Tagged!

My very sweet friend Cleopatra tagged me! The object of this game of tag is to learn some more things about your friends. You are supposed to list 7 things about yourself and post it in your diary. Then pick 7 friends to pass it on to and have them do the same thing. Drop your pals a rosette to let them know they are "IT!"

Seven things about me:

1. I sneeze when I'm about to be mischievous. It is usually followed by a bark or a baroo.

2. I like to run a B-500 before going on walks. I love walks and I must think I need a warm-up.

3. The 5 steps from the back deck to the back yard are non-existent to me. I prefer the flying "superdog" leap.

4. When I'm excited I can be slightly obsessive/compulsive...I have to gently grab the curtain of the window on the landing before running downstairs.

5. I like coffee. If Mom leaves her coffee on the floor and isn't paying attention...I'll help myself.

6. I own the bed. I start off every night in my own bed under the pawrents bed. Then in the middle of the night, I get up, jump up and proceed to hog as much of the bed as possible. Mom sometimes gets mad, Dad just scootches over.

7. I've got the Mail person and the UPS guy completely fooled. I always bark at them like a mad dog, but if they ever came in to meet me, they'd see I'm just a softie on the inside. I think it's the uniform that sets me off...


I'm tagging my friends:

Denny 166169
Magnolia 220916
Scout 220922
Kazu 336604
Cali 890665
Princess 475693
Dewey 509632

Can I still be a card-carrying basenji after all this?

Mom and Dad have started taking me to the park. The weather has been very mild with big, puffy clouds and nice off-the-lake breezes. They let me go down and romp around on the beach and go and investigate other pups and all sorts of new smells. There's driftwood, the breakwall, lots of sand and new plants for me to sniff (and occasionally pee on!) That part is great, but...

What I really like though, are things that move. I like to try to bite them. Bugs are great to snap at. So are waves! When we were at the park last weekend, the wind was up and the waves coming splashing in were big. With every new wave crashing in, I tried to defend the shores of Lake Erie by attacking the waves as they came in. I gave each one a good snap. They didn't seem to mind and they kept coming and coming. I like biting the water! Mom and Dad found this rather entertaining. They took lots of photographs, and I didn't even mind. Heck, I didn't even notice! You can find some shots of it in my new photos. We all had a wonderful time playing together on the beach.

Well, the other day Dad took me to the park. Just the two of us. It was a beautiful day and there were pups and people everywhere. We watched a Border Collie fetching a frisbee out in the water. I wanted to go play with him. I whined and whined, but Dad said we had to entertain ourselves, and if the pup wanted to play, he'd come over. So we splashed around on the edge of the lake for a while. Then Dad picked up a stick. He tossed it a few feet out into the water. I went and got it, cautiously. I really had never gone into the water up past my knees. I am a basenji, after all. There is only so much wetness I'm willing to take. Or so I thought. I brought the stick back to Dad. He threw it in a few feet out again. I went and got it and brought it back. Then he threw it in deeper. I hesitated. He waded out a bit with me and all of a sudden I was up to my undercarriage in the water. Hey, it wasn't SO bad. I brought the stick back. Dad threw it out a little further still. I balked. I couldn't feel the floor of the lake under my feet and I wouldn't go get it. Dad went a little further out with me and I swam, I SWAM! out to get it. I made big splashings as I paddled out and back, and I tried to bite the water that I was splashing up. Hey, like I said, if I moves, I want to bite it! But I brought that stick back. Now when Dad throws the stick out, I go bounding in to get it, paddle out to the stick, and bring it back in.

I got completely wet and was actually SWIMMING! And fetching? I don't fetch! What is going on here? I'm a basenji. I don't swim! And I certainly don't fetch! But apparently swimming and fetching are like peanut butter and chocolate. They may be just okay on their own (if you like that sort of thing), but put them together...they're magic! I loved swimming! And I could have retrieved that stick all day long! It was fantastic! So fantastic, in fact, that I made a big fuss about having to leave. I like it at the park and in the water! And I wanna stay! I whined on the way to the car. I whined as I was getting toweled off. And I whined as the car pulled away from the park.

But you know what? Dad's taking me to the park again! RIGHT NOW!!! YIPPPEEE! See you later!

My pal Arthur tagged me!

Here are the Tag game rules:
(hint: copy and paste the rules to post in your Diary!)

Each player starts with seven random facts about themselves. Dogs who are tagged, need to post in their Diary the rules & their 7 pawsome facts. Then choose 7 dogs to tag and list their names. Don’t forget to bark them a p-mail, or send a fun rosette, letting them know that they have been tagged and to read your Diary fur the rules.

1- I LOVE to HATE squirrels. I go front window to back window whining and barking because I can't get at 'em when I'm inside. It is so unfair.

2- Sometimes I just have to be somewhere else. My favorite route is from the upstairs bedroom to the loveseat in the living room. I absolutely sprint as fast as I can down the stairs, jump up and curl up on the loveseat in one quick motion and go to sleep.

3- I sometimes get the run of the house. I always have full access (with the exception of the office and the bathroom--too many paper products!), but when mom and dad are both gone, I get the house to myself. I like staying at home so much better than the kennel, and my walker/players are awesome!

4- An invitation to a bath is an invitation to a wild B-500--guaranteed!

5- I have to wear a Halti when I go for walks. I hate it soooo much! But I'd choke myself to death pulling if I didn't have it on. And I rub my face on the ground as often as possible while walking to display my displeasure!

6- When I'm wound up (often) and am heading downstairs, I almost always grab and release the curtains of the landing window. Maybe it is OCD or something, but I have to grab the curtain before I head downstairs. Mom and dad laugh all the time about it.

7- I love everybody. Except the UPS and FedEx guys. But I haven't actually met them yet. I just bark at them like crazy. And they always seem to be coming to the house. For as crazy active as I am, I'm a doll with kids. I just seem to know what to do--sit there and be good! I know it isn't a real basenji trait to love everyone, but why not, you know? People like me, so I like them!

I've been "It"-ed

My good pal, Stormie, tagged me. I'm IT!

Here are the rules of Tag...

The Rules
(Hint: Copy and paste the rules so you don't have to type them again):

Each player starts with seven random facts about themselves. Dogs who are tagged, need to post in their diary the rules and their 7 pawsome facts. Then choose 7 dogs to tag and list their names. Don’t forget to bark them a pmail that they have been tagged and to read your diary, or, send them a fun Rosette announcing they've been Tagged!

-----------------My seven pawesome facts--------------------------------

1. I was originally found by Animal Control wandering around the town that mom grew up in. Coincidence?...maybe.
2. My name when I was adopted was "Benny." "Loki" is much more "me."
3. I snore...big time!
4. My favorite spot in the house is on top of the couch cushions...which are now completely deformed. But I'm only 40 pounds...
5. I have tons of toys but not a single stuffed one. I can't behave around them.
6. I do the "poopy dance" when ready to "go." I circle around and around and around until I've got just the perfect spot for my calling card. Mom and dad just shake their heads.
7. I like to nibble my kibble throughout the day. I'll pick up a few pieces at a time and take them to the living room to eat them. And I never finish all my food on one day.

My list of tagged Dogsters:

Maggie Mae
Daisy
Floyd
Skully Potatoes
Lexi
Magnolia
Princess

I could have had 'im!

Here we are, after the Christmas rush, all feeling a little sad about the passing of the season. This year I really wanted a squirrel. Actually, every year I am going to want a squirrel. There wasn't one in my stocking. Sad. There wasn't one under the tree that smelled vaguely of plastic. Bummer. And there wasn't one under the tree that smelled so deliciously of pine that I had to be on my best behavior not to claim it for basenji-dom, if you know what I mean. Oh well. There were lots of treats and toys, more than I even knew what to do with. It was great, but there was no squirrel. Today we were on our usual walk and I saw the usual squirrels. I watched them longingly as they ran and played, mocking and taunting me as always. They know I want them. Oh yes, they know. Today there were lots of them. It is unseasonably warm, so they are all frolicking about. When we made our return trip heading home, I walked up to a tree with all good intention of sniffing around. As I moved my nose to the back side of the tree, THERE HE WAS! Eye to eye. Right in front of me. I could have licked him. I could have, well, done a lot of things with (to) him. But how am I to expect that a squirrel is going to be RIGHT THERE? He shot back up that tree quivering with fear (I'm sure of it. I am pretty intimidating, you know). I stood there aghast. I looked at my human with that "what just happened?" look and now I'm just disappointed. I had a chance. I could have had 'im. My greatest Christmas wish was in my reach and I froze. Very sad growls. Maybe if I'm very good next year, Santa will give me another chance. I'll be ready, Santa. I promise.

A helping paw

Last weekend I got to be what my humans are calling a "Good Pawmaritan." My pack and I went on a trip to see my grand-humans! That is where my sister Casey was from. They live about two hours away and we left early in the morning. I was all excited. I got to see some new things and smell new smells on the way, as the weather was nice enough for me to have my head out the window some of the time. It is always fun to go down there because my humans take me for long walks in the woods and I get to see my "friends" the squirrels. I got lots of attention and even a bit of turkey (yummy -- I want more!) I was pretty worn out by the time we left. It was just getting dark and I was ready for a nap in the back seat of the car. Not too long after we 'd gotten on the road, we had to come to a really quick stop. The car in front of us had hit a deer. Daddy quickly got out of the car to make sure everyone was okay and to call for some help. The people who hit the deer were a bit older and the woman who was driving was pretty shook up by the whole thing. Can't blame her. Nobody would ever want to hurt an animal, would they? After he'd made sure things were okay (except the car and the deer, of course) mommy got out of the car and went over to see if she could help calm the woman down while daddy and the man went to clear debris off the road. After a couple of minutes all the necessary calls were made and daddy came to get me out of the car. He'd asked the nice woman if she liked dogs and she had said "yes." So, to help calm her down and to take her mind off what had just happened, I was really good and didn't jump up or make a fuss. I just sat there and let her pet me. She even knew I am a basenji! Smart woman! I was able to help her focus her attention away from that awful occurence and think about happier, waggier things (that would be me!) Finally a car with flashing lights showed up and since things seemed to be in hand, we got back in the car and resumed our journey home. I slept just about the whole way. Mommy and daddy say that I was a really good basenji. I like lending a helping paw. And my humans were really glad I was there to help, too.

Struggles of an indoor doggie

I'm an indoor dog. My humans have made it very clear that I am a member of the family and family members live inside the house. I get to go outside a lot, but I'm an indoor dog. So, this is currently causing a problem. I get these bones, see. Or Puppy Bagels from Einstein Bros. And sometimes I eat them, sometimes I play with them and sometimes I carry them around. But what I've decided I want to do is bury them. But I'm an indoor dog. I've tried everywhere. I tried to bury them in the couch. Didn't work. I tried the loveseat. Didn't work. I even tried to nose non-existent dirt over them and that didn't work. So now my humans are laughing at me. I walk around the house with the bone (or bagel) in my mouth whining about the lack of viable burial sites and they laugh at me. I mean, this is a real problem here. What if somebody takes my treat? I'm an only dog, so I don't have any in-home competition and my humans don't seem to want my treats, but I REALLY want to bury my treats. What is an indoor dog to do? I whine, they laugh, and I cannot make my treats disappear. Unless I eat them. Then they disappear.