I'm Here!!

Hi everyone,

I haven't been here in awhile but I'v been real busy. My 6th birthday came and today is my sister's birthday at the Bridge.

I am now an official service doggie for my Mommy and I've been working real hard at it. She says I'm the BEST service doggie EVER!!

Happy Birthday to my sister, Poochie, and Happy 4th of July!

Wuf,
Benny

TODAY IS MY 5TH BIRTHDAY!!!!

Yay! Today is my 5th birthday. I thought it would never get here!!!

Mommy and Daddy and me are away at a lake and I'm chasing squirrels and chipmunks and lots of other critters. I hope I get to keep one for my birthday!

5 years old means I'm a big boy now but Mommy says I'm still her little baby. Blah! I just hope she doesn't make me wear one of those stupid party hats again...but she probably will.

Maybe we can get a stupid party hat on a chipmunk..hee hee :)

WOO HOO! It's my birthday!!!!

Today is my 3rd Benniversary!!!

Wow, I can't believe it's been 3 whole years already since I got my Forever Family.

Sometimes it feels like it was just yesterday that I was a lost puppy on the street and then in the prison and orphanage; sometimes it feels like I have always been home.

I love my Forever Family sooooo much. I love my Daddy. He takes me for walkies all the time and we chase squirrels and kitty kats but he's slow so we never catch any :( He plays with me at home and I give Daddy a gazillion kissies. He's my BEST BUDDY...even if he steals my spot in bed!!

I love my Mommy. She gives me lots of hugs, kissies and yummy foodies. She plays with me too. And I take good care of her. She says I healed her heart, that it was broken and I helped to fix it. She says I helped teach her that the heart can always love again. Hmmm...if I teach her so much, why does she say I need to go to obedience school?

And I love my sister, Poochie, who is an Angel and led me to my Forever Home and shared her Mommy and Daddy with me. She saved me and allowed me into her Forever Family.

Since I have been here, I have learned SOOOOO much. I've made friends and won look-a-like contests with my Daddy. I've even had my picture and story published in a doggie cookbook with a recipe just for me!!!

I'm soooo glad I got a Forever Family and if I could make one wish (besides the one for more toys), I would wish that ALL animals find a Forever Family and Forever Home too.

HAPPY 3RD BENNIVERSARY TO ME!!!!! WOOF!!

Today is My 4th Birthday!!!!!

Finally....I thought it would never get here. But it did. Today is my birthday.

I am 4 years old...or at least that's what Mommy and Daddy think. They don't know. Nobody knows what day my birthday really is 'cause they didn't know in the orphanage where Mommy and Daddy 'dopted me from. But Mommy gave me the same birthday as her Grandpa 'cause she says he was a good guy who loved her and doggies and all animals.

That's cool with me to have my Great Grandpa's birthday but I say, since they don't know which day is REALLY my birthday, they should celebrate EVERYDAY 'cause everyday COULD be my birthday...they don't know and they might miss it. So I should get a present every single day, just in case. Makes sense to me but they haven't gotten with the program yet....sigh...

I think they got somethin' special planned for today though. We are going somewhere, maybe Central Park, and then a cake and candles and PRESENTS when we get home. Hope Mommy didn't get me no stupid clothes. Yuck!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO ME! HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO ME!!
HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO MEEEEEEEE
HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO ME!!!!

Me and Daddy Won 1st Place!!

This summer Mommy and Daddy have been taking me to a lotta dog fairs and walkathons. They want me to go see lotsa places and meet other pups and the charity helps out shelter doggies (like I used to be).

Yesterday we went to Hounds on the Sound in Port Jefferson. Mommy "convinced" Daddy that we should enter the dog/owner look-a-like contest and WE WON!!!!

I got a purple ribbon that says "1st" and some guy took our picture and got our names so I'm pretty sure I'm gonna get famous now. I just hope the pupparazzi doesn't get outa control!! A guy needs his privacy sometimes too, ya know.

Daddy's really lucky to have hair that looks like mine...at least, that's what Mommy says (she loves her men with white hair :) She says me and Daddy were always 1st place winners to her but it's nice to have the public recognition too. This is a great way to start my birthday week!!!!

Today is my 2nd Benniversary!!

Today is my 2nd Benniversary. It's been 2 years since my Mommy and Daddy 'dopted me and I got a Forever Family.

I remember just 2 years ago, I was on the street, lost and cold and hungry and scared. Then I got picked up and put in the prison pound where they was gonna kill me, just for being lost!! Then the nice people at Animal Lovers League took me and kept me for a month.

My sister Poochie who went to the Bridge just a month before came to me at night while I was in the prison. She was the most beautiful angel I'd ever seen!!! She said she would make me a deal. She needed someone to take care of her Mommy and Daddy 'cause she couldn't no more and in exchange, she would save me. I took the deal, I'm no dummy! So I got saved and went to the shelter for a month 'cause Mommy and Daddy weren't ready for me yet. My sister promised me they would come for me and on October 27, 2006 they did. They came to the shelter and took me to my new Forever Home.

It was a rough time. I was traumatized and scared of everything. Mommy was hurting really bad 'cause of losing Poochie and she didn't like me much. Daddy was nice to me from the start. My angel sister would come to me at night and tell me how I had to learn to give kissies and lickies and cuddlies so I could help my Mommy and Daddy heal. After a coupla months, I learned it!! Little by little, I got less scared and Mommy and Daddy got more smiley. It's been the best 2 years of my little life.

Thank you Animal Lovers League for rescuing me from the prison. Thank you Mommy and Daddy for adopting me and giving me the BESTEST life!! Most of all, thank you Poochie for making that deal with me and sharing your Mommy and Daddy and home with me. I love having a Forever Family!!

Happy 2nd Benniversary to me!!!!

My First Cruise

On Sunday I went on my first Canine Cruise.

Mommy and Daddy said it was a big test for me since less than 2 years ago, I would scream and cry if I saw another dog...or cat...or person. You see, I had a ruff time being lost on the streets, then being in that prison where they were going to kill me in one week, then the orphanage where I lived for a month. By the time Mommy and Daddy found me, I was a mess.

And professionals they asked said it was too late to socialize me and that they should avoid other dogs. But my Mommy and Daddy didn't listen and they did the opposite. They sought out people who would let me say hi to their dogs even if I acted up. That was a good idea 'cause it got me used to other dogs and now I'm the most pupular dog in the 'hood.

Anyway, we got to the pier and there was this BIG boat and tons of people and their dogs. Some of them were dressed in funny outfits and some had sunglasses and hats. I just had my polo shirt on 'cause a snuggly t-shirt helps calm me down. It was SOOOOO hot and muggy but I was excited.

I got to meet lots of other dogs. I even entered a Mr. Canine contest but I didn't win. I think it was fixed (and not in the doodles kind of way). Mommy and Daddy said I was the best boy and I behaved perfectly. They were so happy and proud of me that they actually cried!!!! They said I have come so far in less than 2 years. I guess so, I know I wasn't scared and I felt safe with Mommy and Daddy there.

I especially loved when we went on the deck and Daddy held me and my fur blew in the wind. But mostly, I guess I love how many times Mommy and Daddy hugged and kissed me and told me how proud they are of me!!! I know my Angel sister, Poochie, is proud of me too!!!

Now I can't wait until next year's cruise unless I can talk Mommy and Daddy into getting me my own boat!!

Sails Away,
Captain Benoni

My Sister's 2nd Bridge Day

Today, September 5th, is 2 years since my sister went to the Bridge.

My Mommy and Daddy are very sad and crying a lot. They are going to the cemetery today to visit Poochie in her special place. They won't let me go; they said they don't want me in that place. That's ok 'cause me and Poochie have our own ways of talking no matter where we are.

I hope my sister has a happy Bridge Day and a big party. I am so proud to be her brother and I am so glad she chose me to share her family with.

Poochie, I love you SOOOOOO much!!

Love your little brother,
Benoni

Today is My Birthday!

Today is my 3rd birthday!!!

Well, we don't really know when my birthday is since I got adopted from the orphanage. At first, Mommy and Daddy were going to make my "Gotcha Day" also be my birthday but then I would only get presents once instead of twice. I couldn't go for that!!!! So I told Mommy and Daddy that I wanted a real birthday!!

All they knew was that I was born sometime around spring or summer 'cause my doctor says I was 'bout a year and a half when they rescued me. Mommy and Daddy's birthdays are both in May and my sister Poochie's birthday is in July so they picked June for my birthday. Mommy chose June 10th because that was her Grandpa's birthday and he was her favorite person in the whole world (at least till Poochie came along and then Daddy and now me!!!) Mommy says he would have loved me and that he is with my sister, Poochie, in Heaven. So Mommy and Daddy made my birthday June 10th in honor of my great-Grandpa.

Today we are going to have a cake and presents and lotsa fun!!! I tell them they should give me presents everyday 'cause everyday COULD be my real birthday. They don't know. But they don't fall for that.

Anyway, Mommy and Daddy said they are so proud of me 'cause I came so far from when they got me (whatever that means; I only came from Long Island???) They love me so much and I am so glad that my sister, Poochie, chose me to be her little brother and helped me get 'dopted into my Forever Family.

Happy Birthday to me!!!!! Yaaaaay!!!!

Birthday, Benniversary and Best Man

Wow, I had such an exciting week!

First I was my Daddy's Best Man at his wedding to my Mommy. We took a LOOOOOOOOOOONG drive to Wilmington, North Carolina and stayed at this beautiful house with a giant tropical garden. It even had a pond with fishies. Daddy said they are koi but they just looked like lunch to me. I tried to catch those fishies; I chased them every day but I never got one :( And one day, I even ended up in the pond. I told Mommy and Daddy that the fishies pulled me in and tried to drown me. Everytime I tried to get out, they pulled me right back in! I also chased froggies and lizards and birdies and anything that moved near me. I got to go to the beach but I didn't like how those waves kept trying to get me!

I was a really good best man at the wedding, probably 'cause I was soooo tired from chasing fishies and froggies. I had to wear a tux and I hafta admit I looked pretty darn handsome. At first I didn't want nobody taking my picture but by the end of the night, I was getting used to the pup-arazzi. Just the price of looking so good, I guess. Daddy held me through the whole ceremony. It was romantic, I guess, if you like that kind of mush.

The best part of the whole week was after a coupla days, Mommy and Daddy let me run around WITHOUT MY LEASH!!!!!!! They trusted me not to run away and I got to go outside when I felt like it and lay out in the sun and roam around the grounds like a big boy! I only didn't listen to come back a coupla times, ok, maybe a few times, but most of the time, I was really good and Mommy and Daddy were very proud of me.

I didn't want to leave but we had to make the LOOOOOOOOOONG drive back. I slept through most of the drive and we got back on Friday at 2 in the morning. Then when I woke up on Saturday, it was MY BIRTHDAY and MY ONE YEAR BENNIVERSARY in my FOREVER HOME. Mommy and Daddy said we are goin' to celebrate the whole weekend. I know they got lots of toys hidden away for me and a cake. We think I am about 3 years old but we're not really sure. Mommy and Daddy made my birthday my Gotcha Day.

Wow, life is such a whirlwind and so full of changes. A year ago I was on the street and then the pound and the orphanage. Nobody wanted me. Then my Angel sister Poochie saved me and now I have a Mommy and a Daddy and a Forever Home. I have toys and clothes and I sleep in bed with pillows and blankies and jammies (I don't really like the jammies) and I eat good foodies - I got steak two days in a row! Everyone in the neighborhood loves me and I'm becoming a better boy everyday. I make Mommy laugh and I'm my Daddy's Best Buddy!

Yesterday my sister declared me an Angel Boy for taking such good care of Mommy and Daddy this year since she went to the Bridge so now I got my wings too! I'm one lucky pup!

This was the BEST birthday and Benniversary EVER!!!!!

Woof,
Benoni