Happy birthday to me

Hey! I'm five! that's a whole paw's worth of living, man. Mom says I show no signs of settling down, either.

I got some funny balls for my Chuckit. they bounce crazy. Of course, even regular balls bounce crazy when they hit a ground squirrel or gopher hole and my yard is full of those! Still, any kind of ball is fun in the Chuckit. PLUS there's snow on the ground...icicles to eat....what was I saying?...oh yeah!

IT's my Birthday time.....

WOWeeeeee!

To all my furiends at Dogster...thanks for picking my diary today. I feel honored and humbled and pleased, and heck, I really don't know what's going on, I'm just a dog!!! I do know that I need my Mom's help to write my diary, so, I'm happy for her, too.

Gues what everybody! It's snowing again! The snow is coming down sideways and there's not a lot to scoop on the scoop and run yet BUT there's potential.

Paws!

I'm tired

Well "they" say dogs don't remember, so why do I feel like this has been a crazy (not in a good way) year??? My Mom, the best Mom in the world, smells funny these days...something is not right.

First, we took a long car trip a few moons ago, after the snow season. I was such a good dog . I had to play Frisbee at "rest stops". At one rest stop in Pennsylvania a farm dog ran up to the fence and we ran back and forth barking at each other til we were worn out and had to rest. Hey - is that why they called rest stops? I had to sleep in motel rooms. Talk about funny smells and not knowing what noises I had to alert my people about. But I got lots of praise, even if I got the feeling that Mom didn't like taking me out in the dark in some of the places we were. Turns out the long car trip was to visit Grandma. That was fun. She lives with a lot of old folks. they liked me and I got to show off how I play Frisbee. I met a couple of old folks who move around really fast while sitting down...that was interesting....I smelled a lot of rain there, identified instinctively my first earthworm, and the grass was thick and there were huge lazy groundhogs to watch. I also got to meet a little girl who really liked throwing ball for me. I think we are related somehow. One day, though, Mom and Dad put me in the car and went someplace called a hospital. Mom wasn't right.

Where was Mom. A couple days after that I got to go to New Jersey to my Dad's son's place. They have a dog named Maggie, but she didn't play as long as I like to play. she had great toys, though. And I had a lot of fun stealing them and putting them in other places. She kept stealing my food, so I guess we're even. I saw my Dad, but still no Mom.

When I finally saw Mom again, she didn't smell right and she seemed afraid to walk me and do the stuff she always does with me. Now Mom has been on trips before, but when she comes back everything is the same only better, 'cause she's back. This time, everybody tried to keep me away from her. I heard words like "surgery" and "burst appendix" and "CT scan" and "mass" and smelled sickness.

Another long car trip and motel nights. Pouring rain for leash walks. then home! running free! games of chuckit with Dad! My favorite! except for Mom. walks were sloooowww and not far enough for me, that's for sure. I smelled worry.

Then it happened again. Another "hospital", another "surgery", and days without Mom. This time though, Dad took me to a place called a kennel. Boy, was that noisy. The people were nice, but I couldn't figure out why I had to stay in the cage thing or why the other dogs wouldn't shut up. Anyway, this time when Mom came home she couldn't do anything with me. I had to stay away from her belly. Dad even had to make the liquid they have in their hand bowls every morning. I knew this "surgery" was harder for Mom and I smelled lots of stress, but I didn't smell sickness this time.

there is worry in my house...even Dad had to "go for tests" and he never goes to the doctor! Mom and Dad have long talks about doctors and bills and hearts and bones and "female stuff" and sometimes they forget to play with me.

Oh! It snowed enough for me to scoop and run two days ago. Snow! more snow please! I love snow! Now, things are lookin' up.

It's my Birthday

Hey everyone it's my birthday....but why is Mom embarassed to say I'm four? She says I look and act like a puppy, so maybe she can get away with saying I'm not so old. She's silly. I'm four, I'm a dog, and I'm crazy. Oh! and guess what...it's snowing and we got to play shovel the deck this morning. chasing snowballs is pretty fun. I jump waaay up out of the snow and try to catch them. I get snowcicles in my fur, then when we come inside I can lick them off.

Life is good.

Chuckit!

Oh boy, now we're talking. Mom & Dad got something they keep calling a chuckit! yesterday. all I know is, finally they can throw the ball so it lands where I'm going, not where I've been. I don't have to put on the brakes so much. I mean, even Mom surprised me. plus the ball is even crazier than my crzy Kong ball. Now this is playing fetch. Plus I get to really put my ears back and RUN.

Thanksgiving week

Wow! I had the best time this week. I met three new doggie pals. I met Coco, a Shih Tzu, Ginger a German Shorthair, and Katy a mutt like me only grey and tall. Mom was afraid I'd hurt coco, but once I figured him out, we played OK. Ginger is Coco's sister and she's a runner like me. Boy, she's fun to chase! And Katy came in to my house and she saw my room and stuff. I wasn't too sure whether she wanted to play or not, 'cause she's older than I am, but I kept at it! (and at it, and at it...well, that's my style) Oh! I almost forgot. I even got to play with Luka last sunday. So, all-in-all it was a good week. I already forgot I got left in my kennel duringThanksgiving dinner. Something about Mom and Dad going to somebody else's house and there being too many people that I'd be in their faces...you know, human worries. It's good dogs don't have those worries. Oh! I almost forgot. Yesterday the family who owns the lot next door came to visit...they have three small humans in their group. I got to herd a whole gang of people and then I got to play crazy ball.

Mom says I'm "almost two". I think they are waiting for some big changes. I don't know if I can deliver, I'm just such a puppy.

nap time

I like naps with Dad. Sometimes he'll stretch out on the futon couch and invite me up too. this time of year, the sun is coming in the south windows in the afternoon, so sometimes I nap alone on the carpet by the balcony door in a sun patch. Mom says I'm like a cat that way.

I'm not sure about cats. I had to stay with cats at the vet and one of them kept yowling. My folks had a cat before they had me. They had Sadie for almost 20 years. I get called Sadie sometimes, they goof. Sometimes, I run over Sadie's grave and Mom gets upset, but they put her in the good runway. I guess they didn't know about dogs then.

I got to play with my neighbor, Luka, today. Luka is a real German Shepherd and I can almost run under her and get her high-centered! It's fun to play with her, we run, and pounce. She's my best buddy. I met dogs at school, but I wasn't allowed to play with them. There was a little bit of snow this morning when Luka came over, so we'd tear around awhile, then find a pile of snow and eat some and lay in it.

Winter is coming

I can feel it. I even saw some snow two days ago. Not real fun snow, just a little with a lot of wet underneath. But I think something's coming that I like. Mom says it's called "winter". Winter means walks everyday because it's not muddy anymore. Winter means Mom and Dad go skiing and then I get to play in the snow at the trailhead. Winter means "helping" shovel the deck and chasing the snowblower and running around crazy after snowballs.

Oh, I had to go to the hospital a couple weeks ago. I punctured my throat and got sick and swollen. I didn't like the hospital, there were CATS next to me and above my kennel. The vet said something about giving me a quiet place. the cats were pretty quiet, except for one. I feel a lot better now, but I sure didn't like getting shots and my temperture taken and having to have my throat operated on. I got good food when I got home and special treats - but I think they were sneaking pills into my treats. Mom and Dad are worried I might get sick again because I keep picking up nasties and eating them. I can't help it, I'm a dog.

Rainy days

It's been a while since I 've been able to write a diary. You see, Mom has to help with that and she's been "working" a lot this summer. She even had to go on a business trip. All I know is I was sad for a few days and then we drove to the big city one day and Dad disappeared for a while, then, there he was again with Mom!!! Oh boy, oh boy, kisses and wags and ears all soft and Mom giggling. "Back from chicago"
that was fun.

Mom and Dad say it's been a rainy summer. They talk about how green everything is. But I still have to go "outside" to "go potty" and, well, it's not easy when you have to shake the water off before you can "go" and the water keeps dripping on you and you have to shake the water off before you can go and still the water is coming down... boy. and you got to "wait" and get your "paws" wiped before you can get in the house. Some days we didn't go for a walk because of rain. The only good thing about rain is how good everything smells AFTER the rain. Oh I could smell the wet ground and the grass and the wildflowers and the air and the deck and the gravel path for hours! I love to stick my nose in ground squirrel holes and if the ground's wet some sticks to my nose and I can keep smelling it until it tickles and I've got to rub it off.

rainy summer days

smells and stinks

I was reminded by a new dogster pal that I neglected to relate my interest in smells and stinks and even pleasant olfactory sensations before now. I've been quite clear about my interest in snow and more recently in the water stream from the hose. But smells ....

Have you not savored the aroma of a blade of grass from ground to tip? And done it again and again?

Have you not thwarted the "powerwalk" plans of your Mom or Dad by refusing to leave the site of long-past dog, cat, coyote, rabbit, squirrel, elimination until it was throughly examined?

And, when it's your time to "do business", do your humans wonder what the heck is taking so long? Got to find the right place...smells.

And, when smell overwhelms, you've just got to start licking, too. Like when the humans apply lotion or sunscreen. They get pretty annoyed with that.