filled with rainbows and sunshine... or at least less fire and brimstone.

And so as not to appear mean-spirited and one-sided, I'll provide Lauren's blanket statement about my RRs (that come to fruition 75% of the time):

Lauren: A PURSE RR consists of talking about with whom she came out of the water and then a digression into how to cook an egg bomb and where to shop for the finest ingredients


Below, Lauren having phun with her new IPHONE!



She pings me everytime she walks the dogs or breathes... Lauren left work 5 min ago and already emailed: "Did u miss me"

I'll post now so she has a 'present' to read before embarking on her evening bike ride in the training funhouse. GTWD SLOOT

*Amy and I met while waiting for Clearwater slot roll-downs after Eagleman 70.3. At the time, she was unfamiliar with the clearwater race, but my anxiety over 'receiving' the slot (i.e., the opportunity to pay $300 for a race 6 mos down the pipe) rated its desirability: EXTREMELY HIGH. The remaining slot rolllled to 8th (that would be Kloner... I was 9th). She gave a cutesy smile, told me she was taking the slot then BORROWED a blank check from someone (NOT ME, obviously, as I would not fund such an act) to claim her slot. She earned it... no hard feelings...