Dog to mom: brrrr, it's cold

12/17/2009 Dog to mom: brrrr, it's cold By TAMMY MALGESINI East Oregonian When it's cold enough to freeze my liquid laundry detergent, then I say it's way too cold. OK, well, it didn't exactly freeze, but it gelled up to the point it wouldn't come out of the spout when I pushed the button. I opened the cap and tilted the Costco-sized container - peering up inside, the blue conglomerated, would-be cleaning agent wasn't gonna budge from the bright orange jug. By the way, why is it laundry detergent always comes in brightly-colored containers? Is this some sort of subliminal marketing message that my clothes can be as bright as a box of Crayola Crayons? But I digress - the point is, it's been cold. In fact it's been downright frighteningly freezing to our nearly 4-month-old German shepherd. Lucifer approaches each new weather trend with trepidation. The first time it rained he peered from beneath the porch and retreated to the sliding glass door when a drop hit him smack in the eye. When I responded with laughter, he puffed out his little puppy chest and marched into the yard. When Jack Frost nipped the air, you would have thought it was personified as Jack Nicholson in "The Shining." Lucifer bravely stepped to the edge of the back porch, took one step onto the frost-covered grass and bolted back for the door. So, when it snowed over the weekend, I wondered how he responded. As I lay snuggled in bed, I soon found out as I could hear the gleeful sounds of Lucifer and Jeter playing in the backyard. John later told me when Lucifer first went outside, his eyes darted back and forth - looking at the white, cottony blanket in our backyard. As soon as Jeter romped into the winter wonderland, Lucifer joyfully joined him. Call me sick if you want, but you know many of you do the same thing - the funniest reaction to the weather, which really isn't a reaction at all, but merely some law of physics and gravity or whatever. When everything was coated with a sheet of ice from the freezing rain, Lucifer's legs splayed every which way when he tried to walk. But the clincher was when he somehow got his footing enough to make his daring escape from wintry nightmare - after dashing several steps, he hit the sleet-covered sidewalk and slid head first, crashing into the door. He stood up, shook off the excess moisture and bounded through the door with all the confidence of a young German shepherd, wearing a look on his face that said, "I meant to do that." --- Tammy Malgesini is the EO community editor. Her column, Inside my shoes, appears twice a month. You can reach her at tmalgesini@eastoregonian.com or 541-564-4539.

It's a boy

10/27/2009

John Malgesini cuddles with Lucifer, an 8-week old German shepherd puppy who recently joined the Malgesini pack. Staff photo by Tammy Malgesini It's a boy By TAMMY MALGESINI The East Oregonian Things are drastically different in the Malgesini household. Four additional paws found their way into our home this past weekend. Actually, we've been awaiting the arrival of Lucifer, a black German shepherd, since late May - some members of the pack more enthusiastically than others. My excitement began the moment I placed the puppy order with Becky Geyer at Geyer German Shepherds. She's the breeder I got Jeter from 10 years ago. When we had our Airedale terrier put down in January, it wasn't a question of if we'd get another dog, but when. My husband, John, determined immediately he wasn't ready for another Airedale, but four months later, he settled on the idea of getting a black German Shepherd. And to complicate his desire for a specialty dog even further, he wanted a black male with a short coat. Becky planned to breed No No Nanette and Fabian, whose genetics, she said, suggested a high likelihood of producing some solid black dogs. However, their doggie courtship wasn't planned until mid-summer. The wait probably wasn't such a bad thing. It had been more than a decade since we had a puppy prowling around. While puppy-proofing was something we could somewhat prepare for, explaining to Jeter what was about to transpire only led to a quizzical look and cocked head. Each time Becky's name came up on caller ID, a smile spread across my face. When the call came on Aug. 31, I knew it meant puppies. As much as I wanted to excuse the social pleasantries and blurt out, "Were there any black males?" I listened as Becky talked extensively about the whelping process. She finally said, "There were five black girls, two black boys and ..." I didn't hear the rest of the birth count. All I cared about was two black males. "I've never seen so many black dogs - they just kept coming," Becky said. When Becky called a month later to schedule adoption day, she said to watch for a picture before the end of the week. After she e-mailed a photo of Lucifer, John started to get excited. He bought food and water dishes, a collar and a crate. He said before he saw the photo, the dog wasn't real. And for Jeter, the new puppy is now quite real. He seems a little perturbed about having to share our attention with the prince of darkness. And we thought the terrible twos were bad.  Tammy Malgesini is the EO community editor. Her column, Inside my shoes, appears twice a month. You can reach her at tmalgesini@eastoregonian.com or 541-564-4539.