Bow-Wow-a-Ween in Pictures

Halloween begins with volunteering at the class party... Q: What do you call a ghost with a broken leg? A: A Hoblin goblin! Q: When does a ghost eat breakfast? A: In the moaning! Ok, you get the idea...



Next, we send our kids out into the big wild world of Halloween armed with empty pillowcases and the youthful optimism of the only time in their lives in which they can expect to get something for nothing. And that something is often chocolate. It doesn't get much better.



We read in the news this morning that many pets were frightened by Halloween. Dog was all bark and no fright. He waited eagerly for all ghosts and goblins.



Where are they?!!!




There they are!


Oh, for Dog's sakes! Do you see how the neighborhood kids love Dog?! Especially the girls! (That is not a fake vampire tongue!) If he could only eat chocolate his day would be complete...

I Told You He Was Pupular

This is sooooo cute!

We are going on vacation over the Thanksgiving holiday and my good friend, Cameron and her family have magnanimously volunteered to take care of Sunny for us. (This is no small thing, since the first year we had Sunny we didn’t take a vacation—I was too nervous about leaving him.)

Their whole family is gearing up for the big dog vacation. They recently had Sunny over for a trial run on a Sunday afternoon and in the space of about an hour and a half, they had taken him on two walks, escorted him around the neighborhood to introduce him to the other local dogs (so he would have some friends when he came back), cuddled with him on everyone’s bed and played countless games of fetch and chase the tennis ball. (Sunny was so exhausted; he came home and went straight to bed.)

Sarah, Cameron’s daughter, really loves dogs (and Sunny in particular) and so she is counting down the days until Dog arrives for his “Sullivan Vacation!” It’s like an Advent calendar, only when you get to the end, instead of Santa and a bunch of toys, you get—a little white, fluffy dog!

Thank you, Sarah! You have no idea what it means to us to know that Sunny will be so incredibly loved while we are away.

Let’s just hope he’s not so much trouble that you have to make another calendar—Countdown until Sunny’s family finally comes home and we can get rid of this Dog.

He's So Pupular

Today, as I drove my 8-year-old son to school, Sunny rode along—in his usual privileged position, perched on my lap, head thrust out of the window, enjoying the breeze. Other than getting treats or going for a walk, this is his favorite part of the day. He loves all the activity--watching the kids scurrying to school, seeing the occasional familiar face in the crowd.

Today he hit the doggie jackpot.

We were running late, so I committed a major carpool sin and pulled around to the back of the school, where there is basically no traffic, and I idled briefly to let my son out at the crosswalk, prepared to zip off and out of the way the moment he crossed the street.

Luckily for Sunny, another mom was running late, too—Auntie Ann, our good friend, neighbor, and most importantly, beloved keeper and cherisher of the dog whenever we go on vacation. Ann pulled up beside me, rolled down her window, smiled her gorgeous Homecoming Queen smile, and exclaimed, “Hi Sunny!” (I’m just his driver.)

By Sunny’s reaction you would have sworn that Santa Claus himself was sitting in the car next to us with a big sack of chicken treats and beef bones. He leaped over to the passenger side and lunged half of his furiously tail-wagging body out of the window, wild with happiness. Sunny does something that I have never seen (or heard) a dog do before—he literally cries with joy when he sees someone he loves. He whimpers like he’s in pain. The first time he did this, Ann thought she had stepped on him when she walked in the door. No, that’s not a broken paw, he’s just happy to see you. Really, really, really happy to see you.

Ann’s carload of kids swarmed out of her Suburban, and even though the bell had already rung and they were all late, each and every child stopped by the window of our car to give Sunny a vigorous pet and receive a warm, wet lick of a greeting in return. And they were all smiling, looking back and waving as they ran to their classes.

I get such a kick out of seeing how much Sunny loves certain people and how much they love him back. And how can they help it? When some living being cries with joy at the mere sight of you, jumping and beaming and panting for your attention, how could you help but be charmed?





I am reminded of something I once read in some self-help, motivational book: That if you want to be popular, you shouldn’t worry about how you look or what you wear or even making sparkling conversation. The real secret to popularity is not how fabulous you are, but how you make people feel about themselves when they are with you.

And to think, Sunny never even read that book.