i am sorry to say that my camera is still most definitely not working, so it is time to upgrade to a new camera.

i suspect atlas is not sorry. his eyes do not look like he is saying, “yay! i’m so happy to be a photographic subject again!”

hey! maybe he broke it with the power of his eyes! it makes sense, right? after all, it did take this picture.

in this moment, atlas is stretched across my bed lengthwise. he is taking up half of the bed and both of the pillows. he is also snoring.

i have a habit of saying, “he’s so cute when he ..” we are trying to decide on the silliest thing i’ve said thus far. if i remember correctly, the current winner is, “he’s so cute when he breathes.”

the person in the apartment next door has a tiny kitten. atlas saw the kitten peering out through the screen door on the patio yesterday and he could not have been happier. who knows, maybe this kitten will someday be his friend, just like the last neighbor kitten that he managed to win over!

in this moment, i love my little big pup times a million and thirty three four. i need to go give him a kiss and tell him so.

gas station attendant to atlas: “i don’t have anything for you!”

atlas stands and stares.

gas station attendant to atlas: “but i don’t have anything!”

atlas stands and stares.

gas station attendant to atlas: “really, i don’t have anything!”

atlas stands and stares.

gas station attendant to me: “he thinks i have something for him but i don’t!”

me: “i know. it’s just that sometimes people do, so he’s eternally hopeful.”

it seems i have inadvertently trained atlas to connect the act of me whispering his name with the idea that there is something exciting nearby that he needs to find. whenever i whisper-say “atlas,” he acts as if i’ve just told him there’s a squirrel or kitty nearby and his ears perk up and his eyes fill with excitement and he begins looking all around for it.

i suspect this could be a problem in the case of an event during which i might want to whisper and have him pay attention to me. say, in the event of a home break-in, or a starring role in a movie, or a game of hide-and-seek.

want to hear a cute atlas story?

when i picked him up, sam told me that every night at the doggy ranch, atlas stands in front of his crate. sam has to bend down and give him a huge hug around the neck and look him in the eyes, and then atlas turns around and trots into his crate.

one night, sam gave him a hug but atlas didn't go into his crate afterward. sam was trying to figure out what it was, and then he realized that he forgot to look atlas in the eyes. apparently it doesn't count if there isn't eye contact.

isn't that the sweetest story? now, i am trying to remember to look him in the eyes every night when i thank him for being the best puppy in the world and for spending my day with me.

you can't fool me!

and i most certainly will not pose for a picture with you.

sheesh.

look what atlas found on our hike in forest park yesterday! a stone house!

my beloved furry friend came home from the doggy ranch on monday. he was there for an entire week. i was at rally (rally!) from monday through thursday, and i let him stay for an extra few days of fun in order to have some me time.

let me just say, for the record, that a week of sleep is a beautiful beautiful thing. it turns out that there is really only one thing standing between me and a full night of sleep – and his name is atlas. (well, that is not entirely true. i am the one who let him sleep on the bed in the first place. clearly i did not think that through. then again, i am doubtful that the knowledge that i was giving up a good night's sleep for the duration of his life would have changed things. in the face of his cute puppy-ness and his whining, i would have done the exact same thing.)

i usually drive to rainier and pick him up, but this time, he came home on the doggy ranch bus. have i ever showed you a picture of the bus? it is the best. thing. ever. there are pictures of the bus about five rows down on this page. please go look at them. they will make you smile. if you have a dog, you will want to send your dog there. (if you live in or near portland, you should. double dog ranch is like doggy heaven on earth.)

anyway, when i spotted atlas on the bus, he was sharing a seat with another dog, a dog that was about as large as him and much furrier. i am not entirely sure how they both fit in the same seat. sam said that when atlas got on the bus, he ran all the way to the back and hopped up on the seat with scout. sam let them sit together, and scout licked atlas' ear the entire drive. apparently they were the best of friends. isn't that sweet?

atlas has such a good time with his friends at the doggy ranch that i often wish he had a doggy ranch friend (or a good doggy friend in general) in daily life. except that in daily life, it is also true that he really just wants to be with me. i guess that's ok too. sleep or no sleep, i always like to be with him.

"what?!" you say. "you have a dog?! i'm shocked! i had no idea!"

i was not actually trying to take a picture of atlas. i was trying to take a picture of the stream of water, but atlas kept sticking his tongue in my picture. silly pup.