Out of the ashes....

I learned a new thing yesterday... RTD is actually a duck in a boxer body. The family who hosted me in Phoenix had a pool and a bunch of dogs, and given that RTD was cranky from munching on corncobs the night before, I was a bit worried about going over there. Don't get me wrong, I didn't FEED him the cobs. he took it upon himself to dig the out of the trash and make a quick meal of them. Unfortunately for him, he lacks the four stomachs of a cow and subsequently couldn't digest them. This caused him to have an upset stomach, and with that came the Rockstar patented bad attitude. Fortunately by the time I got to the hosts' house he was in better spirits and ready for an afternoon of water and Butthumper!

Once we were there and all the introductions were made, we got down to the pool and I went in for a dip. I tried to get RTD in the pool, but he wasn't really feeling it. I then went and got his favorite toy, and his feeling it level began to increase. I tried throwing it in the pool and RTD just ran circles around the pool and whined. Finally I got into the pool and tried to entice him in. No dice. When that failed I gave him his toy and began playing tug. It only took one good pull and RTD was in the water! Success! Which came at the price of claw marks all over my chest.

Back out of the water I gave RTD the toy again and started the tug game. This time he wised up a bit and let go before I could pull him in. This went on for several tries and still RTD managed to keep all four brain cells focused on not getting pulled in. Rebuked, I hopped out of the pool and threw his toy in again. More circles. More whining. Finally I grabbed him by his handy dandy blue all purpose RTD carrying handle and tossed him in.... Surprise!!! He swam out and got his toy, then swam around confused as to how to get out. Eventually he found the submerged ledge and got out. I threw the toy back in, and threw him in shortly after. This was fun! Finally RTD got the hint that he could jump in the pool, and the fun went on for quite a while. That was until RTD's hormone level began to escalate and he decided he was gonna mount the retriever come h*ll or high water. Well being the Phoenix was hot, and he was in a deep pool, the stars seemed aligned and RTD went for broke. The only problem was she wouldn't stop swimming long enough for PePe La Rocky to make his advance. So he tried to mount her. While swimming. At this point one of the other dogs succumbed to eating rocks and became lethargic and just layed on her side. RTD went over and licked and nuzzled her. We were amazed at his sensitivity to her plight. Then he went for the mount. No one ever saw him slip her the roofie, but he musta got it in somehow. That's my dog, the drunken frat boy trying to get a little no matter how bad off she is... After we dragged him off and the other dog went to the vet, he went back to attempting the watermount, which never really worked out for him.

Today I awoke to RTD's whines to go play with the other dogs. I let him out and began getting ready when Rocky decided he was gonna try to be the Alpha dog, and it all fell apart from there. We managed to keep the peace with a few choke slams to get RTD's attention, so luckily no blood was shed. After a bit I had the Bean loaded, and we set out for parts unknown. I was supposed to stop and pick up a bunch of Wounded Warrior stuff, but my tiny brain forgot all about it and I rolled out of Phoenix empty handed... Sorry about that! From there we made our way to Tucson and the Pima Air museum which was well worth the stop! Tomorrow I'm gonna write up what that was like and whatnot, but for now I need to get to bed...

Today I'm in Las Cruces, NM and will be heading into TX tomorrow. I'll be in central TX sometime after that and will actually spend a few days there! Stay tuned for more adventures, and another funny story about a solo flight I took where I attempted my best to crash, and luckily failed!