Tomorrow is the first day of winter. By tradition, Sabo will be out celebrating the change of seasons. The itinerary is still being worked out... but a hike to further Sabo's long proclaimed, but still mysterious, Third Quest is long overdue, it's been ages since we've visited the Sabo'hood dog park, likewise Sabo's favorite restaurant: Bulls BBQ, or his shrine: the Tony Gwynn Sr statue, or visited dog beach, and there's at least three dive bars I've been promising to take him to for ages. We'll see, but one thing we can count on is Sabo will have fun.

Today is the first day of winter. By tradition, Sabo went out celebrating the change of seasons. However, it rained overnight, rained this evening, and was generally cold (for us) and unpleasant outdoors otherwise. So no special hikes, visits to dog parks, etc. We did get out for a nice walk between rains in the Sabo'hood however... which is really the order of the new season. While on that nice walk the following was proclaimed...


Now, don't get me wrong. Sabo isn't discontent. Far from it, Sabo's a truly happy dog. He's not neglected. We spend all day together. Every single day for most of Sabo's life now. Heck, with the colder weather, and Sabo becoming a burrowing fanatic... we might spend most of our time in physical contact. The rest of the time Sabo's out patrolling his Sabotat, yapping at the neighbors (who love it), or helping grandpa with his gardening. And it's not like he doesn't get out and about, including day trips to LA etc. But...

Lately I've haven't been going on very many Sabo-centric outings, and since his Uncle and personal trainer Colin went onward, I've been neglecting his schooling. The Winter of Sabo's Dis-discontent (WoSDd) will address these issues. Gotta that Sabo... he's a good guy !!!1!

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I've had a bit of writers block... both blogging and IRL. For quite a while I've been remiss wrapping up all the Sabo Big Weekends™, etc. The WoSDd will address those issues too.

Is this a Sports Blog? No. Lately I've let this become mainly a sports blog. I'm going to put the spotlight back on Sabo. During the WoSDd there won't be any gratuitous sports posts. After the WoSDd, as a service to those of my (perhaps six) readers who DGAF about sports, gratuitous sports posts will be signified by an absence of gratuitous dog pix. Conversely, if a sports post has a dog pix outside the headings, etc, there's dog content somewhere in that post.

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It rained all day today. So once again, we only got a quick walk in the Sabo'hood between showers in to further our Winter of Sabo's Dis-discontent. So I guess I'll pad this post out with some filler stale news...


One thing I've definitely been remiss about is blogging our fourth Broken Arrow. Only now, about two months later, can I bring myself to blog the cursed poster for that crappy movie. Like the first Broken Arrow, and the second Broken Arrow, this one was very brief... almost not long enough to get that stomach dropping feeling. But it was there... my stomach dropped. This was another dreaded Broken Arrow.

The south gate, the one where I've installed the entry door lockset, had sagged in the year after my late friend Chris & myself had fixed it up. This made it drag on the cement, making it difficult for Grandpa to shut and latch. A few days after the recent third Broken Arrow, a visiting brotherman made a startling discovery. If not latched, my friend saw that Sabo could open it. He could budge the heavy dragging wooden gate a fraction of an inch by running full speed and crashing into it. By repeating this maneuver, he could out muscle a man 10x heavier and 20x older... and eventually move the gate open enough for a terrier to pass. ZOMG. My friend & myself made emergency repairs to that gate ASAP. It now swings and latches freely again. I also created a proper 'sally-port' arrangement by installing 30" high metal 'garden fences' inside of both the north and south wooden gates (see pix below). This shrunk the Sabotat, by excluding Sabo from the short north side yard (pictured), and about 15ft of the long south side yard.

Imagine my surprise about a week later when Sabo goes missing out in the Sabotat. I go out front, and find both the wooden gate, and the matching metal garden fence, both hanging open on the south side. I go out in the street, and yell "Sabo come here !!!1!". Nothing. He had gone Broken Arrow. So, I go back and quickly search and secure the house and yard. Then I go back out front to start the frantic search when... Sabo comes a running up !!!1! He was closely followed by two nice ladies in a car. The good samaritans said they found him playing in traffic in the half-intersection about ten houses to the south. When they got out of their car, and tried to call him over, he went a runnin'... right back to me it turned out. Whew !!!1!

This is now an operational problem, not an infrastructure problem. Long term changes will need to be instituted. Recently upon returning from errands, first on the southside, then on the northside, I've found the same situation. Both times it was cold y/o rainy and I discovered Sabo curled up warm and safe in his Saboroom. No Broken Arrows... but whew & whew anyways. More info as it comes...

On Sabo's behalf, I'd like to wish my (perhaps six) readers a joyous 'Eve tomorrow, for those who celebrate such a holiday, a happy XMas Sunday, and for those into that kinda violence, a safe Boxing Day on Monday. No Sabo Big Weekend™ this year... unless I want to count kicking off a round of house organizing for an upcoming royal visit a SBW™... again. We're saving our holiday cheer for January, when juietinozi, and the rest of her family, will be here visiting.

Growing up, Flower was always a part of our family XMas (pix below). Later, when The Missile's Master S would fly off from LA to Illinois for his family XMas, we'd have the joy of welcoming her into our family XMas while she was on Missilecation in San Diego. The last time I talked to Grandma, The Missile was sitting between us. And now we have Sabo to share our holidays with. We've all, dogs & peeps, been very blessed. Dotta that Sabo... he's a good guy !!!1!

There's no question Sabo bleeds Padre Blue. That's just how he is. And there's just so much to like about baseball for a dog. He gets to attend games. He goes to spring training. He's been on four major league fields. There's the minors... and 'knotholing' @Hotel Indigo. Sabo's been petted by MLB stars. He's been to the Park-at-the-Park more times than I've been able to blog. And of course... his shrine is the Tony Gwynn Sr statue.

When it comes to football, Sabo can't do any of those things. He can't even go to the Q just to tailgate. But what Sabo can do is go watch the Holiday Bowl Parade @CAC Park tomorrow morning. Sabo loves parades. We had great fun when we went last year. Along with the school bands, there were plenty of USC and Wisconsin fans at the parade last season. Some Wisconsin fans suggested Sabo should dress up like a badger so they could sneak him into the game as a mascot. This year, it's Cougars vs Gophers. Sabo ain't going to dress up as no damn cougar (cats vs dogs), but gophers, just like terriers, instinctually go down holes.... hmm, we'll have to see what those Minnesota fans have to say.

Sabo's highlight was before the parade. As we were walking in, we passed the Pride of Minnesota, the University of Minnesota Marching Band, assembling. At least 10% of the 320 member band said 'hi' to Sabo. Unanimously they agreed he should dress up like a gopher, and sneak into the game as a mascot. Several invited him to march in with the band. A few said they'd find an instrument for him. Of course those were the tuba players... I'm not sure if the 13lb dog can march with a 30lb tuba.

We watched the parade again from the CAC Park lawn. Well, except when Sabo's Marching Gophers were passing by... then I went up front and held him high so he could better see his new friends perform. It was cold (for us) last night and this morning... but there wasn't a cloud in the sky, and it got up to 75° by noon. Sabo was alternately enjoying the parade, basking in all the attention he was getting, or flaked out on the lawn, baking in the sun. He was extremely dis-discontent. In fact, his extreme dis-discontent made him smile so big I thought his head would crack open.

After the parade we visited the nearby Amici Park dog run. Sabo had never been there before... because I wasn't aware of its existence until Sabo spotted it as we were walking by. We also went on a short walk into the Banker's Hill 'hood retracing a horse car line abandoned ~120 years ago. On the drive back to the Sabo'hood I had one tired, but very happy, little dog. Being an honorary member of the band, Sabo was backing Minnesota in the game this evening. Minnesota won 17-12. It was a very good Sabo Big Day™, indeed. Gotta that Sabo... he's a good guy !!!1!


At this point I'm blogging to testify. I don't abandon my teams. Sadly, it seems a team will abandon me. Prior to the Hooligan Bowl, and for all intents and purposes, the Evil Carpetbagging Spanos Family announced they're killing the team. Last up: the New Year's Day Charger Bowl. The Chefs are -5½pts at vegasinsiders.com.

On Sabo's behalf, I'd like to wish my (perhaps six) readers a safe & insane New Year's Eve, and a fascinating & happy 2017 !!!1!


2016: The Year of New Tricks comes to an end as a fail. Nothing bad happened, but there was no big leap forward. As I blogged a year ago, the theme wasn't particularly about Sabo. IRL the goals were to write doctrine and then pro-actively learn new skills to improve that doctrine. Unfortunately, the first part, the writing part, ran directly into the same pseudo writers block that caused all the sports blogging this year. IRL doctrine was improved incrementally and partially notated... but I didn't learn any new skills. Oh well, years are like marginal long distance trains, there'll be another coming along in a day or so.

As for Sabo, my goals were to finish 2nd & 3rd Grade, graduate by passing the Good Citizen Award final, and with his personal trainer, develop a written plan regarding future training goals and maintenence. Things didn't work that way.

Sabo finished 2nd grade, and had one lesson left in 3rd grade. This was right during the time Petco closed the training room. Us customers were expelled out into the store for the entire class. The store AC in our hot (for us) summer wasn't getting the job done, it was very uncomfortable and I ended up sweating like a pig. The last lesson was review for the Good Citizen test. As I've blogged, I had writers block writing that doctrine. I also wanted to take some time to work with Sabo and get him really ready for that last lesson, which I planned on making special for all three of us. So... Colin and me decided to delay the last lesson until after the weather cooled, and after Sabo & me were over prepared.

Colin said he was Sabo's trainer for life. Sadly, that turned out to be his life, not Sabo's. We had even planned to together take Sabo to a Padres game. He was a great guy, and even though I'm shedding a tear right now... I'm happy and proud of the time I got to spend with the man. Nothing but the best for Sabo. of course... we'll start all over and move forward with his new personal trainer JQ in 2017.

So... I'm going to "save" 2017: The Year of New Tricks by flipping it from a fail to a success. I'm dedicating 2016 to Colin Citron. I might not have learned any new skills in 2016. No big deal. I learned stuff of much more importance. Colin taught me how to train Sabo for a whole lifetime of new tricks. In that way, Colin's legacy will be training Sabo's entire life. Like all friends, Colin taught me a part of the all important trick of being a better person. RIP.

This is the second part companion year to the generally failed 2016: The Year of New Tricks®... which just makes things more than twice as hard... as my unlearned new tricks were supposed to make things much easier. As for Sabo... well the theme for 2017 doesn't really involve him at all. He will get a few baths, I guess. Gotta that Sabo... he's a good guy !!!1!

In other news, Sabo (above), and The Missile (below) got some interestingly late email the last few weeks. Flower, who went onward before the email era, did not. Did the interwebs post office temporarily misplace a few bags of virtual mail recently ??

It turned out that Sabo's vet was closed over New Year's weekend this time... so I took him the next week instead. This was Sabo's sixth vet visit, and he liked going the first four times. However, it seems like we have a new normal, as Sabo wasn't a happy camper last visit, and he wasn't a happy camper this time.

He was ready to go as soon as we walked in, and spent our short time in the waiting room pointing at the exit. His vet has a big floor scale, and unlike the first four times when he jumped right on, but exactly like last time, he just didn't want to get on it. When the vet tech tried to get him to step on, he started up the doggy stress scale... freezing, pushing away, low growl. I had to wrestle him onto it again. Then we went in the exam room, and I put him up on the table. I held him and he put up with the tech giving him a shot. The other "shot" was an oral squirt. He was having none of that from the vet tech, and once again started up the doggy stress scale. At that point she said: "I'm sure he'll let you give it to him. I'll wrap it up to take home. I don't want him to have another bad vet experience."

Gotta that Sabo... he's a good guy !!!1!

Can you believe it... it's been a whole 'nuther year. Three years ago tomorrow Sabo got turned into animal control as a stray. That set in motion a chain of events where he... got assigned a kennel name (Artie), and a nominal birth date (2012-1-13, based on his estimate age), lost his balls, found me, became Sabo, a Good Dog, and which will lead to him going out tomorrow to celebrate his birthday by...

Well, that's still TBD. The forecast is for rain, so we'll see. I can guarantee Sabo will have fun. Gotta that Sabo on his special day... He's a good guy !!!1!


Well, that was unpleasant. But, every cloud has a silver lining, so they say. I've always hated that bromide... 'cause it's really, really brain dead. However, there is a certain evil carpetbagging family who, although I'm sure will continue to stain my home town with their residency (scumbags like them always do), at least won't be able to psychologically torture me anymore. So there's that.

I'd never been a sports 'free agent' before. It feels strange, to say the least. But I have had two years of torture... plenty of time to think things through. I had plenty of time to prepare a plan B. I chatted with a lotta folks regarding the theory and practice of picking a team. If anyone is interested, I could blog about all the different reasonings I heard. For now, I'll mix metaphors, cut the chase scene, and proceed to the bottom line. I've gone over to the cheating side. My new NFL team is...



It just so happens that I woke up with my new team in the playoffs. Lucky me. It might not turn out to be so lucky for Sabo. As I have blogged, having your team win a championship establishes yapping|taunting rights. That's right, Sabo's presumptive three year yapping rights reign is back in play. If my Patriots can capture that elusive Superb Owl, I'll then have yapping|taunting over Sabo. My Patriots are -2000,-16pts.

This isn't gratuitous sports chatter. I bought a citronella bark collar (recommended by the late C.Citron) to use on Sabo more than a year ago. I held off doing so, for a few reasons... and then Sabo's #25 Aztecs, who finished the season ranked for the first time in 30 years, beat my Golden Bears and won him his yapping|taunting rights. If Sabo loses his yapping|taunting rights, using that bark collar on him goes back into consideration.

Today is Flower Remembrance Day. She was a Good Dog of the highest order... a family dog, who was raised right along with us kids. She was at home in what's now called the Sabotat... in an even deeper way than Sabo, as she slept in her dog house out there. I miss that dog.

Who better to reminisce about Flower with than the peep who named her? That's right... the hits keep coming here in The Winter of Sabo's Dis-Discontent®. Later today, Sabo's Aunt julietinozi, Uncle R, and Aunt J2 are all coming to visit for a week. Sabo is going to be in high heaven with a house full of his favorite peeps.

They'll be arriving by train... well sort off. They intended to take the train, but the trains aren't running today because the line is shut down to work on a new bridge in Del Mar, and added double track through lower Rose Canyon... right through an area Sabo & me explored during his great Tri-Canyon Quest. Instead they'll be arriving on Amtrak's version of the luser-cruiser...

OK, so far, so good. One game away from that elusive Superb Owl. Next up: Steelers. My Pats beat the Steelers 27-16 in Pittsburgh back in week #9 (NFL week #7). The Steelers lead the series 15-14 (including 1-3 in playoffs, but not 3-1 in preseason). The Steelers are 1-4 in Gillette Stadium. My Pats are -260,-6pts. Go Patriots !!!1!

So far, so good.. for me. For only the second time as a fan, I'm going to the Superb Owl !!!1! And when I say 'going'... I mean I'm going to watch the game on the tv. The Superb Owl game is not in my bucket list. Maybe it's not so good going for Sabo... as his yapping|taunting rights are in play. Even though Sabo DGAF about the Falcons, the dynamic is the same. This is a House Divided game. If the Falcons win, Sabo retains his yapping rights over me. If my Pats win, Sabo loses his yapping rights, and I gain taunting rights over him. This is huge !!!1!

My Pats lead the series 7-6. The Falcons won the last meeting 30-23 @Georgia Dome on 2013-9-29. My Pats are 4-1 @NRG stadium, including a 32-29 win in Superb Owl XXXVIII over the Panthers. The Falcons are 2-2 @NRG. My Pats are 4-5 in championship games, losing the 1963 AFL Championship game 10-51 to my former team, and going 4-4 in Superb Owls. The Falcons are 0-1 in championship games, losing Superb Owl XXXIII 19-34 to the Broncos. Go Patriots !!!1!

These are our Superb Owl picks...

What better way to start the extended week-long Sabo Three Dayer™ than with Flower Remembrance Day. And who better to spend Flower Remembrance Day with than Sabo's Aunt julietinozi (my sister) who named Flower all those years ago when she was a child. As well as Sabo's Uncle R (my bro-in-law), and Sabo's Aunt J2 (my niece).

Before there's been some question who Sabo loves the most. Is it julietinozi who Sabo's seen the most? Is it his Aunt J2, who Sabo took a special liking to on her last visit? Or is it his Uncle R? Well this time there wasn't any question at all... well, except maybe me now being second favorite myself. Sabo's unquestioned favorite was his Uncle R. Sabo gave him the super big reason everytime he saw him... pretty much all day every day for a week. If I didn't know better, I'd be jealous.

We're measuring the Winter of Sabo's Dis-discontentment® in those little endearing Sabo Sounds, his grunts and groans of dis-discontentment... not in miles and places hiked as usual. Sabo still gets out and about of course. The highlight of the family visit was taking Sabo to the "end of the earth" at Coronado's off leash North Beach. However, rest assured, Sabo had the most dis-discontentment from having a house full of family and full of fun for a full week. He was a symphony of little joyful Sabo Sounds.

Alas, the week came to an end, and our visitors headed up to LA for a week, then back to where ever it is that they live at. The trains were running to Oceanside it turns out, so Sabo got to pick them up and see them off at a train station (yay... Sabo likes trains), as opposed to a stop by a luser cruiser (boo).

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Gratuitous Dog Pix: I'm going to commit to a policy of ending each post that (a) isn't a sports post, and (b) doesn't already have a new Sabo pix, or a new to the blog pix of Flower or The Missile, and that (c) doesn't end with an Editor Box will... end with a gratuitous dog pix, not related to the rest of the post. This has been the de facto policy for a while until very recently.

However this new policy will officially commence following the end of the Winter of Sabo's Dis-Discontentment® to encourage more prose to clear the backlog of "wrap" reports.

Broken Pix Links: This is another de facto policy being made official. Over the years I've doubled my due diligence in linking, and then tripled my due diligence by taking this initial advice...

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Originally Posted by Professionalpoker

If you wan to post a pic you find on the web, rehosting is prefered. No real policies otherwise. If you are referring to a copyright issue, if a copyright owner sends in a complaint, we will remove the image but I don't think that has ever happened.

Going forward there should be few broken pix lengths. Looking backward, I'm not going list corrections or re post pixs for broken links. All except four of the pix should be obvious by context. There are however four links to Missile pix that those scum buckets at ImageShack have destroyed. Rest assured that I have re-hosted and re-posted three of them, and I have the print the fourth is a scan of, and will re-host and re-post it too.

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ETA: Breaking Sabo News !!!1!

Sabo's been working up to it all winter long... but just as I was typing this, and for the very first time, Sabo borrowed himself under the covers with me all by himself. Up until know he's been too polite, as is his natural style, to completely self borrow... even though I always give him copious praise for his efforts. Gotta thay Sabo... he's a good guy !!!1!

Hello, and welcome to Ground-Dog Day <cue Sonny & Cher> Hello, and welcome to Ground-Dog Day <cue Sonny & Cher> Hello, and welcome to Ground-Dog Day <cue Sonny & Cher> Hello, and welcome to Ground-Dog Day <cue Sonny & Cher> Hello, and welcome to Ground-Dog Day <cue Sonny & Cher> Hello, and welcome to Ground-Dog Day <cue Sonny & Cher> Hello, and welcome to Ground-Dog Day <cue Sonny & Cher> Hello, and welcome to Ground-Dog Day <cue Sonny & Cher> Hello, and welcome to Ground-Dog Day <cue Sonny & Cher> Hello, and welcome to Ground-Dog Day <cue Sonny & Cher> Hello, and welcome to Ground-Dog Day <cue Sonny & Cher> Hello, and welcome to Ground-Dog Day <cue Sonny & Cher> ...


It's Sabo & me's third Ground-Dog Day together. That's right, it's that one day of the year when Sabo, a Ground-Dog from Vista CA (so named because he's close to the ground) matches his weather predicting skills -vs- Phil, a whistle-pig from Punxsutawney PA (aka a woodchuck or a groundhog).

Unlike the last few days, which have been clear as a bell, there were high light clouds this morning... but it was still a sunny day with distinct shadows (pix below). Out in rural PA his handlers claim Phil saw his shadow in the 25℉ gloom. This means of course Sabo's prediction is: an early spring, as makes sense. The whistle-pig, in his bizarro and less accurate manner, is predicting the opposite: a late winter.

We'll see who's correct in six short weeks... at the end of The Winter of Sabo's Dis-Discontentment® !!!1!

Football 2016 in Review: The 2016 season was the best of worlds for Sabo, and the worst & best of worlds for me. Sabo's 11-3 #25 Aztecs had their best FBS season ever... for the second year in a row. After his Aztecs beat my Golden Bears 45-40 early in the season, he enjoyed 148 days of yapping|taunting rights. He was adopted as a Marching Gopher at the Holiday Bowl Parade. Even his pregame pick, Clemson, won what is being called the greatest college football championship game ever.

OTOH, my 5-7 Golden Bears ended up lusers, with no Axe and no bowling. The emotional torture continued as my Bolts (which is what I'll refer to the former San Diego NFL team going forward) went 5-11, then where murdered quit fouly by the Evil Carpetbagging Spano Family. But then... my season arose phoenix like from the ashes... and along my new team, the 17-2 Patriots, I just won my first Superb Owl ever !!!1!

It looked like Sabo was going to extend his yapping|taunting rights into 2019 as expected. The largest Superb Owl comeback was 10 points, and my Patriots were down 3-28 in Q3. I, however, channelled my naive faith as a newborn fan, and never for a second doubted my Patriots would come back. After all, the fact remains the Patriots have never lost on my watch. It only took the first ever overtime in what is being called the greatest Superb Owl ever.

So take that Sabo !!!1! He was duly taunted all last night, and I'm taunting him right now. He went out back to yap after the game... but I called him in. Welcome to the new normal Sabo. Deploying that bark collar on him is back in consideration. He's using his newfound propensity to self-borrow to avoid hearing all my abuse.

Championship Yapping|Taunting rights expire if the team doesn't repeat. There are other ways to gain|lose yapping rights, for example my loss of rights earlier this year for Over Taunting. But... it's looking bleak for Sabo regaining Yapping|Taunting before the next time his Padres and my Red Sox meet in 2019. His Aztecs, as a G5 team, aren't really eligible for the FBS championship. While his Padres have said they're not even going to try to win the next two seasons.

Oh yeah, more shiz to taunt Sabo over. I smoked him in our predictions again...

Well... it rained on Sabo's birthday. It actually rained a lot last month. More rain, in fact, that Sabo had previously seen during his entire life. The biggest rain day he had experienced was on our Atlanta trip at .7". He lapped that several times recently.

So, instead of hikes and such, we gave ourself a staycation, and spent the day and night at the Beach Shack. I snuck Sabo out for some muddy Midnight Missile Recognizance late at night during a break in the rain.

We also revisited the Single Fin bar&grill in Missile Beach. This dog friendly restaurant has a covered patio. Earlier we had regaled the staff about the legend of Tom Waits, and the legend of The Missile, as it relates to the building that now houses the Single Fin.



Rock & Roll HOFer Tom Waits had his first gig in this building, when it was the Heritage Coffee House, back in the early 70s. The story was he was a door man, and they let him play one night. He rolled his piano out of his house ( which was later my drinking buddy Drunken Joe's house that Waits had decorated with horshshoes), across Mission Bl, and into the Heritage by side alley door.



Fast forward 30 years to The Missile era. Cinnamon was a reg, and the unofficial mascot here. She also had her picture up over the kitchen door. This came about like this: back in 2002 Grandma unexpectedly went onward. This was a great tragedy, and julietnozi, Sabo's Uncle R, and myself went to the Liar's club to drown our sorrow. To our surprise, when it came time to pay up the three figure tab, the owner Loius said our money didn't spend there. As a token of our appreciation, I gave him a framed pix of The Missile.

After Cinnamon moved to Chicagoland, the Liar's Club went belly up. The next tenant was another bar & grill called The Sneak Joint. Even thought the new owners never met The Missile, after hearing of her, they put a second pix of her up too. In due time The Sneak Joint went belly up also... and was replaced by Single Fin. The first time Sabo & me visited Single Fin, I told the bartender the two legends above. He put a third pix of Cinnamon up... unfortunately, the boss took it down about a month later.

Well, I have only myself to blame for the poor turn out at our OSD anny picnic. It was my job to publicize it. We had five attendees to celebrate the five years... our union brother (and a Sabo favorite) P, a brotherman of mine, a very articulate and well dressed homeless man who was 'occupying' Children's Park before OSD, was an active participant in OSD, and has been 'occupying' Children's park since, Sabo & myself. Well, we had full picnic fixings, so more for us I guess. The park itself has been flattened, and a lot of the plants have been removed, I assume both to better harass the residents and on account of the drought. Still, this is a wonderful urban park, and a good time was had by all.

• Thursday 2016-9-15: The night before we flew, Sabo & JQ & myself went to Canine Cocktails @Hotel Indigo. The bar event is off-leash. Sabo's been here enough that he is very comfortable. He just orbits around the roof top bar, checking back every few minutes. His Padres were out of town that night.
  
  However... Petco was rented out for some private party, and about 9pm they shot off fireworks. As we were a short block away, and up nine floors, these fireworks were pretty much right in our faces. Sabo is very scared of fireworks. I immediately went looking for him. I found him trying to get out of the rooftop bar and into the hotel proper. I scooped him up, and held him tight, until the fireworks ended... and for a while afterwards until he stopped shivering. Gotta that Sabo... he's a good guy !!!1!
  
  
• Friday: I had researched dog friendly bars near Turner Field before we left. One even advertised it's own dog run. I had planned in doing a little bar hoping with Sabo the first night in. However, those plans all got scuttled because of the earlier logistics fiascos. We ended up getting into our new room around midnight.
  
  The hotel had industrial strength AC, which was a little too cold for Sabo, so be borrowed in. Later that night, I awoke, and there was no Sabo in the borrow. In fact, I couldn't find him anywhere. The window was sealed, and door deadbolted, so it was like he just vanished. ZOMG. Then I noticed a little black nose. He had hopped over to the other bed in the room, and had crawled under the loose pillows. Gotta that Sabo... he's a good guy !!!1!
  
  
• Saturday: We walked to Olympic Centennial Park, which was the main public gathering place during the 1996 Olympics. Besides Turner Field, this ended up being the only place Sabo went in Atlanta. But that didn't mean Sabo wasn't out-n-about. He had frequent walks near our hotel all weekend, which he enjoys almost as much as the parks. The first time, I went barefoot. Boy did that get some attention in downtown Atlanta... people thought I was crazy. One time we ended up walking with a cool homeless vet. We also went past a strip joint down a few blocks. The strippers out front smoking just loved Sabo, but the bouncer wouldn't let them take him inside. Gotta that Sabo... he's a good guy !!!1!
  
  
• Sunday: We went to the Braves game. It rained. I had researched a few dog parks near Turner Field before the trip. My plan was to take Sabo after the Braves game. Alas... the rain scuttled those plans too. Gotta that Sabo... he's a good guy !!!1!
  
  
• Monday: We flew back to Dago, and took the pedicab to the Padres game. I was keeping a close eye on Sabo... as it was a long haul day for him, and he's such a little guy. I didn't want to stress him. Well...LOL@me !!!1! Man, there is no quit in this dog. Sabo truly is a 'go dog'. He was ready to "play two", as the late E.Banks used to say.
  
  It was an epic trip for Sabo. But... was it the best Sabo road trip evar ??

I'm making an effort to wrap up all the lost Wraps in this blog, newest to oldest. Most all of the above happened, and most all of the above I've already blogged about. This includes the three House Divided Padres games, and our visit to Single Fin. The one thing that didn't happen was any progress on Sabo's proclaimed, mysterious, and thoroughly stalled Third Quest.

We had a good time at the IWW social at the Rabbit Hole. I had never been there before. They have a small patio out front, which was packed, and a large patio out back which wasn't... but isn't dog friendly. However, they said I could bring Sabo inside, as long as he stayed near the front, and so far away from the kitchen. Other dogs were inside too. I was flabbergasted. This was the first time I'd heard of this new (alleged) health inspection policy. The second time was the next day at Single Fin. Needless to say, Sabo had a blast... at the Rabbit Hole, and on all the extended weekend. Gotta that Sabo... he's a good guy !!!1!

On a sad note, it turned out Sabo's first personal trainer, Colin Citron, had this weekend off the hard way. I had invited him to go to the Red Sox game with us on Labor Day. He regretfully declined because he was planning to be out of town. Alas, and unbeknown to me when I blogged the above... the man had already gone onward. I'm shedding a tear as I type this... and giving Sabo a big hug.

What's the saying? Insanity: doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results. Well that certainly doesn't fit FlowerDaze, as drinking to remember is insane to begin with. The correct saying is: If at first you don't succeed, try, try again. So that's exactly what I'm going to do.

Besides driving Sabo his regular IWW meeting on Sunday... which is a big one, as after six years of organizing we finally got our branch charter, and because of family obligations we had to miss the first official SDGMB meeting... I'm going to spend the 3-day weekend at the bars, dredging up childhood memories of Flower. She was a good family dog !!!1!

It's Sabo & my anny, and we're even more in love !!!1!

Even if Sabo was actually close to 3yo went I adopted him, he's now been with me most of his life. We've been together every single day since. This winter, The Winter of Sabo's Dis-discontent, and with Sabo's newfound ubiquitous burrowing, we've literally been in-touch a majority of the hours of the day. Gotta that Sabo... he's a good guy !!!1!

It's been awhile since we've had a traditional Friday afternoon to Monday morning Sabo Big Weekend™. So be it. I've filled it up with Sabo's greatest hits from back in the day (below). Then I'll take Sabo back to the pound... it's been a good three years, but they said I could relinquish him, for any or no reason, whenever I wanted.

• Yesterday: We spent the night at the Beach Shack. Did freezing (OK cold) Midnight Missile Recognizance.
• Today: Our 3rd Anny !!!1! We had a morning hike on Mt.Soledad. Now we're listening live to Sabo's Padres first spring training game. Later: revisit Civitas Park dog run. Visit with his personal trainer JQ.
• Tomorrow: Morning revisit to Sabo'hood Park. Revisit OTL Island. Hike to Bull's Smokin' BBQ. There Sabo will be the very unofficial guest of honor at our SDGMB monthly social.
• Monday: Before noon hike to kick-start Sabo's proclaimed, but so far mysterious, Third Quest. I promised Sabo. Take Sabo back to the pound.

That's pretty much how things went. Well except JQ cancelled on us and Monday was rained out. JQ is too busy for her own good. It rained all Sunday night, Monday day, and Monday night... easily more rain than Sabo's ever seen. Needless to say, Sabo had a blast.

Let's talk about Sabo and food, now that we've been together three years, Now don't get me wrong, Sabo's a dog. All dogs love food. But Sabo, as I've blogged, can be a picky eater. His weight is rock solid. He's a free feeder, as in I just keep hid food bowl filled, and he eats when he wants. He's been known to hold out for the good stuff. He doesn't beg. Three stories... all of which would have turned out much different if The Missile had been involved.

Two days ago Sabo ran out of dog rocks. Yesterday I forgot to get him more, so he didn't eat. This morning, I noticed him licking the bowl... which he's never done before. So I quick ran up to Petco and got him a new bag. And filled that bowl... which he got around to eating ~12hrs later.

For our Anny last weekend, I got him his own whole order of fries. He ate one, and I don't think he liked the seasoning. He ate a few more, but he didn't bother to finish them.

A coupla weeks ago I discovered a box of mac & cheese without the cheese. So I cooked that up and gave it to Sabo. He set to eating... then after a bit, climbed into the burrow for the evening. The next morning, I thought he was licking the bowl. I was wrong. I turned out he only ate about half of the night before, and had saved the other half for breakfast.

I can't believe we've been together for over three years now. We just keep falling more & more in love. Gotta that Sabo... he's a good guy !!!1!

OK. I'll take one Sabo styled please.