My New Brother and Sister

There are children in the house, besides me! Finally, someone to play with! I was born two years ago, and all of the other animals in the house have always been older. Bruzer, my companion, is 5 years old. For a Mastiff, that is middle-aged. The breed only lives about ten years, in general. He is quite lazy anyway, probably because he is fat. He recently had surgery and weighed in at 205 lbs. I am a trim 170 lbs. Some may think I am thin, but I take care to watch my figure. It seems that people think the bigger the dog, the better. Not true. Anyway, back to the children.

Not too long ago, one of the old cats that lived here got very sick. Her name was Tigger. My mom was sad and rushed her to the vet, but Tigger never came back. I knew she was different anyway, because last summer she started getting shots everyday and whenever we went on vacation, she went too, so she could get a shot. Well, a couple of weeks later, my mom and dad went back to the vet where they had taken Tigger, and when they came home they had babies with them! I think they were babies - they were very, very small black and grey balls, and they smelled funny. Mom and Dad set up a nursery in the bathroom, and for a long time I could only here meowing and scratching noises. One day, my mom let out the children, and told Bruzer and me that their names were Huggy Bear and Dora, the Explorer.

Dora is the grey female, and she likes me alot. When I am lying down, she will knead me. I think this means she likes me. Huggy Bear is the wild one, and he passes gas all the time. Bruzer does, too. It must be a man thing. I have to be very careful, because if I get carried away when playing, I can smash them. It is hard to restrain myself, though. Sometimes, if they get too excited, they run under my Mom and Dad's bed to hide. I tried to warn them that an old troll lives under there and to be cautious, but they are fearless. Cali (the old troll-cat) just hisses at them.

One time I heard my Mom and Dad telling someone that when they took Tigger in to go to sleep, one of the workers had found a litter of kittens that were abandoned by their mother-cat. The lady brought the children to the vet and took care of them until they were ready for their own homes. That's when they came to live at our house. I like to watch them do funny things. Now, somebody besides me gets in trouble, too! I can tell we are going to grow up and be very good friends!

The Great Escape

Today I was a naughty girl. When my people leave for work in the morning, I get wound up and excited. I know I am in charge until they return home. My pal, Bruzer, does not take his job as watchdog seriously. Instead, he spends the day sleeping in the garage, and if it's not too hot, snoring away on the deck. I am a tall girl (taller than my people-mom who is 5'2”) and can look over the gate if I stand on my hind legs. I always watch as she leaves in the morning, wishing I could go with her, wherever it is that she goes everyday. This morning I thought maybe I could follow her, just to see what she does. (I know she doesn't see other dogs, because I never smell strange dog-scents on her.) I pushed the gate with my nose - and guess what? It opened! It has never opened before! I pushed a little harder, and soon I could fit my head through the opening. I could hear all kinds of noises up and down the street, so I had to investigate. As I pushed my body through the open gate, I saw little people everywhere, laughing and talking. Where were they going? Were they supposed to walk by our house, or did I need to protect the front too? I heard Bruzer come up from behind me and knew that I had to be brave because he is a coward. I ventured out and decided that the front was mine to protect, too. Every little person that walked by I barked at and ran after. I would NEVER bite them, but they must know that I am the boss when my people are gone. Pretty soon all the little people were crying and running away. I'm scared and confused. I am still a puppy and all of this is very strange to me. Bruzer is a man-dog, so he will not help me. All he is interested in doing is smelling every tree and bush that other dogs have passed. Soon, a person pulls up in a car and gets out. She must know we live here because the “Guarded by Mastiffs” sign is up. I am relieved she has taken charge and put us back in the yard and shut the gate. Now I feel better because I am safe from the strange little crying-people. This must have been too much excitement for Bruzer too, because he has collapsed in a heap on the pathway, and is once again snoring away without a care in the world.

Spring '05

The long winter is finally over and spring is in the air. Although I understand that California is not as cold as some places, I am glad the rain is going away and the sun is out longer everyday. I love lying on the deck soaking up the rays. When I'm not sleeping, I patrol our yard from gate to gate, making sure unauthorized guests do not enter. There is a whirly-gig bird in our neighbor's yard to the right, and it flies and flies without going anywhere. This has me a bit worried - what if it makes into our territory someday? Therefore, I bark at it alot, just a warning to stay on its own side of the fence. Two beagles live behind us, and are constantly baying. I wonder what they are barking at? I know beagles like to hunt and track, so is there something that is trying to encroach on our property? They are the first line of defense. I bark at them to let them know they have support. Our neighbor to the left is a bit of a scrooge, so when I hear him pulling weeds I am sure to give him an oral piece of my mind. I am sure this annoys him and drives him back into his house. That is good - he gives off a bad scent. When I am done patrolling and all is safe, I head back to my sunny spot on the deck and listen to the bees drone and the birds chirp, and wait for my people to come home and join me.