DAY 218, Friday, 10/12/12

I’ve been hearing that some of my fans have been rather upset that there have been no diary entries for several days. Most of the complainants have, naturally, assumed that it is Bob’s fault, but in this case, it was unavoidable. You see, even though we moved into our new apartment on Tuesday, the Internet did not get hooked up until this morning. Bob and Tony have been going to an Internet café every morning for breakfast, but they only had enough time to check their E-mails, and they’ve been spending the rest of their time trying to get the apartment in order. Though I’m not finicky, I’m sure they’re just trying to make the place as comfortable as possible for me.

I saw something today that I’ve never seen before. It actually snowed a bit. It was mixed with rain, so it didn’t stick to the ground, but it was exciting nonetheless. I hear that we can expect a lot more of the white stuff this winter.

DAY 214, Monday, 10/8/12

Whew! I’m exhausted from another day of driving that moving truck with the trailer attached. OK, so Bob actually did the driving—if you want to get technical about it—but I was there to keep him alert, and I think that’s pretty important, don’t you?

As I mentioned before, the truck has two bucket seats, but it also has a small flat seat in between. Today, when we loaded up, Bob rearranged things so that I could spread out—my rump on the bucket seat, and my head resting on the flat seat. I thought that was mighty darn considerate of him.

When we finally got to our destination, Tony was there, and I recognized the place right off the bat. It was one of those apartments that Bob and I looked at a couple of weeks ago. It smelled a little different, a little cleaner, fresher, but it was the same place. Can’t fool me. So, Bob told me that this would be our new home. I’m not exactly sure what that means, but I guess I’ll find out in time. It’s smaller than our place back in Temple, but it’s a nice place.

DAY 213, Sunday, 10/7/12

Well, Toto, it looks like we’re not in Texas anymore. We not only crossed the state line today, but we also crossed a time zone, so we gained an hour. The famous hot-air balloon festival in Albuquerque has been postponed due to extreme winds, but we did see a couple as we were cruising into town.

At one of the truck stops where we took one of our breaks, I spotted a bumper sticker that I told Bob we just had to get for Tony. It says, “Do I look like a f#*%ing people person?” It’s not that Tony is anti-social; it’s just that he appreciates the superiority of other animal species. I’m still looking for a bumper sticker that says, “Dog is my co-pilot.”

DAY 212, Saturday, 10/6/12

Arrf! What a day! After Tony and Bob took turns taking me out for our morning walks, Bob took me over to visit Cassie and her attendant Sue. Cassie nips at me, but I know that’s just her way of being coy. Even though I like Cassie and Sue, I started to worry that Bob was “dumping” me. I could look out Sue’s window and watch Bob and Tony carrying things out of our apartment and down the stairs—with three guys helping them. Finally, around 11:00 a.m., Bob came and got me. I should have known better than to worry that Bob would leave me; he’s totally lost without me.

So, Bob and I hopped into one of those trucks like the one we took to Pennsylvania, though this one was just a bit smaller. It had bucket seats, so I didn’t have as much room to spread out as I did in the other one. It turns out that Bob, Tony, and the other three guys had spent the entire morning packing all of our things into the truck. In fact, the truck was packed so tight that there was just barely enough space left for a dash of hope and a tinge of adventure.

We spent about four hours on the road and ended up in a town called Abilene, which Bob says is a Comanche word meaning “at least it’s not Lubbock.” And guess who pulled up to the motel just as we did. Tony! Yea!

When we tried to check in at the Best Western Inn, the desk clerk told Bob that she would have to check with the manager—even though we had a reservation—because they were out of “pet rooms.” After talking to the manager on the phone, she told Bob that there were no rooms available and tried to direct us across the street to another motel (which Bob knew would be more expensive). So, Bob told the clerk to call the manager back and tell him that I am not a “pet,” but a service dog, and that under the ADA (Americans with Disabilities Act), he could not legally refuse to rent us a room. The manager finally relented, saying that we could have a room as long as Bob presented proof that I am, in fact, a service dog. Bob simply showed the clerk my service dog tag, and she accepted that.

We’re spending the night here, but I have a hunch we’ll be back on the road early tomorrow morning. I’m not sure exactly where we’re going, but the climate is getting a lot cooler. Bob and Tony had to put on their jackets. Of course, I always carry mine with me.

DAY 211, Friday, 10/5/12

Holy clutter, Batman! When are Tony and Bob gonna clean up this woofin’ mess? Boxes stacked up everywhere, furniture wrapped up tighter than a chewy bone at PetSmart, nary a place to lay my weary head. Why, they’ve even got my food and water dishes crammed up into a corner where I can barely breathe. It’s a good thing I’m the only one in this household who doesn’t suffer from claustrophobia. When will this nightmare end?

DAY 210, Thursday, 10/4/12

Jumpin’ Jehosophat! Too much excitement. I wonder if there is such a thing as service animals for service dogs. I could use one right about now.

First, Bob and Tony woke up waaaaaaaaaay too early this morning, which means, of course, that I had to get up too. Then, we drove for three hours to Houston where we met their friend Stephanie. She’s really nice. I liked her from the minute we first met. She reads my diary religiously and recalls almost every detail. We went to a Cuban restaurant, and, naturally, I sat or lay on the floor under the table—except when I was licking the floor. (Shhhh! If you promise not to tell anybody, I promise not to tell what you’ve been licking.)

After lunch, we went to a bookstore to meet Bob’s good friend Mike. He was really nice too. Bob and Tony have some of the nicest friends. We met at that particular bookstore because it was supposed to have the latest issue of Harbinger Asylum, a literary magazine that published three of Bob’s poems. Unfortunately, the magazine wasn’t available yet, but Bob will get a couple of copies in the mail from the editor. Man, when those copies arrive, Bob will be impossible to live with for a few days.

DAY 209, Wednesday, 10/3/12

Yeah, I know I didn’t post anything in my diary yesterday. It’s not because I had nothing to say, but because I couldn’t get Bob to sit still long enough to type up what I wanted to dictate to him. He has made time to take me to the courts to run every morning this week, but other than that, he’s been spending all of his time packing boxes and making travel arrangements. If it hadn’t been for my buddies Rick and Patrick, who stopped by again today, I wouldn’t have gotten any attention at all.

Tony hasn’t gone to work all week; he’s been helping Bob pack…between naps. I’ve been concerned that there might be something wrong with him, but he seems to be in a pretty good mood, so…we’ll see.

DAY 207, Monday, 10/1/12

There have been a series of strange happenings lately, but today was the strangest of all: it’s a Monday, and Tony didn’t go to work today. What’s even more strange is that he actually took a nap. Do you suppose he’s sick or something?

He must have gotten better because he and Bob went to Rick and Patrick’s house for dinner, and they took me with them. I like going there, not just because I like Rick and Patrick, but also because they have a big back yard, and I got to run and play with Pablo and Foxy. By the time we got home, it was past my bedtime (and Tony’s and Bob’s too), so we were all exhausted. It was a good exhaustion, though.

DAY 206, Sunday, 9/30/12

It’s been raining here the past couple of days, and it’s not nearly as hot as it used to be. That’s good because I have plenty of fur to keep me warm.

Bob and Tony packed up some more things today and even got rid of some of the furniture. Are they going to buy all new things? I’m beginning to sense that some major changes are in the air, and I’m not sure I’m gonna like them.

DAY 205, Saturday, 9/29/12

More cardboard boxes. Bob and Tony went to the store this morning and brought home more of the darned things. And then, Tony took all the books off the shelves and packed them away in the boxes. At first, I thought maybe he was giving up reading so that he could devote more time to me, but then he started packing away other things too. Strange. Very strange.

Our buddy Rick came by today. He said he needed Bob to help him with some music, but I think he really just used that excuse to come over and rub my belly. He really seems to enjoy that almost as much as I do.