Pooped Out

LIAM IN WALKING GEAR 

We have a dog walking street in New Hyde Park. It is Leonard Blvd. The designation of boulevard evokes a street with high level aspirations. It is the western quarter of the perimeter of North Hempstead Town Park.  There is no access by car for a good number of blocks. If you are on the east side of New Hyde Park Road and own a dog you most likely walk along Leonard Blvd.

LEONARD BOULEVARD LOOKING NORTH

Our street, Baxter Avenue, has Leonard at its end. Being the second house in, Liam and I have a short walk to reach it. Some folks drive to it and park and walk. Idyllic. Peaceful. There is a no car access street before New Hyde Park Memorial HS so it is possible to continue the walk.by turning left by the school. We place our doggie waste deposits in the can at the edge of the school.

LEONARD BOULEVARD LOOKING SOUTH

In the six years we have had Liam this street is our walk for the bathroom trip. Not everyone picks up their doggie deposits. I mentioned the High School. Not every student throws their trash in the can.  One has to dance a bit and zig zag to avoid stepping in poop and fast food remnants.The food containers and discarded drink cups and dog leavings are minefields for humans and conversely a "walk in the park" for our dogs.

This year we dog parents are invigorated by news of a dog run. Oh joy! Right across the street.  Like city folks enjoy. Just a walk, and sit and watch. A study is being done. Surely we will be approved. There are fields of unused land at this town park. A second garbage can appears on Leonard Blvd.  Two places for poop and student debris. A luxury. Our cans no longer overflow. All this must be prep for our dog run.

Bad News.
Dashed hopes.
No dog run.
Study shows not feasible. Smells fishy. Reasons cited nonsensical.  Informal talk around the boulevard is that there is fear we dog owners will come, leave our dogs in the dog run and go watch the sports activities in the Town Park or go to the Health Club. Really? Why would we all do that? Leave our dogs alone and go for a swim??? Do residents leave their children alone at the playground and go for a workout?
Undercurrents of disappointment and suspicion in this dog loving community.

After the news, our Boulevard changes.
Our second can vanishes

Back to the over flowing school garbage can.
Last week that one disappears.

Why? Seems can has been removed because those in charge of emptying it cannot stand the smell.

We now do not have any garbage cans along the popular dog walking section of the Boulevard.

No place to place waste.

Immediate result
Dog waste pile up where the can was.
Poop protest?
People are not picking up.
A rebellion.
There are no receptacles for dog waste disposal.
We have to take it home.

Students join in. They are now dropping their garbage on the sidewalk and street and grass as they walk home.  On our most recent walk I see a pizza box, Dunkin Donut detritus, chip bags, smashed pumpkins, candy wrappers and bones. Yes! Bones! Liam smells every item before I see each one. I am tugged back and forth as his nose goes. The littered street looks like Jericho Turnpike during our street fair.

Do we have a backlash here? People unwilling to carry waste and garbage home. 
Liam and I meet our friends Wrigley Wilbur and his Dad (SSA retiree) we lament the poop situation and the dog run situation. What to do? We chat, pick up... and continue on.

Liam gets ready for another walk. I get the poop bags out. We hope our walk is a worthwhile one. 
Run to the back, sneeze, run to the side, shake, go to the front, repeat as necessary. Liam has a sort of OCD tick about the walk. He has to do this every time. He knows the blue harness means a walk, not a backyard bathroom trip. So he will not do his business in the back.  We both want a productive walk.
See his routine

And away we go. Liam is ready at the gate.

Good news
The Holiday cups are out. November 1st. Liam has his inscribed by our New Hyde Park Starbucks manager, Anita. She adds a cat sticker to entice him. Liam will have his licks at home after the walk. Anticipation. Thanks Anita and Starbucks staff.

The Leonard walk is fraught with danger and fun for Liam. Same for me. Check paws and feet upon return. So much out there.

EMPTY LIAM, POST WALK

Woof, Woof

All Howls Eve

LIAM IN HIS COSTUME, A LEO AS THE LION

All Hallows Eve

Halloween
or

All Howls Eve

that's how we New Yawkers say it and dogs think it

 we tawk fast

Liam is not a costume dog. In that he takes after his Dad. Paul will avoid any venue or party that expects or suggests a costume.

NOT GOING TO ANY PARTY

I do like Liam to participate in some way as he does bark and come to the door for each trick or treater. Liam does enjoy wearing a boa.  The feathers and the warmth seem to calm him. Perhaps he dreams of dining on or capturing birds. And since Halloween has landed on LiamLicks publication day we have my attire ready early and Liam practicing his scary dog eyes.

HAT, BROOMS, BONE, LIAM

Special thanks to Cousin Brian and wife Debbie McNiff for the McNiff pumpkin for which we did a virtual borrow via Facebook. And speaking virtually, check out my friend Joanie's Pinterest board for Halloween
http://www.pinterest.com/thecompletegrad/happy-halloween/

THE MCNIFF PUMPKIN

 Views of our regular haunts

 Best In Show Pet Resort 

Liam's Pet Resort and Vet. They have a costume party and prizes. Liam does not like seeing other dogs in costumes, does not like the dog parties and tries to steal the donuts and coffee from the human snack table.  It is no longer a Halloween destination for us. Their Facebook posts show a fun day today.
  Crabtree's Restaurant 

patio is so fall, an autumn tableau, yes, it is real!
Halloween inside
See photos

Liam's doggie friends share their costume photos.

SOPHIA BRYANT

They live in Kingman Az.

MANDY BRYANT

And Liam in my boa for his lion's mane. I have a small collection of boas. This orange one is composed of real feathers and I think he envisions birds near him, a favorite chasing passion of his. Feathers are warm and by encircling his head trick him into thinking he really did catch a bird. Must have, why are these feathers all over.

We have candies to distribute. None for Liam though he will try to snag some. I have Skittles...horrible candies but young folks seem to like them. and a few lower level chocolates like Kit Kat...no dog titles. . No Snickers, no Three Musketeers, no Reese's here. Chocolate is poisonous to dogs. Really though if I had just one of the fun size snickers, or the others, I would eat one after another. An addictive personality. Yep.
 Liam playing with his pumpkin.

Liam went "trick or treating" today. Our only stop- Pet Valu. Liam picked out a new collar with a bone motif and green background. Thanks to the Pert Valu staff Samantha, Chris and Dylan for helping fit him, for providing treats and for accepting his licks. And for following the blog. Here is a new collar Liam on You Tube

And here is Liam in full costume. The wild eyes are his own idea. He turns them on and off at will. I told him lion's roar, but he says it is All Howl's Eve. Okay...howl away

LIAM READY FOR THE DOOR

Woof, Woof

TimesTalks in LiamLicks

LIAM'S WINE AND FOOD FEST, HE THOUGHT HIS WINE SAID WOOF, WOOF

I am on the LIRR to Penn. I am reading the tweets between Mario Batali and Michael Symon.  I will see them soon. I am meeting my friend for our traditional TimesTalks chef interviews and the pair from TV's The Chew is first up at 11AM. Their tweets show a fun relationship and a comfortable savvy with social media. This weekend is NYCWFF (New York City Wine and Food Festival) and many events are going on all over the city...food demos, contests, lectures, interviews, seminars, tastings, book signings and more 

I AM HERE... TIMES TALKS

The following link has pix of our two chefs and also across the top are sections you may click on to get an idea of what goes on during this festival.
http://www.nycwff.org/timestalksymonbatali
The M and M Virgo chefs are born on same day, September 19. I am with my Virgo pal so it seems like kismet. Mario and Michael really do not need an interviewer as they are their own show. Mario wore his signature orange shorts and crocs and Michael had jeans, a vest and a plaid shirt. This casual dress code is representative of their disavowal of the fancy cult of the celebrity chef and an embrace of authenticity.
When Mario and Michael arrived for The Chew job interview, they thought they were applying for the same job, the only cooking job. The show quickly evolved into a group of cooks and chefs.  Here is a clip
The discussion was about cooking fast and with basic ingredients... Mario sprinkling educated words and Michael reacting with his unique laugh. A questioner asked each what was the most necessary item in his kitchen... Michael's item- iron skillet (I think) Mario's item- his head... when pressed for a non-body part he said ...a knife. I tape The Chew every day: I have been to one of the first shows. Attending this seminar has renewed my interest in watching. They both are Twitter folks and do their own tweets. They give back as good as they get. When asked how he handles a nasty tweet, Mario explained that usually one of his thousands of followers will blast the tweeter. He does tweet answers, and praise as does Michael.
Here is a review of their TimesTalks interview
http://www.thebraiser.com/batali-symon-authenticity-nycwff/
Emeril-  Famous for so long. Unbelievably did not watch him too often on his many shows. I watched here and there. This man made the Food Network what it is. He is now on Top Chef as a sort of adviser and sometime judge. He was dressed more formally than M and M with a white shirt, dark pants and leather shoes...not a chef's attire  He was a solo interview and he had the quite warm witty Kim Severson to engage him. They developed a relaxing repartee. And that accent! I have been thinking he is a New Orleans chef so I must be hearing a gumbo of accents. No, he is from Fall River Ma and that is a Northeast accent I am hearing. Wow! Here is a bit of Emeril

He revealed that he gave up a full music scholarship and instead set out to learn to cook.
A questioner thanked him profusely for dancing with her mother at charity event a few years ago. She brought him a thank you surprise which was brought up to the stage. Not opened in front of us. A CIA student asked if he would try her hot sauce which she had brought in a little gift bag. It was accepted and placed on the side.  And another questioner made a statement that he cooked Emeril's dinner recipe for his girlfriend 19 years ago and as a result they married. Emeril asked what he cooked. He remembered rice pudding and wife shouted down from the top row "shrimp"... a review of the interview follows
http://www.thebraiser.com/emeril-reflects-on-food-network-paula-deen-nycwff-times-talks/

Then we are done-tickets x'd

We went to David Burke's Townhouse http://www.davidburketownhouse.com/and here are some of our treats

spicy lobster dumpling &coconut soup crispy chicken wing, bok choy, straw mushrooms, bean sprouts

pretzel crusted crabcake tomato orange chutney, poppy seed honey

quiche with many ingredients

side view of quiche

I tweeted to David Burke and my tweet was favorited  to his followers(thousands) see...

David Burke favorited your Tweet

19 Oct:

Thanks to Orlando Ramos #davidburke townhouse for a perfect brunch after our TimesTalks sessions #NYCWFF @chefDavidBurke

Where is Liam? Home. Exhausted from his day with his person, Paul... watching The Chew and Top Chef and tweeting with his doggie friends. Yes, he has friends on Twitter, hashtag #petchat. Here he is listening to The Chew. He prefers it that way. His hearing is quite superior to mine. I do hear our chirping parakeets in the corner.

Woof, Woof

Hats Off

LIAM AND MANHATTAN HAT

 I watch the fervent sale of the summer hats as we sip our Starbucks drinks. I am at my monthly meet up with my friend on Columbus and 67th, the celebrity Starbucks. The corner location is across from ABC studios and audience members of Kelly and Michael and The Chew come here before and after the shows. And the celeb guests walk by before and after the shows. They even have lockers here for storage. A good venue for a vendor. We have hats for sale on this June day. The hat guy is affectionately accosting pedestrians. If you look at a hat, it is on your head. From our enviable window seats we are part of the action as hat-deciding customers use our Starbucks glass front as a mirror. The stand is deep with racks of straw, hemp, rope and bendy cotton hats... trendy, artsy, beachy... a few Great Gatsby looks.


I watch for 2 and 1/2 hours. I have my hat picked out.  At the end of our session I announce I am stopping, looking and buying. My hat is still unsold. We leave and are absorbed into the tableau we have been observing.

He is a persuasive, passionate salesman; my friend and I are wearing hats before we can say a word.  Hat guy loves his products, bragging of their wonderful materials which are from a distant country, Zambia, I think he says. I point to my hat. It has ribbon, flowers, leaves and berries. I want it. Sixty nine dollars. What! No hat price on a street in NYC ends in a 9. That is a department store price. Street prices are clean with zeros. I stall. Try on others. I buy it. Wear it home feeling very Project Runway. Where are you Tim Gunn?

  

There is a smell. Liam knows.

Eucalyptus. 

Herbal. 

Medicinal.

Incense

Marijuana

It is my 69 dollar street hat. Is it the ribbon, flowers? Is it the hemp, rope, woven vine? Not a terrible smell but hardly mellifluous.If Liam will wear it even for a second it must be a worthy sniff. Liam tolerates it for a second or two. He is not a hat wearer. Not when a Kong stuffed bone is around.

 I put it in the freezer hoping the smell will be killed by the temperature. It thaws and becomes fragrant again. In July, I wear it to meet our friends for a city outing (the wifely half being my Starbucks friend)  I figure Manhattan and my malodorous hat will mix their smells. Sort of. I leave the hat in their car while we eat. It might permeate the restaurant. We part after dinner. I forget to retrieve it from their car. Hat goes home with them to Riverdale for a month. Friend and I meet at celeb Starbucks in August. No vendor. I had planned to confront him, hat in hand. A month in her car has not reduced the hat's odor. Still smells. That night I wear it to Crabtree's to ask opinions. All say it is the weave, the hemp. It is not so awful, they say. I ignore the hat for all of September. Maybe it takes time.
Today, I try again...No, as pungent as ever. Musty mixes in now also. Maybe it will lull Liam to stillness with its powerful scent. It does. Maybe I should sleep with it and ditch my klonopin. Its smell is sort of hypnotic. See Liam. No barking. Stillness.

Bad Hat

it is not such a great hat for protection.

its weave is loose and the sun comes through the holes

its brim is short and my nose is uncovered. Sunburn.

Good Hat

it repels insects like citronella

it calms Liam...works like a thundershirt

it provides a story

I will be looking for the vendor every month. He must know his hats are fragrant. He should add that to his sales pitch.
If anyone sees Hat guy, let me know...Meeting my friend tomorrow. Maybe I will store the hat in one of the Starbucks lockers.

There is a Friends episode that was on the other day at my health club. It is the one where Phoebe sings Smelly Cat...just substitute Smelly Hat and think of us

Woof Woof

He Is His Own Person

 

"He is his own person." My mother said this about Liam.  I asked what she meant, knowing what she meant but wanting to hear it spoken. "No one owns him; he is singular in the world." Was she being a bit anthropomorphic? She displayed his puppy photo on her desk to remind her to remain independent and be her own person. I found it there when cleaning out her apt. It was the only "person" pic on her desk. She felt he was people.

HIMSELF, PERSON AS A PUP

An article in the NY Times this past Sunday argues for this position. Dogs are trained to enter MRI machines fully conscious. While there their brains are scanned, and what results is supporting evidence that indeed dogs do feel and have emotions, read here for more nyti.ms/178Q3Bs
In the canine world those who care for a dog are termed his/her person. I am Liam's person. Paul and I together are his persons/people.
I did not do a study but I have some visual evidence of Liam being personable.
The following video shows Liam in Ruth's garden...contemplating, no barking, no chewing, no digging. Being in stillness. Zen.

and personally enjoying a long latte foam lick.

Since last week's blog "Quibble with Kibble" we have switched to dry food with turkey, salmon, duck and many veggies and fruits and herbs, no grain.

old food 2.5/5 rating
http://www.dogfoodadvisor.com/dog-food-reviews/performatrin-ultra-grain-free/

new food 5/5 rating
http://www.dogfoodadvisor.com/dog-food-reviews/hills-science-diet-dog-food-adult-dry/


Is there a change? Only with us.  We walk around imitating ducks quack, quack and turkey gobble gobble to get a reaction from Liam. We do not know if salmon emit sounds, so we make fish faces. Liam gives us looks, trying to attribute human characteristics to his persons who are quacking, strutting and sucking in their cheeks.

WHAT'S ALL THIS QUACKING FROM MY PEOPLE?

Woof, Woof

 

MAYBE IF I CLOSE MY EYES THEY WILL STOP

Quibble about Kibble

READING TED KERASOTE'S BOOKS

 Several dog related happenings in the 'hood in September. I read several books by Ted Kerasote. Amazon offered me Merle's Door for $2.99 on Kindle. I am on their "dog" list. Merle is the dog in Ted's first book, his first dog as an adult. I read a free excerpt. Then I thought, Come on...it is $2.99! I bought it, finished it and was hooked on Ted Kerasote. I borrowed his next two books, Pukka, the Pup After Merle and Pukka's Promise. Merle had an unleashed free life in Kelly Wy. with Ted. Merle is gone now and his successor Pukka (pronounced Puck-uh, meaning genuine/first class) lives there now with Ted. Ted writes, hunts and eats elk, passionately engages in outdoor activities, researches, travels. He wants Pukka to live long and well.  How? In his latest book Pukka's Promise he explores how to do this. Here is his Facebook page so you may learn more https://www.facebook.com/TedKerasote

LIAM OUTSIDE LIVING HIS DOG LIFE

And a review of Pukka's Promise by our Twitter and Blogger friend Garth's Mom
http://theworldaccordingtogarthriley.blogspot.com/2013/08/book-review-pukkas-promise-by-ted.html

Ted presents info about vaccines (too many?) diet... is kibble the best for our dogs? Spaying, neutering, shelter dogs vs purebreds, shelters, breeding. All of this has me thinking about Liam's life...Is he living his best life? What can I do to increase its quality and prolong it? Kibble is grain based. No meats. His is a kibble only diet. I thought this the best. Now I am annoyed-about its ingredients and processing and packaging. Is it being pushed by vets? If so, why? Because it is beneficial to dogs? Quibble, quibble

And while I am reading these books a new pet store, Pet valu opens adjacent to my Starbucks...http://us.petvalu.com/ three of the Starbucks baristas apply for and secure jobs there. They will work in both stores. So we have familiar faces in both places. Many know of Liam and some read LiamLicks. I bring Liam to Pet valu for a visit and then to their Open House on Saturday, September 28. See flyerAnother neighborhood event we must attend.  Liam gets a new harness with a breast plate...he requires a large due to his-massive neck and chest.  All his 35 pounds tilted toward the front. One of my baristas on her Pet valu shift helps measure Liam and shows me how to secure him in it. He feels like a gladiator ready for battle. We sniff and lick and when done go next door to get our Starbucks supplies. I go in and announce "Liam is here." Paul and Liam stand outside and are greeted by Starbucks staff and guests. "Liam from the blog! He is outside! Come see. He is so much smaller than we thought." I enjoy the attention as much as Liam. And I am thinking. The new store's values dovetail in many ways with those espoused by Ted. They bill themselves as the Whole Foods of Pet stores. Based in Canada, this New Hyde Park location is only one of three on Long Island. Its wood floors, homey ambiance and savory smells are attractive. Like a country store.
Will it be Liam's Whole Foods? I am a Petco online shopper, convenient, efficient, ebates credits, yet Pet valu is right there and I can go to Starbucks also. Both businesses know Liam. Hmmm.

Liam outside with our reading (he does not do Kindle, too paw sensitive)
 Wondering...






Should
I switch to a no grain diet? a sometime grain diet? Liam loves to eat wild berries, dandelions, twigs, weedsAnd excess parakeet husks and seeds I toss in the yard. Seeds, really? Yes, he fights the birds for his share... and these are not wild bird seeds. Would he accept being a little carnivorous? A dog who likes acorns, popcorn and grass? I remember him snaring my turkey sandwich in one leap and swiping a short rib with a wolf worthy lunge.

Vaccines? Does he receive too many? He has a schedule.

Thinking. Do I ignore it a little...  not adhere to every reminder. Are we about to open a new door...Liam's?
One thing for sure. He will still get his latte foam licks from my daily visit to Starbucks. and maybe I will drift in to say hi to my baristas in Pet valu. And maybe I'll pick up some meaty things. Elk anyone?

PROUD LIAM IN NEW VEST HARNESS

Woof, woof