It's been unusually cold here

Today I was finally home during daylight, so I went on poo patrol, with Orion, as usual, tagging along behind me. It was an unpleasant poo patrol because the snow hid old poo, and I had to creep along, with my hands aching from the cold.
As I rounded the raised garden bed, I saw Odin devouring the last of Orion's food in the bowl inside (which explains why Odin is beginning to look, from above, like the "overweight" dog on the chart at the vet office - a moment on the lips, a lifetime on the hips, Odin).
So anyway, I went running towards the door to yell at Odin, hit a patch of ice, slid along merrily on my heels until I hit the wooden "deck" thing, fell down onto it, watched the bag of poop fly in slow motion towards the sliding glass door; it hit the "deck" (not the door, which I seriously cleaned two days before), burst open and frozen chunks of poo went everywhere, and I, in the only non-clumsy part of this whole ordeal, did not smack my hands down into it.
Odin looked at me like it was a dinner show, and then licked his lips and waddled off.

Orion being cute in the chair

Never mind, he's not as tall as Odin

And he sleeps in the bed now. It's crowded because sometimes the cats sleep in there too.

Stampy's new habits

He gets the crazies about once a morning and once in the evening. He races the length of the house and then leaps into the big chair and catapaults out. He'll do this for about five minutes. It's funny because he's big and turns slow, like a battleship.
Whenever Odin gets up (out of bed, off the couch), Orion follows him around, being submissive. This one is more irritating, because then Odin starts to make noises at him and then Orion crawls around on his belly. I wish there was a dog park in Olympia so Orion wasn't learning only behavior from Odin who is not the most dog-ish dog.
Also I think Odin is stealing all the treats so Orion gets nothing and Odin is getting fat each time I leave the house.
Orion has figured out to run over to the fence and watch me leave. It's driving me crazy. It doesn't matter how many treats I give him, how delicious they are, how I spread them around, he still runs over to watch me leave. It makes me nervous because Odin went through a phase of jumping over the fence whenever I left, so someone had to be home to hold him (if he was in the yard). Since I can't leave Orion in the house because I'm gone too long, I'm worried it's just a matter of time before he starts jumping over the fence.
He also has gotten out of the room twice, though I'm not sure how since there is a shut door and then a dog gate with chairs blocking it.
Last week he peed on the floor for no apparent reason. I haven't found any other accidents other than that. I was sitting in the next room when he peed on the floor.
He also keeps chasing the cats.
He likes to chew on stuff. He's a lot more friendly without Betel, and he follows me around a lot and wants to go outside about once every ten minutes. He hasn't figured out how to ring the bell yet.

Orion the Teenager

I think that Orion got taller than Odin. I can't get a picture of them standing next to each other though.
Betel is now living in Portland, and the breeder says his new family loves him. Orion didn't work out in his new home, so he is back with me and Odin. It is easier just having him, but I still miss Betel.
The boys are about to get a bath, if I can the fire going to warm up the house. Orion stinks.

Black Friday for me, hopefully not for Betel

Betel went back to the breeder on Friday. I cried most of the way down and all of the way back. And I kept sporadically crying while I was there. We waited until he calmed down and relaxed on the floor for me to leave - then they took him to give him his dinner and I snuck out while he was gone. He will have lots of friends to play with (and 5 acres!) while he is staying with them, and they also have some kids to play with him. He'll get to learn from some well-trained and -behaved dogs, and learn from some humans who have good, consistent obedience skills.
They are going to find him a wonderful home that has a dog friend and plenty of space. They said he looks great, that he is alert, aware of his surroundings, and he has his name and sit mastered.
It was awful to leave him. I hope this is for the best and he has a wonderful life with his new family.
I am never getting another dog until I have a huge amount of land, a huge amount of time, and a partner who can help me. I feel so, so horrible about giving him up.
Orion leaves tomorrow morning.

R.I.P. Watanabe

Watanabe has been missing for several days from his new home, after coyotes were in the yard.
I'm going to hold onto the idea of him being a wonder cat who is going to find his way home from Redmond, and show up maybe a pound or two skinnier. Despite his bulky size, he was an agile cat and a good killer, and he probably made that coyote think twice about taking another cat.
As my mom said, at least he spent his last few weeks happy and enjoying life outside, instead of cooped up and angry in the house, spraying on my cookbooks and god knows what else. He got a lot of affection and love.