Wow, I woke up to the smell of chicken livers cooking-Happy- Birthday, ME!

Wow, I woke up to the smell of chicken livers cooking on top of the stove-this is going to be a REALLY good day! Mom told me yesterday that it was going to me MY special day again soon but it's got to be today!

I'm offically 5 yrs old today because this is the anniversary of my "Gotcha-Day"-best day of my life! Mom came and took me away from that awful concrete and wire place where I was in a special building for dogs that went out for a walk and never came back . Well, that's all in the past! Life has been really good for the last four years and this year, too, except I can't see too well anymore.

When I almost walked off a 20' pier, Mom took me to a doggie eye doctor who said I have PRA and I got it from my doggie parents. It doesn't hurt but it's not going to get better and soon, I won't be able to see at all. So Mom and I have been going for lots of walks in my all favorite places so I will remember where I am when I can't see them anymore. Howi walks outside in the backyard with me and waits for me to come back in at night. Guess he is my guide cat.

I am a lucky dog because I have a family that loves me and a great home with lots of beds and good food-oh yeah, about those Chicken Livers, are they ready yet?

Spring is in the Air!--and I have the Itchies!

I can't help it. The minute I stick my nose out the door, my tail starts itching. I have been to the vet and I have to get another short haircut and take more allergy meds. But they only work for a little while. Mom gives me baths in Oatmeal, Aloe and Selsun Blue. It only feels good for a day or two and then the sores start itching again.

Mom says I'm too big for a litter box but the as soon as my feet hit the walkway, I sit down and itch-even before I go on the grass. Then I quickly do my business and run back into the house like there is something chasing me. Too late! The itchies caught me-again!

CHOPPED LIVER BIRTHDAY CAKE!-WOOHOO!

Today, Mom says I'm an extraspecial pup because it is my 3rd Birthday and I'm in the Dogster Birthday stroll. Mom is cooking me a Chopped Chicken Liver BIRTHDAY CAKE-special for me. I'm gonna share it with Howi and Cosmo, too, because they shared their special tunafish and gifiltefish cakes with me! This is only my second birthday with Mom. Only good things have happened to me since I came to live here and I'm finally trusting that I have a forever home here. The only sad times are when Mom leaves me to go visit "Baby Eve" or "Baby Rachel", then somebody else comes to stay with me or I go to visit their house while she is gone.

I have made lots of neighbor friends this year- Sweetie the dog next door who didn't like me because she thought I was like another Zoya but now she knows different and we are buddies. Sam is the Corgi puppy on the other side of my fence and he's a real cutie. One of these days, he's going to dig under the fence and come over, lol. I am also friends with Tramp, a schnauzer and Toasty, a chi-rat terrier mix on the next block. Also, Sushi, a hairy little mix and her new Golden Retriever brother, Baxter, two houses down always stop to sniff and visit on their walks but we haven't gotten to play yet. Missy, who lives across the street, comes down to the end of her driveway and waits for me to come out too. I made lots of doggie friends this year! I'm a Lucky Dog, Lucky Dog, Lucky Dog.....

I HAVE A PET CHEF!

One of these days, Mom's going to have her own TV Show called Pet Chef! She makes the best dinners for me. Tonight was Spinach Noodles and Organic Chicken, yesterday was Brown Rice, mixed veggies and organic chicken, for breakfast I had Oatmeal with Cinnamon and organic applesauce. Yummy! The best thing that happened to me was the ITCHIES! I have both airborne and food allergies and have been eating Natural Balance Duck & Potato kibble, canned food and biscuits for over a year. Now even that gives me the Itchies. Then the Pet Food Crisis happened and Mom doesn't trust any of the Pet Food Manufacturers right now. She even took away Cosmo and Howi's Fancy Feast and Purina kibble! They got Bumblebee Tunafish today-no complaints there either! So me and my kitty-sibs have our own Pet Chef and we are savoring the good life!

Latkes and Applesauce-fooey! I want a tree in the- house......

OK, when we go for a walk, I see all the neighbors have trees INSIDE their houses. I want one of those good smellin' trees in my house too! Mom says I get to have latkes and applesauce this week. Hmmpft-I want a tree too. Mom says I get to have presents every night and, tonight ,I get a special stuffed funny looking ball-like thing with a rope on it-she called it a dreidel-well, now maybe presents every night won't be so bad. Especially since she got me special cookies, too. And latkes do taste like giant french fries......

Late last night we went for a long walk around the neighborhood. There were strange critters on all the neighbors lawns. Some of them were trapped inside big balls that went "whoosh" and other had just their bones showing! Mom let me walk in the middle of the street because I didn't want to go anywhere near them. I hope they go away soon.....

What Happened to the Turkey???

I missed Thanksgiving-all I got was turkey dog food! Mom was away and left us home. This time with a nice young woman who took me for such long walks that I was pooped all night! She was very nice but she didn't stay here at night like she was supposed to do. She would go home to her house and then come back in the morning. The lady next door ratted her out. But Howi and I liked her a lot so I hope Mom gives her another chance. Howi got locked outside and got into a fight with that mean Oreo cat across the street-Howi got a bad bite on the chin but you should've seen the other cat-he won't be coming in our yard anymore! Mom said she was only going to be gone for a few days but Lisa had a " baby Rachel" on Thanksgiving instead of a Turkey so Mom decided to stay longer. I wonder if a "Baby Rachel" is something like a "Baby Eve"?

Halloween-the Sequel

Last year, Mom got me this really cute bandana with pumpkins all over it and I really liked it and everybody told me how cute I was. Mom kept looking out the window but nobody came to visit us that night.
This year, Mom got me this stupid pointy hat with green curly hair and put it on my head and tried to strangle me with a rubber band thing to keep it on. No way! Finally, she just put it on top of my head and said "stay" so I did-just long enough for her to take the dumb picture. At least, she didn't put it in a frame on the cocktail table for everybody to see. A bunch of kids came this year-they were dressed up pretty funny and I didn't know any of them but I had fun greeting them whenever Mom opened the door. This year, I was the one looking out the window and letting Mom know when the kids were walking up the driveway. Who knew?-I'm a watchdog!

PUTTIN ON THE RITZ WITH BABY EVE

Last week, Mom was all excited because Baby Eve was coming to visit. Howi, Cosmo and I knew something was up because Mom set up that little bed and stroller thing and shut the guest bedroom door like she did last time they came to visit. Baby Eve's mom had a medical conference in town and my Mom picked them up at the airport and brought them to our house. Well, Baby Eve got bigger but she smelled the same and ,this time, she made nice noises at me but I do not know what she was saying. Then, she gave me the cookie she was eating-actually, she sort of dropped it right next to me so she must of meant for me to eat it-yum! Mom, Susan and Baby Eve left in the afternoon and Mom came home alone late at night. After a few days of leaving me home ALL DAY- Mom put on my good leash and collar, brushed me up and said : Come on, Annie, this will be fun!

OMD, we went in the car to this fancy big place and a man with a white coat and hat opened the door to the car, grabbed my leash said "Welcome to the Ritz, Annie" How did he know my name??? Then, he opened the door to go into this huge living room with couches and chairs and soft rugs but Mom led me right into one of those magic little rooms and, when the doors opened, we were in a hall with lots of closed doors! Ok, so we picked one and went into a big bedroom with an outside porch. Whoa! We were way high up over the trees. Guess who else was there? Baby Eve and her mom-so this must be where they live! Baby Eve was sitting on the floor playing with some toys so I sat down next to her. I laid down all the way because I didn't want her to be scared of me since I was bigger than she was sitting up. I do this when I meet little dogs that I want to be friends with, too. Then, I licked her cute little toes and she smiled and said "Ahh-ahh" and stroked my paws. She moves around a lot but she can not go very far. She does not stay sitting up very well either, sort of keeps falling over and then can not get back up. She does not seem to care and just reaches for one of her chewing toys-she has a lot of them. I have chewing toys too. Maybe next time she visits we can share!

AUGUST IS MY LUCKY MONTH!

OMD! I can't believe that I won something else- I voted for my Dogster pal, Jake, in their contest and, today, I got an email from the Savory Dog Pet Food Seasoning people that I was one of the 50 dogs that won some Savory Dog Pet Food Seasoning! Mom asked them to send me Chrispy Bacon flavor to jazz up my kibble. Sounds yummy to me! I'm a Lucky dog, lucky dog, lucky dog....Maybe Mom should get a lottery ticket using my birthday numbers, hmmmm

IT'S MY BIRTHDAY! IT'S MY BIRTHDAY!

Today is the DAY! I never had a birthday before but Mom says it's a really really special day! I'm Officially 2 yrs old today. One year ago, Mom brought me home from that awful place with the big rusty cage and just a cement floor to sleep on. I was so relieved to be out of there that I slept on the back seat of the car all the way home. Everything got even better after that. I have a wonderful home with my best friend, Howi, and Cosmo's not so bad now that she knows I won't hurt her but she still won't play with me-maybe next year. Even the cockatiels don't scream ZOYA(which is birdtalk for" Danger!") at me anymore when I walk by their cages. Mom is making me a chopped liver Birthday Cake even bigger than the one she made for Howi last Spring for his birthday. Then, later in the day, Mommy and I are going to Brewster's for ice cream sundaes-mine has dog bones in it! I'm a lucky dog, lucky dog, lucky dog....