Each day the routine is that one of goes to work early and the other a bit later. We stagger times so that we can give Henry the best possible we can offer (since I no longer work from home). The early bird will get to work and prep the ipad to watch Henry on camera. We have 4 cameras positioned around our home. 3 inside and one outside. But this still leaves us with blind spots. The main one is in our bedroom where Henry recently has had a proclivity to nap. I doubt that Henry knows that this makes us crazy (not being able to see him) but we still know that he is ok since we can hear him (or should I say NOT hear him). We know when he is upset more by hearing him bark, whine and howl than if we just saw him visually with no sound. So listening for him is actually more important than seeing him.
I say all of that but of course, on our own high anxiety days, we worry that he is dead off camera. And of course, if that was the case, there would be nothing we would be able to do anyway but obviously being able to see and hear him helps put us as ease. So,the other day Henry went off camera. It was on of our own higher anxiety days (we were both in and out of the office, in meetings, could not listen to the live feed effectively, etc). Well, we let Grammy know when she got to her shift that we wanted her to give us a text message update about where exactly Henry was and in what condition (which translates to, "Is he breathing?!"). Not only did Grammy let us know he was alive and breathing, she also told us exactly where he was and sent this photo as proof. It was a relief. #HenryGoesOffCamera #HenryHidesOut #HenryDodgesThePaparazzi #HenryMakesHisPeepsWorry #HenryIsStillAGoodBoy
On the same walk where we took photos of Henry finding the hidden right turn at Doris Leeper Park, we also recorded him walking other parts of the path. We had just been discussing how he does so well and hasn't been "stuck" there (sometimes he gets into a jam and struggles to get his way out). But you see that he can find the path and does try to stay on it. At the very end of the recording, though, you see that I have to chase after him as he decided to leave the beaten path. THAT is Henry of old for sure but we know that this time it was an accident!
We are in a routine where Sunday nights typically end at Doris Leeper's place. As long as we don't go too often, this is Henry's favorite park. He can navigate unleashed! It is amazing. Especially where the choice is to turn right or continue straight, Henry knows that going right is the correct path. And we are not tugging him on the leash to give him the hint. He has just learned his way and is much better at navigating the route there than many other places for some reason.
These two photos show where Henry is to make his turn and Henry after he's made his turn. I don't think the photos really show it very well so maybe next time we will video it to really demonstrate just how good he maneuvers the path.
We are pleased to announce that Henry has been given the 100% healed all clear sign from our vet. It was a couple of weeks ago when we shared that we took our eyes off of him for a quick moment and he walked himself into a tree causing a large corneal scratch. After a few weeks of meds, though, he is back to good eye health. Still blind though. Dang! The meds did not fix that! Crappy medications. They don't go above and beyond! They only healed the abrasion! They did not cure his vision! ugh!
On a recent trip to Gainesville (Florida), Henry was once again face to face with small children. Reagan, the oldest and her new baby sister (Reese) that just came along a few months ago. Reagan, who also has dogs at home, is a true animal lover. She is a bit of a cat chaser in a cute obsessed sort of way. The home we went to did have a cat but the crowds and Henry scared off the kitty. This left Henry and Reagan together. While there was not a lot of people/dog cuddling on this trip, they were showing each other mutual respect and space.
I recently talked about how even though Luna has not been with us for almost a year that I still do not have my tattoo representing her (and it has been almost a year since she has left us). The ink for Solsey and Benny came pretty quickly after their passing. However, the ink for Luna had yet to be completed. Just like Luna in life, she was giving us troubles in her after life. (This is not in a bad way. But Luna was a spicy little girl with a feisty side a mile long! And oh did she give some attitude!) So, ink for Luna has been a long time coming. I emailed my tattoo artist and actually even had a family member attempt to complete some designs. (We had a family member sketch out the bone design we got for Benny.) But nothing was really still hitting home. We do not take this lightly since this is permanent.
Part of the struggle was that there were designs that I liked but it would be hard to incorporate her name with the design. I wanted to keep it simple but not understated. I wasn't sure if I had to have her name in addition to the moon to represent her. I agonized over this (obviously for a very long time). I still had not finally decided until up to the last moment. I emailed the artist, spoke to him on the phone but it was not until working with him during the appointment that I had finally come to my decision. Her name is not incorporated at this point. I can always add it later but for now I am keeping it simple. This was with much consideration and thought that I share the ink for our dearly departed Looney Toons.
For the curious, here is recap of the other inks for pugs past.
Dang! The meds did not fix that! Crappy medications. They don't go above and beyond! They only healed the abrasion! They did not cure his vision! ugh! 
