A visit to the vets and the Carnaval de Québec

It's been a long time since I wrote in my diary but I just had an exciting few weeks, so I thought it's about time I wrote a new entry. First of all, I had a bit of an accident at the dog park and managed to slice one of my ears open on the fence... there was blood everywhere!! It wouldn't stop for ages... I was OK but my mom and dad were panicking a bit. They tried to clean me up in the tub but as soon as I got out I had a bit of a shake... well, what was I supposed to do? I splattered blood all over the bathroom walls and ceiling... it looked like a crime scene! I went to see the vet and she said that because of where the cut was, sutures wouldn't stay in, so she SUPERGLUED my ear back together! The really bad thing was I had to wear one of those horrible collars that looks like a lampshade. I was supposed to wear it for 7 days, but I got away with just 5 days in the end. It was snowy out and every time I went for a walk, I ploughed and ended up with a big snowball inside my collar.

The following week my parents took me on a big adventure in the car. We drove for hours and hours, went over the border to Canada (where I had to show my doggie passport) and ended up in the city of Québec where they were having a big winter carnival. My mom got me a special winter outfit of a fleece coat and boots so I wouldn't get too cold in all the snow – I got lots of attention and admiring looks when I wore it. People were even stopping me so they could take photos of me. I met a new friend, another beagle named Walter, who lives in Québec. He speaks french, but we got along fine: I think we might be bow-lingual.

Helping the Animals

Mom and I have signed up to do a sponsored walk in June, to raise money for our local animal shelter, the Potter League. I'm a former pound puppy myself – I didn't come from the Potter League, but I've visited there many times for obedience classes and fun events, and my mom used to volunteer there, so I know it's a really good place. Now I live in a nice, loving home, I think it's only fair that I do what I can to help the other poor animals who aren't as fortunate as myself. I'm quite excited about the walk... it's 3 miles long, so mom and dad have been increasing my daily walks a little bit to get me in training for it, which is great! I've also been set up with my own web page where my supporters can donate money and track my progress. Check it out:
www.firstgiving.com/walterheaton

Mackenzie

I'm very sad because my friend Mackenzie just died. She lived nextdoor to me, and we used to talk to each other through the fence or meet on our walks. She's been ill for a while and I've not seen her for a few weeks. My mom and dad just told me that she died this afternoon. Her mom is really sad, Mackenzie was her first ever dog. I'll be sure to give her extra kisses next time I see her, just to let her know that I understand and that I miss Mackenzie too.

Skunked again

We've been having an unwelcome visitor recently... a skunk! I got sprayed a couple of weeks ago and my mom and dad weren't very happy... I had to have a really long bath, and then they wouldn't let me on the bed or the furniture and they wouldn't cuddle with me. One night last week, when the smell had just faded to a point where I was getting kisses and cuddles again, I went out in my yard for my bedtime pee and who was standing right there in the middle of the lawn? That damn skunk! I let him know he wasn't welcome in my yard - I told him good. GGGRRRRRRR!!! I was barking and baying as loud as I could, just inches away from him. He tried to spray me a few times, but I was too fast for him - I was ducking and dodging the worst of it. When I thought he must have run out of ammo, I moved in and got him by his neck and gave him a real good shaking, like I do with my toy skunk, then I hurled him over my shoulder and he landed on his back, miles away. I thought I'd seen him off, but after a while he got up and waddled away towards the fence. I wasn't going to let him get away, so I chased after him and didn't let up with the barking. Mom and dad were watching through the window, they didn't want to get involved. In the end, dad got the hosepipe out to break us up, and the skunk got away under the fence. I had to have another bath with the special stuff, but mom and dad said I must have dodged the worst of it and just got misted - either that or they're getting used to the smell! Anyway, the skunk hasn't been seen or smelled since, so I think I got my message across. I hope he tells all his skunk friends too - stay away, that's Walter's yard! AARRRROOOOO!!!!!!!

Getting my collar felt....

Wow, what a couple of weeks I've had... my mom and dad went away and left me for 2 weeks with my grandparents. They've never left me for anything like that long before, so I didn't really know how to handle it. It was OK while my grandparents were home with me, but when they went out and left me shut in my crate, I admit I went a bit crazy. I thought that maybe if I could just find my way back home, then mom and dad would be there and everything would be normal like before. I started working on escaping from my crate... in the 18 months I've had it, I've never even tried to escape, so I didn't really know if it was possible. I chewed and chewed, and bent some of the bars, but grandpa just bent them back into place.

It took me a week of practice, but I finally figured out how to get the bolts undone on my crate door and I was out loose in the house. First thing I needed to do was find something comfy to lie on... I'd wrecked my bed earlier in the week when, in an earlier escape attempt, I'd broken my water dish and soaked everything in my crate. Grandma has a nice rug in the kitchen... yes, that would look good in my crate. So I dragged it in there and laid it out. It really needed something else, so I went into the bathroom and stole a towel... I was just adding that to my crate when there was this really loud noise - WHAT'S GOING ON???!!! Apparently I'd set off the motion detectors and now the alarm was going off. I didn't know how to make it stop... I tried clawing at the windows to attract attention but all that did was tear grandma's curtains. Thankfully, I heard a key in the door and there was grandma with a policeman. I saw my opportunity to get out and run back home, so I ran past grandma and out through the policeman's legs. But then I couldn't really remember which way was home... I only got to the end of the street before I let them catch me. I wasn't wearing my collar (because I was supposed to be in my crate) so if I'd run away properly nobody would have known where I belonged (unless they scanned me and found my microchip). The policeman was nice... he radioed in to the station that he had "caught the culprit and collared him".

Anyway, mommy and daddy are back home now, I'm back at work with daddy and I'm much happier. They did leave me once again for a couple of hours, and I got all anxious, thinking they'd gone away again, so I chewed the side of the couch through the hole I'd made in my crate (I broke one of the bars, wow, I'm strong!). I've never chewed any of their stuff before - I don't know why I did it, but at the time it seemed like the thing to do. Now I've got this big new doghouse thing where my crate used to be... I'm not quite sure what to make of it, but I'll let you know.

Wounded soldier

I've been hanging out at the dog park quite a bit recently... I've got a lot of pals over there now, and we all run around and dig holes and have a great time. If some rough play threatens to get out of paw, or if a puppy is getting bullied, I will usually wade in and bark at everyone, just to remind them to behave properly.

Yesterday was a really nice day, and I just knew that the dog park was going to be busy after work - it usually is on Friday anyway. It's like a doggie nightclub! We weren't disappointed when we got there, it was packed! Several of the regulars were there, plus some dogs I didn't know. Everything was going great for a while, the usual running around, a bit of rough and tumble, a bit of group humping (well, it is almost spring now), you know the deal. Before anyone knew what was happening, I was engaged in full combat with a huge pit bull I didn't recognize. Not just a bit of gentle play fighting - the real thing! I may be just a little beagle, but I'm not backing down to anyone, not even him! I stood my ground until our daddies ran over and pulled us apart. I sustained a couple of bites to my right arm which my mommy cleaned up for me, but I'm OK. I hope I did some damage to the other guy too, the big bully! GGGRRRRRR!!!!

Back to work

Sorry I've not been keeping up with my diary recently, but it's been a very busy time for me. Daddy and I have just reopened our store after working at home for the winter, so we've been rushed off our paws getting in new inventory, greeting our customers, sniffing all my familiar places... well, daddy's not been doing so much of that, that's mostly my job.

The great thing about going back to work is I get to see some of my special friends again. There's Patty in the office... she always gives me treats. We call them PattySnaps. Sometimes she's busy on the phone when I go to see her, but I don't let that get in the way of urgent business... I'll just bay at her until she opens the treat drawer for me. Then there's Joan, she drives the truck that delivers stuff to the store. When she comes she always leaves a Milk Bone in with the paperwork... we call that a JoanBone. I look forward to those. Then there's my Uncle Paul who works with us in the store. He's great. He brings me in things to play with, like tennis balls, and I've just got a new Buster Cube from him, which keeps me amused for ages. Sometimes I get visits from doggie friends, like Rascal. He's a sheltie and his dad has a boat in the marina where our store is. When he comes in, we chase each other up and down the aisles. He's a lot of fun to have around.

So my busy season is just starting... soon it'll be spring and there'll be long walks in the neighborhood, Fort Adams, boat rides and all sorts of adventures to look forward to. I can hardly wait! AARRROOOOOOOO!!!!!

Beagle Boots

What a surprise this morning - the yard was full of that white powdery stuff again. ARRRRROOOOOOO! It's such good fun! I ran around the yard at full speed and buried my face in it, until I had a little white pyramid on my nose. It gets pretty cold though, so I didn't stay out long.

When mommy and daddy took me out for my walk today, they strapped these weird boot things onto my feet. At first I didn't want to put my foot down on the ground, but after they started strapping them on the other feet, I had no choice or I would have fallen over. It wasn't too bad actually... I think I understood why they did it when we got outside as my feet stayed warm and dry for a little while, until I stepped in the deep snow and the boots fell off. I don't think we'll be bothering with them again in the future. Just to make sure, I had a bit of a chew on them when we got home.

Is it a bird? Is it a plane?

My parents always leave me crated when I am left home alone (which isn't all that often). On the one occasion when I was left loose in the house for 2 hours, they returned to find no sign of me anywhere. A search revealed a beagle-sized hole in the screen of the bedroom window ON THE SECOND FLOOR, above a concrete patio! My mommy screamed, expecting the worst, but when daddy opened the patio doors I was just standing there wagging my tail. I'd been up on their bed and had seen something exciting out in the yard which I just had to get to, so I scratched a hole in the screen and just hopped out. They rushed me to the vet where I was x-rayed and fully examined but of course I was OK... don't you people realize I have super powers?