An Ode to Mississippi

I have many friends here on Dogster, yes that is true. But few of them are as wonderful as a Dog Mississippi. Let me name the reasons why I love Mississippi the Dog.

Her name. I mean, really. Having a name that is also a state and a river is pretty cool. Even though Miss's Dogster page says she's only 3 years old, I'm quite certain both the state and the river are named after her.

Her fluff. What's not to love about fluffy dogs? I've never met her in person, but if I did, I would wrap my teeth around her neck fluff and nibble oh so gently, and she would love it.

She's been lure coursing. That's just super cool.

She is a rare breed: the Russian Muttchka. Don't even bother looking it up. She's the only one. I could tell you about her long and noble ancestry, but then I'd have to kill you.

She is titled in traditional obedience and rally-o, she's an amazing freestylist, she's a dock dog, gun dog, agility queen, and therapy dog. At least in my mind, she is.

She is fun, sweet, thoughtful, sensitive, and caring. She loves to swim and any dog who loves to swim is a friend of mine.

She knows what is good for dogs (...and part 2).

But, most of all, she's a good friend. A friend who would help you out no matter what you need. A friend who would go to the end of the earth for you. A friend who always has something nice to say. A friend who can always see your side of things even if she may not agree. A friend who would share her raw bone with you. A friend who would give you the coziest spot on the couch. A friend who would lend you her Snuggie.

And so, I will close this very important diary entry with an original Haiku in honor of my friend, Mississippi.

Mississippi dog
you run fast and love deeply
you are a treasure

I love you, Miss! Thank you for being you.

Mastering the Doggie Door

I have been wanting a dog door for years. When we moved to our current house (nearly 2 years ago, now), Mom started thinking about it. We live in a safe neighborhood, we have a very secure fence and we know many of our neighbors quite well. So, after some weighing of the risks and benefits, Mom finally decided to get me one. Yay!

It only took me a couple tries to master the going in and out. It was scary at first, but food makes everything better and Mom trains with food. So, I got it pretty quickly. :)

Once I started using the door regularly, I began to notice a pattern. This is the way things would go:

I notice squirrels in the backyard.
I quitely slip through the doggie door.
The flap of the door makes a swishing sound as it closes.
Swishing sound startles the squirrels and gives them a heads up that I am coming.
I run after the squirrels, but do not catch any.

So, after thinking long and hard, I have a new approach:

I notice squirrels in the backyard.
I quitely slip through the doggie door.
The flap of the door makes a swishing sound as it closes.
Swishing sound startles the squirrels and gives them a heads up that I am coming.
I do not immediately chase, but instead play it cool on the back deck for a while.
Sometimes, I will even sit or lay down and avert my eyes as if I'm simply enjoying the day and not stalking squirrels.
The squirrels will slowly come back down from their hiding places and venture back to the bird feeders (ie. lures) in the middle of the yard.
I quitely wait until they are focused on eating.
Then, I slowly and cautiously prepare my muscles for the attack. Without a moments notice, I spring off the deck and start the chase.

This new approach has drastically increased my chances of actually catching wildlife. I haven't nailed one yet, but it's really only a matter of time.

The Great Mouser has Spoken.

Mice are dumb. If you are a mouse, you should not come out of hiding when humans are vacuuming out the shed. And, if you do come out of hiding, you should not just casually walk around as if you do not know that I am the Great Mouser. If you do that, you will be killed. And your brother, too.

A Letter to Mom

Dear Mom,

Sometimes you feed me apples, and I'm thankful for that. I love apples. But, if you feed me apples, which I enjoy eating, don't blame me if I remove a very realistic apple ornament from the Christmas tree and try to eat it. I was really confused. I suppose the good news, though, is that I did not in fact actually eat it. I just ruined it, scattered it around the living room, and grinded it into the carpet.

As for the red dye that stained the carpet, for that I am sorry.

Blakey

For My Anonymous Rosette Giver

Dear Mister/Misses Anonymous Rosette Giver,

You are too kind. I am so excited to hear from you!! I promise to watch the mailbox all day, every day except during the times that I am napping, eating, on a walk with my Mom, playing with my brother, sniffing around the back yard, at a friend's house wrestling or simply otherwise engaged. I was afraid that my loud, viscious bark and frightening tail wag may have scared the postman away, but I saw him just this morning, so all hope is not lost.

Until I can thank you properly, this diary entry will have to do.

Your buddy,

Blake

My first Pets on Wheels Visit

I did it! On Saturday afternoon, Mom and I went on our first visit as a Pets on Wheels team. It was great fun! We went to an assisted living facility about 3 miles from our house. When we got there, I discovered that a black Lab named Toby lives there. That was rather unexpected, since Mom had really only told me about going to visit humans. Toby is 12 years old and very grey. We greeted each other, and then he went back to guarding the front door, as I toured the facility.

The place was really nice. It reminded me and mom of a hotel. There was a large lobby downstairs where residents were hanging out, watching tv and chatting, and then there were 2 floors upstairs with suites. First, we introduced ourselves to several people in the lobby area. Most of the folks I met were in chairs with wheels on them. I usually like to come up to someone who is sitting from the front and lay my head in the middle of their lap, but these wheeled chairs made that difficult- the peoples' legs were kind of in my way. So, I learned right away to come at the people from the side. I could fit my head under their arm rest really easily, and then lay it on their lap. Mom was very proud of me for figuring this out. I tried to explain to her that my sole motivation was acquiring the best petting angle for my subjects, but she chalked it up to me being considerate of the residents. BOL!

I also met some people who were walking around with these strange things in front of them. Mom called them walkers. They looked strange, but it turns out that they are harmless. I sniffed the first one I saw thoroughly, and I promise- they mean no harm.

After we toured the lobby, we got onto the elevator to go upstairs. Just like we practiced in TD/CGC prep class, Mom and I walked into the elevator, turned around and sat (well, I sat and Mom stood!). Mom had to give me the verbal and hand command for sit the first time. A little later, we went up to the second floor. This time, mom only gave me the hand signal for sit. When it was time to come back down, we got onto the elevator one last time. By the time Mom was done pushing the button to make the elevator go down, I was already sitting and waiting patiently. I could see the pride glowing from Mom's eyes. :)

It turns out that out first visit was a sort of Final Evaluation for me and Mom. The director of the program had accompanied us and was watching to make sure we were both cut out for the job. The good news is that we passed, and we are cleared to go visiting the assisted living facility anytime we want! I am really excited and so far I love the job. I mean, what could be better than being the center of attention and bringing joy to other people's lives in the process?!

Running's alright...I guess

My mom is a runner. She likes to run for a long time without stopping. And, in a straight line.

I'm a runner, too. But, I like to zig zag when I run, which is preferably in the woods. Oh, and I like to stop and sniff and then run some more. Mom tries to take me on her long, straight runs, but I don't usually cooperate.

Yesterday, I saw Mom putting on her running shoes and her special watch. Then, she grabbed my leash. "Wanna come with?" she said. "Sure!" I wagged.

Usually, I only enjoy the first 1/2 mile or so of a run with Mom, and then I lag behind at the end of my leash. But, not yesterday. The air was cool and fresh, and I was really in the mood to run. I kept up with Mom stride for stride and ran right next to her the whole entire time. On a couple of downhills, I even encouraged her to speed up quite a bit. It was a great run, and I crashed out on the couch for the whole rest of the evening because I was so tired. I guess running with Mom isn't too bad. Errr, I mean- until I change my mind, that is.

Goat brains

Dear Mom,

I do not like goat brains. Please do not feed them to me ever, ever again.

Love,

Blake

I know where you went last night

Sure, we had a nice day yesterday. We played outside in the back yard in the morning. Then, in the middle of the day, grandma and granddaddy came over with the human cousins. We played and played in the yard, and the kids just generally entertained me.

But, that does not give you the right, Mom, to go to Duncan and Zoey's house without me. Around dinner time, you and Colin left saying, "We'll be right back." Well, I fell asleep waiting for you. And, then when you do finally come home, you were covered in the smells of my 2 best friends. I sniffed you thoroughly when you got home. I know you were there. How is that fair? You say you went to see the humans and the new baby that lives at their house, but I know you really went to see them. And that you played with them and petted them. And without me. How rude.

I'm a Pets On Wheels dog now!

I knew something was up immediately. Mom got home from work and straight away took me out for a walk. We did our usual walk. Then, we did this other walk she'll sometimes add on to the end when she wants to go for a really long walk. Then, she added on another part that we rarely do to make it even longer. Then, we finally headed home. But, not really home- to the neighbor's house. THEN, the neighbor and her dog, Harley, came out and we walked some more. Altogether, we walked for almost 2 hours. Boy was I tired of walking.

After such a long walk, all I really wanted was dinner and my bed. But, then I noticed mom started getting out some of my supplies. She got out our treat bag, her waist leash, and my halti. All of these things pointed to me and her going somewhere really fun and exciting. Maybe school again? I wasn't sure just yet. So, I was ready to head out, but before we left she gave me a pedicure. She said she wanted my nails to be nice and short for the evaluation. "Evaluation? " I thought.

It was only a short drive to the building. It was a nice building- smelled okay. Not like the vets or anything. My first test was the automatic doors. They didn't phase me. They opened, and I walked through like a champ. I was immediately greeted by an overweight and out of control Golden. I listened to mom and focused on her and sat when she asked. (She had pork chop scraps in her pocket, and I knew it!) Once I got past the Golden, we got into a pretty boring room and the humans talked for like forever. Mom had brought a mat for me, so I laid down through most of the talking. (Thank goodness I learned "go to mat" in CGC prep class!) I was really good. It was just me, the Golden, and a chi. After the talking was finally over, we went into another room for our Evaluation. That consisted of a lot more talking. Finally, the friendly stranger called me over to her. I was very excited to finally get to meet someone. I was wondering why mom even brought me. All I had done was sit and lay down the whole time! Anyway, so the stranger was really nice. She petted me, she hugged around my neck and body, she tickled my belly and looked at my feet, ears and mouth. She even tugged my tail! I loved her. Then, once she was done, mom asked me to lay down again. I calmed down right away and the humans talked some more.

And, that was basically it! I passed my evaluation, whatever that means. And, once we get a letter from my vet saying I'm healthy, I'll be able to go to special homes and visit people. Man, I shoulda' started this years ago. I love being the center of attention. That is definitely the job for me.