Insured!

Thanks to everyone for the pet insurance advice. I spent some time reading reviews on www.petinsurancereview.com and then I stopped by Turtle's vet in Ann Arbor to get their advice. They suggested Embrace, which is the company I thought looked best after reading reviews and the plan coverage on the Embrace website (http://www.embracepetinsurance.com/). I purchased the "Everyday" plan, which costs $26 a month and covers accidents and illnesses up to $10,000 per year ($200 deductible).

Hopefully, we won't have occasion to use it, but I'll let everyone know how it goes if we do.

Here's a funny clip my economics professor played in class to illustrate the concept of moral hazard. Hope T doesn't get too reckless now that he's insured :)

Pet insurance advice

Hi friends-

Wondering if any of you purchase insurance for your pups? We've been reading more about it lately and trying to figure out if it's a good idea for Turtle. Knowing how adventurous he is (and most Puggles are), it's likely he'll get himself into a pickle one of these days.

Any providers you like, articles you've read or general advice would be much appreciated!

Best-
Maris, Tyler & Turtle

New dog park

This past weekend Turtle took me his new fancy schmancy dog park near his grandma's house.

Here we are setting out on the path. You can see all the other dogs walking nicely on the path while Turtle is off on the side eating twigs.



Here is Turtle being chased by his new friend, Sammy (poor Sammy gave up after a couple minutes--no one can catch T).



Puggle camouflage! Can you spot the curly tail?



All in a days work. Next up: bath time.

Patiently waiting

One of my favorite routines is making breakfast and dinner for Turtle. Ever since he was little, Tyler and I taught him to sit patiently while we prepared his food. It makes me smile mid-prep to look down and see my anxious diner watching my every move. Sometimes he'll even whine a little if he's really hungry and I'm taking too long.

But he never moves an inch!

The princess and the bee

Happy Halloween! Turtle's grandma bought Turtle his very first Halloween costume this year (T's dad doesn't let him wear clothes). She got him bumble bee costume because she thinks he's such a "busy bee" whenever he visits her house.

In true form, we had a hard time getting him to sit still in his costume to take a picture with princess Emma.


Emma: "What are we waiting for?"
Turtle: "Grandma, leave my ears alone!"



Now they're ready for trick or treating!

Fall delights

Tyler came to visit this weekend, so Turtle wanted to show him all his favorite things about the fall in Michigan.

First up, was a walk around Bandemer Park to see all the fall colors.



And Turtle took a few time outs to chase squirrels, but they always got away at the last second.



On Tyler's last day, we went to the apple cider mill. Luckily, Turtle was tall enough to pick apples.



Here are all the apples Turtle thinks he picked ;)

Family visit

Turtle's family (grandparents and Emma) came to visit him this weekend. He was really excited to show Emma his new dog park in Ann Arbor.

Emma just celebrated her 14th birthday, so she's usually not up for such uncivilized affairs, but she was a good sport.



This guy gave T a run for his money.



Turtle protecting the girls.



Emma prefers Turtle in small doses, so she wanted to make sure she didn't get left in Ann Arbor and took up post next to the luggage until it was time to go home.



Turtle had a great weekend, but he's tired from so much entertaining!

New digs

Turtle came to Ann Arbor last Sunday and had a great first week in his new digs. Here he is posing in front of his "house." (I tried to tell him it's just an apartment, but it's so much bigger than our place in SF that he insists it's really a house).



And here he is with the house warming presents that Tyler sent from San Francisco: treats and a stuffed Turtle to add to his collection.



Thanks dad!

Last week of summer vacation

Here's a random assortment of photos from Turtle's last week of summer break.

Turtle spent a lot of time working in the garden.



Turtle also helped supervise the bean bag toss game.



And of course his favorite activity...



...and drying off from baths while checking out the view.



Phew! What a great summer!



Next up: Sleep-away camp at grandma's while I get our new apartment in Ann Arbor ready. We'll see you in a couple weeks!

Summer fling

Turtle with his new girlfriend, Lulu.



Turtle wanted to take things slow...

Relaxing at the Crow's Nest

Turtle made it safely to Michigan, but would like to avoid airports for as long as possible in the future. He's been recovering from the "trauma" by relaxing at his family's lake house before our new apartment in Ann Arbor is ready.

Here's me and Turtle in front of "his cottage."



This is Turtle catching some breeze on the porch with his cousin Emma who is a 13 year old king charles (=queen bee). Turtle has been keeping a respectful distance.



But his favorite thing has been taking naps on the porch after going for long walks on the beach.

Three cheers for unemployment!

Turtle loves that one of his parents no longer has a job to go to every morning since he's trying to visit his favorite places before leaving San Francisco. Our latest weekday excursion was to Crissy Field on a very sunny day.

Turtle wanted to pause a moment to soak up the view of GG Bridge.



And the view of Alcatraz in the distance.



Enough being sentimental. Time to play!







"See mom, you don't need a job."

I'm moving where??

This week I broke the news to Turtle that he'll be moving to Ann Arbor, Michigan in August. Judging by this photo, I think it's going to take some time for him to warm up to the idea. He says he's a California puggle through and through.

First camping trip

This weekend we took Turtle camping in Big Sur. It was only car camping, but Turtle was still very stressed out because he's used to city life and he's never spent a night under the stars.

Here he is "helping" Tyler set up the tent. (At this point he didn't know he would be sleeping inside of it.)


Admiring his work...


The next day, Turtle got to check out the white sand beach in nearby Carmel. He particularly enjoyed looking at all the fancy houses and checking out the tide pools.




After two nights of restless sleep - guarding the tent from bunnies and mice - Turtle found a nice sleeping spot on the drive back home.

Birthday boy

Turtle celebrated his first birthday today with some special treats!




Here's a video of when we first met Turtle at the airport. It's hard to believe he's been our roommate for 9 months!

Scary movie

Turtle says scary movies are any movies with elephants, horses, or cows. This weekend we watched Band of Brothers which, if you haven't seen it, is a WWII film with LOTS of horses - oh my!

Turtle never wants to miss out on movie nights with his family, so we put a sweatshirt over his head for the horsey bits.

Not funny, mom

Beach bum

This weekend was a hot one in San Francisco, so Turtle headed to the beach to cool off. Here he is checking out the view with Tyler.



Turtle picked up three sand dollars on his walk - one for each of his girlfriends so they wouldn't get jealous.



And this is the giant sand hole Turtle said needed to be dug right next to my towel.



Family photo!

Face off

Here's Turtle.



Here's Turtle's new Toy.



Please don't eat me.



Hmmm.



CHARGE!