Canine Canadiana

We took Tannah to Angus Park on Sunday (a.k.a. Fraser River Park, but it's such an unimaginative name for such a great park!), and she met a dog with a Canada maple leaf hat.

I love the expression on her face. It's like she's asking, "OK, the banadana is a nice touch, but isn't the hat taking things a bit over the top?"

Vancouver 2010 Revelry

We went downtown last night to take in some of the revelry. I hafta say, they really pulled out all the stops to make Robson Square look like a winter wonderland (minus the snow, of course).

Now I don't feel so bad about the 900 million dollar security budget knowing that the package includes Batman! If Vanoc had simply published that small fact I really think the media wouldn't have make such a kerfuffle about the vast sums of money being allocated to keep us safe.

Even the Abominable Snowman (a.k.a. Snowy) made an appearance. I guess he was on a break from the Kokanee commercials.

How does one get a Kangaroo through airport security? And shouldn't it be on a leash?

Go, Canada, go!!!

The most photographed spot in Vancouver.

Cultural Olympiad at Granville Island

On Sunday night Shauna suggested we check out Granville Island so we could take in some of the Cultural Olympiad events without having to face massive downtown crowds.

She wanted to see the French pavilion as there was a concert at 6 pm by Pierre LaPoint. Neither one of us had heard his music before but Shauna had heard he was well worth hearing.

We got there early and went across the street for coffee. While I sipped my freshly roasted java beverage I could hear drums approaching. We stepped outside the coffee bar to take in a group of strolling minstrels all decked out in bright green and yellow uniforms. There was an element of whimsy in their performance and it was obvious they were having a good time. I took a short video of them and we went back to the concert stage to stake out a good spot.

A few minutes later I heard the drums again but couldn't immediately identify the location. Everyone around me was looking up, and there were the drummers suspended from a crane looking all the world like a child's mobile hung above a crib. Plus, a woman on a trapeze was performing above them! Pretty awesome pre-show performance. That was absolutely the last thing I expected to see.


Although my French comprehension is what you might expect with not having kept up with it after Grade 11, I really enjoyed the concert. Pierre LaPoint is a talented vocalist and also played piano on a few selections. He was accompanied by several other musicians, and at times I was reminded of SuperTramp, and also of Dave Matthews. A spectacularly clear night capped the evening.


On the way off the Island I took a couple of shots of the searchlight formations piercing the night skies from both shores of English Bay. We can actually see them from our back deck, although of course, not nearly as up close and personal.

Tannah's Intro to Angus Park

The sun came out on Sunday afternoon (Valentine's Day) and we decided to introduce Tannah to her new favourite park; Angus Park, a.k.a. Fraser River Park.

We brought the retractable leash so Tannah would be able to run around a bit. She's just started obedience training and we don't think it's a good idea to let her run free yet. She needs to be reliable on recall before we can let her off leash. She'll get there; she's a really quick learner.




Happy Valentine's Day! Check out the early February flowers.


Post-Angus rest. She wasn't even interested in her squeaky ball!

Olympic Torch Relay

I’m a bit behind in my posts lately. It’s been a bit busy around here what with the Winter Olympics and all. The excitement is really ramping up.

On Thursday, Feb. 11, 2010 the Olympic Torch Relay made its closest pass to where I work, near Burnaby Lake. It’s funny how an event can be going on for so long before I get on the bandwagon. Well actually not; I do the same with hockey, but I digress.

The official route took the Torch South on Sperling Avenue to turn the corner Westbound onto Broadway at 11:13 a.m. An email was circulated within our office that all that wanted to see the procession should congregate in the lobby for a group walk down the street. There must have been a couple of dozen people that participated; some really showed their Canadiana, as proven by my photos. Awesome hat, Erroll!

Squeaky Ball!

Tannah has adopted a squeaky toy that our previous Spaniel, Shelby, used to play with. Shelby was never all that interested in it but she would grab it in her mouth and squeak it every once in a while.

Tannah, however, goes nuts for it. I've attached a short video showing her enthusiasm. Even when I play back the video she bolts upright and immediately searches for the ball and resumes chewing it and rolling on it to make it squeak. It's hilarious!

Happy Groundhog Day!

Last night was Tannah’s first Beginner Obedience class. She did quite well for her first time.

Shauna took her through her paces because Tannah seems to have bonded more with me so far. Whenever I leave a room she follows me. When I leave the house Shauna says Tannah searches the house for me and whines a bit. Tannah needs to know we’re both here for her.

Since I’m working from home for a few days to adjust Tannah to her new surroundings, we thought that obedience training would be a good bonding experience between Shauna and Tannah. I sat on the sidelines and watched and took photographs (and video). We sound like a couple of parents at their kid’s Christmas pageant.

We also got some tips on interval training for Tannah to accept being left alone. Today I continue that process.

On a totally unrelated side note, has anyone told VANOC that Spring has sprung?

I took this shot in our ‘hood of a bush in full blossom this morning while on a walk with Tannah.

Tannah came to live with us

Tannah came to live with us on Saturday. She’s now been with us over 24 hours and things are going pretty well, all things considered. She’s really been through a lot lately, starting with being given up to the Cloverdale Cocker Spaniel rescue on Dec. 9, 2009 with her 2 sisters.

Incidentally, we just learned that the name of one of Tannah’s sisters is Shelby. Those that have been following along with this thread will know what a huge coincidence this is. Either that or ‘Shelby’ is a really popular name lately, and somehow we weren’t made aware of that. You see, our black Cocker, who passed away 2 years ago this coming Mar. 11 was named Shelby. Her replacement, a buff sweetheart of a Cocker Spaniel, whom we were blessed to know for only 20 months, was also named Shelby. We were quite floored when we found out how close we had come to owning a third Shelby in a row.

We bonded with Tannah last Saturday when we met with her at her foster family’s residence for a couple of hours. Little did we know how firm that bond was until today, Sunday, when we tested leaving Tannah alone for a few minutes in the basement laundry room. She wasn’t impressed and she let us know it by barking and jumping at the basement door. Needless to say we made that a short separation interval to prevent scratch marks on the metal door. I hadn’t anticipated such a response because buff Shelby had been so good from day one. She was used to such a routine when we got her; her previous family had a similar pattern to their lives that we do.

We’ve done that several times this evening and so far we’re up to 10 seconds. I love it when a plan comes together!

On a more serious note, how am I going to leave the house for work in the morning? The neighbours aren’t going to appreciate us leaving a barking dog in the basement at 7 a.m. For tomorrow I’ve made arrangements to work from home so I can increase the separation intervals. Also, we’ve arranged to start beginner obedience training tomorrow night. We took Shelby through 3 levels with Capilano Obedience Training in North Van. It was very effective and I’m confidant Tannah will lose her bad habit very quickly.

It’s no wonder she’s experiencing separation anxiety. She came from a family with 4 Cockers; Tannah’s two sisters and one unrelated companion. The family had to move to Alberta and they tried selling Tannah and her sisters with no success. Time ran out before their move and these dogs were given to the CSRBC to be adopted out.

The beginning of the adoption process was to get the dogs clean, spayed, and vet checked, which included a teeth, eye and ear examination. After all that Tannah and her sisters were individually adopted. Tannah, however, was given back to the CSRBC after a week through no fault of her own. So as you can imagine, she’s in a bit of a delicate state right now. She’s very much a shadow to us the last couple of days. She really seems to have bonded with us.

And since we’ve had well behaved dogs in the past, as well as having participated in formal obedience training classes with them, I’m confidant the Tannah will pick up her cues quickly. She’s eager to please; I can tell.