F, yeah — spring has sprung!

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After what seemed like an endless winter comprised of sedentary activities (eating cheese, watching pirated “30 Rock” and “L Word” episodes on my laptop) and self-medicating sedation (drinking beer, a true Wisconsin winter tradition), it appears the weather up here in the northwoods has finally broken for the better! Little Scoops, who really hated going outside in the bitter cold despite wearing booties and a barn jacket (or maybe because of), had his first nice romp on a snow-less beach in ages the other day!

Aiborne Snookums: Scoops catches some air on a Washburn beach

We are both so happy for a break from the cold weather that has kept us inside for soooo long that he wants to jump, and I want to use superfluous exclamation points. Check out this close-up shot of Scoops’ face, and tell me that he’s not smiling:

He's totally smiling!

I just finished reading this fabulous book, “For the Love of a Dog,” by Dr. Patricia McConnell of the Wisconsin Public Radio show “Calling all Pets” (sadly, I have learned that production of this entertaining pet-advice show going to be halted). McConnell spends much of the book making an argument that dogs experience some of the same fundamental emotions that we do, like sadness, anger, joy and frustration. She shows pictures of dogs’ faces, for example, where their expressions clearly look like ours do when we are feeling annoyed, angry, defensive or happy — like the little snookums shot above!

Look at how sharply he appears to be concentrating in the photo below, which was taken on a quickly melting snowmobile trail in Ashland County. I suppose if I had to assign an emotion to his expression, it would be “focused” or “contemplative.”

Doodles' interest is piqued by a curious sound in the adjacent field.

And, I kind of hate to admit it, but there are some photos of me and Scoops in which he looks a little pissed off. Take the one below, for example. I have a look of Total Love and Affection on my face, whereas Scoops looks like he Wants to Get the Hell Out of My Suffocating Embrace as Quickly as Possible.

Mismatched Emotions: I look content, but he sure doesn't

At first I was doubtful when Dr. McConnell argued that dogs DO NOT enjoy hugs, but she includes many convincing pictures, much like this one, that show how little dogs dig this form of contact.

Lest we end on a sour note, I will share one more photo of Doodles looking downright ecstatic:

Doodles jumps for joy when he sees me!

This photo was taken when he saw me coming to pick him up from his daycare provider. I suppose he is generally quite happy to see me — although he would prefer I didn’t pick him up and squeeze him to show my love.

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