Phobos' Follies

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Lettin' the Dawgs Out

May 2nd 2007 3:37 pm
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Well - the NFL Draft has come and gone, and our Brownies did well! The Great Football Drought of mid-February to mid-April is over, NFL Europa is playing, and it is once again the season!

What's more, I did a terrific job of keeping mom from missing her tailgating buddy - even though Lysto had to watch from Rainbow Bridge, I managed to keep everyone entertained and well-loved through the entire two-day draft!

This year, it's Brownies back in the playoffs, gang - just you wait and see!!!

Dawg Daze

December 10th 2006 9:50 am
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Well, the cold white stuff is melting off the bathroom now and you can almost see the grass again.... Unfortunately, it seems the chill has gone to my Cleveland Browns. Dad and I have been howling about our season... What's worse, mom's team is doing ok, so after watching our team lose the early game, we have to listen to her cheer during the late game. Ah, well - at least there's tailgating.....

The Faux Beauce

August 20th 2006 9:49 am
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The night before I came home, mom & dad were lying in bed. They were very sad about the loss of my cousin, Paladin. (Yep, Pal was my cousin. See, even though what happened to Pal didn't have anything to do with his parents, our breed-mommy, Debbie, would not send mom and Dad another puppy from the same litter, just so they wouldn't have to worry. Even though there was nothing to worry about, she was just being nice and making sure, so I got to go instead.) I was their "Successor Puppy" - they always said I could not be a 'replacement' since nobody could replace Pally. When I was little, I didn't like that - but now I see that mom and dad love me and I am special for me, not because I am a pseudo-Pal, and I get it better now....

Anyway, mom was too sad without the puppy she had waited so long for. Dad was a little hesitant - on his own, he might have waited a while before letting me come, but he saw that mom needed me. They were both still grieving (and I helped with that, so coming right away was a good thing!), and as they lay in bed, there in the dark, dad said to mom "it's too bad we're not getting a real dog."

Ah, thought mom, here it comes - finally, the outpouring of grief that he needs - no dog can really replace Pal, etc. "Oh...?" she said out loud, waiting for dad to go on.

"Yeah", he said - "we're only getting a Faux Beauce."

It took mom a second to work it out - then she caught on, and everybody had a good belly laugh. The next day, I came home. Mom was a little worried about whether dad would be able to handle me being there - but on day two, she turned around and saw that I had walked up to where dad always sat on the sofa, and dad was leaned over hugging me, and knew it would all be ok. (Later, when they started letting me out of the crate during the day, I ate the whole end of the sofa one day when I was bored and lonely - it smelled like dad and was very comforting. Well, until mom came home and saw what I had done to the big expensive sofa. She looked a little upset, but never said anything to me - just said 'it's our own fault' and started crating me again during the day...)

Wow! Who Knew!

August 20th 2006 8:52 am
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Last night, mom put up a Dogster page for me. And today, I have scads and scads of new friends! Mom hasn't figured out how to send them messages or thank you notes yet (and she's supposed to be the Great Computer Genius), but I figured that until she gets smarter, I could leave a message in my diary so all my new friends would know how happy I am to have them!

Oh - and my new friend Kokoa is in a contest - and she's winning! Go see her contest and vote for her - Dog #19! - at http://www.littleshopofterrors.citymax.com/page/page/1282126 .htm

And my friend Teo must have heard about my page from my beauce-brother, Paladin, because they are both at the foot of the Rainbow Bridge, waiting for their moms (sorry Pal - I'm not done with her yet!). Teo is very handsome - click his picture to go see his page!.

There's just so many - and they all seem like such nice dogs - pups you'd want to play tug with, any day! Thanks for the warm welcome to dogster!

My Tail of Devotion for Phobos des Ombres Valeureux

August 19th 2006 11:08 pm
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Phobos attended obedience at Acoma Training Center in Albuquerque. He went to puppy class while sister Lysto went to dog class. The classes were "back to back," so each week, Mom and Dad would take both dogs to Acoma, and switch off who 'did class' with whom - one week, Mom & Phobos, next week, Dad & Phobos while Mom was with Lysto, etc.

The last week of class, Acoma does 'snake-proofing' - bringing a live snake into class, letting the dogs sniff it, then as dogs walk around the center, making a point of running away from the snake when they reach him in their walk. Hopefully, this teaches them not to sniff to closely at rattlesnakes. However, part of this training process involves people running, screaming, and generally making a fuss. As Phobos and mom waited for Dog Class to end and Puppy Class to begin, Phobos became increasingly disturbed at the very weird way that people were acting. He edged closer in to me, and at last I realized - he wasn't scared - he was protecting me! His body was leaned up against mine, trapping me in the corner I was sitting in. His eyes were on the classroom, ears up and attention on all of the crazy people.

When Puppy Class time came, Phobos was extra vigilant. When it came time for 'down' he did not want to do it - he was too busy guarding mom to act submissive, even for a second. The trainer picked him for her example dog (she often chose a recalcitrant pup for demos, to show the class that even the most stubborn could be convinced to behave). He glanced at me with that 'concerned' look that beaucerons have mastered, but when I handed her the leash, he walked to the center of the class, did as she bid him and then returned to my side - all without ever taking his eyes off me.

After class, we were standing in line waiting to sign up for our next class. The lady in front of me was not paying close attention to her dog, and he began to edge around her toward me. Without a twitch, Phobos lifted up one side of his mouth and let out an unmistakeable growl. "Stay with your own person, buddy - everyone's too psycho today, and you need to stay away from my mom."

To this day, Phobos may hide behind dad when the scary noises come, but "moms are for protecting." Mom never needs to be afraid when her Phobinator is there to save her.

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