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Good golly, Miss Molly!

Separation Anxiety

Amy is sooooo mean! She got out the evil box with wheels a while ago and disappeared for days and days and days. (She says she was gone for a week, but that must have been human days because it sure felt longer than that!) She came back with all kinds of strange smells...including other puppies. She said something about cousins and petsitting, whatever that means. All I know was she was gone. Boo!

Then she came home and we snuggled and snuggled. (I'm really good at making her feel guilty to squeeze some extra love and treats out of her.) But not long after we snuggled, she got out the evil box with wheels AGAIN! What was she trying to do to me???

She filled it with stuff, but it didn't go anywhere right away. I knew something was up, though, because she was being extra lovey and snuggly. When she left, I was so mad I wouldn't even talk to her. I hid in mommy's computer room and sulked.

When she came home, she brought me a present -- a tube! It had all kinds of neat smells, but I tried to play it cool and pretend I wasn't all that interested. She also brought home a frisbee, but it doesn't fly very well, so it's not that much fun. And when I did try to play with it, my annoying little brother Kruk kept trying to butt in on the action. Amy had to put it away so he wouldn't destroy it.

She says she's done traveling for now, and she'd better be, because if I see that evil box with wheels again, I'm gonna be pissed!

It's a hard dog life

Man, what a weekend! After last weekend's doggie swim, Amy decided my toenails needed cut, and if I've said it once, I've said it a thousand times -- I HATE HAVING MY TOENAILS CUT! I don't know, maybe it stems from the time when I broke my leg, but I DO NOT like having my feet touched.

When Amy corners me, though, I have no choice. The only good thing about it is I get lots of yummies for it. This time I got even more because Amy cut one of my back nails too short and made me bleed!!! (And she wonders why I don't like having this done) She apologized lots and lots and gave me yummies and belly rubs while it stopped bleeding, but don't think I won't remember this next time she comes at me with those clippers.

Then, after that, my stupid little brother Kruk tried to join Amy in the shower, and she decided that while he was in there, she might as well give him a bath. Since she was on a roll, she gave the rest of us one too. Thanks a lot Kruk! At least she got all the soap off me the first time and didn't have to put me back in the tub after she started drying me off (poor Reggie and Tanner). And I did get another yummy for that, so maybe baths aren't all bad.

All I know is after that I definitely needed a nap. It's hard being a dog sometimes!

Confessions of a water-phobic black lab

OK, I know labs are supposed to like the water, but what can I say? It's big, it's deep and it can be VERY SCARY! I can tolerate bathtubs, but give me good solid ground anyday. Besides, you can never see anything in lakes and rivers -- how do you know what you're stepping in or how deep it is?

Anyway, last weekend, Amy decided to take me swimming. One of our local pools has a doggie day at the end of the summer, and she was convinced that if I could see through the water, I would like it. (I wasn't.)

We got to the pool and there were probably 20 or 30 other doggies of all sizes already there. I saw lots of other labs chasing toys and frolicking in the water (which didn't bode well for me), and there were little dogs playing, too.

We started out in the baby pool. I wasn't too sure about it at first, and Amy had to pull me in, but after that I felt kind of silly. I mean, the water didn't even come up to my belly. It was no deeper than the bathtub at home. I played there for a while, chasing water ripples and just getting used to everything.

Then Amy tried to take me to the big pool.

The steps weren't so bad, but when she tried to get me off of them, I was like, "You want me to do what?!?" I successfully petitioned to stay on the steps for a little while longer (long toenails can be helpful that way), but Amy was persistant. She had me on a retractable leash, and she let me stay on the steps but kept backing farther and farther away from me. Finally, I bit the bullet and swam out to her. And you know what? It was kind of fun!

Don't get me wrong, I haven't suddenly turned into a river rat, but we swam back and forth across the shallow end several times that afternoon. (It helped once I figured out I could stand up at the edge and take a rest break.)

Who knows? Maybe next year, I'll even be brave enough to swim out and fetch toys like some of the other labs were doing!