Life on the Leash

I’m totally blown away by this.

What an honor!

When we left VA last year, our focus was on building LOTL … we knew that it was going to be a huge job, so rather than moving, opening a new business and buying a house all at once, we opted to do only the first two.

So where did we live? In a van down by the river.

No, we decamped to Chez Schade during the LOTL birthing process. My parents graciously opened their home to us, and let me tell you, it was amazing. As in, hot meals waiting for us every night, laundry service (I’m so embarrassed to admit that), and the best dog daycare in the world. Summie settled in immediately … nine acres and the very indulgent Mimi and Poppy at his service? Yeah, he was living large.

Though we absolutely loved hanging out with the ‘rents, Tom and I itched for a home to call our own. We started a slow search, and stumbled on a great old house … a 160-year old odd-but-filled-with-potential house that we both liked immediately.

Now it’s ours, and life is very different. And Summie is not happy.

He’s nervous. More so than every before. For the first week he walked around the house and whined. “Where are we, and when are we going home? Where are the rest of my people?” He wouldn’t let me out of his sight. Even Tom couldn’t comfort him … the moment I left the room Sum was all, “Gah! Where’s she going, and is she ever coming back?!”

And the treacherous original staircase? That’s not going so well.

Thankfully we also have an updated staircase that he can navigate without falling over.

Life’s not all bad, though. He’s getting more comfortable in the yard:

And he’s choosing to poop in the leafy perimeter instead of the middle of everything:

He hasn’t quite figured out that our neighbors have sheep and goats … the bleating is loud (and really charming), but it hasn’t registered that there are large, unusually shaped squirrels right next door.

He’s still a huge mess, though. After 10 years I thought I knew everything about my dog. Not quite. Who is this separation-intolerant guy? And when will my semi-chilled Summie return?

He’s trying:

Things have changed for Sum in the past two weeks (and for us!), and because of the change, Sum now accompanies me to work every day. (Details about the change to follow … it has to do with four walls and a roof.)

I keep Sum in the back room for most of the day, but he’s slowly acclimating to being out when no one is in the store. He opts to rest right next to me behind the counter:

Mama’s boy.

I had to really coax him to pose for this shot … he didn’t want to leave the shop. No worries about the guy taking off, that’s for sure!

He’ll never be a true chill shop dog – too nervous and territorial. That said, he was calm when my friend Sandy stopped in for a red chair chat. (Yes, the red chair works for humans too.) He approached her, took a sniff, then retreated to his spot behind the counter. Hey – that’s major progress for my special needs guy!

“Hey, Victoria. I think we need to talk.”

“You keep taking these red chair pictures … it’s kind of one-note. I think it’s getting boring for the folks out there.”

“I mean, of course you had to take my picture on the red chair. After all, I’m 8 weeks old, and I’m perfect. But enough of these shots … I’ll be your swan song, ok?”