The Dog Days of Summer...

Who ever thought THAT up? Summer and this dog do not get along, for one reason and one reason only...it is TOOOOOOOO HOOOOTTTTT! And if it wasn't hot enough (high of 102 yesterday with a 'feels like' of 110) the air conditioning is busted on both the 'Fergus Conveyance Vehicle' and at the old homestead! Hot, darn hot. What is a poor dog to do? Thank goodness I get to go to work where there is AC and thank goodness for a mom who was bright enough to leave me camped out in the office during the hottest parts of the day there is only so much sitting in front of a fan one can do. ETA on the repair guy? One week. Seriously. One week! Hoping that break in the temps comes earlier than expected.

Now I am...2!

Happy Birthday to ME, Happy Birthday to ME, Happy Birthday Dear ME, Happy Birthday to ME!!!

What a difference a year makes! I have done so much changing in the past year it is hard to keep up with it all. I think the biggest is that I am now an only child and with that came greater responsibility and I think I have stepped up to the challenge.

*I now get to sleep on the big bed WHENEVER I want! Which means I can roam the house at night if I so choose, such freedom!

*I have access to the whole house, mainly because it has been so long since I destroyed one of mom's treasures.

*I get to have 'me' time in the backyard where I can play with my toys and annoy the neighbor dogs.

*I am SO much calmer, the devil hardly takes me as often as he used to! Though I hear I still have a couple more years to go before I'm considered officially grown up ;o)

*It goes on and on, suffice it to say that mom is amazed at my progress!

Today I plan on enjoying my day to it's fullest. I think I will start the day with a lovely little nap in my office chair, but hope that I get some visits from my favorite delivery drivers toting treats! And of course, I expect mom to dote on me all day!

Hugs!
Fergus

Welshies on parade

Mom and I went on a field trip this past weekend to meet up with other Welshies from the Mid-Atlantic Welsh Terrier Club to march in the annual Scottish Christmas Walk in Alexandria, VA. This was our first time (club too), but it looks like we'll probably do it again in the future. Our club president (and my grandma (a.k.a. my breeder), made us all the most ADORABLE kilts to wear. Kilts people, not skirts! If I heard this once I heard it a thousand times and it does wear on one's manhood! Mom joked that we should rename our group 'dogs in skirts' since that is what we heard exclaimed over and over and over. Alexandria is REALLY dog friendly so next time we are making plans to stay a little longer so we can take it all in. Parade is made up of bands of bagpipes, clan gatherings, and Celtic dogs. AWESOME. I saw Westies, Cairns, Airedales, Scotties, and on, and on, and on. I also got to get real close to a man in a kilt with bagpipes. I wasn't sure what to think of those bagpipes so I shied a bit and the man laughed saying 'it should be in my jeans' whatever that means, thankfully mom doesn't make me wear jeans, just kilts (mom: it was GENES, Fergus, genes!). My uncle, Blue was there and so was my friend, Sherman who was there with his folks and we had a grand old time. All along the parade route we got to play, people loved on us, took our pictures, and gave us treats! I slept the whole rest of the day! Already looking forward to next year. Wonder what they'll make me wear then???

One sad puppy

Mom still isn't much capable of putting much into words on the subject, so I'll give it a shot. Our little family became one less in number this week with the passing of my older albeit smaller (and only marginally so) brother, Ivan the Great (and terrible). He was the coolest cat I know, be it because he thought he was a dog or because I think I'm a cat I'll never know. What I know for sure was that he was very dear to mom AND because of his love for her I think he did his best to tolerate me. You know how it is, your young, your bouncy, and you SO want to be like your big brother. You want to go where he goes, do what he does, etc. Well I was no different with Ivan. All Ivan wanted was to hang out with mom and yet he would let me hang out on the back of the couch with him or we'd lay face to face on the floor with Ivan tenatively sniffing me while I basically licked off half of his face. He also let me clean his ears (a rather undignified thing for a cat of his stature, but such was the depth of his love) and then he'd try to return the favor. He even learned how to 'gird his loins' so that he could hang out near mom without falling prey to my aerial assaults (picture an 18 lb cat crammed up under a step stool with his head, legs and tail jutting out ~ but sensitive belly protected and that was Ivan when he wasn't on mom's lap). Life is way different now that he is gone. Mom has allowed me more access to the house (she had gated off the back of the house as Ivan's refuge from me~ he could jump over and join me whenever he wanted, but I couldn't do the same) and she is letting me try sleeping at night outside of my crate (she crated me at night so that Ivan could have run of the house AND the bed. I know she misses him so I've tried to be VERY good (and we all know how hard THAT can be!) and yet I miss him too. But I rest assured knowing that he has gone to join the two dogs he loved the most and mom is comforted knowing that they have each other for company again.

Go to ground dog, NOT a water dog

Well mom had big plans for us this weekend. We went to Virginia to visit grandparents (love them!) and to go to a local chapter Welsh Terrier club event at the Holiday Barn in Richmond, complete with doggie swimming pool. On the morning of the big swim party I had gone out to play with my two doggie cousins (no fighting this time, woot woot!) and my mom's uncle came back in the house with his two but no me saying that mom was needed urgently in back yard. She was nervous that something BAD had happened to me her stomach sunk, but no, he said, it was just that I had been playing 'whack a mole' in the back yard and he needed her to get me to release said mole. 'Whack a Mole'? mom said, I didn't know we had a toy like that in the yard?? "NO, Fergus whacked a MOLE and he won't release it so I can dispose of it", said dear uncle (what a birthday present I got him, huh?). So mom headed out back and sure enough, I'd whacked a mole (& pretty thoroughly I might add and QUICK according to Dear Uncle). I was grinning ear to ear having dropped mole at back door. I was ushered in, mole was ushered out. End of story.

So you'd think I was a big brave hunter, maybe, but so NOT a water dog. We went to the party and a fun time was had by all (oh the outfits!!). I got to sport my doggles and trunks in a costume contest (didn't win, but was quite mortified none the less) and sported a new life vest to go swimming. Mom walked me in to the pool and I SWAM! Right to the edge so I could crawl out. Yecch! She tried again later, but I still wasn't having it. Everyone bragged on me though for showing my Welshie breeding by taking out that mole so it is just fine that I'm not a fan of the wet stuff. I'm a total fan of the dirt! And isn't that just the way it should be!!

Too pooped to pop!

And I ain't lying!! Mom was traveling on business last week so I spent the time in doggie jail (she calls it a hotel, right). There are just way too many things to see and do when one is in the joint (I really don't get what Paris was all worried about, sure you come out a little sloppy looking but one good brushing takes care of that!). I don't think I slept the whole time I was there. When mom came to pick me up I was SO excited, I came barreling out to greet her and my favorite handler told her I'd been this amped all week. Mom laughed and thanked them for wearing me out (while secretly wondering if in fact they had). We popped by the office to say hi to our peeps and check email (ok, I said hi to the peeps and she checked email. I can't be bothered by that sort of thing usually). It was HOT out! Once done greeting everyone I CRASHED. I mean, I CRASHED hard! Could barely raise enough energy to lift my head as my peeps wished me well and headed out for the weekend. Thought I was done for the day, but after it cooled down to a breezy 87 we headed out for a lap around the pond (1.5 miles). ISH, still muggy and I was dragging tail, but as a highpoint some of my favorite kiddies drove by thrilled to see I was back and walking the hood so I was met with YELLS of Fergus! Hi Fergus!! Makes a pup feel truly loved that does.

Mom did the Race for the Cure today, but they said no doggies so I stayed home. She walked me WAY early this morning before she left for the race so it would still be sort of cool for me (I'm not a big fan of the heat). When she came back she told me there were all sorts of dogs there, but that she figured it was still best I stayed home since it was really hot and really crowded. I'm not such a huge fan of either so I'm glad I didn't go. But when Canines for the Cure rolls around you know I'll be there!!

Two out of three ain't bad!

"The reward of owning
a well-behaved, loving
and intelligent dog
is beyond measure.
Those who have owned
such a dog
are truly blessed."

Barbara Woodhouse, from "The Family Pet"

Well, I'm loving and intelligent so that is a start. Maybe one day I'll get the well-behaved bit down, but in the meantime 2 out of 3 ain't bad. Ain't bad at all.

It is probably farther off than I think though since yesterdays toll was the neoprene bottle holder mom had for her water bottle AND the zipper from her fleece jacket. What can I say, the bottle holder was just calling my name from the depths of her purse and the zipper was idly swinging there on her jacket on the back of the chair in her office. You can't blame me, it was THEIR fault!

Ain't that the truth!

"Some enchanted evening..."
And so it is with pups
and people.
A seething
mass of small,
yapping,
prancing puppies
- and one stands out
like a star.
Your puppy.
~Pam Brown, b. 1928

When I'm not aggravating the sin out of my moms, I swell her heart to near bursting.

EGAD!

So I tried the trick that Moe suggested of dunking the offending pictures in water, but I wasn't fast enough. So now everyone is going to tease me about my big ears and why I was sitting next to a rabbit instead of chasing it (well I can answer that, I'll do about anything for a sweet potato treat!). Mom says the pictures are awful cute. I just think they are awful!! Check back later as I'm sure she'll put the others up eventually.

Happy Birthday to Me!

So today is the big day. I'm the big ONE! Seems like only yesterday I was romping around with my litter mates while mom sweated out hearing whether or not I'd get to come live with her. Silly mommy. My grandma Trish (MY mommy's mommy) had us over to dinner last night and to help mom out with her apparent inability to groom me properly (in case you ever wonder, if they are stripping your coat properly you WILL NOT have bald spots on your butt). I got to bark at my 4-legged mom and my 4-legged uncle (he is SO cool) and get jealous of one of my half brothers (how could mom hold him and cuddle him when it was MY birthday celebration!!!!). She didn't trade me in though. That is a good sign. Looking back on our first year together I've given her a couple good reasons to think about it (I'd say eating her glasses and iPod earbuds were probably close calls for me!), but I think we've settled in quite nicely together. I think I'll keep her.

We are off to the store so I can pick out a birthday treat. Apparently birthday cake is going to have to wait until Easter when I celebrate the big day with my family!