I'm getting too old for this!

Well, I promised a diary entry and here it is. I barely have the strength to dictate this to my crazy mom.

Yes we had a marvelous vacation in New Mexico. We spent all morning and into the afternoon at a swell crafts fair/farmers market in Las Cruces. Jesse and I made lots of new two and four legged friends and spent our allowances on new bandanas and a stuffed pepper toy. We even went into El Paso Texas where we actually got to go shopping in the El Paso Saddle Blanket Company...they are VERY dog friendly. Our big event though, was the hot air balloon festival at White Sands. You never saw such a big sandbox!

When we got home, mom had some sort of bug that kept her out of action for over two weeks. She's okay now thanks to my great bedside manner. Then the computer got sick.

Just when I was all set to lay back on the veranda and enjoy the beautiful fall weather, the doorbell rang and in stepped this weird looking thing, sorta like Jesse only dark and spookey...and yes it was the night before Halloween. I think she is a SHE WOLF. You might want to check out Jesse's website to get the gorey details.

I'm baaaaack!

We've been home for over a week and it's taken us this long to rest and recover from a wonderful vacation. My little brother, Jesse just finished his diary so I figure I better write an entry too just to get the story straight!

First off, Jesse spent most of his time sleeping in the back seat. I on the other hand enjoyed the magnificent scenery of northern Arizona and southern Utah. I always wanted to be a geologist or anthropologist! We had a wonderful motel everywhere we went and we met other traveling dogs as well.

It is mostly open range up there so we met lots of cattle and horses too and something new...sheep! They kinda look like Bedlington terriers who need a bath. One of our greatest discoveries is Navajo fry bread, I wonder if Purina has ever thought of fry bread dog treats.

Our travels took us to the Painted Desert, Petrified Forest, Monument Valley, Valley of the Gods (UT), Mexican Hat (yes, there is a big rock that looks like a sombrerro), and Goosenecks State Park. Goosenecks is where the San Juan River makes big curves in the deep canyons and where for some reason humans like to go bouncing around in rubber boats.

It was a wonderful trip and if you every get the chance to go there....DO IT!!

Time to hitch up the covered wagon...

I'm real excited because we are about to head up to northern Arizona/southern Utah...the land of big sky and some of the best scenery around. The only bad thing is we have to take my little brother, Jesse James. Oh well, maybe we can trade him for some Navajo fry bread!
This trip is going to be a lot of fun with some spectacular scenery and billions of stars at night.. I'm looking forward to seeing all those beautiful places at Monument Valley just like in the old John Wayne movies. Most of all, I like traveling in the car looking out the window and smelling all the new smells. Mom always fixes us a nice little place in the back seat so I can take my afternoon siesta. Ah yes, the traveling life for me.

Cooper Visits Foreign Places

I was really concerned that I would have to go on vacation with the plastic cone I had to wear to stop me from scratching the hot spot on my head. I looked ridiculous. The lizards saw me and laughed so hard they fell off the wall. Christopher the Cactus Wren went from saguaro to saguaro telling all the birds to go see “cone head”. Well, the joke was on them. I only had to wear it a few days and it was off well before we left. My allergy medicine and special shampoo were working too and the day we left I got to cut my medication in half and wasn’t chewing very much on my paws anymore. I was all set to go. My stuff was packed three days in advance! Let’s see, argyle sweater and green hoodie for chilly mountain nights, boots for hiking, bowls for water and food, and treats, lotsa treats.

The big day came. Mom stuffed some big pillows in the car especially on the console so I could sit and see everything or just snooze. I wore my seat belt in case we ran into rough weather, curvy mountain roads or California drivers. Soon we were in New Mexico, the first state other than Arizona I’d ever been in. We left the Interstate and headed into the Gila Mtns. one of Geronimo’s places to hide. I wanted to do “marker” like my pal Sir Winston and “leave ‘em something to smell me by”, but mom gave me that look that said “thou shall be discreet”. So I peed on a nondescript republican looking bush. Soon we were in Silver City. Yahoooo! It looked kinda Olde West like and mom explained that it was an old mining town and also Billy the Kid’s hometown. (I don’t know who Geronimo and Billy the Kid were, probably Hollywood dogs from a Lassie movie.)

We found the house we were to stay in just outside of town. It was a cute two bedroom, with a fully stocked kitchen and living room casita! It was next to the owners’ house and bookstore named after the road it is on…High Lonesome Road. This place was sooo cooool! In order to get to it, the road crossed a creek, or rather, went through a creek. No bridge. We would find out the next day that the mule deer like to go there when they are thirsty. We were coming home after our travels and up popped three heads, a stag and two does who had been grazing in the tall grass near the creek.

Anyway, the owners raise coursing dogs, a cross of greyhounds, wolfhounds and something else. They stayed outback in the kennel by the owners’ son’s chickens and goats. Everyday they collect fresh eggs and sometimes make goat cheese. I got to share the yard with the “home dogs”, an almost all white greyhound named Phoebe and a male of unknown breeding named, of all things, Jack. He was not like my pal Jack.

Phoebe and I hit it off immediately. She was big and lovely. Jack, well he’s okay, but if I peed somewhere he’d sneak up later and pee where I did. High Lonesome sits on over 12 acres so there was plenty to explore, but I thought that discretion being the better part of valor, I’d let Jack think that I wouldn’t trespass on his turf.

We spent the next couple of days touring the countryside and the local galleries. I am really getting good at this gallery-hopping stuff. People say “of course he can come in he’s sooo cute”. I even was offered water if I looked thirsty or not. I think I’ll become an art collector. On our last day we went to a farmers market. Talk about chilies, the best apple cider ever, wonderful onions, herbs and garlic! Plus all kinds of berry jam and that jalapeño jelly mom won’t let me try. Best of all, I met the cutest little black Pomeranian and her cocker spaniel sister, aye Chihuahua!

This was a wonderful trip. Our casita had a nice little verandah where we could listen to nothing but the wind off the hills and lots of birds. At night there were more stars than you can imagine, like diamonds on black velvet. The Milky Way stretched above us from horizon to horizon. It was wonderfully cool at night and we loved going to sleep listening to the silence except for the rushing of the creek. It was a good time and a terrific Birthday present!!!

This has been an exciting weekend.

I went to the vet on Friday because I’ve been having allergy problems. Actually it started with a hot spot on the top of my head three weeks ago. Because of that I had to wear one of those silly looking cone-head things for a couple of days, but mom was right, the hot spot is all gone now except for some dark skin which I am growing hair as fast as I can to cover up.

At the same time, I began chewing on my feet and really made a mess of things. That resulted in another visit to the vet for more meds and special stinky shampoo. My vet checked everything Friday and did my annual exam including a blood workup to see how my previously elevated liver enzymes are. Everything turned out terrific, so now to the good stuff….

Wednesday morning we leave on vacation. We’re going to New Mexico in the Gila National Forest/Wilderness. Last week I got a new argyle sweater for those chilly mountain nights and a spiffy green hoodie with a pouch for my treats and spending money.

Today I am going to get shoes, I don’t know what shoes are but mom says they will protect my feet when we go walking in the mountains, desert or in town to see all the art galleries. This is my first trip outside Arizona, so I’m not sure what to expect. Do they have trees to pee on? Are there other dogs there? Stay tuned, when I get home I’ll have lots of pictures and a diary entry about my exploits. Aroooo!

I've been LOVE tagged...

I’m not sure about my buddy Jack, he says he’s giving me a love tag and then he sends me a Brussels sprout. Oh well, that’s Jack. So I’m supposed to love tag three of my pals. Well, I love all my Pup Pals, but there are three (plus three) I would like to make note of. I hope all of you who are reading this will send them all a rosette, add them to your Pup Pal group and get to know them as I have.

Daizy began this year trying to understand why her wonderful little sister Lucy went to the Rainbow Bridge. Well, none of us understand why, but things sure turned around for Daizy. Aside from getting a daddy, something else special came into her life. (http//www.dogster.com/dogs/452527)

Remy is my hero. Some might say he has a handicap. NO WAY. Remy may not have the gift of sight, but he has the gift of heart like the true terrier he is. He’s even super smart, he’s even trained his own seeing eye dog named Lily (http://www.dogster.com/dogs/438999)

Sir Winston Churchill Wurchill is the guy I would choose as my traveling bud. I love him for is wit, wisdom, poetry and a lot of other things I can’t remember right now. Wagons Ho, SW! (http://www.dogster.com/dogs/249671)

Honorable mention special love tags go to my three hot ladies, Bridget the Pizza Princess of Brooklyn, Allie the Archeologist in Pasadena, and of course, Lucy, the Queen of Australia.

For those of you who are reading this because I sent you a glass of purple slurpy juice and asked you to come to my diary, here are The Rules: Select three pals you want to love tag, write in your diary why they have been tagged, and then tag your pals by sending them a rosette and directing them to your diary.

What a week that was!!!

Last week was really something. On Monday, we had another one of our summer storms. It got really dark out and there was a lot of thunder and lightning and FINALLY we got a good rain which we so desperately needed.

On Tuesday I had to go to the specialist vet for my sonograph. This was the third one since January to see if some things they found on my spleen were growing. I didn't like the sound of that. The vet said if it was growing, they'd have to take out my spleen. I really didn't like the sound of that. Anyway, the tests have shown zero growth, the vets are happy, my moms are thrilled, and I get to keep my spleen. Mom told me what these things are. I don't remember if they're called splenic nodules or splendid noodles. Probably the latter.

Friday evening was unbelievable. A monsoon storm moved in out of nowhere and even tho' I don't mind thunder and lightning, this storm was something else. The winds were horrible and blew down a big limb from our mesquite tree in front of the house and tore away half of one of the palo verdes in the backyard. It was scary. There have been four tornado sightings this summer here in Tucson and nearby and that sort of thing isn’t supposed to happen in the desert! It wasn't a tornado Friday, but the worst storm we've seen since we've lived here.

Saturday and Sunday were spent cleaning up all the storm damage. In some places a couple of miles away, lots of big old eucalyptus trees came down on cars and roofs. I used to like to watch the storms, but I don't like how violent and destructive they seem to have become. Here's hoping this week is peaceful and quiet!

It's hard to come up with seven Dogster Pals!

Hey Pals,
I was tagged by Snickers (the fashion queen of Iowa) one of my great pup pals here on Dogster. So now I need to list seven things about myself then tag seven of my pals to keep the game going.

Seven Things About Cooper the Travelin’ Dog:

1. I want to go to Brooklyn and have pizza with Bridget
2. I want to go to Buffalo and make a snowdog with Eoin
3. I want to go to BC and party all night with Daizy and Annie
4. I want to go to Australia and put shrimp on the barbie with Lucy and Harri
5. I want to go to Vancouver WA and have planked salmon with Otis
6. I want to “know the way to San Jose” so I can play with Remy
7. I want to hop on a Harley with Sir Winston and ride the Deals Gap Road.

Here are seven of my pals that I have picked to play this game:

1. Bridget
2. Eoin
3. Daizy
4. Lucy
5. Otis
6. Remy
7. Sir Winston Churchill Wurchill

I will email them to tell them they have been tagged! Your it!
Yeeeehaaaa!
Cooper

I Did It, I Did It!!!

I did it and I'm dawg proud of myself...I CAUGHT THE LIZARD!!! I am the greatest, the coolest and I'm in the dog house with mom. But I done did it! LIZARD MAN RULES!!

A Very Busy Day

Saturday started off like any day. I woke mom up just before sunrise at 5am to do a search of the yard to be sure all was ready for the weekend. I have a big back yard so it takes a while to see who's awake. Mom stayed on the verandah and watched as the sun began to come over the mountain.

Well, all the birds were beginning to gather at the feeders and the hummers were sampling the day's new supply of nectar when I noticed something along the wall. It was a little king snake! We have been lucky to have a 6' king snake named Henry VIII living in our desert, but this was evidently his little daughter (?). Mom notice her too just as I was about to give her a good morning kiss. Mom said "No, look, don't touch". We decided to call her Elizabeth I.

Mom didn't feel like staying up and went back to bed. I tried to go back to sleep, but a new day was dawning so I let her sleep an hour and then bugged her to let me out. She made a cup of coffee and out we went. By now it was mayhem at the bird feeders, Elizabeth was nowhere to be found and I could tell the lizards were finally up and about.

There's one little lizard, a whip tail, who likes to tease me and this morning I snuck up behind him and SURPRISE!!! Off we ran along the wall, up, over and through the bushes. I was flying faster than the speed of light. Unfortunately, I got caught in the rope lighting that goes up and along the wall and pulled the whole thing down along with the latice that the jasamine vine grows on.

I almost got that nasty littly lizard, but he ran under a pile of rocks. I looked back and there were branches and vines and rope lights scattered all over the place and mom running toward me yelling NO!! NO!! I was rather proud of how close I came to getting that lizard. At first mom looked mad, but then she laughed and made some comment about me looking like coyote named Wiley who chases a roadrunner.

Well, we went inside for breakfast and to my surprise there were to be more adventures. After breakfast I got to go in the car, yippie!! We went down toward the border to a sort of artists' colony called Tubac. We did shopping for more "stuff" and then had lunch in another town called Green Valley. By then it was 104° so we went home and had a good siesta. I dreamed about all the fun I had. Can't wait 'til the 4th of July!