Alternate title for this post “Kylie Hates Golden Retrievers”…

On one of our first big road trips after moving to the mainland, all three of us went on a trip to Boston! It was the first time any of us had been there so it was very exciting. Especially for Kylie with all the new sights and smells and all the Golden Retrievers!

It was presumably the first time Kylie had ever seen a Golden Retriever, or as we call them, the Toyota Camry of dogs, and for some reason she developed an instant dislike of the breed.

We were in a nice little artsy shop called Industry, where there was a big friendly retriever lounging, minding her own business. (She was literally “minding her own business,” in fact but we’ll get back to that.) The next thing we knew Kylie was like a badger on a leash trying to kick her golden ass! We called her off and scolded her and apologized profusely to the shopkeeper, who checked the victim of the attack out and saw that there wasn’t a scratch on her.

Then they explained to us that “Industry” was the Golden’s name and it was HER store – their tag line was “She’s a bitch to work for!”  Yikes! Good job, Kylie! So we made a nice sized purchase before leaving the store including the fancy ceramic treat jar that was prominently located on her cookie bar for years to come.

cookiejar

Later that afternoon we were walking down the sidewalk approaching our car and a guy came around the corner with a big Golden Retriever walking beside him – not on a leash. We had opened the car door for Kylie to hop in, but just about then the retriever decided to say hello to her. Instead of returning the friendly greeting she lunged at him like a snarling psycho! We yelled again and scolded her again, and apologized again. The guy said don’t worry about it and continued on his way. Then when we got in the car, he approached to inform us that his dog was actually bleeding. We got out and took a look at the dog, who upon closer inspection we realized was a little on the elderly side and had one of his front legs all bandaged up. The blood was coming from a tiny little hole Kylie, aka Jaws, had made in the very soft part of his big nose. Yikes! Good job, Kylie!

So we felt pretty bad, but we did point out to the guy once we verified his dog was not seriously injured, that if he had been on a leash the altercation would have been avoided. And that was pretty much the end of that, and it was pretty much the end of Kylie’s visit to Boston. In fact we told her she was 86’d from the whole city – that’s right she was banned from Bean Town!

Over the next few years the two girls made a few trips to Boston for hockey games and/or shopping but Miss Kylie stayed home with a sitter.

Eventually the ban was lifted and Kylie did make a triumphant return to Boston – and she managed to behave herself. She never, however, got over her issues with Golden Retrievers.

So the thing with Kylie wearing clothes.. we’re really not those people for whom pets are accessories, for dressing up and parading around. Besides, when Kylie was just a pup designer doggie duds were unheard of, unlike now.

But for Kylie’s second christmas photo we bought her a Santa suit – her first christmas she was a Tropical Raindog (it was hawaii.. get it?).

reindog

It was a really high quality Santa suit, thick red plush with fuzzy white collar and a broad black belt. She looked quite jolly wearing it! And apparently it made her jolly because when we would take it off she would pick it up, drag it to the middle of the floor and roll around on it until you would put it back on her. She wore a Santa suit for six months! And it was hawaii.. it was hot!

So we started buying her toddler tees and tank tops because like I said, dog clothes were hard to come by, especially in hawaii. She really liked it wearing clothes – we liked it too, we just thought it was weird!

Then when we moved to the mainland and she got her first exposure to canine couture she built up quite the wardrobe.

parka hoodie redcoat

Funny thing was, after living there for awhile, like a “real dog” chasing squirrels, seeing other dogs out and about, it’s like she realized that she was in fact a dog and dogs did not wear clothes. So she began the occasional protest when we would put cute stuff on her. You could get her to cooperate while you dressed her, but then she would just stand perfectly still.

When she wanted to play in the snow, she was much more tolerant – it was like she understood that it would keep her warm for awhile.

In fact, she liked the snow so much, she would even put up with this…

snowsuit snowsuit2

It was worth it for her.. Kylie loved the snow! And of course we loved putting her in cute stuff, and she looked so adorable in them, so we continued to buy her the latest fashions.

Kylie did like the compliments and attention she got when she was all dressed up, so she was willing to compromise. She was mature like that!

we love this shot..

blownaway

It reminds me of the old ad that was really popular for Maxell, telling you you’ll be blown away by their sound quality.

maxell

Kylie was being blown away by her own sound quality – her bark did have a recoil effect!

Kylie’s undeniable beauty was only enhanced by her ears!

the_ear

And her right ear is like her trademark.

say_cheeseOne day back in hawaii one girl had made a very delicious, very chocolate cheesecake. And another girl had a big slice complete with oreo cookie crust, on a plate on the coffee table and went back to the kitchen for a fork.

She came back into the room to see Kylie, front paws on the coffee table, with the entire piece of cheesecake in her mouth!!

She made a break for it.. the girl shouted, “STOP!” And she did, but she held on to the cheesecake and just froze in her tracks… Then with a second shout and an order to “Drop It,” she did.

She dropped the cheesecake, though she did get a good taste – then she dropped and pretended to be really sorry when the stern, mommy finger pointed at her.

Problem was, it was hard to scold her because we were laughing!

Can’t blame a girl for trying!

thinice

…just more bad parenting!

In that same new jersey apartment where Kylie attacked the sprinklers on a nightly basis, she also gained access to her first doggie door – sort of…

firstddBehind the apartment was an open space and a large ravine between us and a tree line. On occasion we would spot a fox or even a couple of deer – yes, in new jersey. Anyway… We had put a stool under the window looking out that direction that was the perfect height for Kylie to sit and gaze. Then at some point we started opening the window and letting Kylie hop out, sniff around, pee if need be, then hop back in. Of course then it became quite convenient, especially first thing in the morning or late at night to open the window, let Kylie out, go do what you gotta do, wait for Kylie to jump back in, and close the window. I know right, bad parenting!

Especially the time when she jumped out the window and right into the face of a great big dog on a leash who was unpleasantly surprised to see her. Or the time when I let her out mid-evening, and since it was cold, I shut the window while waiting, got distracted and about fifteen minutes later remembered, “Holy Crap, Kylie’s outside!!” I put on shoes and opened the front door prepared to go out and search, but there she was sitting right outside the door. She looked up at me like “what the heck is wrong with you?”

Fortunately Kylie was (usually) quick to forgive.

Here’s a friday night movie for all you Kylie fans! It’s an action Flick..

Kylie used to do this every night in the summer in our New Jersey apartment. And the sprinklers didn’t come on until 11 PM!

We learned what we were dealing with very early on in our relationship with Kylie. She had come to live with us in September and at the cutietime, one of the girls was working on art installations at a club in waikiki along with a very cute boy named Gary. So we two girls were constantly going on and on in front of Kylie about Gary this and Gary that, and basically swooning as girls will do in their 20’s.. Gary, Gary, Gary.

One evening that October, we were taking dinner to a couple coworkers at the club including the cute boy, Gary.  Kylie was with us because even though she had only been living with us for a matter of weeks she had already become our constant little sidekick – besides she needed more driving lessons! We got out of the car and the guys walked out to meet us and as soon as Gary came out and we said “Hi Gary,” Kylie took off running toward Gary. Up to this point, we had observed that Kylie was a little scared or intimidated around men, especially tall men and Gary was over 6 feet tall; but she ran straight up to him dropped on the ground and rolled over on her back wagging her tail.

Naturally Gary bent down and rubbed her belly and told her how cute and sweet she was. While he was doing that Kylie, and we are not making this up, looked over at us with an unmistakable expression on her little face.. “Ha ha! The cute boy likes me and is petting me – not you!” Our jaws dropped and we looked at each other like what have we gotten ourselves into!? After their little interlude Kylie was just so pleased with herself, and we were aware for the first time of how in-tune she was with us. And we were aware of what a piece of work she was!

burlap

..Kylie’s so pretty she could make a burlap sack look good!