carl rove day

On a dark and stormy night (literally, dark and snow stormy), Gus and I drove nearly an hour away to pick up a puppy, who we would eventually name after our alma mater, Carleton. We settled on Rover as a middle name, because well, he's a dog and there was the fringe benefit of being able to call him Carl Rove, which I think is entertaining regardless of where you fall on the political spectrum. Carl Rove has endured being snuck in and out of condo stashed away in a gym bag because dogs weren't really allowed, a cross country road trip from Minnesota to Arizona, living in three states, and being ousted by two tiny human Chunglunds. 

One of his favorite places is my parents' cabin on Lake Vermilion. A little island where you can take off his collar and he can roam freely and take a swim whenever it strikes his fancy. As soon as we let him out of the cabin in the morning, he's immediately run down to the shoreline for a quick swim. Sometimes he's be so excited to get to the cabin that he'd launch out of the boat before we'd even docked. Since we've left Minnesota, Carl Rove hasn't gotten back to Lake Vermilion and both Gus and I feel badly about that. 

This is a dog who loves to swim and since we've left Minnesota besides the illicit swimming in the neighbor's pool, Carl Rove hasn't gotten much swimming in at all. Poor pup. Ever since we were introduced to Donner Lake by our friends, Wendy and Steve and Wendy's ever hospitable parents, and I saw all the dogs there, I have been wanting to bring Carl Rove for a swim. We finally made that happen last weekend. We shoved four adults, two kids, and the dog into the car and headed for Truckee on Sunday. Carl swam and swam and then swam some more. By the time we left, he was shivering and he had pooped so many times I had run out of plastic bags and was picking it up with J2's diaper.

After his swim, we found a dog friendly patio for lunch in Truckee. The food wasn't good, the service was even worse, but at least Carl got to tag along. Some ice cream for dessert and then we all piled into the car and headed back. Of course as soon as we got back, Carl immediately climbed the fence to swim in the neighbor's pool. Sigh. It's never enough is it? Happy Carl Rove Day!