Dog H[e]aven

Hello everyone!

Meet McKinley

He is the love of my life.  Doesn't he just melt your heart?!  hehe  =) Perhaps I'm biased, but he's the best.
He's a bit of a mutt (the best kind, right?) half Springer Spaniel, and the other half a mixture of Black Lab and Great Dane.  Because of this, he is quite big, but lanky.  He is about 80 pounds (for some reason, he looks really tiny in the photos,, perhaps because of the angle?), easily knocks me over when playing, but is extremely gentle. For example, I can take his food away while he is eating, and he just lets me do so without so much as a bark or a growl. (Of course, I give it back to him in a second or two because his face looks so sad,, but still!)
He is 9 years old, but acts like he is about 9 months old.  And I must admit, despite his angelic appearances, he is quite the devil when he sets his mind to it.  I can't tell you how many times we have gone hungry during meals because this one ate all of the food while we were distracted.  Or how many pairs of shoes have gotten a makeover in his mouth.  Or how many of us have fallen while he chased a bird or a squirrel while we were still attached to the other end of the leash...

And the last reason, is why I love taking him to the Magnuson Dog Park!!  Leash Free!  Hallelujah!

Such a beautiful park!

McKinley wanted to go in there... but... 

He's pushing 90 human years, but he's still able to beat other puppies in a race!

look what I found hunting in the bushes!

so many..

a beach!  just for dogs!

Dog heaven.

When we first moved to Seattle from Nebraska, we were so worried that McKinley wouldn't have room to run around.  How silly we were!  Here, he not only has room to run around, but also to swim!  He didn't get to swim at all when we were in Nebraska, so it was hilarious to watch him trying to learn how to swim in his 'old' age--apparently they are not born knowing how to swim  haha.

The reason I have so much time on my hands at the moment (whenever we go to the park, it takes about 2-3 hours because he doesn't want to come home before then..) is because my violin and I have been on a break...  It wasn't him, it was me.  really.  

so sad..

I have had a rather serious attack of tendinitis...  the bane of all violinists.  I was not very smart about practicing towards the end of the school year; our bodies were not meant to be contorted and held in the way of holding the violin for 10 hours a day you know?  However, after a week or so of being on break, I feel much better, and will be able to go back to spending many hours with him on a daily basis. I have recently discovered something that has been amazing for my tendinitis, so I will share my routine with all of you tomorrow!  

Thank you so much for reading!

--Janny