A Few Years Later...Trigger's 7 years old!

Wow, it's been a whole long time since I've visited Trigger's page. Trigger is nearing middle-age for his breed and he's such a regal, finally mellowed out dog! It's only taken him 4 years to get that way. We don't have our pool anymore, sadly, the squirrels overtook the lining and destroyed it, so Dad had to take down the pool and the deck for it. Now Trigger has a nice big area to run around in, but sometimes he overdoes it and comes in the house limping, having possibly pulled a muscle or two. A few days of him taking it easy is all it takes for him to learn to not go full blast in the backyard. He's a very smart doggie.

We got a new car in 2010 and I searched hi and lo for a barrier for the back to keep him in the back (my car is an Elantra Touring--station wagon), due to the seats being black and his hair likes to weave into the material, but no such luck, so I have to toss a few small treats into the far back of the car for him to chase after. He stays in the back for a short time but then misses me and sneaks up front.

I got a digital video camera at Christmas this year, to take more pictures of him and his progress at the vet's. He's been going there to get his nails done for a while now, and just recently, only a few months ago, his Behaviorist moved to South America for a year. To keep her updated, I can post my videos of him on my youtube channel and she can see him. For the visits that used to take 1/2 hour to get through, it only takes him under 10 minutes to get his nails done! I'm so proud of him!

Trigger loves watching for his girls and daddy. He knows Dad's truck from around the corner, and has to have his stuffed froggy in his mouth to greet anyone who comes to the door (in case he lets out a stray bark, I think). He has a few more new toys he got this year, but his favorites are his squeeky kong tennis balls and his Wubba!

Well, usually Trigger would bark out his blog, but I beat him to it. So I'll sign off for now and write more later when His Majesty feels like Bark-tating, until then, later-gator!

Dog's Purpose, from a 4-year-old

I just got this email and thought it would be great to share with my doggie friends...I've seen it before, I still love it

Being a veterinarian, I had been called to examine a ten-year-old
Irish Wolfhound named Belker. The dog's owners, Ron, his wife, Lisa,
and their little boy, Shane, were all very attached to Belker, and
they were hoping for a miracle.

I examined Belker and found he was dying of cancer. I told the family
we couldn't do anything for Belker, and offered to perform the
euthanasia procedure for the old dog in their home.

As we made arrangements, Ron and Lisa told me they thought it would
be good for four-year-old Shane to observe the procedure. They felt
Shane might learn something from the experience.

The next day, I felt the familiar catch in my throat as Belker's
family surrounded him. Shane seemed so calm, petting the old dog for
the last time, that I wondered if he understood what was going on.
Within a few minutes, Belker slipped peacefully away. The little boy
seemed to accept Belker's transition without any difficulty or
confusion.

We sat together for a while after Belker's death,wondering aloud
about the sad fact that animal lives are shorter than human lives.
Shane, who had been listening quietly, piped up, "I know why."

Startled, we all turned to him. What came out of his mouth next
stunned me. I'd never heard a more comforting explanation.

He said, "People are born so that they can learn how to live a good
life -- like loving everybody all the time and being nice, right?"
The four-year-old continued, "Well, dogs already know how to do that,
so they don't have to stay as long."


Remember, if a dog was the teacher you would learn stuff like:

When loved ones come home, always run to greet them.

Never pass up the opportunity to go for a joyride.

Allow the experience of fresh air and the wind in your face to be
pure ecstasy.

Take naps.

Stretch before rising.

Run, romp, and play daily.

Thrive on attention and let people touch you.

Avoid biting when a simple growl will do.

On warm days, stop to lie on your back on the grass.

On hot days, drink lots of water and lie under a shady tree.

When you're happy, dance around and wag your entire body.

Delight in the simple joy of a long walk.

Eat with gusto and enthusiasm. Stop when you have had enough.

Be loyal. Never pretend to be something you're not.

If what you want lies buried, dig until you find it.

When someone is having a bad day, be silent, sit close by and nuzzle
them gently.

Trigger's 3 years old, yaaaaaaaaaaaay

Well, Thursday was my birthday and everyone lavished me with birthday kisses and reminded me that it was my birthday. Mom went and got some smelly stuff Wednesday and poured it on my neck...she says it is to protect me from wormies and tickers...called Revvvvv-o-luuuuuuu-shun. She has to put it on me every month, I hope I can live that long, I thought I was going to die with scratching so much and rubbing it in like crazy (mom didn't stop me). Everyone went to school and work and I stayed home and celebrated, yay me, I slept! When they all got home, it was a rush to get supper and then they all left me again! Dad had to go to a school meeting, "Meat The Teeeechers", and Mom and the girls went to Quire Praktiss. When Mom got home, she didn't want me jumping on her, she fell and had a very fat foot (sprained). I protected her all night and watched where I slept. I gave her my birthday kisses to make her feel better.

Yesterday, things were better, Mom's foot is getting better and I was allowed to get a little closer to cuddle.

Today is the beginning, but there's talk of party planning...oh yeah, Samantha's birthday is coming up, then Mom's...ahhhh, we love September!

Happy Bird-Day to all my brudders and sissers, from Trigger

My Tail of Devotion for Trigger

This is a special Tail of Devotion

See All Tails of Devotion

Doggie Playday

On a whim, I just decided to take Trigger to the doggie park. I wasn't really expecting anyone to be there, and there wasn't until after I got Trigger's gentle leader off...and bonus! It was a Vizsla!!!! Trigger thought he was looking at his twin, hahaha. His hackles rose up all along his back, but he gave Festus and his owners a chance to get into the park, before he attacked him with sniffs, etc. Festus was a Vizsla that we had met back in October, when he was VERY teeny, and light in color...I had to do a double check to make sure I wasn't dreaming. I was getting so frustrated because I'd heard that there were Vizslas in Montreal, just hadn't seen them yet, except for the poor babies in the pet store...turns out that Festus was one of the babies from the pet store, his owners felt bad that he was there and rescued him...the owner's brother has another vizsla who is about 2 years old, and another from a breeder, I think. They know our trainer very well, better than I do, they've gone to a few class sessions, they're now in Agility.

Festus and Trigger both were very dirty Vizslas when they were finished, and were promised baths as soon as they got home...I followed through and we both feel so much better, hahah.

It was a good day for a play day, I'm glad I had the whim!

Until later,
Me

Happy Holidays to all my Doggie Friends and their owners

This year has been a pretty good one, although I got into some trouble for getting into mom's chocolate covered cherries (I didn't leave enough for her to not notice, oops).

Best wishes for a Rooful Roo Year, hope to hear from you all soon.

Woof,

Trigger

Birthday Boy!!!!

What a great first birthday!!!! Mom made up a group for my brothers and sisters to come to and my 2 brothers have joined. Haven't been able to talk much, but hopefully soon.

Mom and the girls have been spoiling me with lots of attention! Yesterday, mom made a cake and pup-cakes out of the tomato soup cake recipe I was telling you about before. She let me taste test, mmmmmmmmmmmmmmm, they're good! We've told some of the moms at the school to bring my friends this afternoon and we'll have some of the pup cakes and the people can share the cake.

After dropping the girls off at school, mom took me to my favorite store, but I am still quite skittish. Mom keeps me close to her to protect me, but my tail gets tucked under and I stay my distance from strangers. We went into the store and there were lots of puppies barking, the birds, Oh My Gosh, THERE WERE BIRDS!!!!! I stayed still watching them and breathing, heehee. Then we went by this enclosure with kittens...one of them came towards me, and I didn't really feel too threatened...another came by and was more scared of me than I was of it, heehee. Mom picked out a Kong Bone (the kind that's made out of tennis ball material), a squeeky, because I love them and my fishy is destroyed, HA HA!!! Also some Buddy Biscuits, has no corn, and some special shampoo (I really need it), and also a tag for my collar saying King of The Yard (most definitely fitting on my birthday, haha). We went to the pool place, picked up the pump for the big pool, and then we went home to get some water, mom's camera, and drove to the doggie park, YAAAAAAAAAAAY! We met a couple of dogs there, both were mixes I think, the female was quite fun to chase around and run till we were tired. The male didn't really want to run with us, so I tried to keep away from him (his owner said he was a little older and didn't want to run...he was also a rescue and didn't trust too quickly).

Mom took some pictures of me, but probably not enough...there were spots that were muddy, and for some reason, there was a bus stop in the park, haha...must have been an extra, or something.

Well, I'm SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO tired, I'm going to go and sleep for the rest of the day, or until it's time to get those girls. I'll write more later.

Love,

Trigger

P.S. Thank you, Sylvie, for the birthday greeting, you're a very thoughtful Weimie!

I'm A Year old SOON!

Mom and the girls are excited, not only do they get to go back to school, my birthday is coming up next week, and I've been hearing about cake and cupcakes, mmmmmmmmmmmmmmm, hopefully we can have some of that special tomato soup cake that mom made before, MINUS the raisins, icky, has spices like pumpkin.

Something is up with the food I'm eating, maybe I'm outgrowing it, but when the girls feed it to me, I am very slow in eating it...Mom thinks that maybe I'm outgrowing it, understandable, I'm no longer a puppy! All grown up at 7!

Mom's been spending more time on the computer, looking for, what she calls, a JOB, but she's getting frustrated because the people here speak and write in a different language called FRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRench. Hopefully she gets this thing called a job soon, and closeby, so I can be one of those dogs we keep reading about that gets walked on the human's lunchtime. That would be nice, just me and mom, on a walk, heehee.

Well, I should sign off, Mom's eyes look like they're crossing, she was up early with the girls (5 a.m. just cuz it was the first day of school, ugghh).

Wiggles,

Trigger

The family is together again, and I'm getting tortured by- that Digital Camera!

The human blondies (dad, Samantha and Ciara) came home on Thursday, so it's been busier in here, a little hard to dictate to my journal in peace, sorry. Mom got her digital camera back again, so I'm subject to picture-taking!

Mom brought home this horribly weird water thing today. She wanted to get some sort of watering thing for the children to be entertained, called a Mount Tiki-Soaki (from Super Soaker), that sits on the ground and fills up with water and then sprays it way up in the air. I was happiest when I was inside watching them outside. Some of the humans were picking up the thing and trying to spray each other, mom put a stop to that. Got a few people outside to see what it was and wanting one for themselves. The girls had fun, and now our lawn doesn't look so brown, thank goodness, thought I was going to have to take the blame for that (me and my puddles before going in the house, heehee).

I'm fast asleep up in the couch again, it's been a busy day. Dad was out stirring up the green in the pool, hahaah...will be a couple of days before it's swim-able again, mom let it go too long, we thinks...dad was vacuuming it (the only vacuum I don't seem to mind, since it doesn't have any wheels on it). I'm dying to go swimming again, I cant wait, I managed to take a few sips of the water today, ewwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww. Probably won't be doing that for a while, hahaha.

Well, I must get mom off the computer before bedtime, I need some cuddles. Write soon.

Love and wiggly-butts,

Trigger and Terina

It's been a while since we've written

Mom's without a digital camera, but that doesn't stop her and Caitlin from TORTURING me with another camera (the ancient kind). Today, while mom was showering, Caitlin saw a kitten costume that the littlest one used to wear for Halloween...well, lucky enough, it fit ME! Caitlin was squealing and laughing her fool human head off and telling Mom all about it. She'd pull the hood over my eyes and I'd bonk my head into the wall, well, that was funny, woohoo, HA HA! They had to take a couple of pictures of me in it. It's pretty easy to take off as long as I'm laying down.

No doubt they'll probably have the pictures up here when mom goes to get it deee-vellll-oped. Surprisingly I'm not the only Vizsla who's been dressed up in funny outfits...my doggie mom's grampa was once a reindeer in his day, hahaha.

Well, I'm now attempting to hide from them as they go looking for that dumb costume again. Write later.

Love,

Trigger the CAT!