my photo shoot proofs

Handsome me

BOL! Out of over 300 shots he took, these are the only ones he posted, LOL. I would have loved to see the candid ones too, but oh well. Mom orderd the 3rd one down for my free 5x7, she says that one is really "me".
She liked the first one too, but I have an eye booger in it, BOL!

Snakes!

GEEZ! So it's been raining here for 3 days straight. Storming and pouring and we've been stuck inside. Jeb would hardly even go out to pee, BOL!

Today we wake up to a beautiful spring day, the sun is shining the breeze is blowing, the flowers are glistening from the rain...and the SNAKES are out in full force! Holy dog crap, we've never seen so many snakes in a span of 20 minutes. So we head out on our "short walk" trail because mom doesn't have too much time this morning, she has an appointment with Dr. G :) which she is excited about.

Anyway, so we walk by a lake and...there on the bank we see a glistening snake, doesn't look like a cotton mouth, he was too pretty, so mom just looked at him, he looked at us and we kept walking. Next we saw a little grass snake in a flowerbed we walked by, he was pretty cute. These guys were both far enough away, about 5 feet, that mom saw them and they saw us, no biggie.

Then we were walking back on the trail, which is pretty skinny and is bordered by a pool on one side and woods on the other. The woods are swampy and there are sticks everywhere on the ground. We were up ahead of mom playing and she walked right by a black king snake who was sprawled out on top of some dead sticks. He was totally off the ground and just suspended by sticks. He was about 5 ft long and mom squeeked when she saw him at first and ran, before her mind could process the image. Then she realized it was just a king and went back for a better look. He sure was pretty! We like King snakes, the get rid of other bad snakes and they eat moles too, YAY :)

So then we get back to the yard and mom opens the door to the garage to put our leashes up. Now this has only been about 15 minutes of walking, and she has been in and out of the garage all morning, so have we. Well, she opens the door and right there, on the doormat, was a freaking foot long sort of curled up Copperhead! ARGH! She totally SCREAMED and shut the door, haha. Then she realized it was flipped over, and she knew it was dead. The cats must have killed it and brought it home for show and tell, they love to do that.

*side note from mom to cats*
Dear Cobra and Indy, I love that you catch and kill rodents and venomous snakes. That makes me proud. BUT...I would rather not see what you kill. The moles and mice that pile up on the backdoor mat are nice and everything, but I don't want to see them. The snakes that you leave lying around the yard and garage FREAK ME OUT and I really, really would be better off not seeing them. So please catch, kill, and leave critters where you find them. Thanks, your mom

PS. Please be careful when dealing with snakes, I get scared that one of you might get bit and that is a horrible thought. I know you guys like to double team them, I have seen you in action, but just be careful.

Ok anyway so where was I...oh yeah, so that is 4 snakes!!!! THEN she goes out in the front yard to take something to the mailbox, and lying in the neighbors yard all stretched out is a corn snake! He was BEAUTIFUL lying in the sun with all his orange and red colors shining. She would have taken a picture, but he moved by the time she got the camera and ran out there.

So I guess...that snakes get restless when it rains too! They all seem to be out enjoying the day today and that is great. Just wish the venomous ones would stay far, far away!!!!!

Oh and for the record, Jeb and I did not notice a single one of them, hahaha. Guess that's how Jeb got bit by the pygmy rattler that time, we don't seem to be too snake savy, BOL!

Photo shoot disaster :)

Hello pups!

Today was a big day. It was photo session day! A local photographer is holding a fundraising special, where if you bring in a bag of dog food to donate to the SPCA, you get a free photo session and a free 5x7 with option to buy more. So mom was excited. She has been wanting to do this with us for a while. So we get up early and mom takes us for a long walk, to wear us out for the shoot (hehehe, or so she thought). She feeds us, brushes us, and sprays smell good conditioner stuff on us to make us shiny. Well...she decides that Jeb doesn't get to go because he has this infection thing on his lip. Basically it looks like a fever blister and the photos of him would not be cute. So off we go, mom and I in the car.

Now, mom thinks I am beautiful. She loves the curves of my face, the way my fur shines, my expressions, the waves in my fur at the base of my tail...but she can't capture any of it very well because she is a sucky photographer with a cheap camera, and plus I'm black so these subtle details are hard to capture on film. She was hoping that some of these would be captured today. All she ever manages to get is my slobber and ball-in-mouth face.


Raise your paw if you think this photo session went well?? BOL! It did not. In under 5 minutes I had this poor little British man's studio all but destroyed. He had a bowl of water, which I first drank out of, slobbered all over the floor, and then spilled. I wouldn't sit on the spot with the lights without mom right next to me, so she got the tennis ball out to hold my attention and she stood behind the camera with the ball, telling me to stay. HA. I molested the poor man and his camera. THEN I got so excited I tore down the background and knocked over one of the lights. Oh boy, oh boy, was it fun. Mom was mortified, but finding it all very funny at the same time. The poor man was trying to act like he didn't care, that it happens all the time. I don't think that is the case though, if it did, he would be out of business, BOL! So he ended up with 110 pictures, but I'm sure most of them are me looking like a raving lunatic trying to get the ball from mom and the other ones are me with my tongue hanging out of my mouth or slobber hanging down.

Now I am a generally well behaved boy, and mom loves to take me places. Outdoor places. Places with lots of open space. Places where a little bit of drool isn't noticed. I think she learned her lesson, these are the ONLY types of places we will be going from now on, which suits me just fine!

BTW: the minute we got home I passed out on the couch, where I have been lying, still as can be for over an hour ;)

Picutres!!

Ok, BOL! These links should take you to ME! Dock diving!!

There were professional photographers there, and they even took pictures of me! woohooooooooo!! How exciting! Do ya'll want my pawtograph? Look at all that air I got, haaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!

Dock dogs




More from another day

I won a medal!

Hehe, granted, it's just a participation medal, but still ;)

We went back to dock dogs today so dad could see all the action. I didn't do much better, in fact I only jumped 4 ft today, but I was a crowd favorite! Today, there was only one wave, and I seemed to be in the middle of all the pros. All the other dogs were jumping 17, 18, 19 ft....and then came me, BOL!

We left after I got my medal and went to another park where more SEWE events were going on. There were people and pups everwhere, and I wore my medal proudly :) A lot of people were like, "hey look it's Sammy". I was famous! They were all laughing with mom and dad and saying, "well if there was a prize for having the most fun he would get 1st place". So...when you suck, you still get recognition, BOL!

I had about 10 puppies chew on my ears and paw me in the face, but I was a good boy and gave them kisses. I also kissed a lot of babies and kids, haha. Today I got a sausage dog and fries instead of a hot dog, so I would say it was a successful day.

I had a BLAST and if any of you ever get the chance to do a dock dogs competition or see one, you should definitely check it out!!

Woofs, Sammy

Dock dog champion, I am not, BOL!

Sooooooo....I was not made for dock dogs, BOL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I had a BLAST and if you love water, and you love tennis balls, you should give it a try if you have the chance!

So let's set the scene...it is a beautiful day in the Carolina's, around 70 with a sunny, blue sky and a few wispy clouds. We got there early to check things out. The dock set up is right on the ocean, so the view is beautiful. There are labs, labs, and more labs everywhere with a few Chessies and border collie types mixed it too. I made a friend right away, his name is Hunter. He and I are the biggest labs there, so it's a good thing we became friends. Everyone was calling us double trouble because we were trying to steal woof's tennis balls if they dropped them, and Hunter escaped and ran into the ocean a few times, BOL! So anyway...we did a practice round and I am totally psyched and so is mom. So she puts me in a sit/stay at the end of the dock, she goes to the front then she THROWS the ball and says GO SAMMY GO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! So here I come, running as fast as I can, go go go go go go ...STOP. BOL! I hit the brakes at the end of the dock, looked at mom, then jumped! Oh well, the next few tries weren't much better, I think my best jump was around 5ft 2 inches! The national champ is around 27 ft :)

I had SO much fun and mom did too, that we signed up for Sunday too. This way dad can come watch and hopefully catch all the action on video so I can show you woofs how good I am ;)

Oh, I did get to eat 3 hotdogs and pee in LOTS of new places. I was a good boy and even let a 10 wk old lab puppy chew on my ears, BOL!

On Sunday mom is going to try a different technique, one that the pros were using...so we'll see if I can get to 7 ft!! BOL!

Dock Dogs here I come!!!!!!!!

Tomorrow is my big day!!!!!!!!

Today in the field I did a PAWFECT leap and catch=; Mom said if I did that over the water I would clear 15 for sure!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

We'll see, if I even jump, BOL! No matter what we are primed for a good time. Hopefully there will be room in a wave on Sunday so that I can sign up for that too.
I am so excited. Mom already packed our bag: a towel, poop bags, 4 ft leash, extra tennis balls, treats and camera!!!!!!!!

Woohooooooo! I am so excited! How fun to get to compete in an event combining all things I love!! Water, balls, and time spend with mom!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I'll let you woofs know how it goes! Wish me luck and speed and some BIG AIR!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

yo!

I havent had a diary entry in a while...sooooooo...here goes! BOL!

Not too much going on. The lump was nothing but an infected zit, ewwwwww, haha. We are enjoying the winter, the weather has been really nice. It has been cold a few night/days but mostly staying steady in the 50's and 60's. When the sun is out, it's just pawfect!

We are going camping at Edisto Beach this weekend. It's about an hour away and it's wonderful. Dogs are allowed on the beach, and it's a HUGE beach. It's long and there are trails everywhere. The campground is beach on one side, and marsh on the other so there is plenty to do and see. We hope it won't be crowded this time of year, and we should have it pretty much to ourselves.

Oh, there is something exciting going on that I wanted to mention. Mom signed me up for a Dock Dogs competition! They are coming to Charleston next week and mom signed me up for Big Air. My pal Nallah has been giving me some tips and helping mom figure thing out. Nallah is going to do her first competition in Feb, a week or 2 after mine. We are both very excited. She has been practicing a bit more then me so I bet she does GREAT!!!!!!! Mom is just hoping my big butt gets clearance off the dock, haaaaaaa. Just kidding ;) We have been practicing every morning for about 15 minutes, focusing on the "chase". That's the technique used to get the dog to focus on speed and eye contact with the ball, rather then just retreiving the ball after it has fallen to the ground. I have been doing a lot better then mom thought. Of course, on the dock, with hundreds of people and dogs around, and tennis balls flying everywhere and water...that is a whole different story. My "sit, stay" technique might go right out the window, BOL! Mostly mom is hoping I just don't poop on the dock , that is automatic DQ, BOL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I'll let you all know how it goes! I am signed up for a wave on Friday and if I LOVE it and do ok, mom is going to sign me up for Sunday and dad is going to come and we'll spend the whole day at the South Eastern Wildlife Expo where the competition is being held.

Wish me luck and I hope you are all having a grrrrrrrrrreat winter!

Woofs, Sammy

The lump is just...a lump! BOL!

Yep, mom took me to the vet today, they squished it and then looked at the slide. It's just a benign histiocytoma, common in younger dogs. Phew.
I got to wear my jingle bell collar, which of course everyone loved and they gave me extra lovin'. There was a yellow lab in the lobby who's name was Licky Wicky, BOL! He and I exchanged lots of sniffs and licks and we had fun while we were waiting. Afterwards mom and I were so happy that we went to a park that we haven't been to in a long time, since we moved to Summerville. It's a huge soccer complex, but they have a playground and some trails too. There was a group of teens playing frisbee and mom asked if they minded if I was off leash. They said they didn't care so we played in the field and the kids ended up playing with me for like an hour!!!! THEN when we got home mom fixed Jeb and I chicken and rice because she felt bad he missed out on the park and she said I deserved it for being such a good boy.

Is it Christmas already? BOL! Thanks to all my pals for the pawsitive thoughts and pmails. Woofs, Sammy

Lump face

BOL! Why is it...whenever things seem to be going allright something new and worrisome pops up? Just life keeping you guessing I suppose. Anyway, it's the time of year when mom is celebrating her remission and beating her lymphoma. Jeb is doing well, no seizures for almost 3 months now. I have been doing just fine and dandy...until last Monday when mom saw a lump on my upper lip. Now, I have canine acne, as embarrassing as that is to admit, hehe. I sometimes get pimples on my lips and chin from all the slobber, and we have medicine for that. But this lump is above my lips sort of on my lower cheek. It's hard and red, and doesn't look like a zit or abcess type thing. UGH. It's small, about the size of a pea. Mom and dad have been watching it, worrying, hoping it would go away. Mom looked up images of cancerous masses on the face of dogs and saw a couple that sort of looked like it. One was lymphoma. One was a benign cyst. And one was some wierd sort of Lupus related thing. Of course it could be anything, and the chance that it is cancerous is very slim. Plus, mom may have done some bad things in her life, but she doesn't feel that she has done anything bad enough to deserve me getting lymphoma a year after her battle with it. ( We believe in Karma ;) )

So anyway today she called and got me an appointment on Monday morning. We are hoping the vet will look at it, say it's just a zit or infected hair follicle and we'll move on. But the chances are they will want to biopsy it or remove it and send it off to be tested. We'll keep you updated. I know that there are so many pups who need prayers and pawsitive thoughts right now, but if you could spare one second pawlease send us a pawsitive vibe or two :)

Woofs and Happy Howlidays! Sammy