life with a dog

My temporary dog, Lotte, brings out some of my best & worst traits. So much for the hard-nosed woman who swears "No baby talk! If I ever have a child, it'll hear nothing but the King's English from my mouth!" Now, when I walk in the door and Lotte squeals with delight and grabs her favorite stuffed toy for me, this is what you'll hear: "Lotte! How's my baby? Oh, you brought me your Bunny! Clever girl! Is this Lotte's Bunny? Yes it is!" and sundry other slop. But she also makes me fit and healthy as we explore East Van together, and her dependence on me, her soft brown loving eyes, make me gentle and patient.
We took her to Illuminares on Saturday night. I think it was all a bit much for her but she took it in stride pretty well. I got some great shots, so I'll post a few here. I don't like to use the flash so a lot of my pictures were too dark or too blurry. But when they work, they really work, in a way that I don't think a flash photo could capture.
L & I walked all the way down to the PNE grounds today. A 2-hour walk which is hard on Lotte's little stumpy dog-legs. So I've left her to sleep while I sneak home like an errant lover to my other spouse for a little while! J gets itchy at Lotte's house- all that dog hair and dirt- so I haven't seen that much of him.