Halloween 2008

Last night was Halloween, which inevitably means that today is November. It's actually pretty nice today; the pup and I had a pleasant walk around the golf course this morning. I tried to get him to practice sitting and staying while a pedestrian walked by, but the maneuver proved to be too difficult to execute. Pedestrians, especially those without potentially scary dogs along with them, are just too darn interesting. As he is a friendly but not threatening dog (no barking, jumping up, or crotch-sniffing), his pedestrian-investigating behavior is frequently rewarded by said pedestrians. Oh well.

Anyway, Halloween. We have a few young kids in the neighborhood, but the little band of pre-teens we used to have has aged out of trick-or-treating so our visitors topped out at a dozen or so. They sure were cute, though. The ones we did get were waist-high or smaller and truly dressed for the occasion. The pup helped us to greet them, in his own costume:

One of my students said she had never seen me as the type to put a costume on a dog, and I must confess I have always found the practice somewhat undignified for human and beast, and yet...here I am, putting a costume on the dog. Perhaps the only reason I never put a costume on a dog before is simply that I never had a dog before. I just love the expression a dog wears when it is being tolerant.

He did perk up considerably when the kids came by. They seemed to like him, too.

We're having sunshine and highs in the 50s today and tomorrow. I should probably try to get out and enjoy it more. The weatherman said in the newspaper last week that we are entering a phase of colder water in the Pacific Ocean, which should bring colder winters in the Midwest for the next few years. Should be fun.