Titus - Atheist or Simply anti-Catholic?

Titus had a run-in with Mary, the Mother of God, a few days ago.  After Jeff had been singing Titus' praises for never being rattled, he was well and truly spooked by a two foot statute of Our Lady in Jeff's backyard.  Titus spied the Blessed Virgin Mary (BVM)  from about ten feet, barked , backed up, and then slowly approach, and eventually sniff, the Queen of Heaven.  Was it as emporer he was threatened by the growth of Christianity, or as bishop the preachy letter from Paul turned him, or perhaps as Titus Andronicus he grew jaded by the never ending cycle of revenge. We may never know, and only time will tell if his apparent reconciliation is sincere.

Titus and Jeff have continued their usual daily routine of breakfast, the bus, work, the bus back, dinner and bed. A Titus and Jeff become more comfortable with one another, Titus appears to be loosening up a bit.being more apt to, for instance, try for a squirrel or give a quick woof when he hears another dog bark.  Titus is now snoring, the snore of a lab, a deep and seemingly unending reverberation from the depths of his soul.

New experiences since the last update includes long trips in the are where Titus quietly sits or snoozes, being left in the car for up to a half hour with no problems, playing with a four month old puppy at Susan's with no problems, and carrying a pen or paper or keys for Jeff between classes with no problems and much pride.

Titus managed to chew another gentle leader while Jeff was not looking.    It still works, but is frayed. Jeff is wondering how he can explain the need for a new one.

Medically Titus just got his flea treatment and heartworm pill.  Titus appeared to eat the pill and then spit it out.  Jeff tried putting it at the back of throat with no luck and then reverted to coating it with PB which did the trick.  Titus is satisfied with the progress of Jeff's training.

Titus and Jeff continue to practice on commands and manners with passing through doors being emphasized lately.

We All Have Issues

Titus and Jeff are getting to know one another better and settling into a routine.  The weekend was spent visiting with Susan, CZR, and Cookie on Saturday and walking downtown on Sunday for breakfast at Ernie's.  On Monday Titus and Jeff drove to Tech because the bus was not running and then the usual routine of classes and meetings.  Tuesday was a work at home day with a mid-afternoon outing to Barnes and Noble.  Wednesday was back on the bus back and forth to Blacksburg with classes and meetings in between.  Upon return to Roanoke they went to Susan's for happy hour and Titus enjoyed the questionable hospitality of CZR and Cookie.

Observations:

• He is a barker, although mostly in moderation.  A woof or two at a noise in the house or at something strange in the distance.  Never at anything close.  For instance, today on the sixth floor of the glassed in stairwell he gave half a dozen individual woofs over a period of a minute at something at the street level.  He would not stop with "No" or "Quiet".  Jeff had to lead him away.
• The bladder mystery is partially solved.  Jeff has observed Titus peeing and pooping simultaneously.  This was shocking to Jeff who is probably taking too keen an interest.
• Yesterday morning Titus pulled storage shelving down and atop himself in an effort to pull down a stuffed animal.  This was despite Jeff seeing it at the last minute and yelling "No".  Titus was not hurt.  He was actually quite pleased with himself wading through the debris, jaws clenched around Alec's old Vermont Teddy Bear teddy bear, and tail wagging.  Jeff had a beer and has yet to clean it up.
• In class today Titus was being OH and AHed (sp?) over by Jeff's classmates.  It was difficult - it took every bit of his willpower, but Titus managed to keep his butt on the floor.
• Titus is no longer willing to load in the car.  He has decided that after an up it is Jeff's job to lift his back legs.  Jeff is concerned that he is being used.
• At the end of the day when Jeff takes off Titus' vest and gentle leader he becomes all puppy.

Training:  Titus and Jeff need to work on "Park", "Tug", Meet and Greet, and "Down".  Everything else is going well.

Health: No more hotspot or excessive scratching.  Titus will need his teeth brushed and flea medication soon.

Plans:  Hoping to take a trip to Washington DC in about a month if Titus is still here.

Lots of Firsts

Thursday was a big day for everybody.  Jude, Alec and Piper left for France and Titus was on a grand adventure to school.  To follow the rest of the family see http://francetogo.blogspot.com/.

In the morning Titus quietly sat in his crate as everyone woke up, took showers, and generally bustled around.  At breakfast he and Piper ate together with no problems.  Titus waits at a sit for his food patiently and allows his food to be taken away with no complaint, even with Piper within feet.  Titus was then dressed for the big day.  

Titus and Jeff walked down to Breadcraft, sat quietly and ate while he (Titus) was admired from afar and much discussed by the other diners.  Then off to the downtown bus station to unhesitatingly board the bus, settle in a row with plenty of legroom, and lurch forward to the next stop.  While the bus was in motion Titus had to stay in a settle for stability but would sit up to look at the stops.  No reaction  from Titus as, from his perspective on the floor with sight obstructed by high seats, people walked past inches away.  After an hour and a quarter we arrived in Blacksburg.

It was then off to the dentist for a cleaning where Titus sat in the waiting room, went upstairs to the examination room past people in lab coats, horizontal in chairs, with masks, funny glasses, and amid a strange swirl of new noises.  Then it was to a settle at the foot of a chair that made pneumatic noises with swinging left and right with Jeff's feet dangling off the end.  All the while Jeff has a lead in his hand and, being the wimp he is, shifting and twitching as a women in a long green gown and three eyes creates the most God-awful sound with medieval instruments scraping his poor teeth.  When his suffering was momentarily interrupted Jeff would use precious seconds to anxiously check on Titus, who generally appeared to be asleep.

After a short walk through campus it was up six flights of stairs weaving in and out of loud and hurrying students to Jeff's office for a five minute break a drink of water from a coffee cup (Jeff's ability to think ahead is limited) and then Jeff went to a quick meeting with his boss as Titus settled in under the desk.  The quick meeting became an hour.  When Jeff finally got back Titus was fine and there were no reports of sound from the adjacent office.

Now it was down the stairs, and through the chaos, to another building, where Titus had the pleasure of hearing Jeff pontificate for nearly three hours to over one hundred students in a lecture hall.  With that mercifully over it was back to the bus and on to the downtown Roanoke station.

At transfer time the bus station is the third circle of hell (at other times it is merely a lesser version).  In this semi-enclosed space there are buses coming and going within inches, people yelling, children screaming, horns honking, brakes squealing, phones ringing, people bumping, and  exhaust inhaling.  Other than sticking closer to Jeff, Titus is curious but unfazed.  At one point a girl of about seven caught sight of Titus a few feet away and screamed an awful scream - Titus took little notice.  He was, however, startled and jerked his head when a man came running from behind us and screamed at his friend ahead.

Jeff and Titus slept the sleep of the just that night.

Friday was on the bus to and from Blacksburg, a walk to downtown and back, Jeff's office, an hour class, a new cafe on campus, the elevator, more stairs, one class as Jeff lectured, and one class with Jeff and Titus as students.

Observations:
Titus appears to have a good sense of direction.  On more than one occasion we had gone to to and from the same place twice and on the second trip Titus would appear to be following the prior route and need to be nudged to a new path.

When walking downtown it was striking to see Titus hear an airplane overhead, look up, and follow it.

The landings of the stairwell at Tech has floor to ceiling windows and Titus loves to stop and look down upon the activity below.

When walking through the neighborhood there was a women in a long billowing robe and headscarf 100' ahead.  Titus was momentarily startled as he caught sight of her.

Titus needs work on the park command.

Titus does indeed bark.  Just a quick woof if he hears someone in the downstairs apartment.

Medical:

Titus is still scratching a bit too much, but I have yet to find another flea.

The hot spot has not increased in size and may even be healing a bit.

Jeff has concluded that Titus has a 55 gallon drum for a bladder.  When he (Titus) finally does pee, he (Jeff) has time to read a novel.

This morning Jeff dutifully awoke at 6:30 to take Titus out to park with no luck.  Breakfast for Titus was more successful.  Titus and Jeff then visited Susan and Titus was able to run around and play with CZR and Cookie  for an hour or two.

R and R is the plan for the remainder of the weekend.