cascadian telegrams

happy birthday malcolm

Happy Birthday to Malcolm who is nine years old on Friday June 24 2011!  Here he is with Bangsi the new dog which is what he has wanted for over two years...

 

 

Today/ Age 9 (striking a pose with 'Yugioh' card deck thingy which I don't understand...)

 

 

and Ages 8/ 7 / 6/ 5 / 4 / 3 / 2/ 1/ 0

 

In the last year:

• He's grown to 56.5"/ 143.51 cm or ~ 4' 9" (still about 93rd percentile for height)
• He's added about 14 lbs bringing him to ~100 lbs (97th percentile)

We had a small birthday party this year with a few friends where we grilled and a small pack of boys ran Bangsi ragged, but not before he got 'hold of Malcolm's trousers with his teeth and gave them a good tug!  Have to wean him off of that behavior :).

Malcolm has really changed a lot in the last year, but he's not too old for me to give him the traditional Danish birthday song!

I dag er det Malcolms fødselsdag!  (today is Malcolm's birthday) 

Hurra! Hurra! Hurra! 
Han sikkert sig en gave får             (he's sure he'll find a gift) 
som han har ønsket sig i år            (that is something he's wished for this year) 
og dejlig chokolade med kage til.   (and delicious chocolate and cake)

Hvor smiler han, hvor er han glad   (how he smiles and is happy) 
Hurra! Hurra! Hurra! 
Men denne dag er også rar,            (but his day is also nice) 
for hjemme venter mor og far       (for mother and father are waiting at home) 
med dejlig chokolade med kage til.  (with delicious chocolate and cake)

Og når han hjem fra skolen går,       (and now he walks home from school) 
Hurra! Hurra! Hurra! 
Så skal han hjem og holde fest,       (he plans to go home to a party) 
og hvem der kommer med som gæst,  (and those who come with him are guests) 
får dejlig chokolade med kage til.    (finding delicious chocolate and cake)

Til slut vi råber højt i kor.                 (until at last we shout loudly in chorus) 
Hurra! Hurra! Hurra! 
Gid Malcolm længe leve må               (and wish Malcolm a long life) 
og sine ønsker opfyldt få -                (and may he find his wishes fulfilled) 
og dejlig chokolade med kage til.

 

all the birthday snaps can be seen here.

 

bangsi

 

 

"Every dog deserves a boy" said Mr. Peabody, and he was right.  Malcolm has been after us for a dog for a couple of years, and we felt he was ready for it, and so here he is.

'Bangsi' (which means 'teddy bear' in icelandic) is a mini aussie or Minature Australian Shepherd dog.  We became enamored of them when I saw someone playing with one at the playing field adjacent to Malcolm's school: they're compact, smart and awesome ball/frisbee dogs.  Our friend Jesse has one, so Malcolm had a 'playdate' with their dog, Dash, which sealed the deal:  this is a good dog for him.  And it is a good time for him to learn the responsibility of dog ownership and care.

We had dogs growing up, years ago as kids, but dog/puppy ownership is new for us, too.  We've had cats for years as they're much easier to care for and make better pets for busy people.   In fact, we're going to great pains not to freak out our cat of 12 years, Charlie, by introducing a dog into the house.  From what I've read, for cats it is primarily about territory, and for dogs it is about being part of the pack.  So for Charlie's sake we've been careful to not limit or change any where he can go (we keep the puppy in a pen at all times, they can be very destructive!) and we've lavished attention on him to reassure him.  So far he's cautious but not too freaked out by the puppy.  Also we deliberately chose the most mellow and relaxed puppy of the litter (this may be because of his size, he's the largest of the "minis") as we hope he'll be the best tempermentally-suited to live with a cat.  So far it looks good: he's not aggressive, barely barks at all and when an orange neighbor cat walked past him in the yard, he just looked bemused.  Some watchdog he'll be.

For Bangsi, the initial adjustment is to get him used to sleeping in his crate at night and to stay within sight whenever possible so that he becomes comfortable as part of his 'new pack'.  The first two nights were awful as he wailed in his crate, and we foolishly let him wander around our room.  Big mistake: every thirty minutes or so he'd try to climb into bed with us, and wake us up.  Finally last night we put the crate next to our bed, and (on a friend's advice) I put one of my t-shirts in the crate with him to reassure him that we are nearby.  It worked, and he slept through, which is a huge relief.  It's like having a newborn in the house again!

Puppy obedience training starts early July at Seattle Dogworks, so if we can survie the next few weeks with this very busy, bear cub of a puppy, we'll be on our way to a happy dog's life and hopefully ours as well.