Cati Dids

Yeah, fine.

Whatever. It's official now, Max lives here.

He doesn't live in my crate, though. That's a relief.
He doesn't eat out of my dish.
He doesn't beat up on my cat-I make sure of that.

He is a fast runner.
That makes him fun to chase.
He is a good wrestler.
That makes him fun to play with.
He is a good snorer.
Bound to have learned that from me.
And he hates the big swimming pool as much as I do.

Ok, I guess he can stay. He's goofy and he slobbers a lot, but he's fun.

For an uncle, anyway.

He's still here.

Really, he is. I thought maybe he was just here for a Visit. After all, humans come to visit all the time and sometimes they're here a few days. I thought maybe Max was doing the human "Visiting" thing.

It looks suspiciously like he's Staying.

Visiting and Staying are completely different things.

Visiting I could handle. The guy's got his good points. He can really run, which makes him good at chase games. He really couldn't care less about human food, which means we don't compete on that level. And there is the advantage of me being able to bark at say, nothing in particular, but he doesn't know that so he goes off like a loudspeaker then gets this sheepish look on his face and says, "What are we barking at?" I always answer, "I stopped barking long ago and there is now nothing to bark at. However you, nitwit, have been going on and on and on like a crazy person."

He still hasn't caught on to the ruse.

It happened last week

We went for a drive. I'm thinking Road Trip! Usually boring except when I get to get out of the car and smell new things, or when we stop by some sort of restaraunt and I get somethng unhealthy but totally delicious to eat.

Some road trip.

We met a lady with a dog.

Then we brought the dog home with us.

Then we brought him in the house, gave him a crate, food, and attention. All that. Mom says he's my uncle. Dad says I'll learn to love him.

Love him? It's hard to l-i-k-e him, much less love him.

He thinks he should run things, first of all. I've never had anybody to boss around before, but darned if I'm going to let him be boss. I just need to learn how to tell him that. I'm fluent in human speak, but it's been so long since I spoke dog, that I've forgotten most of it.

He drools. HOW he drools. Yesterday I stepped in a puddle of spit. HIS spit. So gross. And he gets so excited. When he gets happy he just goes nuts.

I have to share with him. If I get a bite to eat, he gets a bite to eat. If I get lovin', so does he. At least I still get one-on-one time with the folks, but I have a feeling that Max does too. That's his name. Max. I know because I hear it called so often.

The folks just love him. Even the cat loves him.

I don't. I don't, I don't, I don't.

I wish he would just go home.

But maybe he could come back for playtime. Pretty often. Yeah. That's one thing he is good for. I love playing with him, but I better not tell the folks that.

Year of the Dog?

WOW! I have never won anything before!

First of all, I would like to thank my humans, for all the pizza scraps, chicken, yogurt, Blue Buffalo, rawhides, uh, anyhow, thanks guys-even though you did forget you entered me in the Year of the Dog contest.

My photographer, who, when it comes to pictures, understood that I really do not have a "bad side".

My agent, who happens to be my human mom, I have forgiven you for your failure to land the Shakespeare role for me. After all, to err is human. Now we need to talk about my salary. I think two rawhides a week is rather a low figure, now that I have nationwide acclaim...

And many thanks to Dogster! This is totally cool! I feel like a star!

I need a new agent.

Apparently, even though I'm really talented, gorgeous, cute as a bug, and can do any command my folks ask me to perform, I didn't get the part.

I didn't even get a callback.

Not to say that mom didn't get a call. She did. She said that the folks were really nice, and thanked me for auditioning. Apparently, mom was told that I was amazing. So well behaved, and doing everything she asked me to. Just a couple of problems. 1. I'm too short for the part. 2. I'm too pretty for the part.

Humph. Danny DeVito is short.
Dustin Hoffman played a girl (well sorta)
Denzel Washington and Keanu Reeves played brothers - and that was in a Shakespeare movie!

It's gotta be all in the presentation. Mom just didn't present me properly. Mom should have made me look bigger. And messier. And nastier. (After all, I wanted to roll in that pile of poo, but she wouldn't let me.)

I know her intentions are good, but mom is a lousy agent. Wonder if dad would be any better...

Dad just laughs when I roll in poo.

Today is the big day

This morning I had my nails trimmed, then we went to the park and walked three miles. Ok, the folks walked three miles, there was so much to sniff and explore that I kept going back and forth. I think I walked something like six miles.

Dad said, "A tired dog is a happy dog," and mom said that that was good. She wanted me really happy. Then she proceeded to say that a tired dog is a manageable dog, and that was even better.

As soon as we got home, I got a B-A-T-H, blow dried, brushed, blow dried some more and then we all had breakfast. Obviously, there is somethng special happening today. All of a sudden I remembered what it is... today is my audition! The local Shakespere players are having auditions today, and I'm auditoning for the role of Crab, the dog. Gosh, I hope I get the part. I would be on my way to stardom then.

All my folks agree that the part of anybody named, "Crab" would not be much of a stretch for me.

Just hope nobody tells me to, "break a leg", I did that with my toe once, and it wasn't much fun...

We'll see what today brings!

My folks think I'm a Jeep

Went to the park today. We walked and walked and walked and walked.

I waded in the creek, then walked and walked and walked some more.

Ate some goose poo, then walked and walked and walked more.

Uphill, downhill, across the gullies. Through the weeds (that part was my idea).

There were lots of places where the plants only have three leaves - I was really careful to take the folks through every patch of that stuff I could find.

Then we headed home. But of course, to get back to our vehicle we had to ...

Walk and walk and walk and walk.

(yawn) I'm so-o-o-o-o tired, think I'll just curl up and go to-HEY! Was that my food dish?!?!

Caught one!

A snake, that is. It was near our pond and I jumped on it and pinned it down and mom was yelling, "no! No! NO!" So I shifted a little so she could see it better and it was beating me in the face with it's tail, and I tried to bite the tail and couldn't catch it, and, and, and...

The darned thing got away.

Mom said she wished it had bitten me since it was only a garter snake. She said that way maybe I'd learn to leave snakes alone.

I shall now hunt regularly at our pond.

Tonight's menu

It's so wonderful when my folks go by KFC.

Those eleven secret herbs and spices make me excited. So does the chicken.

Oh boy, oh boy, oh boy! Ooops!

I just caught myself blowing spit bubbles again.

A poem born from boredom

Cold, cold, cold.
It's out my folks won't go.
Cold, cold, cold.
I've even seen some snow.

I'll race around and chase the cat
Wanting someone to play with
The cat I think is rather fat
I'll run her, and make her fit

I don't like this time of year
I rather like another
Spring and Fall are really nice
Sometimes so is summer.

My coat has gotten rather dense
It's gone from sleek to fluffier
My folks say they know how to occupy me
They want to get me a BROTHER!

Sparks Fly

Sigh.

My nose has become electrified. And a bit sore, too.

If I touch the fridge, a spark flies.
If I touch the cat, a spark flies.
Sometimes, when I touch my toys, a spark flies.
Yesterday, when I poked one of my folks in the eyeball with my nose, (just to wake them up, you understand) a spark flew.

My folks were not amused.

Come to think of it, neither was I.

Cows...

...are the perfect animal.

This must be true. You can eat them as steak, they make great rawhide chews, you can make lovely furniture out of them, they give milk, and when it comes to something stinky to roll in, nothing smears a smelly stink like a cow pie.

The best part is, we are being invaded by them.

I took my people to the park the other day and we met some of the cows from the neighboring farm. I was immediately low to the ground (even by Corgi standards) to drive the cattle, uh, somewhere. My people told me to leave the cows alone since they weren't mine.

Then, yesterday God answered my prayers. I looked out the back door and my field was filled with cattle. Hundreds, maybe thousands of cows! I may be exaggerating slightly, but there were several there, really there were. I thought, "Oh boy, a herd of cattle for my very own to chase and to nip and to herd and to love." But my folks said these beasts did not belong to me either, and then they set about trying to find out which of our neighbors the cows DID belong to.

I'm thinking, finders keepers, here. But the humans don't see it that way. I just don't understand it. Maybe things are better this way. Every time I roll in a good, smelly cowpie, a B-A-T-H usually follows. Hmmm...

Hey, somebody come get your cows!

H2O

Rain.

It falls from the sky
It falls in my eyes.
My toes get wet
My ears get wetter.
I really dislike
This rainy weather

Bo-or-ing

My folks have the "crud".
At least that is what they call it. They sit around under blankets and make honking noises into tissues.
They do not allow me to eat the tissues.
They eat little pills.
They do not allow me to eat the little pills.
They drink foul smelling liquids.
They do not allow me to drink the foul smelling liquids.
Their eyes leak water, their noses leak water, and they talk like someone has pinched ther noses.

My folks are absolutely no fun right now.

It's baaaack!

Cooler weather - YES!
Leaves to chase.
Squirrels to chase.
Squirrels to catch.
Ooh! Ooh! There goes one now!

I'm back

I have been remiss. It has been over six months since I have updated my diary. Dear, dear.

Lots happened in the meantime. I lost one of my best friends, Ace, that big black cat. He's why I wasn't writing in my diary. I'd write in my diary, then Scooter would write in hers, then Ace would write in his. When Ace wasn't writing anymore, I just didn't have the heart to for a long time. Lots of the time I'd just go under the bed and sleep in "his" spot. It still smelled like him, and that felt good, even though I knew he wasn't alive anymore. I understood. My folks were a mess, too, 'cause mom and Ace had sorta grown up together. Ace was eighteen years old. I had grown up with him, too, so it was a really big change for me.

We're all so much better now. We still miss him, but it's all right.

I'm quite the lady now. I have graduated from school, caught my first mole, and made lots of new friends. I herd well, you should see me with geese! I can make them go anywhere I want them to, and I am ever vigilant when it comes to squirrels. One of these days, a squirrel won't make it to the tree in time, I guarantee it. I missed by only an inch or so this morning.

Anyone know how to get squirrel hair out of your teeth?

What the HECK HAPPENED?!?!

First of all, let me say that I am a southern belle from Atlanta, GA, even though I live in middle Tennessee now. Although I really do like cool weather, we don't get a lot of it. I have never seen very much of it.

Mom says that's why I acted the way I did this morning.

When I went to bed last night, it was raining. Cold, yes, but it was RAINING. Granted, the rain felt a little...oh, how do I describe it? Fuzzy. But I figured I was just tired, after all, it was pretty late.

This morning, I get up and mom and dad are all excited, saying things like, "Wait on me, she's never seen it before!" and, "Hurry up before it melts!"
I have no idea what they're so excited about, but I'm a little preoccupied 'cause I've slept all night and I gotta go. Mom and Dad BOTH come outside with me. I hit the back deck, and I'm like, "What the heck?" The world is all WHITE!!!!!


What happened? The white stuff is REALLY cold. I found that out the hard way when I couldn't wait any longer to, ahem, "go". You can bet I jumped up in a hurry! I started barking in every direction at all the white stuff. I mean, it was everywhere! I'm not sure how it got there, but it musta been pretty sneaky for me not to have heard it during the night. After mom and dad called me into the house, I went from window to window barking at all the white stuff.

Mom and dad say it's called, "snow", and they say it's a pity there's not more of it! I'm like, the world is covered in it and they want more??

I'll never understand my people, but I will watch for the "snow" to come back (it's sneaking away right now) and if it comes back, I'll be ready!

So THAT'S Christmas!

Whew! I knew we were building up to something big, but WOW!
Christmas is totally COOL!
We had a house full of people - that means more attention for me, of course, because I'm so adorable. We had SO much food ( and everybody was sneaking bits of it to me) and all the food was delicious! Then on Christmas Eve, Santa came to our house and left presents for everybody, especially ME!

Santa didn't leave me any Reindeer poop, which is something I had specifically asked for, so I was a little dissappointed. Mom said it was possible that he thought I had had enough, since I like the tootsie rolls the kitties leave in the litter box. I do try my best to get to them before the little automatic rake goes through the litter box and sweeps them into the basket. If I knew how to unplug the litter box, I would. That would show mom and dad how clean I could keep it. I'm sure it would save on the electricity bill.

Anyhow, we all gathered together around the Christmas tree and tore all the paper off the presents. That was something I could really get into! All of a sudden mom came over to me with a present of my very own. I was so surprised that at first I didn't know what to do. Then mom made a little hole in the wrapping paper and I helped her tear it off. It was a BIG bone. A huge, GIGANTIC, nylabone! It weighs a million pounds I bet, and at first I kept dropping it. Now I drop it on purpose to get the attention of the people - it makes a great big noise when it hits the floor and the folks always jump. Mom says it was made for dogs that are a lot bigger than I am, like German Shepherds and Rottweilers, but since I am a "power chewer", Santa thought I could handle it. Hee, hee. I'll say. I love dropping it right by Scooter! She's sure I'll squish her with it!

Mom told me all about the true meaning of Christmas, so that's all good. I just wish we could celebrate it more than once a year. I'm still reeling from all the excitement. Plus, today's MY Birthday so I'm getting special treatment AGAIN!

December is SO cool.

Ready for my close up!

I had my picture taken last night. Over and over. Mom says animal photography is more of an art than a science. She's been threatening to take me to have my picture made with Santa, but I think she's over that idea. She sat me in front of the Christmas tree in the living room, then told me to "stay". She set up a whole little scene around me, then wanted me to smile for the camera, which I did.

Trouble is, she made so many interesting noises to get me to look at the camera, that I had a hard time staying. I kept getting up to see if she had food in her mouth, thinking maybe it was the food making her sound like that. But sadly, no. Mom was just trying to get my attention. She took a gazillion pictures of me, some with a flash that made me see spots for a while.

I hope the pictures don't turn out well. If they don't, maybe I'll get my picutre made with Santa after all. I hear Santa brings presents, and of course the best present for me is FOOD!

Let's see... Cati + bad pictures = trip to see Santa
Santa = presents
Presents = FOOD
So that means... Santa = FOOD!!!!!!

Let's go! Let's GO! LET'S GO!!!!

OW!

Scooter and Ace have needles in their paws, and Scooter just proved it!

I still suspect Ace might try to kill me someday, he reminds me sometimes that he's thinking about it, but I never thought Scooter would do what she did.

We were playing just like we always do, I bark at her, she growls and swats at me, (she always misses) then she runs and I follow her. Simple as that. When Scooter gets tired of playing, she can always jump up on something.

It's not like she can't get away if she really wants to.

But she didn't try to get away today.

And this time, she didn't miss.

She got me - with her claws out! I'm not sure what hurt most, when Scooter tried to slash my nose off, or when mom put alcohol on my nose. Both really stung. A lot. My nose bled where Scooter ripped it open. I have never had my nose bloodied before. I'm not sure what to make of it, either.

On the other hand, there's scooter now, asleep on the sofa. I could jump up on the sofa. That would really startle her! Or, I could sit just out of swat range and bark in her ear... or I could wait til she's walking down the hallway and then all of a sudden run up behind her...

So many possibilities. Oh I'll pay her back, never fear. I might have lost the battle, but our war promises to be lots of fun!

What the ???

There's a TREE in the LIVING ROOM.

There's a TREE in the LIVING ROOM!

Mom and Dad and Grandma and I went out Sunday, and we came back with a TREE and it's in the LIVING ROOM!

Mom put lights on it. And shiny things. And then she told me not to eat it!

Then she started telling me all about the Christmas story, which is all well and good, I just can't see what NOT EATING the TREE in the LIVING ROOM has to do with it.

Ace says it's HIS tree 'cause we bought it on his birthday (and he thinks everything in the house is his) .

Scooter says it's HER tree because she likes to sleep underneath it.

I'm not sure whose tree it is, but I went with the family to get it, so I thinkk I have as much claim to it as anybody.

But I won't tell Ace and Scooter that I really don't want it. It's just THERE. In the LIVING ROOM... a TREE.

Sometimes I just look at it and marvel. I still haven't eaten anything off it - yet.

What next?

What in the world?

I've got no clue what's wrong with mom. She's removing all my fur (except for the fur still attached to me) from the house. Ditto the cat hair. Really, she ought to realize it's a fruitless effort. She's going around cleaning, dusting and barking orders. I just don't get it.

This morning, she took a turkey - a whole turkey - out of the freezer, but did she put it in the oven? NO! She put it in the refrigerator where I STILL can't get to it!

She totally rearranged the living room furniture a few minutes ago, saying that once the tree is up there wouldn't be enough room for me to frap without tearing up the tree, the house, me, or all of the above.

What tree? When did she plant a tree in the living room? Is it going to sprout soon?

Mom's lost her mind.

That darn cat

I just read the cat's latest diary entry. Hey, if he doesn't want me to read it, he shouldn't post it online!

Ace is just plain mean sometimes.

And kind of scary, too.

This could get interesting

Mom has been going around with cookbooks in her hands.

Dad keeps saying words like, "Turkey" and "Ham" and "Pumpkin Pie".

I have a feeling mom's gonna do a lot of cooking soon, and that means...
FOOD!
I got so excitited about food last night I was blowing spit bubbles.

Wait one cotton pickin' minute...

I've been thinking.

On Halloween children came to the door and my folks gave them food.
Lots of food.
They even gave them chocolate - which I am not allowed to have.
The children were in costumes.
I was not.
Up until now, I've been pretty pleased that I didn't get dressed up (like my buddy Tucker) for Halloween.

Now I'm not so sure...

'bedience class

Oh Boy, oh boy, oh BOY!

It's school night!!!!!
That means one thing - CHICKEN REWARDS!!!!

I've moved to level 3 'bedence, and mom is talking about competetion someday.

I don't care about competetion. I just want the chicken.

Oh, really.

Mom cleaned out our SUV today. She came in the house all excited when she was finished. She said that for the last few months she thought that we had shag carpet in the car, but after she finished sweeping out all the corgi hair, it was just regular carpet after all!

She thinks she is so amusing.

I beg to differ.

You can do anything if you just put your mind to it

I have a big problem with the vaccum cleaner.

It's been here ever since I can remember and it's big and loud and kinda scary.

Barking at it hasn't helped and neither has giving it the "evil eye". I've been scratching my head trying to figure out how to get rid of it. In fact it was while I was scratching my head that I saw the sloution.

HAIR!

So I've been shedding. A lot.

Suddenly, a few days ago, the vaccum cleaner made this horriffic sound, smoked a little, and started to really stink up the place. Then all was quiet.

Mom says it's a shame because it was only two years old. Then she pointed a finger at me and said, "You did this". I just looked up at her and smiled. What could I say? I had thought that maybe the vaccum was one that was old and weak, but apparently that is not so. I'm rather impressed with myself, being able to kill a vaccum cleaner that obviously was young and in its prime.

But something is bothering me. Even though the vaccum cleaner is dead, I can't quit shedding.

Uh, how do I stop?

School...

I'll admit I had my doubts at frst, but school is pretty cool!
(woah, that rhymed!)

Mom says I'm doing great. I've stopped barking at the other dogs in my class, and last night, I didn't even bark at the other dogs doing 'gility classes. Our instructor says I'm really good at my "sit stays" and my "down stays".

One of the teachers held my leash last night while mom walked away from me, then mom called my name and the teacher turned me loose, so I ran hard as I could to mom. Wierd thing, though. I got about halfway to mom and our main instructor squeaked a toy at me! Didn't faze me though, I know when mom calls me, I gotta go to her P-R-O-N-T-O. (Got my bunny butt spanked about that long ago! And I do mean SPANKED!!! Oh well, let's not go into that.) Mom made a huge fuss over me, guess it was because I waited til I got to her before I turned around to see exactly what was squeaking at me.

Mom says I gotta do better at my walking with her. I heard her say this morning that she was bound and determined I'd be the best walker there next week. I think I already am! I know I'm the cutest. Just 'cause I don't want to walk right beside mom ALL the time, and just 'cause I like to stop and eat things off the floor, mom's getting all tense. I do things MY way, whenever she accepts that she'll be a lot happier, I'm sure.

Now, the next challenge in class is to finally get close to that poodle. Not only does the poodle have a tail, (which is totally awe inspiring) there's a little pom pom on the end of it!
Mmmmmm...wonder if that pom pom squeaks when you chomp it?

Revenge is SWEET

Served hot or cold, I don't care!

I must explain myself.

I've been going to 'bedience school and I love it. I have been the star of my class, 'cause I'm so smart (and I''m also homeschooled). But yesterday, I had enough. Dad came to my class to watch for the first time, so I decided to put on a show for him and everybody else.

That's 'cause I was mad.

Mad because mom and dad have been working extra this past week, so I've been spending a lot of time with grandma.

Mad because mom had been gone all day, then said "let's go to school!" as soon as she came home. That's not how it's done.

Mad because dad rode to class with us, which meant I had to sit in the back seat.

Mad because it was hot, hot, hot, and I HATE heat.

And finally, mad because I found out other dogs in my class have been getting better treats than me.

So when it came time to sit, I didn't.

When I was supposed to "down", I didn't.

And I sure as heck didn't "stay".

Not to mention I pulled on my leash, barked, had to sniff everything, and generally didn't pay attention.

Mom said she had never been so embarrased in her life. Dad laughed.

All that DIS-obedience sure made me tired. Think I'll go back to sleep now...

Bet mom and dad have learned their lesson, though.

Butterflies...

...sure are fun to catch!

But ya gotta be careful 'cause if you only get them by one wing, they'll swat you in the face with the other one. That makes you sneeze and then you loose your grip and they fly away.

Plus, when mom catches you, she makes really funny noises that sound like, "eeeyyyyyeeeeeewww," and, "uuhhhrrrrr bleeuuch!" That's cool too, but the noises your human makes can surprise you and make you drop the butterfly, if you aren't prepared ahead of time.

There's an art to this.

The barking Gypsy...

OK, that's what my breeder called me when mom told her about our camping outing.

See, mom and dad said camping is lots of fun and they wanted to take me along! Then they looked at each other and realized that I can be a bit unpredictable when I'm doing something for the first time.

They decided to make our first camping expedition the back yard.

So, Friday afternoon we pitched the tent. It's made of material and metal poles, and there's a bed that goes inside it that is filled with air. Bouncy!

We went outside to stay about ten-thirty. At first, I didn't realize we were going to sleep outside, I'd never done that. But mom and dad went in the tent, got on the bed inside and told me to come in. Then, they zipped us all inside! I couldn't believe it. SLEEP outside? No big bed? No crate? Whatever, I looked on it as an adventure and curled up against the small of mom's back.

Until I heard a REALLY loud noise overhead about half an hour later.

"WhoOooooooo!"

"WOOFWOOFWOOOFWOOFWOOFWOOF!" (I sounded lots more ferocious than it looks like written down.)

Mom and dad said it was an "owl" and to go back to sleep.

"Woof, woof. WOOF WOOFWOOFWOOFWOOF!!"

"Cati. Hush. No. Be quiet," mom said.

"WOOF WOOF WOOFWOOFWOOF!!"

"CATI! SHHHHHHHH!" That came from dad. I got quiet then.

For about five minutes.

Then there was rustling in the field behind the tent and I just HAD to bark again. My people told me to be quiet again so I settled down.

For about three minutes.

You see, there are SO many things that move around outside at night, and they all have to be told to stay away from my family or I'll eat them up. My solution? Go back and forth from window to window of our tent (over the top of mom and dad, of course) barking at anythng and everything outside. I must protect my people.

I protected my people non-stop until one-thirty in the morning. Mom and dad said that was enough protecting for one night, so we went in the house. I was worn out from my adventure, and headed to my crate and was snoring in a couple of minutes. But no fear, if my folks had decided to stay outside longer, I'd have protected them all night.

Wonder when we'll go camping again?

Cati the Protector...

We were sound asleep Sunday morning. It was 6:30 am.
Not a creature was stirring, not even the cats. (With my ears, I don't miss much.)
All of a sudden, I heard something. Sounded like whatever it was was at the front door. "Grrrrr," I said low. Then, BAM, BAM,BAM, on the door.

"Woof, woof, WOOF, woof, WOOF, woof, WOOF,WOOFWOOFWOOF!" I was really into it now. "GRRRRRRRRRRGRRRRRRRRRRGRRRRRRRRWOOFWOOFWOOF!!!!!!!"

My folks got out of bed and we looked out. There was a strange man wandering around in our yard! "Woofwooofwoofwoof, woof," I looked at my people, "grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr". Lemme at him!

Dad threw on a robe and went outside. The stranger was staggering around, he didn't look like someone dad should be messing with alone. "Grrrrrrrrr", I told mom. I wanna go out there to protect dad. Mom said I had to stay inside with her, then she got a gun. I knew things were serious, so I got really quiet, waiting for my cue.

Dad came in after a few minutes. He said the stranger was a kid who had been out partying the night before, and got seperated from his people. Now that he was starting to come to himself, he was lost. Dad got a phone and took it to the stranger outside, I noticed mom didn't put away the gun though.

Dad came back in the house. Grandma had been staying with us and we had made coffee, so we gave dad coffee to take to the stranger, apparently he needed it pretty badly. Then dad said he would take the stranger to meet his ride home. Mom said she'd follow in our other car. She told me to "stay" and that she'd be right back. I put my ears down low. I didn't want my folks to deal with this guy alone, but mom said I had to guard the house, so that's what I did. I stayed home and protected grandma.

In a little while my folks came back without the staggery guy. They said they felt kinda sorry for him. I was SO glad to see them! Grandma was safe and sound - I did a great job protecting her! But I'll admit, I was pretty worn out the rest of the day.

Now I protect the whole house 'cause I'm so good at it. Plus, now I can say I have experience. Not a noise goes unbarked at around here! Let someone come to the door, I'll bark! Let a 'possum walk through the yard, I'll bark at him! Let that cake fall - I'll bark at that, too! (Then I'll eat it)

Cati the Protector... That's me!

Huh- oh...

Mom says I'm going to go to school.
Dad says I'm going to go to school.

They both say I'll love learning new things.

"Go" is a word I'm familiar with, "school" is not. Mom says she'll come with me and we'll learn together in "school". She explained to me what "agility" is, see-saws, tunnels, poles, ladders...I think I'll like that, but she says I have to graduate from obedience school first. Obedience? Isn't that like "obey"? And if a school is where you learn things, that means they want me to learn to obey, right?

Something sinister about this.

I've been attempting to run the household ever since I got here. If mom and dad would just give in, we'd all be a lot happier and things would go much more smoothly. Maybe this obedience thing is for mom to learn how to obey ME. That would be helpful, 'cause she's not very good at it.

Time will tell...

Being helpful

Livin' here in Tennessee can get exciting. We get big storms sometimes. Even a few tornadoes, so mom and dad make good use of the NOAA weather radio.

Yesterday there were lots of storms, so the radio kept going off, BEEP, BEEP, BEEP! It's reeeealy loud and annoying. I've always wondered why my people bark whenever it goes off, then it struck me - maybe they want me to bark!
(Certainly a change considering usually when I go full throttle on the barking, without an intruder or a strange dog nearby, I'm treated to "Cati...ssshhhhh!" or "You're just barking to hear your head rattle, hush.")

Anyhow, I gave it a try with a tentative.."woof?" My people LOVED IT!!!!!
Who knew they were so easy to please? We were downstairs watching tv when the radio went off again. It's upstairs, so my folks couldn't hear it very well, but I sure could! "Woof, woof, woof, woof, WOOF!" I said. We ran upstairs, listened to the weather message, I got treats and belly scritches...it was great. I think the weather radio and I are going to be great friends.

Wonder if I could convince my family to move to Oklahoma? I hear there are lots of storms out there...

Success! But what a price...

I did it, I did it, I DID IT!!!

My first toad!

You have to understand, they hop around like they think they own the place. I mean, between the toads and the treefrogs, it's a non-stop invasion round the clock. Now, I found out the hard way that toads and frogs are yucky and taste AWFUL a looooong time ago, so anytime I wanted one to move, I'd push it with a stick or rock. It worked pretty well most of the time, they'd usually hop away and I wasn't left sneezing or with a nasty taste in my mouth.

Until yesterday.

See, there's this big old toad that has been getting under my skin for a long time. He's really got an attitude - won't hop when you want him to, insists on living in the vinca under the hickory tree. I should say insisted...the vinca is mine now.

I tried pushing him with a stick, he wouldn't budge. He wouldn't move when I dropped a rock right by him, he wouldn't move when I barked at him. So, I plucked up my courage and SNAP! Picked him right up, punched a couple of holes in him, and slung him against the side of the tree! Then all of a sudden, I could hardly breathe! My spit got so thick, I could barely swallow! Dad came over to ascertain I was OK, then he started laughing. Mom's face turned red and she started calling me "Cujo". I looked worse than my folks do when they brush their teeth, and boy, did I feel sick! Mom and dad tried to get me to drink some water to help me with my, ahem, foaming problem, but I would've choked if I tried to drink anything then. It was about half an hour before I was able to drink anything.

Was it worth it? You BET it was! Toads and frogs beware! It's MY yard, I'm takin' it back!

FOOD!

Oh - my - goodness!!!!
There's this place called McDonalds, right?
So, you drive up to this window thingy, and give a guy some funny looking paper (that doesn't taste too good, anyway) and then guess what?

YOU GET CHICKEN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I can't believe it! It's kinda like the refrigerator only you're in the c-a-r!

A word of caution though. Don't ever mix McNuggets with a "Chew-ez" rawhide roll. Uuuuugggghhhhhh!

Mom says I did a technicolor yawn. Well, whatever, I yawned all over the car.

I was ready for more McNuggets after about five minutes though!

Corgi at work

Well, here I am at work again. Mom takes me with her 'most every Saturday she's working, and it's not too bad. Everybody here recognizes me for the adorable creature that I am, I get lots of neck scritches, pats, and am told how beautiful I am. I've been coming to work with mom ever since I moved in with her. It gets pretty boring sometimes, but at work and bored is better than not with mom.

Dad came by and took me on a break. I got to go to the park and eat goose poo, (mmm, mmm, good!) go swimming on my leash in the lake (lots deeper than I realized at first) and herd the geese and ducks. There's also a cave dad and I went a little way into - pretty cool. Dad's cool. He encourages me to do all sorts of things that mom says give her grey hair, which means dad is HEAPS of fun! But I sure am pooped after we have our adventures.

(Yawn) Gotta go tear my travel food dish apart right now, and I think I gotta "go", too. Better let mom know. Let's see, over to the door, a pitiful look and... WOOF!

Yup, that did the trick.

What a bummer!

Dang, dang, dang, dang, DANG.

Pardon my French.

I have a broken toe. Have been to the vet, she says nothing to do about it but wait until it gets well. Both she and my breeder say it's not an uncommon thing for active Corgi puppies to do and that it's relatively minor. Yay. It hurts and I don't frog dog (the flying squirrel pose) with both my back legs now. Just the one that doesn't hurt.

Mom and dad have curtailed my activity 'til I heal, too. Which really stinks. PLUS it's so durned hot outside, I don't wanna go anyway. Temperature yesterday was 102.

Yesterday I lay on the sofa and just grumbled.

I am so gypped.

At least I get my medicine in peanut butter every day...that's not so bad. Guess there are some perks to being crocked up.

Hey, was that the refrigerator door????

New way to beat the heat!

But I'm not sure I like it...

Usually I go wading in my own pool. It's purple and has pictures of beach balls on the bottom. I get my feet and my tummy wet, and that helps me cool off.

Well, yesterday mom and dad said, "It's time you went swimming!" I'm like, OK, whatever. So they pick me up and take me out of my fenced yard to their pool. (It doesn't have pictures of beach balls on the bottom.) Then, little by little, they lowered me into the water! Then, you know what happened? I SWAM LIKE A FISH. Well, maybe not a fish 'cause I was really careful to keep my nose above water, but point is, I Can Swim!

I don't mind the swimming part, even though it was a little scary at first. I have learned not to panic and that I won't drown. Trouble is, swimming gets you wet! When we went inside the house I INSISTED mom get out my hair dryer and dry me off P-R-O-N-T-O!

How to go swimming without getting wet... hmmm...

Maybe someone will invent dehydrated water sometime soon.

Oh well, I can dream.

He took it away!

I'm bored. It's still rainy, so that stinks, and it's hot, too. I'm BORED, I tell you! Tot hot to play outside, too wet to play outside. Inside is BORING.

Mom and dad took me to PetsMart yesterday, and of course, I got new toys, then dad took them away. I had this canvas type thingy toy and as soon as I got the trim pulled off it so the stuffings were easily accessable, DAD TOOK IT AWAY FROM ME!

He gave me my brand new cow toy (which is really cool because it "moos" when I chew it just right) the guess what he did???? In less than 10 minutes HE TOOK IT AWAY TOO!!! What gives??? As soon as I get my toys the way I want them (stuffing accessable and preferably coming out 3 or more holes I 've punched through) my people take them away!!!!!

What to deduce from this? I can't imagine. Maybe my folks think I have too much fiber in my diet.

Rain.

I HATE rain.

Of course, when you mix it with dirt you get mud, and that's always a good thing, BUT rain gets you wet in all the wrong places, AND it gets in your ears.

My family says Dennis is responsible for the rain. I didn't think that's how it worked, but whoever this Dennis guy is, I wish he'd come here, I'd bite him. Really I would.

My soccer ball is wet. So is my rubber frog. I get wet anytime I have to "go".

Come see me Dennis. Make my day.

Aha!

I have finally found the food I don't like.
Raw potatoes.
Yup.

Olives are good, and broccoli, and lettuce. Then there's green beans, corn, squash, cucumber, spiders, ladybugs, ants...SO much food, so little time...

But no raw potatoes for me, thank you.

July 4th!

This was my first ever Independence day, so I didn't know what to expect. Boy! Wish July 4th could come 10 or 12 times a year! But I don't think I could stand it more than that. Whew! I'm pooped!

It all started that morning, when the people started setting up to grill out. I supervised. Then I went for a bunch of R-I-D-E-S in the C-A-R. (They've just started spelling that. I can't imagine why.) Then it was food time, I supervised again, and there was plenty food. I had a whole hot dog weiner to myself! My people grandparents were here, and they gave me food, then we worked it all off by playing games - my supervision was required again, of course. Badminton, (mom said I wasn't supposed to eat the shuttlecock, "It's not THAT kind of birdie!" she said. Dad just laughed.) horseshoes,( no WAY was I going to try to catch one of those!) and soccer with MY brand new soccer ball! The soccer ball was bought 'specially for me and I can herd it anywhere I please!

Then, after it got dark, my family, minus the cats - they're so silly- all gathered round. I supervised some more. You never know when more food might be involved. Dad set things on fire and they went waaaaay up in the sky and made the biggest noise! Our neighbors were doing the same thing! It bugged me at first, but after I realized dad wasn't setting himself on fire, it was kinda fun and so I watched and barked when the neighbors cheered our rockets and barked when we cheered the neighbors' rockets. I kept waiting for more food to be brought out, but other than a few tiny, and I mean REALLY tiny bits for me, that was it. My family watched a movie, I think, while I snoozed. Then they put me to bed and I snoozed straight through the night 'til late in the morning.

I wonder if I'm really good, maybe we could have another Independence day in a week or two. Think I'd be up for it again by then.

Giant squirrel!

Last night a Giant Squirrel came up on the front porch.

I guess it was a squirrel, it had a big bushy tail - though it had rings on it's tail. And it had black around it's eyes like it was wearing a mask. Wait a minute, a mask! You don't suppose it was coming to steal my milk bones, do you?

Anyhow I barked and growled and scared it away. All the hair on my back stood up so I looked like I had a Corgi mowhawk. My milk bones are safe.

It had to be a squirrel, but it was HUGE! Maybe it's a squirrel on steroids. But squirrels don't play baseball, do they?

I'm a growing girl!

You know, I don't mind going to the vet. I don't remember much about my last trip, think I musta fell asleep. And when I woke up I had a little seam on my tummy! It was kinda wierd.

Anyhow, mom and I went to the vet today 'cause the cats and I are out of Frontline, and I like to travel so much. The vet said I'd better be weighed again to determine the proper dosage for me. I'm up to twenty five pounds! Mom said she hopes I don't get too much bigger 'cause "little girl Corgis aren't supposed to be elephants." Dunno what an elephant is. Mom says I'd eat as much as an elephant if I were allowed to. Maybe Corgi is the Welsh word for elephant.

Success!

I had to edit my list of pet-peeves. I did list one of them as being the fact that the bed is too high for me to get on by myself. Hee hee! Not anymore!!!! Now, the getting down part...

June 26 '05

Went to the "Flea Market" with mom and grandma. Not exactly sure what that's all about. I don't have any fleas to sell. From what I could tell nobody else did, either, which was probably a good thing. Mom says fleas markets are usually really cool though, so I have a feeling this will become a habit with us.

June 24, '05

MY PEOPLE LEFT ME YESTERDAY!!!
Well, yeah, they came back today... but STILL!
I had never spent the night with neither my human mom or dad in the house before. Last night Grandma stayed with me. Don't get me wrong, I really love her, but where were mommy and daddy? I'm glad they didn't smell like strange dogs when they came back - I hate it when that happens. At least I got a new toy out of it - a stuffed John Deere tractor! I tried to act like I was mad at them but then mommy showed me how to make my tractor squeak and I forgot to be mad for a while. In fact, I totally forgave them and in my haste to be friends again even offered mom my rawhide chew. She thanked me and for a minute I thought she was going to chew it. She did make chewing noises, but I think she was just pretending. Whew. That was a close one.