Friday, June 5, 2009

Bring on the Dancing Horses

If there’s one piece of public art in Denver that anyone has an opinion about, it’s probably this one. It’s called “Mustang/Mesteño” by Luiz Jiménez. You’ll find it on the drive out to Denver International Airport. I thought it was brilliant when it was unveiled. I love it even more after Jake and I got a rare opportunity to see it in person. The textures and colors are even more striking up close. Some people have called it “demonic” and “scary” and have campaigned to remove it. Hoo boy, you guys need to get out more if you’re that disturbed by a 32-foot piece of fiberglass. The horse stays. Now go find something more productive to do with your time.

(Muchas gracias to Jeff and Matt for setting this one up, and to Jenny for making the initial introduction.)
OK, so his lump is big and not all that pretty. We’ve been wrapping his leg for a couple weeks to prevent infection. The flesh-colored bandages looked too institutional to me. The white ones were fine, but I started wondering if I was trying to hide something from people on our excursions. He certainly doesn’t care if someone stops and asks. Why should I? And I have always loved that first picture of him with the blue bandage. The last time we were at the vet, she wrapped him in a red one and I saw all kinds of options in the drawer. Who knew? When I got home, I went online and found a vet supply company that carried them in dozens in colors and patterns. He’s sporting the purple wrap right now. Oh yeah, you will be seeing more shades in the future. Wait until you see the camouflage one.

Thursday, June 4, 2009

Lunch Break

The Rock Bottom Brewery is another home-grown restaurant group, based in Louisville. The patio is right on the 16th Street Mall. We had a late lunch so we could pick our table. Technically dogs have to sit on the other side of the fence and we got a perfect spot in the front corner. Awesome people watching here. Crowds rushing back to work. Shoppers. Buskers. Kids on summer break. Our vet says dogs with cancer benefit from a high protein/low carb diet. Jake and I ate a steak. Doctor’s orders, right?

We're in the City

Jake has been doing great lately. His stomach is back to normal since we took him off that medicine. You would never know this dog is sick if it weren’t for the lumpy purple bandage on his leg. He walks, he runs, he eats, he sleeps. Typical Lab. Today was yet another beautiful spring day in Denver. Perfect time to head downtown again. If you live here, you know this iconic landmark: the Daniels & Fisher Tower. A few years ago, I went to a cool Halloween party that was held on the top floors, behind the clock face. And no, I’m not sharing pics of my costume that year. I might want to run for public office someday.

Wednesday, June 3, 2009

Lunch Break

This is where Jake and I stopped for lunch the day we got the news about his cancer. Hard to believe it’s been a month already. It’s Steve’s Snappin’ Dogs on Colfax. Dog-friendly patio with water bowls and biscuits. I wasn’t obsessively carrying my camera then so we were back for the official pics to go down in his permanent record. Same order. Chicago-style for me and plain for him. All highly recommended. Oh, and we split a Corona.

Monday, June 1, 2009

Don't Come Home A' Drinkin'

Sometimes after a walk, we go to this pet-friendly liquor store close to our house. He stops at the door each time…sits and waits for the OK. Then he enters in slow motion, like he’s walking into a church. He knew from the start to be calm in there. I don’t want to pay for a bottle of wine that I’m not drinking.

Sunday, May 31, 2009

Every Day is Halloween

This weekend was pretty rough. Jake couldn’t keep anything down. I tried it all. Smaller portions of dog food. Tiny pieces of a Wendy’s grilled chicken breast. White rice from a Chinese restaurant. Saltine crackers. He ate everything with his typical Labrador intensity. But it just came up a half hour later, coated with a fluorescent yellow-orange slime. We stopped his anti-inflammatory medicine since one of the side effects includes gastrointestinal problems. I was terrified that this was really the beginning of the downslide. It took a day but he’s so much better now. After that scare, I felt like we needed to go lighter. Dan was searching for something in the basement and found a box of Halloween stuff. It was a beautiful spring day so we took turns putting stuff on him in the back yard. Jake is such a good sport and will do anything to please. All of the pics are really funny but here are a few of our favorites. I know…it’s a poor imitation of William Wegman’s work, but it really made us all laugh. Humor is such a wonderful defense mechanism for dark times. I use it all the time.