LabradorRodeo

I took Lomax to our vet this evening for a look at what I thought was a hot spot on his tail. It’s nothing serious, don’t worry — it just turned out to be a cut or scrape that got out of hand. I didn’t see anything happen, he never yelped that I know of, and I didn’t notice it because the hair on his tail is so thick.

Anyway, the point: as Lomax is at the vet, being poked and prodded and examined, he is wiggling furiously. With great joy. As always. He’s got a nasty cut on his tail, but that doesn’t stop said tail from whipping and wagging. With great joy. As always. And I am attempting to hold him still so the doc can get a look at the affected area.

As Mr. Exuberance is busy licking my face and folding himself in half in order to snort in Dr. Liebl’s face, the doc says to me:

“Happy little guy, isn’t he?”

Yes. Yes, he is.

Okay, fine. I’ll admit I pulled this photo off the Web…but only because at the fireworks show I took Lomax to, I thought I should keep both hands on him in lieu of one hand on him and one hand on the camera.

We spent Independence Day at a dear friend’s annual party. The small-town ambience of El Segundo serves the holiday well; there’s always a street fair in front of Recreation Park, the launch pad for the impressive fireworks display. People turn out in droves, hours early, to put down their blankets and chairs in the street and surrounding areas for optimal viewing. Fortunately, my friend and her husband live on the opposite side of the park, where there are no crowds. Who cares if the show is “backwards?” Thanks to some very sweet neighbors, we had our own private section — prime real estate in a fenced yard, and a gently sloping hill on which to lie back and enjoy the spectacle above.

Not knowing how Lomax would react, I chose a spot nearest the exit and made sure I had a key to my friend’s apartment. The first couple of booms surprised him a bit, but he didn’t bolt — it was more of a head-swivel in the style of “What the *&$# was that?”

But when I directed his attention to the sky and he caught the flashes of light that accompanied the booms, he seemed to make the connection. I just made sure I had one hand on the leash and the other on him, gently scratching his back. When he wasn’t stretch-inching toward my friend’s extended hand for some extra affection, he was calmly watching the skies along with the rest of us (and, surely, agreeing with my softly spoken assessments that he was a very good boy indeed). I wish I could have captured for you the picture of his sweet little head, nose pointed heavenward in silhouette against the blooming night sky.

As it turns out, the dog who leaves the room when someone turns on the stove (or the grill, or the toaster oven) has no problem whatsoever with actual explosives. Who knew?

Joanna, Lomax’s first puppy raiser, picked up her new charge today…and she’s created a blog for him! Everyone go say hello and welcome to Chandler, the goldendoodle.

And while you’re there, be sure to read Joanna’s wonderful entry about the early days of our very own Mr. Lomax. Perhaps I’m biased, but I don’t think you will ever see a cuter photo of a cuter puppy than the one at the beginning of that post. It’s true — our Mr. Lomax is almost unbearably attractive.

I know, I’ve been remiss; it’s been two weeks since my last post. But I’ve got some great pictures! Does that count for extra?

While I was in Fresno, Lomax had a great time here with Liam and his people. In addition to seeing a movie and having a nice Father’s Day with “grandpa” (Matt’s dad), the boys went to an Angels game.

Here’s Lomax in the stadium, questioning the umpire’s call:

And here’s Liam, doing his impression of Lomax, who is not amused:

Wonder Dog powers, activate!

By Monday, Lomax had exhausted poor Liam, but the Unstoppable Yellow One was still ready to play. He was nice and wiggly for me when I got home, which was just what I needed. There’s nothing like a Lomax, that’s for sure.

Lomax is spending the weekend with his brother Liam! I’m going on a quick trip and won’t be posting for a few days, so I’ll just leave you with this picture of the two handsomest dogs in town:

Okay, I’m at work here, but I have to stop for a minute just to recognize a Lomax achievement.

I’ve noticed in the last few weeks that — usual playtime wiggliness aside — Lomax has been easier to handle and control in general. He’s walking much more consistently on a loose lead in excellent heel position, he’s a little more focused (or easier to bring back to focus in the face of distraction), he just seems more grown up all of a sudden.

So when the fire alarm went off in my office building about 30 minutes ago, I thought nothing of it. I just picked up his leash (and my latte, because really — who knows how long we’ll be standing out there, and if it’s a real emergency I want to be fully caffeinated and alert, right?) and walked calmly to the nearest emergency exit.

In the midst of a crowded stairwell, loud “whoop-whoop-whoop” alarm sounds and flashing emergency lights, I hardly even noticed that Lomax was perfectly calm and steady. It was only after we were all standing outside talking, when someone asked me if he had freaked out, that I realized what an excellent job he’d done.

So I rewarded him with a little greeting and ear-rubbing time from his many admirers before the fire marshall gave us the “all clear” to return to the building.

It was a false alarm, fortunately. If there’s ever actual smoke and fire, I make no guarantees.

The annual GDA Open House fundraiser is always crazy good fun, but this was my first time in attendance with a dog of my own, so it was even more chaotic. This year’s theme was “Back to the ’60s” which, as you can see by the photos I’ve posted, afforded all sorts of goofy opportunities. The clever event planners outdid themselves this year, posting signs like “Drool is Cool,” “Puppy Power,” “Mellow Yellow,” and my personal favorite, “Black Lab is Beautiful.”

Lomax and I participated in the “puppy trials” distraction/obstacle course, and while we didn’t place, I feel pretty good about how we did. Lomax is so distracted by other dogs that I was concerned he would…well…explode into uncontrollable wiggling, I guess. But I was able to rein him in fairly well and he took on the most difficult challenges (including getting on and off a bus filled with blacklights, loud psychedelic music, incense, rabbit furs and another dog) with relative confidence. It was the easy things — you know, distractions he couldn’t possibly care less about when I’m out working him in the real world, like water — in which he suddenly took interest. Ah, well. The trainer who’s been keeping in touch with us said yesterday that Lomax looked the most mature she’d ever seen him, so that’s great news.

The South Bay puppy raiser group works the “Puppy Kissing Booth” every year. One dollar for the privilege of receiving a puppy kiss is a pretty good deal, but Lomax was especially generous with l’amour. Here’s Bob, getting his money’s worth.

And of course, these events are always a good time for family photos. Here’s Lomax with his beloved brother Liam (on the left) and sister Kandy (on the right — who by the way is going in for the last phase of her breeder evaluation, woo hoo!).

The day went so quickly, I didn’t even have time to watch the guide dog demonstration or wander around and look at all the silent auction packages, which are always fantastic. So I did my part by purchasing a comfy GDA sweatshirt, enjoying the tri-tip sandwich lunch as well as the Girl Scout bake sale booth, and buying a raffle ticket for the “Spend a Day With a Guide Dog Trainer” program. Lomax, meanwhile, gave kisses until he was all kissed out.

Grateful to have spent the day with my little man and all of our puppy raiser friends, at least one of us slept very well when we got home.

This one’s for you, Nat and Petey!

Fans of the TV show Lost will appreciate this site, sponsored by the Hanso Foundation, “Documenting the mental mastery of the Yellow Labrador Retriever.”

I guess Lomax has greater powers than I ever imagined.