(baby hank at his first birthday)

hank celebrated his fourth birthday last week…he’s TWENTY-EIGHT in dog years. this year his birthday fell on yom kippur… that’s a bit of a bummer because it’s not the most festive day (it’s “the day of atonement” in judaism.) the morning before, he skipped his breakfast. i can’t tell you how unusual that is so i thought maybe he was fasting a day early in order to get yom out of the way so we could properly celebrate on his special day. or maybe he was just being really cagey. of course, the fact that he wasn’t eating made me super worried so i scrambled him some eggs to entice him. he DID happily eat those. i forgot about his food bowl full of kibble and left for a meeting. when i returned he had eaten that too, so ultimately he had TWO breakfasts.  

he’s pretty clever… he snookered us into two dinners a few weeks ago as well. i had left him with my first husband for the afternoon when i had a lot of running around to do and first wasn’t home when i came to pick him up. i made hank dinner straight away when we got back to mine. as he was finishing, first called to say he’d given hank dinner already. i couldn’t believe hank didn’t say anything. he’s VERY vocal when he is ready for dinner - he can totally tell time - so i know he can communicate, he just chose not to.

we also need to revisit his career path now that he is twenty-eight. somehow i got distracted with the delta and forgot that he hasn’t started working. i’ve been reviewing his skills… aside from being gorgeous, he is very punctual. he starts hollering at me every day at 4:45 pm in preparation for his 5 pm dinner (he is like a grandpa going out for the early bird special!) so i think he could work as some sort of alarm, especially in a food related industry. maybe at a restaurant like frasca where they have time specific seatings? 

(here is hank enjoying his dinner promptly at 5 pm… he DOES love a full bodied cab… he IS french!)

(i would be so HAPPY to come sit in his section if hank started working here)

he is also a master at rearranging pillows and cushions. he could assist me at the tail end of my projects when i am styling the interiors and adding finishing touches. he WOULD have to refrain from taking a nap on the pillows like he does at home… somehow i think that would reflect badly on me if my clients saw my assistant sleeping on the job. so that idea still needs some tweaking.

(this is what the cushions typically look like before hank arranges them…)

(he knocks them over to make a head rest…)

(sometimes he makes a little cave for himself)

(sometimes he likes his arm supported too…)

(and sometimes he pulls a blanky in as well so it’s extra cozy)

or perhaps he could be a film or tv critic. we were both pretty dismayed while watching the emmy’s the other night when no people of color won for major categories. as we were discussing the awards, hank pointed out that no canines had even been nominated. he loves seeing his brethren represented on the screen and i think he could be a positive force for gaining more recognition for his fellow dogs.

(here is hank glued to the tv at first’s house when the dog show was on)

(he was especially interested when this foxy little frenchie was being introduced…)

we are definitely open to other options and are willing to think outside of the box so please share any ideas or insights you might have!

* update on hank’s work situation…. lately, his friend louie from next door has not been available for day time playdates because he just started a new gig and has going in to the office for loads of meetings. this change in schedule has really bummed hank out and i think he might be inspired by louie’s ambition. despite being about fourteen years younger than hank, louie has offered to mentor him… he DID already teach hank to peep while lifting his leg.

(from the first day they met it was clear who was the alpha)

(louie dispensing some sage advice)

to read more about hank’s birthdays click here