My Two Sons

Rigby is my Lhasa Apso. He is my good son. When Mac died I thought I would never find another dog that I loved as much as him. Mac was my evil son. He was the love of my doggy life but he took his role as the house enforcer a little too seriously. It's hard for me to admit but he was mean. He loved Pat and me but that was really where it ended. Kerry wanted him to love her and I think he did in his own doggy way but more importantly he had to dominate her. He even bit her a couple of times and paid the price. He couldn't help it. It was just the way he was.

When Mac was diagnosed with liver cancer I was devastated. It was one of the hardest things I ever went through. It only took about 6 weeks from the time that he was diagnosed until we finally had to put him down. I was with him to the end. I layed on the table with him when Dr. Eich administered the shot. He died looking into my eyes. I felt his last breath on my face.

I cried constantly for 3 days. I realized that I had to get another dog. Now! I was too lonely and the house was too empty. I didn't want just another dog I wanted another Lhasa Apso. Mac had been such a great dog that I wanted to do it again but with a few small changes. I didn't want the new dog to have to live in Mac's shadow. There were some big shoes to fill around here.

I have a friend who is in the show dog world and she found a breeder of Lhasas that had a litter of puppies that were ready for new homes. Kerry and I took the 2 hour ride to pick out a new dog. I wanted a girl because Mac was a boy. I wanted a golden color dog because Mac was beige/white.

I walked into the breeder's house and was immediately covered in puppies. They were all so cute I couldn't decide. Kerry and I finally picked out this very cute female puppy and decided to take her home. Once all the papers were filled out and the money had been exchanged Kerry and I decided to play with the puppies for a little while longer. We just couldn't leave when there were puppies to be played with.

I sat on the floor indian style while Kerry picked up each puppy to say goodbye. She picked up the golden male and he started to squirm. She dropped him on the floor. I heard the clunk. Ouch!! All of a sudden this male puppy ran over to me and climbed into my lap. He turned around facing out and wouldn't get off. I realized at that moment that I had made the wrong choice. Yes, he was a big male puppy just like Mac but I felt as if he had picked me out. We changed all the paperwork and I took him home. I named him Rigby after Paul McCartney's song Eleanor Rigby.

The older Rigby gets the more he looks like Mac. Pat says he looks like a little ghost. He is, however, sweet and not mean. He doesn't bite or growl like Mac did. You can take him out to meet other dogs and he won't bite them in the face like Mac used to. People can pet him and I don't have to worry about a law suit. You can even take something right out of his mouth and have all 10 fingers when you are done. Mac and Rigby. My two sons. I love them both.

Harmony And Balance In My Living Room

I'm a yoga freak. I love the quiet surroundings and joyfulness that I feel when I finish practicing yoga. This morning I decided to practice in my living room. It's not the same as a private with Juliana at her yoga studio but it's certainly a wonderful thing.

First I lit my Beatles candles. Not only does it give off a beautiful light it allows me to see Paul which is my favorite way to start the day. Then I lit some jasmine incense and turned on a new CD that I bought called "Feng Shui Music For Balanced Living". These things help quiet my mind so that I can focus on my breathing.

After a few minutes of listening and feeling the breath I started my practice of pranayama. This is the practice of controlling the breath. You feel yourself expand with the in breath and release with the out breath. After a few rounds of this you hold the in breath for a few seconds and then add a pause at the end of the out breath. It is really harder than it sounds. It was especially hard when Rigby came over to see what I was doing and started sniffing me and licking my face. That can really mess up someone's mindfulness. Sniff, sniff, sniff, lick, lick, lick.

After the pranayama I started doing the yoga asanas also known as postures. Knees to chest. Sniff, sniff, sniff, Spinal twist. Lick, lick, lick, Fish pose. Sniff, sniff, sniff. Bridge pose. Lick, lick, lick. "Rigby, cut it out"!! "Rigby, go away"!! "RRRiiigggbbbyyy, cut it out!!!

I knew I was in real trouble when it came time in my practice to do downward facing down dog position. In down dog you are in a sort of triangle and in the perfect position to have an upward facing real dog wreck havoc with your yoga practice. See below.




It seemed like the more I pushed him away the more he had to investigate. I realized that there wasn't much I could do to rescue my practice from the whim of my Lhasa Apso . I decided to give him a treat. I did a head stand against the wall. Oh, wow!! That was really cool. Rigby was completely enthralled. He came over to sniff and lick as I was standing with my hands underneath my head and unable to push him away. I laughed and laughed. I think he did too in his own doggie way. I think next time I decide to practice yoga in my living room I'll let my "Sweetpea" out in the back yard.