Happy Holidays

Happy Holidays to all my friends both new and old!

I wish for you....

Comfort on difficult days,

Smiles when sadness intrudes,

Rainbows to follow the clouds,

Laughter to kiss your lips,

Sunsets to warm your heart,

Gentle hugs when spirits sag,

Friendships to brighten your being,

Beauty for your eyes to see,

Confidence for when you doubt,

Faith so that you can believe,

Courage to know yourself,

Patience to accept the truth,

Places to go but not have to be there,

A child's contagious laughter,

Work that fullfills you,

And peace

Birthdays are not for being bit!

Its my birthday and mommy took me for my first visit ever to the Dog Park
At first I was a bit scared! Then this awsome dude named Oscar came. Whoa! He looked just like Bella, except he was like a hundred feet tall! Mom said he was a standard, whatever!!! All I know is that he was big, handsome and fun!!! We ran around like we were old pals!
Bella was afraidy pup! BOL! Every time I ran past her I made sure to laugh at her!
Then these other pups came and Oscar showed me how to bark at them...cause we were here first! Then we ran over and sniffed their butts! I did not like that part at all...stinky! Then some more dogs came in the park and I kind of got scared again, cause they were barking really loud. Oscar came over and told me to wait by my mommy, so I did. All of the big dogs started barking and growling and jumping on top of each other. It looked like so much fun but I was afraid I might get squished!
Finally it was time to go home. Mommy scooped me up in her arms and told me what a brave girl I was. She walked to the enter gate and there was a small puffy dog, who started jumping all over my Mommy. Mom bent down to pet the puff dog and then this grown up woman said it was her dog and she just adopted it. She said it was agressive with other dogs and then it happened!!! That dog jumped up as mommy bent down and bit me! I screamed and Mommy was checking me all over to see if I was hurt. That bully puff only bruised me though! Then mommy told that grown lady that she should not have her doggy in a dog park if that dog was agressive! Then that bad mommy started yelling at my mommy! Then my mommy's sister walked over and...well, I am not allowed to use those words but she did tell that bad mommy that she better never raise her voice at my mommy again and some other stuff too!

After all that...Mommy took me to the toy store and I got 2 stuffies and the most awsome water fountain! I love running water and this makes my water always run. Like a Waterfall! So cool!

Finally we came home and had turkey burgers and doggy cookies!

This sure was a great birthday! Well, minus being bit...BOL

Listen to the Mustnts

My sister and I decided to share our favorite poems with all of Dogster today. We love Shel Silverstien, his poems can touch your heart in places you did not even know exisisted before.

This one is mine and my sisters favorite! She recites to me this poem whenever I am feeling like: I can't do it, I am ready to quit, the world is on my shoulders and when others try to hurt me.

I hope you enjoy this poem as much as I do!

from the book "Where the Sidewalk Ends" (1974)


Listen to the MUSTN'TS, child,
Listen to the DON'TS
Listen to the SHOULDN'TS
The IMPOSSIBLES, the WON'TS
Listen to the NEVER HAVES.
Then listen close to me -
Anything can happen, child,
ANYTHING can be.

In honor of all the Impy's, Tata's, Samantha's, and Mini's- in the world!

I AM YOUR DOG

I am your dog, and I have a little something I'd like
to whisper in your ear. I know that you humans lead busy lives. Some have
to work, some have children to raise. It always seems like you are
running here and there, often much too fast, often never noticing the truly
grand things in life. Look down at me now, while you sit there at your
computer. See the way my dark brown eyes look at yours? They are slightly cloudy now. That comes with age. The gray hairs are beginning to ring my soft muzzle.

You smile at me; I see love in your eyes. What do you see in mine? Do you see a spirit? A soul inside, who loves you as no other could in the world? A spirit that would forgive all trespasses of prior wrong doing for just a simple moment of your time? That is all I ask. To slow down, if even for a few minutes to be with me. So many times you have been saddened by the words you read on that screen, of other of my kind, passing. Sometimes we die young and oh so quickly, sometimes so suddenly it wrenches your heart out of your throat. Sometimes, we age so slowly before your eyes that you may not even seem to know until the very end, when we look at you with grizzled muzzles and cataract clouded eyes. Still the love is always there, even when we must take that long sleep, to run free in a distant land.

I may not be here tomorrow; I may not be here next week. Someday you will shed the water from your eyes, that humans have when deep grief fills their souls, and you will be angry at yourself that you did not have just "One more day" with me. Because I love you so, your sorrow touches my spirit and grieves me. We have NOW, together. So come, sit down here next to me on the floor, and look deep into my eyes. What do you see? If you look hard and deep enough we will talk, you and I, heart to heart. Come to me not as "alpha" or as "trainer" or even "Mom or Dad," come to me as a living soul and stroke my fur and let us look deep into one another's eyes, and talk.

I may tell you something about the fun of chasing a tennis ball, or I may tell you something profound about myself, or even life in general. You decided to have me in your life because you wanted a soul to share such things with. Someone very different from you, and here I am. I am a dog, but I am alive. I feel emotion, I feel physical senses, and I can revel in the differences of our spirits and souls. I do not think of you as a "Dog on two feet" -- I know what you are. You are human, in all your quirkiness, and I love you still.

Now, come sit with me, on the floor. Enter my world, and let time slow down if only for 15 minutes. Look deep into my eyes, and whisper to my ears. Speak with your heart, with your joy and I will know your true self. We may not have tomorrow, and life is oh so very short.

--Love, (on behalf of canines everywhere)
Author Unknown

*Thank You Impy's Mommy for sending us this beautiful reminder

Gum Drops

I figured out if you bug your mommy while she is trying to do her school work, she will give you a gum drop! Now this is really still in the testing stage but, I do believe that I might be right!
I love gum drops! But...they do tend to get stuck in my teeth and for some reason that seems to be very amusing to my mommy and her sister! Oh well, I dont mind being the source of their smiles and bonus gum drops to boot!

*Note to self* Do not teach Bella this trick. It is hard enough getting a yummy when she is around and now that I figured this out, I am keeping it to myself

Ouch!

Today, I got my paw-slapped!
Today, I learned how to spell heroes, heros, he rows?
Today, I found out that pups may not like me...just because
Today, I learned that it only matters that I like myself
Today, I found out that I am not afraid to stand up to a bully.
Today, I learned that I need to think before I hit "post"
Today, I met a nice man named John Vars
Today, I told Dogster that my sister is my hero
Today, I learned that there are more nice pups, then bullies
Today was a long day and now I will go to sleep and dream about tomorrow.

Greenies!!!

The popular dog treat sold under the name “Greenies” is the subject of a lawsuit filed November 30, 2005, with the Supreme Court of the State of New York. The complaint contends that the product, manufactured by Missouri-based S&M NuTec, is unsafe, inadequately labeled, and ultimately caused the death of the plaintiff’s 4-year old dog, named Burt.



S&M NuTec has made claims that Greenies are “highly digestible,” and the product comes with packaging statements such as “100% edible” and “veterinarian approved!” Given these claims, the plaintiffs were stunned by the cause of death of their family member Burt, a rescued Miniature Dachshund. Burt died this summer after an undigested portion of a Greenies dog treat became lodged in his intestinal tract. In an attempt to save his life, Burt underwent emergency surgery that resulted in the removal of over 3 feet of dead intestinal tissue along with the cause of the obstruction: an undigested piece of a Greenie. Despite the necessary surgical procedure, Burt died 48 hours after the surgery with the plaintiff’s, Ms. Jennifer Reiff and Mr. Michael Eastwood, by his side.



Billed by S&M NuTec, as a way to “promote healthy teeth and gums,” Greenies are an enormously popular dog treat sold by most pet supply stores. The plaintiff’s have prepared the following statement:



“Our dog didn’t choke to death on the product. He died from it not digesting and obstructing his intestines. We followed their instructions. Burt was always supervised and he always chewed his Greenies well. Yet he died a painful, horrible death. We believe that S&M NuTec chooses to blame the dogs or their owners instead of taking responsibility. Many owners have come forward and shared their similar experiences, leading us to believe that the company is very much aware of the problem.“




Ms. Reiff and Mr. Eastwood allege the “benefits” of Greenies do not outweigh the risks associated with the product. The indigestibility of Greenies is a defect, and had the manufacturer adequately warned of its dangers, the couple would not have provided the treat to Burt, thereby avoiding the cause of his death.



Their attorney, Alan Sash, partner at New York law firm McLaughlin Stern, represents the plaintiffs. The lawsuit seeks damages to be determined at trial for each of the 4 Causes of Action which include: Design Defect and Failure to Warn (Strict Products Liability), Breach of Express Warranty, Negligence and punitive damages in excess of 5 million dollars.



Please visit www.burtscause.com to download a PDF of the filed complaint and other relevant information. For more information, contact The Romeo Group, Inc., at 212-362-5930, or contact the law firm of McLaughlin Stern, 212-448-1100

Veterans Day

Let's all remember to say "thank you" to every one we meet in uniform.

The Soldier

IT IS THE SOLDIER, NOT THE REPORTER, WHO HAS GIVEN US FREEDOM OF THE PRESS.

IT IS THE SOLDIER, NOT THE POET, WHO HAS GIVEN US FREEDOM OF SPEECH.

IT IS THE SOLDIER, NOT THE ORGANIZER, WHO HAS GIVEN US THE FREEDOM TO DEMONSTRATE.

IT IS THE SOLDIER, WHO SALUTES THE FLAG, WHO SERVES BENEATH THE FLAG,

AND WHOSE COFFIN IS DRAPED BY THE FLAG, WHO ALLOWS THE PROTESTER TO BURN THE FLAG.

Sobering Thought.............

This beautiful tribute was written by Father Denis Edward O'Brien M.M. USMC.

Just Words?

Have you ever said something that later you regretted saying? Well I did! I replied to a post in the forums and somehow I think I might have hurt somebody's feelings. I feel awful! I sent them a pawmail and I do hope they read it and understand that I am very sorry if I said something to upset them. I even tried to explain myself in a different post, but it seems that my first post has already started a rukas. I guess I will wait and see if they respond to my pawmail and hope that they understand.

Words of wisdom from a tiny poodle: Don't ever be hasty with your words, they can cut deeper then any knife.

Rare Breed

I am sure you all have heard the rumors about a bad haircut but I am here to set the story straight! I did not get a bad haircut...no, the stories were all rumors...not true at all.

The truth is that I am a very rare exotic hairless poodle!

and that my fellow doggies is my story and I am sticking to it!