Stanley goes 6 Feet Under

Recently I was thinking that since Tyco is pretty much an older dog, we don't have much to write about in the blog. so, i don't update too much. so is the dog blog boring? he just doesn't do anything besides sleep on his lounger or under the magnolia all day. ... maybe i thought too soon.

Tuesday is my day off. (except for that drive to Maryland in the evening) but it's the day when i don't practice in the morning and have nothing i'm "supposed" to do until i go to class at 6:15. So i was ready to just chill out all day. last night i was exhausted after teaching two classes in a row to small groups (those require infinitely more energy from me) and i crawled in bed around 930. when i got in bed i rooted around for Stanley (the seal) and didn't find him so i just let myself fall asleep. i hadn't slept well the night before and i was feeling tired, sometimes if i miss the sleep window, that's it, i'm up for the night. so i cozied in and didn't think much about it.

Tuesday morning i got up and decided to take Tyco for his morning walk around the neighborhood. so he's got the leash on and i start leading him up nottoway on his new favorite route. as we're walking by the fence i glance over towards the magnolia where he's been making his nest most nights lately. i think the leaves keep him warm. from the corner of my eye i can just make out a familiar shape. is that??? my memory goes all foggy here but it's like a scene from a movie where the characters a looking for someone and they just see a leg sticking out from a hillside or something. but you know it's not good.

STANLEY!!! stanley is OUTSIDE... partially buried under leaves and so entirely covered in soft dirt flakes that he looks brown.
OH MY GOD!!! when stanley went missing i NEVER suspected Tyco. Akira was known for destroying stuffed animals, but Tyco??

here's Akira having her taste of a stuffed duck.



but Tyco???no way. i rush back into the fence and pull stanley up out of the suspicious nest. quick inspection... whew! only surface dirt (a LOT of surface dirt) no internal or external damage. whew! i set him on the counter and take tyco for his walk while i try to think out my next steps.

Obviously, Stanley now needs a bath. he's had a bath twice that i can remember and the second time his stuffing got all rearranged and he never felt the same again, but now i'm used to this stuffing arrangement, i'm worried about the bath idea. so having never given a stuffed animal a bath before i decided to call in reinforcements. (of course i could have called my mom, she gave stanley his other baths, but these guys know where i'm coming from)
Reinforcements arrived in the form of Sealy, Wally, and Wally 2. Hooray! the rest of the tale is told with photo enhancement in the next installment.