Our amazing dog had his 8th birthday yesterday. If you haven’t met our dog, you are missing out. He is hilarious. He smells like corn chips, has no hair, loves to snuggle, and is the third member of our family.

He had a pretty low-key birthday, mostly sleeping the day away while I worked from home and Alli did tons of laundry.

Happy Birthday, Dreyfuss.

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Appetizer
Name something you would categorize as weird.

My dog. More funny than anything, but he can be very weird. He ate a couch once and has color dilutional alopecia. He’s still way awesomer than your dog.

Soup
What color was the last piece of food you ate?

Red - A red LifeSaver. Is that food?

Salad
On a scale of 1-10 with 10 being highest, how much do you enjoy being alone?

4. I enjoy my alone time, but I thrive around people, particularly my wife.

Main Course
Fill in the blank: I will _________ vote for ___________ in _______.

Never…Hillary Clinton…this or any other life time.

Dessert
Describe your sleeping habits.

I can’t sleep on my stomach…maybe it’s too big or whatever…I just can’t do it. We share our bed with a 90-lb. mutt who likes to stretch out, so sometimes sleeping means contorting your body around something that smells like corn chips.

See also: Logtar

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Alli’s been in Ohio since Wednesday morning with her mom because her grandma is in the hospital. I know how much Carol appreciates Alli being there, but I sure miss her a lot. Dreyfuss acts so strange when only one of us is at the house for extended periods of time. It’s funny, but weird…he’s really perceptive for a mutt. I got kind of sick on Wednesday and worked from home on Wednesday and Thursday (our new bed was delivered Wednesday, so I needed to be there for that).

I like working from home, but it will be lots more enjoyable after THIS Wednesday when my new office is delivered. For Christmas, my parents purchased me a custom California Closets built-in workspace and I can’t wait for it to get here. My office at the house has been in some serious need of some love ever since we moved in and I’m psyched to get it. Alli also got me a new chair for Christmas to go with my new desk. It’s going to be awesome. In fact, I’m planning on painting the walls today. I’m considering doing this really awesome chalkboard wall calendar that I saw on Martha Stewart’s site (go ahead and make fun - you’ll be jealous when I get done), but I am way behind on just getting everything cleaned out. It’s kind of a trainwreck in my office. For a long time, it’s been the catchall of the house. I’m excited to finally have a place to store everything.

Not much else has really happened. I’m still feeling the effects of my illness and the holiday party for my new company was last night. It was very nice and I’m enjoying getting to know my new co-workers better. Once my room is done, I’ll post pictures…it’s gonna be LEGENDARY.

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We love you, even if you stink to high heaven.

I love that dang dog.

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Today, I’m thankful for my dog, Dreyfuss.

Dreyfuss is our almost-5-year-old mutt. He’s a mix of labrador (or dane…we’re not sure) and Husky (we think). His mom was a stray and there’s a strong possibility that she “got around” while she was in heat because the puppies in that litter did not look very similar.

SIDENOTE: Did you know that a momma dog can have multiple fathers for her puppies in the same litter? I didn’t know that until we got Dreyfuss.

We spoil this dog like a child, except we probably wouldn’t continue to let a child sleep in our bed every night at 5 years old. But he smells just like a dog should smell…like corn chips.

When we first got him, he had problems, and a lot of them. First, they thought he had mange. Not so much. They tested him for every type of mange possible and they couldn’t figure out why he was losing his hair. We even took him to a doggie dermatologist. Turns out, all he had was color dilution alopecia, something that we could do absolutely NOTHING about. That would have been nice to know before the hundreds of dollars in veterinary tests…

The Journal of Veterinary Science defines Color Dilution Alopecia as:

a relatively uncommon hereditary skin disease seen in “Blue” and other color-diluted dogs. This syndrome is associated with a color-dilution gene. The initial clinical signs are the gradual onset of a dry, dull and poor hair coat quality. Hair shafts and hair regrowth are poor, and follicular papules may develop and progress to frank comedones. Hair loss and comedo formation are usually most severe on the trunk, especially color-diluted area on the skin. Six cases of color-dilution alopecia are reported in 3 months to 10 years old dogs. The breeds of dogs are blue Doberman Pinscher, Miniature Pinscher, Dachshund, and Schnauzer. Grossly, extensive partial hair loss was seen on the skin. Histopathologically, the epidermis is relatively normal but may be hyperplastic. Hair follicles are characterized by atrophy and distortion. Heavily clumped melanin is present in the epidermis, dermis and hair follicles.

Dreyfuss also has allergies, which make this skin condition all the more uncomfortable for him. However, he never really complains and we treat him by giving him a rawhide bone EVERY NIGHT. Thank goodness we found that Sam’s carries them in big bags for pretty cheap because our dog eats one per night. You might find that excessive, but you have to understand. This dog can be extremely destructive if he wants to be. Keeping him in rawhide makes sure that our things stay nice (there’s a side story there about Dreyfuss and how he ate my digital camera, but that’s for another time).

Anyway, he’s a really funny dog. Any time that Alli and I are discussing something in a serious tone, he gets all worried and tries to stand between us. He’s pretty smart, even if he eats his own poop.

Dreyfuss, even though you aren’t reading my blog, I say this:

Good dog, buddy. Good. Dog.

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We miss Alli.

Me and Dreyfuss have a hard time sleeping without Alli. Dreyfuss is anxious and clingy and I stay up too late (see time of post). Despite getting up at 4:00am for the airport run, I am wide awake when I should be sound asleep.

There’s an absence that just makes me feel “off” and I can’t really explain it (maybe those out there who are married can help me explain it better. I’m going to try and go to bed now.

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This is my dog Dreyfuss. I know I know. Cutest dog ever. He’s a complete mutt…mom was part-Husky, dad was…well…we don’t know for sure. Vet said maybe a lab or Great Dane. He’s gray, but really doesn’t have much hair because he has color dilutional alopecia.

I’m going to post pictures when there are pictures to post.

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