Dear Diary...

I'm proud of my brother Ringo!

I want to tell you a story about my brother Ringo.

About a week and a half week ago, on Sunday night - actually very early Monday morning - at about 1:30 A.M., Mom was already in bed and Ringo and I were in the bedroom too. Dad was just walking in when Ringo went flying out of the room growling. He raced to the living room and started barking like crazy. Now that is not unusual behavior for him at all, but he never acts like that once he goes to bed.

Dad went out to see what was up, and he heard some yelling outside. That's really normal around here at that time of night because we live near a bowling alley with a popular bar inside, and 1:00 A.M. is closing time. So he brought Ringo back into the bedroom, but meanwhile Mom heard the yelling too, and she could hear it more clearly because she has better hearing and she had the bedroom window on her side open a bit. She told Dad it sounded like a woman yelling "HELP! CALL THE POLICE!" So Dad ran outside and looked around. He couldn't see anything and there was no yelling at first. But just when he was about to go back in, he heard it himself and it sounded just like what Mom said!

He ran back in the house, told Mom to call 911, grabbed his coat and a MagLite and Ringo (hrmph!) and ran back out. The yelling was coming from the direction of the pond a couple blocks from our house... the pond is on both sides of the road. He and Ringo hopped in the car and drove up that way, trying to look all around, but didn't see anything. He went up to the next major intersection (where the Police Station is on the corner) and turned around so they could look along the other side of the road more. They went by the pond again but still saw nothing. So Dad was gonna go back and park by the pond to look with the flashlight since the road is a lot higher than the pond. When he turned on the next street to turn around, three squad cars went flying by... PAST where he last heard the yelling! So he followed them past our house, flashing his lights and honking to get the cops' attention. They went racing into the bowling alley parking lot and drove up to where a couple was apparently approaching the "your place or mine?" point... I think the cops sorta ruined the moment for them! Anyway, that was where Dad caught up with them and told them that they went too far because whatever was happening was back by the pond. I guess the dispatcher gave them the wrong information because Mom told them that Dad heard the yelling last up by the pond. The three squad cars there quickly took off and headed for the pond.

Well, at that point, there was nothing more for Dad and Ringo to do so they went back home. They just got out of the car when they heard more yelling and they saw one of the cop cars drive right off the road into the area around the pond. All the cops were shining their spotlights down there. Then a bunch more cop cars came zooming by and stopped by the pond. Soon after, an ambulance came there. You should have seen all the flashing lights!

They were there for a long time, but Dad had to get to bed so we don't know how long. And we still have no idea what happened. But from what we saw and heard, it must have been something pretty serious! The good news is that since the lady was still yelling when the police showed up, she must have been at least still in fairly good condition.

Well, that's my story! Ringo wouldn't say anything about it... you know Ringo, he just says stuff like "well, it's just my job". But I wanted to let you know that, even if we don't know exactly what he saved someone from, I think my brother Ringo was a hero.

Don't wait until it's too late to say Thanks

Today is Thanksgiving Day in the United States. This holiday, based on a tradition that goes back for centuries, is a day designated for giving thanks for the multitude of blessings which have been bestowed upon us.

Last year, we enjoyed a wonderful Thanksgiving Day at home. The next day, I received, among other things, a p-mail from my best friend Wilson. In his message, he said he was thankful for me and my two brothers. It was short and sweet, and made me feel wonderful.

When I went to reply to it, Wilson showed up with a new name: "Wilson - Rainbow Bridge". I was devastated. How could Wilson just leave like that? I never even had the chance to thank him for being my friend!

But of course I did. I had that chance many, many times. And that's the point of my diary today. Don't wait until it's too late. Say it now.

To my friends: THANK YOU! You mean more to me than you'll ever know.

The Legend of the Rainbow

THE LEGEND OF THE RAINBOW

as posted by ocean1025 at Deaf Pagan Crossroads on June 5, 2007

Based on a Native American Legend

Once upon a time the colors of the world started to quarrel; all claimed that they were the best, the most important, the most useful, the favorite.

GREEN said: “Clearly I am the most important. I am the sign of life and of hope. I was chosen for grass, trees, leaves - without me, all animals would die. Look over the countryside and you will see that I am in the majority.”

BLUE interrupted: “You only think about the earth, but consider the sky and the sea. It is the water that is the basis of life and drawn up by the clouds from the deep sea. The sky gives space and peace and serenity. Without my peace, you would all be nothing.”

YELLOW chuckled: “You are all so serious. I bring laughter, gaiety, and warmth into the world. The sun is yellow, the moon is yellow, the stars are yellow. Every time you look at a sunflower, the whole world starts to smile. Without me there would be no fun.”

ORANGE started next to blow her trumpet: “I am the color of health and strength. I may be scarce, but I am precious for I serve the needs of human life. I carry the most important vitamins. Think of carrots, pumpkins, oranges, mangoes, and pawpaws. I don’t hang around all the time, but when I fill the sky at sunrise or sunset, my beauty is so striking that no one gives another thought to any of you.”

RED could stand it no longer. He shouted out: “I am the ruler of all of you - I am blood - life’s blood! I am the color of danger and of bravery. I am willing to fight for a cause. I bring fire into the blood. Without me, the earth would be as empty as the moon. I am the color of passion and of love, the red rose, the poinsettia and the poppy.”

PURPLE rose up to his full height. He was very tall and spoke with great pomp: “I am the color of royalty and power. Kings, chiefs, and bishops have always chosen me for I am the sign of authority and wisdom. People do not question me - they listen and obey.”

Finally, INDIGO spoke, much more quietly than all the others, but with just as much determination: “Think of me. I am the color of silence. You hardly notice me, but without me you all become superficial. I represent thought and reflection, twilight and deep water. You need me for balance and contrast, for prayer and inner peace.”

And so the colors went on boasting, each convinced of his or her own superiority. Their quarreling became louder and louder. Suddenly there was a startling flash of bright lightening - thunder rolled and boomed. Rain started to pour down relentlessly The colors crouched down in fear, drawing close to one another for comfort.

In the midst of the clamor, RAIN began to speak: “You foolish colors, fighting amongst yourselves, each trying to dominate the rest. Don’t you know that you were each made for a special purpose, unique and different? Join hands with one another and come to me.”

Doing as they were told, the colors united and joined hands. RAIN continued: “From now on, when it rains, each of you will stretch across the sky in a great bow of color as a reminder that you can all live in peace… for the rainbow is a sign of hope for tomorrow.”

And so, whenever a good rain washes the world, and a rainbow appears in the sky, let us remember to appreciate one another.

(for my friend Wilson, who was blessed with the gift of turning rain into rainbows)

I only have a minute!

I just have time to say one little thing right now...

When it rains, it pours!

A magic moment I will remember forever

Today I was lounging out in the back yard all by myself, feeling kinda lonely and depressed. It was a lovely spring day, a little breezy but lots of sunshine, not a cloud in the sky. Suddenly I felt rain falling on me, but only for a moment. And I saw the most beautiful, most perfect rainbow I have ever seen in my entire life! Then, just as suddenly, it was gone again. But I will always treasure it in my mind.

Happy Mothers Day!

Did you know that the lady who created Mothers Day to honor her mother was born in Webster, West Virginia? That is where you'll find the Anna Jarvis Birthplace Museum. Not far away from there, in Grafton, is the International Mothers Day Shrine, in the former Andrews Methodist Episcopal Church. That is where Anna Jarvis organized the first Mothers Day service, 100 years ago today.

I love my Mom! Most of the time I don't show it very well, but I really, truly do. Oh sure, I wish she would feed me peanut butter chocolate chip cookies instead of that other stuff, but I know she just wants me to be healthy. That's what Moms do, they take good care of us. Even when we do stuff that makes her mad, she still does it. No matter what happens, or how busy she is, or how difficult it might be, she just keeps on doing it.

It seems to me that Mom's love is the closest thing we'll ever see to the way us dogs love unconditionally. And that is such a beautiful thing!

Happy Mothers Day, Mom! I love you!

A New Game!

There is a new game on Dogster... it's a lot like another game that sorta got a bad name, but nobody's calling it that for some reason. ;0)
My cute little pal Annie picked me, which makes me feel pretty good because she is a real sweetie.
I'll tell you four things about four things about the one and only ME!


Name Four Jobs You Have

1. Keeping all those wicked squirrels out of my yard, or at least up in a tree
2. Protecting my cat brother Dusty from my dog brother Ringo
3. Defending my title as "World's Fussiest Eater"
4. Driving my parents crazy!


Name Four Places You Have Lived

1. My forever home in Crystal, Minnesota (for real this time!)
2. My foster home in Minneapolis, Minnesota (thank you, Johnny & Sara!)
3. Some other supposed-to-be-forever home that wasn't
4. Same as above, plus who-knows-where before that


Name Four Places You Have Been

1. The park near my home
2. The dogtor's office
3. PetsMart
4. Lots of other places in the car, with my head out the sunroof!


Name Four Places You Would Rather Be:

1. Anywhere with my Grampa!
2. In a field somewhere, running like a maniac!
3. Someplace where I could really meet all my pals
4. The Skippy factory, or the Keebler factory, or the Dairy Queen, or...


Now I'll ask four friends to do the same. Hope they don't get mad at me!
1. Scruffy (In Loving Memory)
2. Wrangler
3. Dakota
4. Chip

Farewell to Bruno, a gentle giant

Today it got very cold here. This is Minnesota, so that happens a lot. But today I think it was because our friend Bruno left this world for the Rainbow Bridge. He was always spreading so much warmth around that we miss it right away.

I ache for Bruno's family, because they tried so hard to do all they could for him but finally they had to make that painful decision to carry him to the Bridge. Please pray for them to be able to wrap themselves in his memories to keep them warm.

Bruno's family has asked for his friends to remember him by helping out the rescue group that helped him out, a very fine organization called A Rotta Love. If you can, please visit their site and make a donation... maybe you'll even find a new brother or sister there!

Bruno, we will miss you, until we meet again at the Rainbow Bridge.

I lost my best friend today

My name is on a lot of big heavy books full of words, but I have no words right now to say how I feel.
I lost my best friend today.
Wilson, I will always remember you as the best friend I ever had.
I love you, dude.
-Web

My thankful thoughts on Thanksgiving Day

OK, this is my diary, but I am writing it with help from my brother Ringo because he devoted his Thanksgiving Day diary to a very special message for very special dogs.

Today we gather together with family and friends to celebrate the gifts that we are so lucky to receive. Everyone on Dogster and Catster shares so much with me and my family that I want to share my thoughts and thanks with you today.

I am thankful for my home, where I feel safe and loved. Here I never again have to worry about being abandoned or rejected. For that, I am especially thankful for the rescue groups who work so hard and give so much to help dogs and cats like me and my brothers. Some of the things they encounter are so horrible that many people would not be able to cope, but they somehow manage to keep doing it. These people are truly angels on earth.

I am thankful for my family, because I know that they will always be there for me no matter how naughty I am, no matter what might happen to me or them. I didn't get to choose them, but I know they chose me and that makes me feel very special. And I want to tell everyone how much I love my Gramma and Grampa... I can't help myself, I just go crazy when they come to visit!

I am thankful for the devotion and compassion of those who chose to work in the veterinary field, helping dogs and cats to stay well and treating them when they become ill or injured. It must be very difficult to see animals in pain and to feel the grief of their families when they have to send one to the Bridge. Yet they always greet us with smiles and treats and loving words, and always make us feel like we are the only critter in the world while we are there with them.

I am thankful for all of the fantastic friends that my brothers and I - and our parents - have met here on Dogster/Catster. We have so much fun here, but that's only the beginning of it... we have come to know and love each other in a way that is almost beyond comprehension. And I am even thankful for those who we haven't met yet, because I know that there are thousands and thousands of them out there who just pop up seemingly from nowhere when some pet or family needs a helping hand or soothing words of comfort.

I am thankful for dogs and cats like Gizmo the Great!, Samuel Jacob and Xavier, just to name a few of many, because these critters inspire us to be all that we can be, and inspire people to help us do that.

And I am thankful for Dogster and Catster HQ for bringing this whole world into our home. There are millions of websites of all kinds out there, and NONE are comparable. The people and critters at HQ might poop in the kitchen once in a while, so to speak, but after we grumble at them a little bit it's back to normal -- which means maintaining a dog/cat-friendly, people-friendly site that brings us virtually (no pun intended) everything we could hope for in a pet's website. It's all here... friends, fun, advice, and sharing of all kinds of stuff. It's the best!!!

There are a zillion other things to be thankful for, and most of the time we don't even realize how blessed we are. But today is the day to really think about it.

Please join me in spending this day reflecting on all of our gifts!

-Web

The Best Barkday EVER!

WOW!

Last Tuesday, September 18th, marked the second anniversary of my being adopted into my forever home. I have had other homes before, and been rejected, so being here for two years was a really big thing for me! I'm really about 4-1/2 years old, but we don't know my actual birthday so what we celebrate is my Adoption Day, just like we do for my brothers Ringo and Dusty.

Well, this was the first time I had a barkday since we joined Dogster & Catster late last year, and I am so happy we did that!!! I have made so many new friends and so have my brothers and even my Mom & Pop! This place is the greatest!

Last week me and my buddies in the Boys Only Bunker group worked real hard to build a Cabana by the Lake in time to throw a party Saturday night. We finished it just in time, in fact Dusty had to paint it real fast on Saturday! So we had a terrific location for the party, and then Dusty decorated it up real nice for us.

And what a party it was! Lots of my friends showed up, even some girls came! My pal Wilson tried to hide so they wouldn't kiss him, but I got a couple of kisses myself. They were just friendly barkday kisses though, because my heart belongs to Katie! Yes, she was there too... and she looked like a dream! Well of course she did, she is my dream come true. [blush]

Here's a list of all my friends - both dogs and cats - who came to the party:
Ringo
Dusty
Cherry
Spuds
Tater
Sassy
Roxie Doxie
Stinky Pete
Otis Bubba
Hambone
Wilson
Cletis
Postal
Katie
Clyde
Tallulah
Jovi

Thanks to Cherry, Spuds, Sassy, Stinky Pete, and Roxie Doxie for making and/or bringing tons of delicious stuff to eat! Nobody could have gone home hungry!

Spuds, Postal and "Bone Jovi" all got together to serenade me with a hearty rendition of the Happy Woofday song! I just have a feeling those guys are gonna show up in the Top 40 one of these days!

Rascal, Whiskey and Sandy sent me a note, they wished they could have come but their Mom didn't turn on her computer for a whole day so they missed the invitation. Can you imagine that, no Dogster for a whole day??? Rusty and Nickolas also sent their regrets that they couldn't make it to the party.

I got loads of wonderful barkday presents! Besides all the edible goodies, I got a big fluffy bed, some squeaky stuffies, a six-volume set of "For Dummies" books (my favorite books, and no duplicates of what I already had!), and streamers and a radio to put on my bike!!! And I got 2 Rosettes and 13 Stars on my page! Besides all that, I got barkday wishes from a whole bunch of dogs and cats in my P-mail and in groups and forums. I would like to name them all but there are so many!

Here's a BIG BIG BIG THANK YOU to everyone who helped to make this a very extra special day for me!!! All you Dogsters and Catsters are the BEST!!!

After the big Dogster/Catster party was over, me and my bros Ringo and Dusty and my Mom & Pop all got together and had our own little party. They gave me and Ringo each a big new Mammoth Bone (we both get to celebrate each other's barkdays!) and Dusty got some special kitty treats. There was cake and ice cream, and my cake even had two candles on it! I got to make a wish when I blew out my candles... I wished for all the other homeless dogs and cats in the world to find forever homes of their own. I hope all of you who read this will wish for that too!

What's happening at the Bunker lately?

Because I just sorta left things hanging in my Diary since the end of June, some of you might be thinking that there's nothing happening there anymore. NOT TRUE! I've just handed over the responsibility for recording everything to my cat brother Dusty, and he is doing a terrific job of it! Check it out here:

Dusty's Page

A Night to Remember!

Oh what a night!

After all that work, and a much-needed nap, we finally got to celebrate the Grand Opening of the BOYS ONLY BUNKER... and what a pawty it was!

While Ringo and I caught up on our ZZZ's, Clyde dug us a POOL with help from Stinky Pete and Otis Bubba. Now Clyde can do some serious digging, being a big boy, but he was amazed at how much dirt those two little guys could fling! Check out the pool pic on my photo page 2 to see how much they did in just a few hours!

The BOYS ONLY BUNKER had to relax the rules for a visit from someone very special: Cherokee Forever Loved Cherry, who blessed the Bunker with her presence and some of her beloved Angel friends. She is so sweet!!!

FINALLY, at 6:00 PM on the Dogster clock, it was PAWTY TIME! All of the original gang showed up, even Dusty our cat brother. Clyde brought munchies like you wouldn't believe, boy did we chow down! Wilson was running all over the neighborhood, teasing the girls so they would chase him and then running to the bunker... they could not come in! BOL! Ringo got some time off from his security guard duty, thanks to Tater, Dusty and Cletis - who brought his Super Soaker for any girls who might have tried to sneak into our bunker! Tater stayed on guard at the entrance ALL NIGHT, and NO GIRLS got past him! We owe you big time, Tater... next time you get a triple serving of Frosty Paws!

Remember that awful perfume stink that Katie inflicted on our bunker? Problem solved! Dusty and a couple of his cat pals set up a sandbox right outside, and then he caught a big rat that Stinky Pete rolled around on and then ran through the bunker. He really lived up to his name, and cleared up the perfume stench!

Best of all, we had another great reason to celebrate last night... it's Otis Bubba's birthday today - TWO YEARS OLD! - so we had a birthday party for him! It was really his lucky day, too, because his lizard won the LIZARD RACE! You can see a pic of him waving the checkered flag (special privilege for the guest of honor) as his sleek racing lizard crossed the finish line, look on my photo page 2. And he got to enjoy the fruits of his labor (on the pool project) because we gave him a new toy boat for a birthday present! You can see it at the dock in the pool pic.

Oh, what a night, indeed! Thanks to all of you who helped out with the bunker, and to all of you who stopped by during the evening. You are all the best pals!!!

OH NO!!!

Aw man, how could this happen... just two days until the Grand Opening Celebration, and Clyde's sister Katie snuck into our BOYS ONLY Bunker... and sprayed stinky perfume all over the place! It reeks in there, in fact the dogs down the street came over to complain about the smell! It's just horrible!
Now Ringo is all bummed out because he was supposed to be guarding the bunker. I can't really blame him, he was busy barking at that guy who comes to steal our good trash every week, and she got past him while he was distracted.
Somehow we need to get that stench cleared up by Friday night! Got any ideas?
P-mail me!

It's all done! Well, for now anyway...

We're movin' in!
Took me and Ringo a couple days to rest and recuperate after all that digging!
But now it's all done, at least until we need to expand again.
Check out the new pics on my photo page 2.
Friday night, the Grand Opening Celebration... boy, are we gonna party hearty!

Finally!

I am SO excited, the bunker is ready to use, Stinky Pete and Otis Bubba have put their official stamp of approval on it, and we're here to celebrate!
Check out the new pic on my second photo page.
No more girls bugging us when we just want to get together with the boys!
Read that sign, ladies... BOYS ONLY BUNKER - NO GIRLS ALLOWED! Got that?!
But, umm, when we're not here, we're always up for a little fun! Hehehe... (wink)

First Inspection!

I'm a little nervous.... Stinky Pete and Otis Bubba showed up today for the first inspection of the Bunker Project. They whispered to each other a lot but I couldn't hear what they were talking about. They haven't said anything to me yet so the suspense is killing me. I sure hope they will approve the work we've done so far!
The new pics will be on Page 2 in my Photo Book, so don't forget to look there.

Making progress!

Woof-da! What a week this has been. I finally got Ringo to pitch in on this thing, good thing too because my paws were just about wore down to the nubbies! But he has been working really hard too now, and we are really getting somewhere now. I've added a couple of pictures so you can see how much we've accomplished in the last few days. But it's gonne be really rough from here on out... not only are all those walnut roots tough to chew through, but now we're past the sandy stuff and it's all CLAY! Have you ever tried to dig through that stuff? YUCK!
I wonder if anyone would sell mining equipment to a Russian Wolfhound mix..?

MORE construction..!

Hmmm, now I understand how projects always seem to take longer than planned. This one just keeps growing! Stinky Pete has a brother, so proper etiquette (we weren't raised in a barn, you know!) deems that we make room for him too. And the dirt! Seems like for every foot we dig we get 3 feet of dirt! Pop spread the nice black dirt around the yard, then gave some to all the friends and neighbors, but now it's mostly sand - you can see it in my latest picture - and not too many people want that. Just hope we can keep the danged cats out of it!
Anybody else who needs to get away from the girls once in a while, drop a P-mail to me or Ringo and we'll keep modifying the plans, there's plenty of room down there, we just have to be careful how we do it.
P.S. Tree roots are tough to gnaw through, especially walnut roots!

Construction Project, Phase II

Woooo.. Dog have mercy, this is getting a bit complicated. Now Wilson has asked if Stinky Pete and Tater can come over too, and well, hey, how could we say no? Pete's not too big, but it's gonna take some diggin' to get Tater in there. I'll say one thing for sure, Ringo is gonna have to get busy too, I can't do this all by myself!

It's a good thing I am a smart cookie, because Hey wait a minute, did somebody say cookie?! Oh I did. Never mind. Anyway, it's good that I'm so smart because this is really a highly complex work of engineering! One strict requirement is that we keep the wheels on solid ground, or the camper will fall in on top of us!

Boy, there sure is a lot of dirt piling up here.......

Remodeling in progress!

Wow, have we been busy! It all started when our pal Wilson said he needed a place to lie low when the girls were after him, and I told him about the hideaway under the camper in our backyard. See, our dear departed sister Shadow (no relation to the MALE Shadow in my previous diary entry) dug out under there so she could have a place to get away from Ringo when he would pick on her. Well, it's not only a great hidey-hole, it's nice and cool on a hot summer day too! So I suggested to Wilson that he run over here next time those girls were after him.
But that's only the beginning of the story. Ringo and I got to thinking about Wilson's little brother Cletis, and we figured if he came tagging along and he was hanging around in the yard, the girls would spot him and know that Wilson was around! So of course we had to add not only a room for Wilson but another one for Cletis too... they have to share one at home but not here, no sir. And what the heck, this IS our yard after all, so we oughta have a couple rooms of our own in there, don't ya think?
That's how a simple plan turned into a massive construction project! Ringo's not much of a digger, but that's okay because I really like to dig and usually I get in trouble for it, but now we're turning up a truckload of nice black dirt that Mom & Pop would have had to pay for otherwise. Everybody's happy!
Gotta run, I need to call Willy and Cletey to see what color carpeting they want.
Seeya!

TAGGED!

Ack! I've been TAGGED by Wrangler (#375687), so now I have to get my game on! What a blast... here are the rules:

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 pmail that they have been tagged and to read your Diary, or, send them a fun Rosette announcing they've been Tagged!

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So here are 7 facts about me:

1 - I get depressed when it rains, but then I get frisky when the sun comes out.

2 - I love to play fetch, tug, or keep-away with any old scrap of a toy... but I have to pick the toy.

3 - I love my bungee-ball hanging from the tree! But I hate when Ringo picks on me while I play with it.

4 - I hate to be brushed, especially around my butt!

5 - I am the world's pickiest eater, even with my treats!

6 - I think the squirrels will come to me if I stand under the tree and bark at them.

7 - I have a girlfriend, a cute redhead named Butterscotch with a sexy butt and a fluffy tail!

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And now *I* get to do some tagging! OK, you dogs, get busy!

Zipper #412127

Keira Neo #244588

Annie #479006

Daisy Mae #480830

Smudge #332078

Molly Mae #317066

Oliver #80578