Laptops, Luggage & Leashes: November with Nelson

Technically my dog sit with Nelson in the Boise foothills started just before Halloween, but it was three weeks (my longest sit yet) and stretched into the second week of November. Nelson's owners live right up the hill from my sister's house in Boise's North End. The couple also has ties to two of my friends - he's an OB/GYN who treated Kate and the she was married to a local marketing agency owner. Their home was spectacular, to say the least, with great views, a hot tub, a wonderful office space, and master suite that I absolutely loved. Nelson isn't just cute, but he's a very good boy and also has a great personality. He was another Bernedoodle, age 6, and fantastic to walk and take offleash in the Hulls Gulch reserve. The only downside (there's always one) is he's very food-motivated, with a nose like a heat-sinking missle. He hunted food, garbage, anything to put in his mouth before I could catch him. Did I mention he's part Ninja? He managed to get into the pantry and woof down (pun intended) half my bag of homemade granola, plus a corner of the plastic ziploc bag before I could get it away from him. Fortunately, a couple of texts and calls to vets said he'd be fine and they wouldn't need to intervene. On our Halloween walk on the historic Harrison Blvd to see the over-the-top decorations, Nelson somehow got a hold of a still-packaged new tampon and wouldn't relent. He was very stubborn, but my brother-in-law James finally did a successful treat swap. I then realized I could bribe things away with a small square of cheese if needed. Fortunately, aside from ingesting an entire ziploc bag of someone else's dog treats that were dropped - which he later barfed all over their white wool carpet - no other incidents were had. And Halloween was fantastic.

During this stay, they were generous to allow me to have family and my two friends over. Tammy was in Idaho during the government shutdown, so she drove up to Boise to reunite with me and Kate. We made a lovely dinner and enjoyed catching up with the view of Boise in the backdrop of the hot tub. November started off on a great foot!