I Saw Santa Paws!

Today mom did something I HATE, she put me in the sink and got my head all wet, then she put shampoo on me and said JoJo, you need to have a clean face to go see Santa Paws. So she was trying to wash my face but she wasn't happy with me moving and trying to get out of the sink. She got a little upset when I jumped out. The counter was all wet and the floor and mom too! Well she finally said ok that's enough Jo and she let me out of that sink. But then came the best part...I went away with mom in the car! We went to the place mom takes us to get groomed. I thought OH NO! NOT HERE! But we went inside and there was Santa Paws! I was very good and had my picture taken and I whispered, bring me some squeek toys and lots of treats! I had a good time visiting with Santa Paws!

Costume Contest

Yesterday mom and dad took us to two costume contests. One was at Petco and one was at the Humane Society. My brother Cory won first place in a costume contest a couple weeks ago and I really wanted to win to make mom and dad proud of me like they were when Cory Jo won. Mom put a costume on me, I was kind of embarrassed, mom made me wear a Rooster costume but I did my best to keep it on. I had a hard time with the rooster head, it's kind of big for me and kept falling off, so I was careful to keep it in place. When they called my name I had to walk in front of all those people and dogs and they laughed at me, how embarrassing! But when it was all over they said the winner is JoJo the Rooster! Now mom and dad are proud of me just like when Cory Jo won, and the best part of all is that I won a basket full of toys and treats! Hey that reminds me, I haven't even had one of my treats yet, I gotta go ask mom if we can break open that package and get me one of those yummy cookies, after all that embarrassment I think I deserve to eat the whole package!

I'm A Good Boy!

I never ever get to go places with mom and dad anymore. My brothers Sammy Jo and Toby Jo always get to go and usually Cory Jo gets to go too but mom and dad say I'm a bad boy because I attack other dogs at the dog park and sometimes I try to bite people if I don't know them. I have to stay home and I cry and cry until they all come home. BUT! Guess what happened yesterday? First mom got out this thing called a bike, it has two big wheels and mom can ride on it. She put me on my leash and took me to the bike, I wondered what is going on? And then she took my leash and she started riding the bike and I ran along! I love to run but I can't because I have to be on my leash if we are out of my yard. It was GREAT! I ran all the way around the block! After that me and mom took a walk to the park and back home and then she let me have another run with the bike. After mom and dad ate dinner they put our vests on us and mom took me out for another run with the bike, and afterwards she put me in the car and dad brought out my brothers and we all went away together! In the car! Even me, I got to go away too! And best of all, they took us to a dog park for the "Small Dog Meetup". Dad took my brothers and went inside the park and mom put a muzzle on me and we went for a walk for awhile outside of the fenced in area where all the dogs were playing. Finally she told dad that I was calmed down and she was going to try to bring me in. I was kind of tired from my all of my exercise so I went in and walked around, I didn't like the other dogs to come near me but I tried to be nice. I didn't attack any dogs or bite any people, mom and dad told me I was a good boy and they are so proud of me! I was so happy that I got to go somewhere with my whole family! Today me and mom went out with the bike again and then she took me for a long walk. I am the happiest boy, but I'm kind of tired now so I'm going to go curl up and take a nap........JoJo

MY FIRST YEAR IN MY NEW HOME

Dear Diary in just 9 more days, on feb 26, 2008, I will have been in my new home with my new family for one whole year! It has been an exciting year, I've seen lots of new places, and learned so many new things. One of the biggest things I've learned is that it's a bad thing to go potty in the house. You have to stand by the door and when someone sees you they say "do you want to go side, go potty". Then you just make a little bark and they come and open the door and out you go. It was very hard to learn that and sometimes I still make a mistake but I'm doing pretty good in that area. I also learned that when mom and dad feed us, we each get our own dish and when it's gone we can't go eat from someone elses dish. I went on my first vacation and slept in a different kind of house called a tent. I went to doggie parks and a doggie beach. I had my first Christmas and got toys and clothes and treats. I never had clothes before I was rescued and now that I have my own home, I have lots of clothes, I have t-shirts and sweaters and a sweat shirt and a vest. I don't really like clothes but mom says they make me look cute, mom and dad have made me so happy and I love them so much that I don't mind if I have to wear the clothes. I was so scared of mom and dad at first but now I love them to hold me and I even give them little kisses! There's a few things that I haven't exactly liked besides the clothes. Things like the vet where I have to go and get shots. and also that "Bark Buster" guy that comes here sometimes and makes me not bark and he won't let me try to protect my family when I feel that they need me to keep them safe. He says it's a bad thing to bite people that come in our house. I just don't understand that. I wish they could understand that they are my family and I have to keep them safe. Another thing I don't really like is going to a place called the groomer. I don't like getting a bath and my hair cut. Oh and at night mom and dad brush my teeth and clean around my eyes, those aren't my favorite things either. I never had to do that before I came here. All in all though, I am very happy and even though it's hard to make so many changes in your life it's all worth it to have a home where you feel loved and safe and warm. My most favorite time of all is at night when I sleep in the big bed with mom and dad. I cuddle next to them and they hug me and I give them kisses and they tell me they love me.
JoJo

THE MEETUP

Well, last Sunday we went to the "Meet up". There were a lot of dogs and people there and we had a good time. Most of the dogs had on costumes like mom and dad made us wear and people were running around with cameras taking our pictures. I was the only biker there. Mom wants to put some Halloween pictures on my page so I better go so she can use the computer. Bye for now and Happy Halloween to everyone!

My first Halloween costume

Well diary, Summer time is over and it's time for something called "Halloween". I don't know what that is but guess what? Halloween means you have to wear something called a "costume". Mom says we are going to the Dachshund meet up this Sunday and all the Dachshunds are supposed to wear these things called "costumes". I am not a Dachshund but mom says she wants me and my brothers to wear our "costumes" too. Mom made us all try on our costumes, I am a "biker". I don't know what that is but I have this black jacket to wear and this thing that goes on my head called a "hat". OK, I don't mind the jacket, but that hat thing.......I don't like it one bit!! Mom was trying to take my picture but I kept taking that hat off, I think she was getting a little annoyed with me. It took a lot of treats but she finally got her picture and then she let me take that costume off. I hope she forgets to bring it to the meet up.......hee hee! It's time for bed Diary so good night and HAPPY HALLOWEEN to everyone! JoJo

JoJo's First Vacation

Dear Diary, Yesterday I just got home from my first vacation. Mom and Dad said we're going camping, I didn't know what that was and I was kind of scared. So many new things have happened to me, some were nice things and some wern't so I didn't know what to think about "vacation" and "camping". Well it turned out to be not so bad except I had to be on a tie out, as dad called it. that means I had to be on this long leash all the time unless mom or dad took me walking on my regular leash. I went for lots and lots of walks in new places that I've never seen. One day mom took me and Toby up a lot of steps, mom said we are going to the top of a sand dune. It was a long long way up and a long way back down. Toby and me were really tired that night! Then one morning dad and mom took me and my three brothers for a boat ride, it was so much fun!! It was my very first time on a boat. Dad made the boat go FAST!! I tried to get up on the edge of the boat so I could sit there so when mom was looking the other way I started to climb up there, when she looked back and saw me she said I almost gave her heart failure. She jerked on my leash so hard I fell right off the seat. At night I had to sleep in my cage next to mom and dads camping bed, I had to share my cage with my brother Cory and he thought it was just his cage so he tried to make me get out. Mom and dad came in and straightened him out about that and we slept there fine the rest of the night. Before bedtime was a special time when mom and dad sat by this big fire and I sat on moms lap and she gave me hugs and I fell asleep. Speaking of sleep, I think I'll go see if it's bed time yet because I'm still tired from camping! good night diary..............JoJo

A Fun Weekend!

I am really tired out tonight, I had a really fun weekend! Yesterday, on Saturday, our moms sister came over with her two doggies. They are my cousins and I finally got to meet them for the first time! Their names are Casey and Dante and I'm told by my brothers that they used to live here before I was adopted. Casey and I look a lot alike except I'm a little taller than him and he's a little darker than I am. It was fun having visitors to play with. We started our playdate by sniffing each other and then we all took turns going potty in the same spot. We had a barking contest to see who could bark the most and the loudest! Not sure who won. Then we did get around to running and playing and mom followed us all over the yard taking about a thousand pictures. Then a guy came over to work on the tv's and Casey and Dante helped us bark at him. He wouldn't come in the house until mom and dad made us go out side, he told dad he doesn't like dogs. WELL! Can you imagine? How can anyone not like us? We showed him! We kept sneaking back in the house when ever a door opened and we went right in there by him and barked our heads off! Mom and dad weren't happy with us. Today we got to go away with mom and dad in the car! We were all so excited because we thought we were going to our favorite dog park but this place was taking a long time to get to and we were getting restless. Finally we looked out the window and there were a lot of other cars and lots of people and DOGS! We were really excited then! There were 5 of us because mom and dad took our friend Tinker along. We got out of the car and got our leashes all tangled up together. When we were finally able to walk to the place where mom and dad were taking us we pulled and pulled because mom and dad are so slow and we just could hardly wait to see where we were going. We walked down..down.. down a long wooden walkway that lead to a lot of sand and a big big pond, lots bigger than the pond at the dog park. Mom said here we are, this is called a "Doggie Beach" . The pond had a name too, mom called it Lake Michigan. She took off our leashes and said "go ahead, you can go play". We had a lot of fun! There were a lot of dogs there to sniff, and we checked out the big pond but decided we didn't like the way the water chased us. We were looking at the water and all of a sudden it came right after us! Mom took us for two long walks down the beach, taking a million pictures of us, as usual. It's a really fun place, and guess what! Mom said we might get to go back next weekend! I can hardly wait. If you ever go to the Doggie Beach I think I should warn you, even though it's a fun place, be very careful of that water...it's sneaky and it will run after you if you get too close! Well, I am very tired so I'm going to go see if mom and dad are ready for night nights. Good night Diary!
JoJo

My First Grooming

Hi Diary, I've been busy since the weather warmed up, we spend a lot of time at the dog park, that's my favorite place to go. We also went to a lake but that wasn't much fun because I had to have a thing called a tie out hooked to my collar and I couln't run around. Mom and dad took us for a walk in the woods though, I loved that! I really really love going for car rides, we almost always end up somewhere fun. But sometimes we end up at places that aren't so much fun, like the doctors office or like yesterday mom took us to a place called the groomers and dropped us off in the morning. Those people there made us have a bath and they cleaned our ears and cut our hair, now that is one place I don't care to go again. My brother Toby and I played a trick on mom when she came to pick us up. On the way to the car we both got our collars off, mom called us but we were busy sniffing things and wouldn't come. She told us she had treats but we knew that was a trick! She finally got us and she was not happy about what we did, but she gave us kisses and hugs anyway. That was the only fun part about going to the place called groomers. Well, that's about it diary, it's a nice day so I better go outside and bark at people walking by our fence, bye for now!
JoJo

One Month In My New Home

Well Diary, I have been in my new home for one month now. I've decided I like it here and I will stay. It is fun with my new brothers and my human sisters dogs Skyanne and Tinker. I love them all and we all play together but I think my favorite is Tinker and my other favorite is Toby. Tinker plays with me at the dog park and Toby lets me sleep next to him in the big bed. One night toby got off the bed and slept on the floor. I was worried about him being all alone so I slept on the floor with him. Mom woke up and was worried because Toby and I weren't in bed, she found us both on the floor and put us back in bed.
My favorite place to go is the dog park, we all love it there and mom and dad take us there a lot. They laugh at the way I run because I hop. I am learning how to run fast, fast, fast though, just like Toby! I love to run. I have met some nice friends at the dog park, one is a little white dog named Toby.
I like going shopping for dog food too because when mom pays for it, we get treats! I didn't like treats much when I first came here but I like Charlee bears now, and dried liver. I love cheese and sometimes I like bananas. We had some cake for Skyannes birthday but I didn't care for that so I let Toby have mine.
Mom took me, Sammy and Toby for a walk on our leashes. I never had to have a leash on before but mom said I did real good, even better than Sammy and toby because I didn't pull her, I just walked nice right by mom. She said she is very proud of me!
I like all the toys, we have lots of them! My favorite is still my rooster that I brought with me from my foster home. So....Diary, I am very happy and I am very loved, I am glad mom and dad picked me!
Love, Joey Jo