My Life as Top Dog

A Dog Lover's Prayer

I'm reading Sheltie Talk right now, and it has a couple of poems at the very end of the book that I'd like to share.

A Dog Lover's Prayer
Lord, you know that there would be times when man would need another kind of friend--one who would not criticize, nor blame, nor make demands, nor question. One who would only listen and love.
And so you gave us the dog. Not just one dog, but a dog to suite every temperament and personality.
Lord, we thank you for man's best friend. Help us to remember that he also belongs to you.
Therefore, while we are to enjoy him, we are not to mistreat him, nor alter his health and ability to function by breeding to suite our foolish whims. We are not to thwart his purpose by keeping him isolated where he cannot learn to function in our world.
Teach us, Lord, not to inflict pain and suffering to gain our selfish ends--sometimes as frivilous as a purple ribbon, and not to breed so many of his kind that homes cannot be found and he is left homeless and starving, or sentenced to death in a shelter.
Help us, Lord, to love our friend, the dog, in such a way that it reflects your love and compassion for mankind, whom you have called your friend.

WHAT AM I TO YOU?
M. Kummer
As a pup I dreamed and wondered
What life could hold in store:
For ME, I thought, there's something GREAT
Beyond that kennel door.

Out there are needy people
And I have much to give:
Love, and wit, and gentleess,
To help them learn to live.

I'd be someone's protector,
Keep little ones from harm,
Or guide an old man's weary steps,
Or help to run a farm.

I'd run and bark and jump and play
With friends along a sandy shore.
I'd roll in meadows thick and green
That lie beyond that kennel door.

I lay here waiting--longing,
As the days and years crept by;
My owner kept me fed and brushed,
But inside, let me die.

I do not think of greatness now,
I'm old and filled with pain.
My owner has some ribbons,
But I have lived in vain.

I cannot think what could have been,
My dreams are filled with hope no more,
Just floor and walls and broken heart
For me behind this kennel door.
CCA "Bulliten"
Feb 1984

Of balancing a bike helmet on one's head...

I took the hint in a rossetee from Buddy and family and decided to write another diary entry. I'm overdo on that anyway. (Thanks a bunch for the rossete Buddy, Maggie, and Peanut, and I really think you're special too. :) )
Well, there hasn't been much to write about lately because mistress has had some sorta sleeping problems where's she's a little sleepy most of the day through and hasn't been doing as much with us dogs as she used to. She has been trying to do her responsibility as well as have fun with us though, and feels really guilty about not spending as much time with us as she used to. She has a bit of busy schedule these days...
Anyway, she also lost her camera for about a month, so her picture-taking activity suffered too. And when she found it, she didn't do a photo session until I got groomed.
Well, her idea of a photo session is to make me do rediculous things like balance things on my head. And then when I keep knocking them over (intentionally or not), she jokes at how Treader is better at posing! Well let's see how she can balance things on her head. Oh, right...she does that on her own accord already...anyway, you'll notice that I did manage to put a smile on in my new pics where she made me balanced a bike helmet on my head. Speaking of that, you know those things are among the hardest to balance on one's head? Well, depending on the shape of your head, but if it's shaped like mine...yeah. The helmet was made for a human's head, not a dog's. And the strap doesn't even work, which made it even harder.

Well, my rambling on posing for pictures is done, I guess. I've been doing really well, and my medication is keeping my incontinence in check. Even if I do still leak occasionally.

Parakeets, pictures, and shedding

Been a while since I updated. Anyway, mistress got another Budgie (AKA Parakeet, or 'Keet) the other day. A family we know is moving this summer and wanted to rehome him. Cute fellow, his name is Dr. Looney, and his color is skyblue dilute. (Mistress calls him SkyGuy sometimes because of that.)
Mistress's other Budgie, Spirit, has been having a heavy molt that lasted longer than we're comfortable with, and we're getting worried, so I'd like to ask you to pray for her. Called the vet up and they said it was normal, but my online friends on another site (not this one) said it's not normal. We just don't know what to believe.

Gah, what am I doing gabbing on about birds when this is supposed to be about me? Okay, onto the subject of myself...like the new pictures of me we put up today? The one with the badge...mistress wanted me to pose with her shooting badge. Don't ask why. It doesn't belong to me. She wanted to get an interesting pose, and when I thought she wanted me to take it out of her hand she got one. :D The second one we loaded is just me with the rest of my body in something of the same pose, minus the badge.
Oh, and we put this picture back on the main page:
Clickeesh
It's an old picture (about two years old), but mistress wanted to bring it back up.

I've been blowing my coat, and I've got fuzzy dead fur on my sides and flank. Makes my lower back itch more than usual and I go around asking for scratches even more than usual. Mistress brushes the itchy fur out every few days.
So there you go, not much to update on about myself other than that.

About being tagged, and prayers/good thoughts needed

I've had a lot of people tag me lately and I haven't responded. It's nothing personal, I just don't really want to be tagged anymore. Tagging is fun, but it gets old after a while, if you know what I mean.
I do appreciate the thought, however. It is nice to know that I have pals on here thinking about me.
Maybe I'll get back into tagging one day, but until further notice, please do not tag me. Thanks, and God bless.:)
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My humans have had a pretty ruff life these past few years. We're below the poverty level, on a fixed income, have a paralyzed family member to care for, and when one problem is resolved, it seems like another pops up to replace it. Recently, we found out that the paralyzed human may have cancer.
Nothing like being thrown in the deep end.=/
Your prayers/good vibes on our behalf would be most appreciated.

Not only for the human's cancer, but also for our money situation. So far, mistress's family has been able to afford our vet bills as needed, but we're hanging by a thread here. If we ever could not afford vet bills, mistress would give us to someone who could and who would take good care of me and Treader, but we'd like to avoid that if at all possible.

The bright point is, hard times like these help us develope mentally and ultimately make us better people. If we let it. So, I'm not asking for you to pray for our troubles to end completely. God will end them when He sees fit. I just want you to pray that we'll be able to hold on to hope and that these hard times won't serve to make us bitter and resentful.

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And to give some good news, I myself have been doing very well. Mistress has been slacking up on our walks lately (bad human!), but I still get plenty of exercise. She got me more late birthday presents last week. A chewy stick made from beef. It was from the people who make Merrick dog food, so that gave it extra credibility to mistress. She also got me as treat made from 100% from freeze-dried liver (it was a free sample). And a new fabric Frisbee. It has a rope around it, so it's easier to hold than my other Frisbees.

Had a woofing good Barkday

I had a great birthday, everywoof. I got extra treats today.
Mistress and her mom and brother took me on a long carride this afternoon. We went several places. At the bank drive-thru, the lady at the window gave me a treat. I didn't eat it right away because I didn't have a reliable surface to eat it on until mistress let me eat it over her lap.

Then we got a soda at the gas-station and mistress let me drink some of hers in a separate cup. It tasted good, but I didn't like the fizz-y sensation on my tongue.

Then we went to DQ and mistress got me a small vanilla ice cream cone. It was cool (pun intended:D) and I loved it. The cone itself didn't seem so luscious, but I ate it because of the ice cream on it's sides. (I had to eat in the bed of the truck since dogs aren't allowed inside DQ and so I wouldn't make a mess in the cab of the truck..)

After mistress led me back into the cab, a guy walked by complimenting me. I growled a little because he came suspiciously close to the truck, but mistress told me to quit in a whisper, so I just stared at the guy in a funny way. He asked what was wrong and mistress said, "Nothing. She just had an ice cream cone."

Mistress fed me some of Treader's raw chicken thighs for supper, which was super.

BTW, I know that soda and ice cream is bad for us dogs, but it's just my birthday, a once a year occasion.

Tomorrow is my Barkday!

Guess what pups? Tomorrow is my barkday! I'll be 11 years old. I don't look that old, do I?
I hope that mistress has some food for my present. I'll update either tomorrow or the day after.

My age in human years

Mistress took this test for me again. She had taken it before, but she needed to update it
My results:
Cookie's DogAge is 48.3!
That's 19.4 years younger than the average DogAge for Cookie's breed.

The only thing I don't care for is that the test calls crappy foods like Purina, Kibbles 'n' Bits, and Iams "premium". But that is debatable, so yeah.
And it says that giving a dog "people food" is always wrong, which I and mistress disagree with.

Treader's results:
Treader's DogAge is 22.7!
That's 8.2 years younger than the average DogAge for Treader's breed.
I think that Treader is a bit younger than that, because I'm pretty sure that they put a year or two on because mistress feeds him a homemade (raw) diet.

My leg

I hurt my paw somehow earlier this month and was limping. Sometimes slightly, other times almost enough to make me stumble. My humans took me to the vet's. They grabbed my leash and tried to put me on this machine thing. I tried to get away, but they wouldn't let me. After about 5 minutes, they let me down. They said it was an x-ray. I expected it to poke me like a needle or something, but I didn't feel anything.
They told my humans that it must be a soft tissue injury and gave them some pills to give me as needed.
I'm feeling much better now. My leg doesn't hurt and I'm not limping anymore.

Please join this fourm

Shepherds4ever
It's a great forum and it's for GSD lovers. Please join. It hasn't been active lately and it needs a boost in activity. I'm trying to help, but I'm just a mod there, not an admin, and the best I can do is post a lot and encourage people to join. Not that I'm unhappy with being a mod, I'm very happy with it.
See this thread also
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I would also like to promote another forum:
Click here
A friend of mine started it only a couple of days ago and we're looking for new members.

What I got for Christmas

A bandana, two edible (rawhide) Christmas cards, treats, a raised platform for food dishes, and a sample of Solid Gold dog food.

I've got an ouchie

On my elbow. I don't know how it happened, but my elbow was sore and it was bleeding. Then mistress decides to look me over after finding blood stains on the carpet. She gets that stuff out that hurts. Hydro Peroxide or something like that. I hate that stuff. What's it good for anyway?
And then she puts some bandages on my elbow. What's all this fuss about? It's only some small puncture wounds. I'm a tough Cookie. I can handle it!

Merry Christmas

Hey pals. Not much going on lately. I'll have another update after Christmas. I hear I'm gonna get lots of presents this year!
Anywoof, I just wanted to add the good news that I'm losing weight and am almost ready to go off my diet! It's making it easier on my joints and I run around a lot more now.
Mistress's grandma is shocked though and thinks that I'm underweight and need to be at the weight I used to be. The vet is happy that I'm losing weight, but she just says that the vet is crazy. Oh well, she's entitled to her opinion, I 'spose.
I didn't like my diet because I love to eat, but I'm also glad NOT to be almost 100 pounds anymore.

Snuggles

The other day I was getting petted by mistress and I put my front end up on the couch. Mistress was sitting on the couch. Since I have incontinence, I'm not allowed to place my back end on the furniture. Soooo....I got my behind onto mistress's lap instead! Smart of me eh? I got to snuggle and be on the couch with her for at least 10 minutes. I ♥ it.

Park

Mistress took me to the park where they do PE this morning. PE is toning down and almost no one is coming anymore, but I had fun. Mistress had me jump over a lower part of the fence there, we walked around, I looked around. There weren't many people there. I was watching a couple of little kids play on the playground. They left after a while. A little girl walked up to me but she made me nervous. Mistress was having me sit and down all over the place there too. There was a police car parked way on the other side of the parking lot, but they left after a while too.

Got gunk on my eyes (a bit gross...)

Lately I've been getting tons of gunk on my eyes. Today, some gunk got on the actual eyeball of my left eye. Partly covering the pupil. I closed my eyes tight when mistress tried to clean my eye up. She had to pry my eyelid open and wipe off the gunk. I whined a little while she was cleaning it. It took 3 tries to get it all. Ick! At least I can see better out of my left eye now.

Locked in the bathroom!

Last night mistress's brother was trying to play with Treader, but I wouldn't let Treader play. Then mistress put me in the bathroom without realizing that the lock was on. Then mistress's mom needed to go in there to clean the bathroom and couldn't open the door. At first they were going to call a locksmith, but then mistress's dad, who used to be a locksmith, told mistress's mom a trick her could use to open that door. It worked and I got out.

*sigh*...feeling trapped and discouraged and like I can't do- anything right

I'll get to what fun happened to me today after a small rant. I posted in a thread today about China eating dogs. I stated my opinion:
Dogs are animals. Great pets, yes and I would NEVER eat a dog and think that it is gross. However, man has dominion over the animals and if they have them as pets should treat them well but I don't think that they're pets in China. People are not animals. Eating animals and people are two different things.
Don't get me wrong, I don't like China as a nation or it's government because of Communism and they torture and murder many Christians and maybe even their own people. (No offense to Chinese. I like the people, just not the Chinese government.)
I was expecting to receive lots of criticism. To my surprise, I didn't. Don't get me wrong, I was glad for not getting criticism, but later on there was a post that sounded like it was criticizing me. I know, I know,Bah, parenoid me. Then there was another one that, oh never mind...I now prefer to stay away from those kind of debates. Pups seem to be so touchy about them. *tear rolls down furry cheek*
That and I can't seem to do anything right today. A bunch of my posts got baths. I've been a bad Cookiegirl without meaning to...*whimper* Not trying to blame anyone. My fault, my fault, my fault. Maybe I should stay out of that kind of thread from now on.

Okay, now into the fun part. We had fun today. Mistress had to take care of Soldier again and she let me stay on the porch while she went in Soldier's human's "apartment" to feed him. Mistress and her brother went into the pool again. I was just hanging around out there with them, but later on they started playing with the sprinkler with me again. I'll post pictures momentarily.
P.S.
Please see my mistress's latest blog entry in my other blog about the straigh ant narrow path:
WSNPDD

Feeling good

I've been feeling good lately. Old arthritis isn't bothering me. A lot's happened since I last wrote. Mistress's computer broke down for awhile (power supply went bad), mistress's dad went to the hospital for about a month a got back about a week or two ago, and mistress figured out what Treader and I need to work on before she can try the CGC test. Not much to go. :D
I got to play with the hose water last week (Treader was out there, but he was trying to take cover from the water, silly dog) and mistress wants to play that game with me again. Also, mistress's grandma (the one that lives in New York) and one of her aunts are coming to visit on the 10th or 11th of this month.
Mistress's grandma is a little scared of me but she'll probably like Treader, but mistress's mom thinks that mistress's aunt will love Treader and me.
Oh, and mistress and her brother were telling me what a good girl I was yesterday, but when I responded like I usually do (nudge them with my nose and request a back scratch) they laughed their heads off. Why? Come to think of it the words sounded different, but they said it in that tone. (Note from mistress:
we were saying bad dog to see if Cookie knew what the words meant. Turns out she only understood the tome they were said in.)
Well, I guess that's all fur today.

OMD!!!

Look at all the Febreeze gifts I've got! I haven't gotten that many give since my barkday! Thanks pals!

My 6 newest old pictures. Mistress took them on March 21st,- 2007.

I sure have aged a lot since then. My muzzle is grayer, I won't jump up the way I used to to catch treats...

NEW FRISBEE!

Another one! This one was from the parade. One of the campaign people there was giving them out. It's white with red words. I'll post pictures of it tomorrow, today I want to keep all my 4th of July pics on my page.

We went to the park after all!

We went to the park! It was SO fun! Most people like me.I still have some issues that mistress is working on with me, so I don't behave exactly like a CGC but close. I sometimes bark at other dogs when I can't go meet them and no matter how hard I try to sound friendly my bark sounds scary.
I take pride in being a Good Watchdog. Mistress had me do several of my tricks so I wouldn't seem so scary to people. I haven't had to do tricks in the park in a long time, so I was a little rusty. Mistress got a little frustrated, but she didn't show it. She just talked all the more encouraging to me. When I did what she told me to do she rewarded me with lots of "good girls" and LOTS of petting, which I LOVE. So after that I obeyed faster. I don't trust some men because I was abused by one (my humans think). There was this one guy that got close to my human's little brother, and I barked at him but not much growling. It scared him off. I'm such a good watchdog. But it seemed to embarass mistress, although she appeared cool and collected on the outside. Instead of jerking on my leash like she used to do when I did that (what did I do wrong anyways?) she talked to me calmly and told me that she would protect me. That calmed me down and I didn't bark at that guy anymore. On the way out she was talking to someone else about me and how I was a good girl (:D) but I still needed some work before I could be a CGC (Canine Good Citizen). Huh? What work, aren't I perfect already? Then this man briskly walked past us, a little too close to us for my comfort. I barked at him and he ran away. Mistress was embarassed but again didn't show it on the outside. Not sure why she should be embarassed of a good protection dog that protects. Then she told the person she was talking to, "As you can see, she still has some issues." I don't do that with most people. When I do, it's usually men who I think may be bad.

Food update

Well, we were going to go to the park today, but we probably won't be able to now. We'll try to go to tomorrow if we don't go today. Mistress took lots of pictures of Treader and me last night and this morning. There was a thunder storm this morning, so I was scared. My bag of dog food is running out already. Hmmm...now that's strange. Oh, mistress's mom went to that pet store (Pet Supplies Plus) that opened recently in Kingsland the other day and she found all those foods that we hear so much good about on Dogster. Canidae, Taste of the Wild....problem is she says that we can't afford their prices ($50 a bag). But, she did ask them to specially order Lassie Natural Way, and they will try to get some for us. Yay! Even if we do get to switch back to LNW, mistress wants to keep giving me chicken feet, because they're helping my arthritis more than even LNW did. And think how much they would help me together! Yeah. And that about all happening since the last update. Oh yeah, mistress's dad is starting to get diabetes. The doctors think that it's linked to his medication.

Want more? See my blog at cookiegraydawntreader.blogspot.com

Stupid thunder storms...

I may have to get off the computer for awhile because some stupid thunder storms are heading this way. I'm already hiding, I don't thunder storms. I hope that it doesn't last long. Not long at all. In fact I wish that it wasn't coming at all.

I'm loving my daily chicken foot. I tell ya, I'll never get tired of eating that! Mistress clipped my nails the other day. Earlier today mistress was a little sad. She's taking part in an Creation vs. Evolution debate (as a Creationist of course), and while no one was being rude or snarky it was emotionally draining her because those people don't seem to be reading the sources that she provided them with. She's feeling much better now though because she asked some friends to pray for her and those others in the debate. If you are a Christian, mistress would like your prayers too. She needs them. Not only for her to control her emotions better, but also that she will do the best job possible on her arguments against Evolution. Also, don't forget the others in the debate. They need to accept Jesus as their Savior.
Well, that's all fur now. Sorry that I got onto a topic that was not dog-related.

I've got a blog on tripod.com now

I've got a blog now, updated daily.
Don't worry though, I'll keep updating my diary too. Just, not as often as I do the blog.

My Shcedule

I'm loving my latest schedule. A chicken foot to munch in the morning, running along with mistress on her bike ride soon after that, napping while mistress is on the computer, being fed sometime around there. I just love it. If only Treader didn't get in the way sometimes and steal my attention, it'd be perfect.
Oh, and I almost didn't notice, but yesterday I was one of the diary picks of the day! Yay fur me and my diary! ;c;
Thanks to the author of the Snuzzy blog for my very first Dogster Diva gift! Thanks so much, Anders! And for the offer too!

Ckeck feet are yum-yum...and computer problems

I meant to post my vchicken foot pictures about an hour ago, but mistress is having computer troubles. According to the bios, the temp in one place (probably the processor) was 145 degrees F. So, a friend is coming over to look at the computer, but he can't come today. We are using mistress's dad's computer right now.
I got my chicken foot today. DELISH!

Got the chicken feet!

Soon, I will be eating a chicken foot! Mistress's mom went and bought a bag of them this morning.
Mistress will take picture she says, and post them to my page.

Food Update

The feed store and meat store was closed today, but we'll check again tomorrow. In the meantime, we got Iams (yuck, but it was the only food with meat as the first ingredient at the grocery store). My humans don't like Iams, but it's better than that so-called "Healthy Mix" food.
Mistress did buy me a new food dish though. I have a picture of it up. It is ceramic and has paw prints all over it. I love it!
~Cookie, getting tired of waiting on better food

Chicken Feet?

The local grocery store quit selling mistress's food of choice for me (Lassie Natural Way), so we're having to switch. We have a temporary bag of yucky food (so-called "Healthy Mix", with corn as the first ingredient...YUCK!) until Sunday afternoon (they will be going to church in the morning, but it's a home-coming service so no church that night), when mistress and her mom will be going to Wal*Marts and a feed store (if it's open Sundays, if it's not they'll go there Monday) and a butcher shop or something in Kingsland. They'll look for a decent food for me and Treader with meat as it's first ingredient at the feed store. We're reluctant to make the switch to another food though because I have arthritis and LNW was formulated to ease any joint pain that I have from arthritis. So, someone suggested chicken feet to help with my arthritis, so that's why mistress's mom is going to a butcher shop, to buy chicken feet. Mistress is just learning about raw feeding, and is getting interested in it. We won't be eating raw for a loooooooong time, because she needs to study more about raw. But with me eating chicken feet it will feel almost like I'm eating raw. When I get the chicken feeties, mistress will be sure to take pictures.
Wow, feeding a new food might be fun!

That dog-brother of mine...GRRR!

Treader slipped out the door again! GRRRRRRR! I barked at him once, but he didn't care. GRRRR!

Wow, mistress makes mistakes and get into trouble too!

Mistress has an account on showdog.com (a website where you can buy virtual dgos, and show and breed them, all virtual of course) and she made a big mistake...which let Edgewood, another user who befriended mistress and tried to help her get a good start with her virtual kennel, down. Mistress can never forgive herself for what happened - after all it was her fault - , but Edgewood forgave her. It feels great to be forgiven.
Here's what happened:
She got a stud request from another Sheltie kennel for them to use the dog that Edgewood gave me, Edgewood King, and asked Edgewood if she should accept that request or decline...Edgewood had warned her beforehand that some kennels wanted their lines yet wouldn't share theirs and Edgewood did want one of their lines to go to those kennels. So mistress asked Edgewood just in-case. But they took a really long time to respond, and while mistress was waiting she went ahead and accepted. Then about half-an-hour later, Edgewood answered and said that that other kennel was one of the no-nos.
Mistress learned a lesson from this:
It's worth it to be patient. And mistress wanted me to post this so that other readers can learn that lesson from her story.

New Frisbee

Mistress got a new Frisbee yesterday. Actually, her mom got it. It isn't for dogs, but mistress had me catch it last night anyway. I like it much better than the other Frisbees. It's lighter and thinner and easier to hold. I hope that mistress always has me catch that Frisbee!

I'm already preparing my profile for Independence Day next- month

I'm adding a couple of songs, and maybe today I'll add a picture of my with my patriotic stuff. And maybe I'll decorate my page for the 4th of July too!

Just another boring day...

Today was boring. Mistress did some school homework or something, no walky or outside time, been napping almost all day...the only good part was when mistress gave me a treat for sitting.
Hoping that tomorrow will be better...

This world is not my home, I'm just a-passing through...

Cookie here with just a little thought.
In the forums today we were discussing how on some shows on TV a family doesn't raise it's dog right and then wonder why it's having behavior issues and/or when they buy a puppy from a pet shop because they don't know any better. That sure gives a bad example to follow for the public, doesn't it?
Only thing we can do is tell everyone about responsible dog ownership.
There are shows that have much worse things that aren't related to dogs on them though. There are some BIG, problems in the dog world, but outside the dog world all of the dog-problems are small compared to other problems out there...this world just gets worse and worse.
Another reason why This world is not my home, I'm just a-passing through. My treasures are laid up somewhere beyond the blue. The angels beckon me from Heaven's open door, and I can't feel at home in this world anymore.
It sure is a relief that mistress and I won't have to live on this junky world forever and that when we "die", we're going to Heaven. Well, dogs don't have to be saved to go to Heaven like people can, but you know what I mean.
If you would like to know more about why we relieved, send me a paw-mail and ask me about it.

On Biking

I saw the Chihuahua again when we were done biking today.

Biking

I went biking with mistress again today. This time I had a better time keeping up with her. I just kept following her. One time I did run off to chase a cat up a tree, but mistress called me back and I came just like I was told. :D We passed several people and I like to meet new people, but I knew that mistress wanted me to follow her, so I just left them alone. Mistress thinks that I'm almost ready to try CGC again. I think that I am too. :D:D

On our bike ride (for me a run) today

Today when mistress and her mom got their bikes out there was a little Chihuahua in front of our driveway. I was growling at first, but mistress started stood in front of me and started to talk to the Chi, so I calmed down. He came over to meet me. (I think that he wants me to marry him. No way, hosea!) He has a choke-chain collar on, so mistress thought that perhaps he was lost. He wouldn't let her even touch him, so she couldn't read his tag. Mistress spent a few minutes trying to catch him. He kept trying to sniff my rear-end. Of course, I didn't mind. That's what us dogs do. When mistress couldn't catch him, she decided to start our bike ride. When she got back to our driveway, he was still there sniffing around. As she got closer, he ran off, then when I arrived, he came back. He didn't follow us to the house though, because Treader does a good job marking the yard. He could smell Treader's marking, and didn't wish to meet another male dog. Male dogs generally don't like other male dogs in their territories, and Treader is no exception. He's nice with other dogs of all kinds, but not when they are on his property.
Anyway, I'm posting this partly because maybe someone on here lost a Chi around St. Marys, GA. He was tannish, had a choke-chain collar with a golden tag, he was a male, didn't appear to be neutered. Friendly, but shy of being touched. Hope that he gets back home!

Update on incontinence condition

My rear stinks much of the time now, so now the humans are giving me a bath every Saturday. Eeek!
The pastor came over to talk to mistress's dad today (they're talking right now), and when he first arrived, mistress had me and Treader perform some of our tricks. The pastor was impressed with our obedience. We obeyed better than usual because mistress had a treat on hand, heh-heh. I just finished a wonderful supper of Lassie Natural Way, and I want to play with mistress. Correction. I want to be petted by mistress, and I will be when I'm done on the internet.

I did something to mistress's computer...

I was lying down next to my mistress when she got on the computer, and I shifted a little, then suddenly mistress's computer shut off completely. She thought that it was the breaker at first, then she looked down and saw my laying there. Turns out that I had flipped the power switch on that thingy that a bunch of things plug into. She was so mad she yelled at me, even though she uses positive training she has a quick temper. She yelled, "THANKS A LOT, COOKIE!"
How was I supposed to know that she was answering a question in the answers section?

Happy Mother's Day! (A tribute to my (Cookie's) dog-mom,- Pirncess)

I never knew you well, 'cept when I was a puppy. But I wish that I did. I wish that mistress could have known you. Wherever you are, still on this earth or at the Bridge, (I imagine that you're at the Bridge, since it's been 10 years since I was born and we dogs get old fast)...
HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY!

Expelled-No Intelligence Allowed

My humans want to go see that movie! It sounds great!
A couple of links:
Expelled super trailer
Glenn Beck and Ben Stien
Goooooo Be Stein!
So, what you guys think about this movie?
P.S. See expelledthemovie.com

Update on my incontinence conditon

I'm doing really great, and have had only a few accidents lately. The walks, the medication, the vinigar, it's all working really well.

Biking with mistress

I got to go biking with mistress today! (Meaning that I ran behind her while she was riding her bike.) I hear that I'll get to go almost every day. It's fun, but mistress is a little too fast for elderly me to keep up with very well. *pant, pant* I stopped to sniff trash cans and things several times. Now mistress just has to figure out how to take Treader biking;he's not trust-worthy off-leash like I am...

Look at how they torture me!

I got my bath today. Mistress told me to climb into the bathtub. I could only get half-way in. Mistress had to lift my rear end for me. Half-way through the bath, after they put then slimy sweet-smelly stuff on me, mistress' brother had to go do something. That's when I jumped out of the bathtub. Mistress caught my rear as it was flying over the rim of the tub. She let go of me so that she could put me back in, but that when I bolted and pushed the door open. (Luckily fur me, that door doesn't close good. *heehee*) I was about to hide under mistress' desk in the classroom, but then she was right on me. My collar wasn't on of course, so she had a hard time pulling and pushing me back to my bath. She told me to climb into the bathtub, but I wouldn't. So, she picked my front end up and put it in the tub, and then the same with my rear end. She rinsed me off and then told me to jump out which I did. She dried me off and her brother was taking pictures. Fortunately, mistress only posted 4 of the more than 20 pictures that were taken of me. At least I control the captions under the pictures.

The Five Top Things that I would tell anyone interested in- owning a German Shepherd

Mistress wants a word in my diary, so:
I'll mention some drawbacks, if you can call them that, to the breed. German Shepherds, like any other breed, are not for everyone. You need to DO YOUR HOMEWORK on what breeds would best fit your lifestyle before deciding what breed of dog to get.
1. German Shepherds shed all year round.
They do. We are used to getting a whole lot of dog hair into the vacuum when we vacuum. If you brush your Shepherd every day, or even every other day, they won't shed quit so much.
2. German Shepherds are high energy
Especially in the younger years. They aren't a dog that for the couch-potato.
3. German Shepherds have a very strong bond with their master/mistress, and is not a good breed to keep outside all day.
Not that you should keep any breed outside because dogs of all breeds crave your companionship, but Shepherds especially.
4. German Shepherds are very smart. Not a good pet for the not-so-smart owner.
They can manipulate you if you let them!
5. Since they were originally bred to herd, German Shepherds are fast and agile. They can use theirs smarts and agility to keep away from you if they get loose.

As an added bonus, I'd like to add that if you have a German Shepherd (or any other breed on the so-called dangerous list), make sure that you are emotionally fit to handle some people keeping their distance just because you have a German Shepherd, and sometimes even rude remarks. Such as a remark based in ignorance and fear that I received a couple of months ago after mentioning that I own a German Shepherd. I was at my friend's house.
My friend was teaching us basket weaving. Some of my other friends were there as well. I, being talkative, went on and on about my favorite subject - dogs. I was talking about how the breed bans were dumb, when one of my other friends suddenly said, "Well, actually, there are some dangerous breeds. Like German Shepherds--"
"I own a German Shepherd." I interrupted. I went on to say how sweet and wonderful Cookie is, also admitting that she did have some behavior problems for me to work with. Then my friend said, "Well, that's why she should, you know, be done away with..." Those words cut through me heart like a knife. Though I for some reason did not bother to explain it, Cookie's issues could be fixed with proper training methods. I did however, go on to say that the absolute sweetest dog that I had ever met, next to my German Shepherd, was a Rottweiler mix. My friend seemed surprised. "Are you kidding?", she said.
I feel sorry this this person. I'm almost willing to bet that she had never met one of these breeds that she claimed to be dangerous. Yet, she almost swore that they are.
If you cannot emotionally put up with this type of criticism, based on ignorance and fear though it is, then I don't think that German Shepherds, and other breeds commonly misunderstood as dangerous, are the right breed for you.

E-mail to GWN (BSL related)

Mistress sent this to GWN, a reputable newsletter:
Hi. I'm 14 and I love your newsletter, Top Story. Being a dog lover, the story about the Pit Bull in the Know News section caught my eye. Understand, I'm not objected to stories being posted about Pit Bull attacks. If it's true, no reason to hide it. I just wanted to point out a couple of things. As I mentioned, as a dog lover I just love to read about dogs. All kinds of dogs. Dogs, dogs, dogs all day long. For me, dogs are my passion. I have found out much useful information that all dog owners should know from my research. Things like the difference between a good and bad breeder, responsible pet ownership, and much more. According to my research, Pit Bull's jaws do not actually "locK". It is determination which has been bred into them through centuries. Many other breeds show this determination.

I also wanted to address that aggressive dogs, in any breed, can be prevented from being aggressive if the owner trains and socializes the dog properly. I am against breed bans. Not all Pit Bulls are aggressive, especially ones that were raised and socialized the right way. (I have met 5 Pit Bulls and all 5 were well-behaved and very friendly.) The breed bans lump the "good" dogs of the banned breeds with the "bad"dogs, and that isn't right. My favorite motto for this issue is "Punish the DEED, not the BREED".
I have a sweetheart of a German Shepherd, and I hate it when I take Cookie somewhere with me and many of the people there keep their distance just because of Cookie's breed. Most will happily approach my other dog, a Papillon/Sheltie mix. While I believe that it's always a good idea to ask the dog's owner before petting any dog, staying a hundred feet away from a dog that isn't even showing it's teeth just because of the dog's breed is rediculous. I've even had one person tell me when I mentioned that I had a German Shepherd that Cookie should be "done away with" because of her breed. I admit, Cookie used to have aggression issues with other dogs, but she wasn't exactly raised the best way before I got her either. I have been working with Cookie, and we have made huge progress with her dog-aggression problem. Now, Cookie is wonderful with other dogs. The only dog-aggression problem that I need to work on now is jealousy issues between her and my other dog.

My dogs have webpage on a website called Dogster. Could you please look at their pages?
Cookie's page:
http://www.dogster.com/dogs/517115

Treader's page:
http://www.dogster.com/dogs/590007

And please see this:
http://www.petvideo.com/play.cgi?showId=26146

Mistress was going to post this in the "'dogs can't speak- english', yeah right" thread, but then it was closed

I now have an example of a dog understanding a sentence. Yesterday, I was giving my dogs some treats. I tossed Cookie's way across the room, and she was searching close to me. My brother was playing in the floor close to where Cookie's treat fell, so I started to ask him, not in the exact words used here but close "Hey, Charles. Cookie's treat fell over there [pointing very slightly even though Charles wasn't watching me]. Could you..." I stopped because he didn't seem to hear me. Cookie did, however, and almost immediately she walked across the room and pretty quickly found her treat.
It is possible that Cookie saw my gesture toward the general direction of the treat, but she was so busy sniffing the ground for it while I was talking that I highly doubt it.
As I said, I think that dogs understand a whole lot more than we give them credit for. I don't think that they can understand the entire English language, but they learn what certain words means through experiences and can reason.

Me? Bred?

No, mistress is not going to breed me. Even if I wasn't spayed, I don't fit my breed's standard and could in no way benefit my breed. We just found out today from mistress's grandma (my former owner) that the sheriff department here once wanted to breed me with one of their police dogs. I've been spayed since I was a year old though, so of course they didn't get their wish. Thank goodness!
However, I need you all to pray for my furiend India, mistress's uncle's German Shepherd. According to mistress's grandma, he's going to breed her in one year. I fit the German Shepherd better than India, but I don't fit it good enough to benefit my breed. So, neither does India. They want to make "good watchdogs" with her. Most GSDs are good watchdogs. We don't need any more than there already are. They are plenty of GSDs that will make wonderful watchdogs in rescue groups and shelters. Besides, mistress's uncle is not a good breeder. He let one puppy go to it's new home way too early (6 week old, he should have waited until AT LEAST 8 weeks), and didn't seem to care when he was told that that was wrong. He doesn't care about the GSD breed as a whole. I'm not sure what his motive is, but it is NOT the right one. There is only one right motive to breed a dog. And that is to improve the health and quality of the breed. By breeding dogs that don't fit the standard, you can't help the breed at all. Not to mention that you can't help improve a breed's heath without doing the expensive OFA and CERF tests on your breeding dogs, which mistress's uncle isn't going to do. By breeding India, he will be adding to pet overpopulation. Please pray that he will get her spayed and soon!

A Common Myth That I Would Like to Clear Up...(a mini rant)

Some of the rescue people will tell you that shelter and rescue dog deserve love and a good home more than a good breeder's dogs. Uh, actually this is false. It is a lie spread to make more people adopt from shelters. Which is a great cause, but please don't lie about the dogs themselves to have a good thing done. It's never right to do wrong to do right. A shelter or rescue dogs needs a home more than a good breeder's dog, but all dogs, regardless where they came from, deserve a good home equally.
Another similar myth being spread is that shelter dogs make better pets than a breeder's dogs. Ugh, I hate that one!
So, I was from a breeder. Does that mean that Treader (he's from a shelter) is a better pet than me? No, like dog it doesn't! Treader and I are both equally good pets and mistress will be the first to tell you that if you asked her.
Rescue people, snaps and blessings to you for supporting rescue, but crys, whines, whimpers, and low growls for spreading lie to benefit rescue dogs. It's great to benefit rescue dogs, but please don't spread lies to do it!
Poll-please_see

ADOPT 08 CONTEST

When I was just a puppy, the Miller family bought me from this breeder named Jeanne Burkett. The Millers wanted to breed me, though I am not breeding quality. They kept me in the backyard with another German Shepherd, who was mean to other dogs. When they brought our food out, the other GSD ate his food + mine. I was very, very skinny. By the time I was 6 months old, they realized that I couldn't go on like this. So, they decided to put an ad in the paper and sell me for $50. This guy came, said he was looking for a watchdog. They sold me to him. I was afraid of the guy, even though he was nice. In fact, I was afraid of all men. (My humans think that I must've been abused by the guy in the Miller family.) So much so that I peed whenever I saw one. I eventually got used to this guy, and he taught me to bark at cars coming down the driveway and people knocking on the door. (I was too timid to do it without training.) Eventually, he married somebody who had 2 kids. I was never raised much around kids really, but I was gentle with them. One of them (the girl) is now my mistress. My mistress likes to teach me tricks (which I like too, if I get a treat for it) and take me for walks. I used to play with her, but I've mostly outgrown playing now. Mistress does miss my former playfulness, but she's just happy that she still has me and that I'm in good health. Mistress and I speak up for the good, reputable breeder and shelters and rescue.
Opt to Adopt!

Mistress left the screen door on the other side of the sliding glass door open tonight. I'm not used to that screen door being open. When mistress let Treader and I out for our last bathroom break of the night, that screen door was still over the sliding glass one. I didn't know that. So, I uh, er...bumped into it. :r And sis you know that mistress actually laughed at me? Grrrr, I don't see what's so funny. All I did was bump into a stupid screen sliding door that hasn't be used for over a year for pete's sake! Where's the crazy humor in that!?! I think that I will hire someone else to let me out from now on...grrrr...

Crosspost this if you read it!

PERMISSION TO CROSSPOST!

FAKE SHELTER / RESCUER ALERT

Tony & Rebecca Williams claim to have a rescue in Rocky Mount, NC
and are trying to get dogs from all over the Eastern Seaboard. (She
offered to take 14 dogs since Monday.)

they are using these dogs for illegal dog fighting.

She continues to take dogs. Most are pit bulls, with some offers to
adopt Presa Canarios, Rottweilers, Dobermans, and Wolf hybrids. In
addition, she had previously posted that her roommate was looking
for a Great Dane or Great Dane mix. She also posted that she
was "desperate" for a Chihuahua and she really wanted a Min Pin and
a Jack Russell. She claims her rescue is a pit bull rescue, but
another pit rescuer called the local Animal Control.

Animal Control's comments:
"She's been barred from taking any dogs from the shelters in her
area." He also said she has a long criminal history, has been
selling Pit Bulls on street corners for $15 or $20 and has been
under investigation for dog fighting. Atlantic Rescue has now banned
her, after finding out this information. These are the breeds she
has asked for:

a. Pit Bulls
b. Rottweilers
c. Dobermans
d. Presa Canarios
e. Tea Cup Chihuahua
f. Jack Russell Terriers
g. Sharpeis
h. Miniature Pinscher
i. Great Dane (Pure Breed or Mix)

She uses the little dogs as bait!
Plea se cross post.
They are going out of their area looking for dogs to adopt for their
inhumane purposes.
Thank you,

Marci Gross
Assistant Executive Director
Lean On Me Doberman Rescue, Inc.
www.leanonmedoberes cue.com

Tagged by both Petey and Kisses!

I have to type 4 questions and then tag 4 pals.

Here goes...
Name 4 jobs that you have:
1. Guarding the house
2. Guarding my humans
3. Annoying Treader
4. Doing whatever mistress tells me to do

Name 4 places where you have lived (or stayed at):
1. At my "breeder"'s house
2. At my sorry former owner's house
3. With my mistress's uncle, just for a few days
4. In this house. Basically, I've never lived out of St. Marys, GA. That might change soon though.
Name 4 places that you have been:
1. The Waterfront Park in downtown St. Marys
2. Integrity Animal Hospital
3. The CGC testing building in Kingsland
4. Nowhere else that I can remember right now

Name 4 places you'd rather be:
1. With my mistress
2. Anywhere that I can tease others dogs. It's really fun when I walk by their fence and they bark at me like they're goin' to eat me. Hahaha!
3. Away from thunderstorm
4. At the park or some other place where I can roam

I'm tagging:
Kiona CGC
Cinco Carlos
Sammi
Trixie Beagesworth

Thank you all

Thank you all for the support. I can't thank you all enough. I would repay you, but I'll have to wait until my monthly zealies come in.
(If you are reading this and don't know what I'm thanking my pals for, just go back about 3 dairy entries.)

Through it all, I can say Blessed be the Name of the Lord

We are pretty low on money - and some would say luck if they knew all that has happened to us - , but with God's help we have gone through all kinds of trials. He has never failed us. Through it all, He has never once failed us. Yes, this new issue (see last two diary entries) is probably the most testing thing that mistress has ever gone through, but we can still say, "The Lord giveth and the Lord taketh away. Blessed be the name of the Lord!." No, we will never back down from our faith in Jesus...it is all that has kept us going in some circumstances.
This is all my hope and peace, nothing but the Blood of Jesus!
You would think that we are miserable people if I told you all that we have gone through thus far, but actually, no. We are actually quite happy most of the time. This is because we know that we have God on our side.
Do you want to have the hope that we have? It's very simple. All that you have to do is ask Jesus to come into your heart. Tell him that you are a sinner and that you want Him to cleanse you from all unrighteousness. Then ask Him to come into your heart. It's that simple.
Being saved will not guarantee that you won't have troubles...in fact, you will have many trials to face. But, you will have God with you to help you through those trials. And He will never forsake you. Believe me, if you get saved, you will never be sorry. Jesus will be with you even unto the end of the world. He's closer than a brother. He is the truth, the way, and the life. If you do get saved, please tell me about it so that I can rejoice with you! I'd be delighted to hear about it!

Just a little vent...sorry

(This is part of a paw-mail that I sent)
We can just clean it up with a mixture of vinigar and water, but he [mistress's dad] says how do we know everywhere I did it and that my urine soaks into the carpet. So would vinigar and water, so why is he so skepticle? If he was old and leaking all over the place, wouldn't he want to be cared for too? In fact, he is bed ridden and it takes a lot of money to take care of him too. More than it does to take care of me, I think. He expects the other humans to care for him, so why can't I get the same care? But if you try to say things like that to him he says that you can't compare apples to oranges. In some ways, apples can be compared to oranges actually. Depends in the situation. He views me as "just a dog". Well, excuse it? Then is it "just a dog" that has kept him and his family safe from robbers for almost 10 years? Without complaint? We dogs are loyal to our humans, so why aren't all humans loyal to us?
Sorry for the vent...but I really needed it.

I NEED PRAYERS LIKE THERE IS NO TOMORROW!

My mistress's dad is talking about getting rid of me He wants to surrender me to a rescue group and if the surrender fee costs too much, he might even just decide to put me to sleep. See, I have incontinence and when mistress was talking about how we could use doggy diapers for me he says "Well, who's going to pay for it." (We're very, very, very, very, very tight on money right now.) And that someone would have to be home at all times to change it for me. I DON'T WANT TO LEAVE! Mistress's mom talked him into using vinigar and water to clean up after me, and he'll give it a chance. But please we need your prayers like there's no tomorrow!

Went to the vet

We had to go to the vet today for my shots. I was nervous when we got in there, but I wasn't scared until it was my turn. They made me get on the scale (as usual) and I weigh somewhere around 86 pounds! Wow! I have lost some weight! And they gave my humans some medicine to give me for the sore on my hind foot. They said that it looks the way it does because I've been licking that area too much. We also got a refill on my incontinence medicine.
Oh yeah, and before it was my turn I met some dogs and was really friendly with them! Mistress says that we have to work on only a few more issues - that I won't try to run away when people look at my ears, and the other is letting people approach mistress without me barking at them - and I can successfully take the CGC test! Wow, mistress! You were right! We have come a long way!
P.S. Now mistress is going to put up a few pictures from my vet visit.

I learned a new trick today!

It's called give me a hug. Mistress got the idea for it from my pal Champ. Champ, if you are reading this, thanks! :D
Here's my list of tricks thus far (mistress made this list on the Shepherds4ever forum):
Basic Obedience
get out of the kitchen (she loves to sneak into the kitchen because she's a glutton. She doesn't steal anything though.)
up! (jumps up)
crawl
get it! (Frisbee command, can also be used for catching other things, like a dumbbell or ball)
office (walks into the schoolroom (I'm homeschooled), which used to be an office)
over(command for hurdle-jumping)
shake (shake hands)
high five
paw (she will paw at whatever is in front of her, like my arm)
play dead (she has her eyes open though)
go!(used me pointing to something, like her bed)
bow
which one? (I hold both of my hands out (one has a treat in it) and ask her "Which one?". She guesses and tell me her guess by pawing at my hand. This is a real pleaser for guests Very Happy)
wave (I have Cookie do this when we have company, usually)
say your prayers (Not perfect, and we haven't done this one in months)
spin (this one she learned recently)
move (used when she's in my way)
backup (kinda like move, only in a narrow space where she needs to back out)
drop it
give me a hug

Wow! 24 ways to make my mistress happy!

What the BARKING WOOF is going on!?!?!?!?!?????

You'll never guess what mistress did today! She took out some spray bottle thing, and sprayed it on my rear end. Then she brushed me and then dried me off. What the BARKING MAD WOOF is going here!?!?!?
I was looking around. This kinda explains it. See fur yourself:
Waterless Bath

Can you guys please help me figure this weird thing out?

Evolution

This is just a little poem by James H. Hunter in mistress's reading book for school. It shows you how silly the theory of evolution is.
Evolution
Once I was a tadpole, grubbing in the mire,
Till I became ambitious and started to aspire;
I rubbed my tail so vigorously against a sunken log,
It disappeared completely, and I found myself a frog.

I struggled from my puddle and I jumped upon dry land,
And the feeling that was in me was glorious and grand;
It made me kind of frisky, so I hopped around a tree,
Till I landed in the branches as happy as could be.

And there I spent some aeons evoluting without fail,
Till I became a monkey and grew another tail;
But still I had ambitions as the aeons quickly sped,
So I descended from the tree and walked the earth instead,

Till my tail got tired with trailing on the hard ground every day,
And twice within my process that appendage passed away.
Once again I evoluted, and, believe me if you can,
I awoke one summer morning and found myself a man!

Now you tadpoles in the mire, just think what you may be,
If you'll only in your puddles start to climb the family tree.
I am the genus homo finished for all the world to see;
For when I told my story, I was giv'n a Ph.D.

If you ever want to argue evolution vs. Creation with me, just paw-mail me.

A rant and somethingf nice too - nice thing first

Guess what? Mistress and I were modifying our account preferences. We looked at out Gimme some paw preferences, and I, Snoopy, and I think Sadie have got 5 paws! ALL RIGHT!
Now for my rant:
While we were on our walk today, we stopped at a mailbox. Treader lifted his leg on it and I was sniffing next to it. Treader needs to work on his aim! He accidentally peed on my foot instead of the mailbox! I'm onto him! Watch out Treader, the Cookie Monster's going to get you for that!!!!!

I had a good Easter!

I had a grrreat Easter! Mistress fed me a couple of scraps (and you know how I LOVE scraps!). Mistress set up an Easter Egg hunt fur me too! It was fun, because I found 4 of the 6 eggs. Haha! Treader found the other two. What wasn't fair was that mistress gave us each 3 eggs. Ugh! I guess that humans will never understand!
You can see my Easter Egg Hunt here: Easter Egg Hunt

BOY, did we EVER havd a SCARE!

Just moments ago, suddenly it started raining like a thunderstorm in our bathroom. Eek!
Steaming water was coming out of the pipes in the ceiling. Eek! Eek!
Mistress's mom had to go in there with an umbrella to turn off the water. The "hallway" in front of the bathroom is soaking wet now. Eek! Eek! Eek!
It's okay now, but the bathroom's all wet and we're scared to death to use it. Luckily, we have another bathroom.
Wonder if this has anything to do with the people living up stairs?
Boy, that was a SCARE!

Rant

Treader shouldn't get any attention at all! I should get every ounce of attention that there is in this house!
Oh well, life isn't always fair. Who can explain it?

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Still nothing much going on here. If you love German Shepherds, have one, or admire them, then feel furee to join us at the Shepherds4ever forum, made by my pal Gideon!
Shephders4ever

P.S. And here's my profile on there:
Cookie TN

Nothing happening

Today, Treader and I received our flea and heartworn medicine. Not too much goin' on today, except mistress's dad is supposed to call about having Agility classes fur Treader later on.

I'm sorry, I had to comment on this. Evolution is a theory, NOT a fact. Yes, evolution is religious. It was made up because people wanted to find a way to take God out of the picture. They don't want to believe that there is a God. Why? Simple, they want to be able to sin as much as they want without a God there to judge them. Now, if evolution was true, it wouldn't really matter if anyone sinned. Oh, if you do some studying (I mean real studying, not just read some evolutionist articles, but read the whole "big picture", creationist articles and evolutionist articles and all), you'll see that there is no way evolution can exist. It's wrong from the beginning. Ever heard of an explosion creating something? Of course not, explosions ALWAYS destroy things. That disproves the big bang theory on principle. Some Christians believe in the Gap Theory, which is that when the Bible says a day really means millions of years. The Bible means just what it says, and it says it where everyone can understand it, so why interpret it differently? Some Christians claim to be Christians but don't act like Christians. They're turning people away from God, some without realizing it. People see them and say, "Oh, Christians are just like everyone else, so why should we become Christians?" I've met a few of those "Christians". Yes, and I have been ridiculed for my faith too. Not much yet, but I'm sure that if the Lord tarries that I will see a lot more of that. Especially since people are being brainwashed to believe that Christians are fanatics and are ignorant country bumpkins who are too stubborn to believe in "science".
One thing I've noticed. If you have proved someone wrong and they just don't want to believe it they will say something hurtful about you.
Back to my main point. You think I'm crazy? Well, a lot of the textbooks for schools are presenting evolutionist theories which were proven to be wrong a long time ago. Evolutionist textbooks are written, and rewritten, and rewritten and...
Well, you get the picture. My point is, they're always changing their theories up a little, but the Bible stays the same. It always has and always will.
For more info, you can go to www.answersingenesis.org and drdino.com

The 10 Commandments for Dog Lovers

1. My life is likely to last only 10 to 15 years, any separation from you will be very painful.
2. Give me time to understand, what it is you want of me.
3. Place your trust in me, It is crucial for my well-being.
4. Don't be angry with me for long. Don't lock me up as punishment. You have your work, your friends, your entertainment. I only have you.
5. Talk to me even, if I don't understand your words. I do understand your voice when it's speaking to me.
6. Be aware that however you treat me, I'll never forget it.
7. Before you hit me, remember that I have teeth that could easily have crushed the bones in your hand, but I chose not to bite you.
8. Before you scold me for being lazy or uncooperative,ask yourself if something might be bothering me. Perhaps I'm not getting the right food, I've been out in the sun too long, or my heart may be getting old and weak.
9. Take care of me when I get old. You too will grow old one day.
10. Go with me on the difficult journeys, never say. "I can't bear to watch it" or "Let it happen when I'm not there". Remember everything is easier for me when you are there.

Remember I Love You.

~Unknown~

The Day After

I had a grrreat barkday yesterday. I got several more gifts and lots of birthday wishes. (Thanks everywoof, you're the best!) I'll try to remember you when you guy's birthdays come around.

I'm having a good birthday!

I got 10 gifts wishing me a happy birthday! (Thank you all from the bottom of my GSD heart, all you who sent them!) Also, a big thank you to All Fur Fun and Doggie Connection for my Birthday pictures! Mistress made me 67 MEAT flavored dog treats last night. Today I got to eat some of them. I also got those Cheetos. She gave most of them to me, but Treader got to have some too. She gave me my card, and later we will together out in the yard. I love today!

It's decided. We're moving.

Once we can get our 2 houses (our's and mistress's uncle's) sold and Endy's puppies too we will be moving to Arkansas. It's all arranged.

Birthday Tomorrow!

My barkday's tomorrow and I will be turing the BIG TEN! Wonder what mistress has got planned fur me? I do know that she will be giving me Cheetos.

We might be moving

Mistress's uncle wants us all to move to northern Arkansas so we can live in the country. I wouldn't mind living in the country...lots more land to run around on, but then again I've been here my whole life. Chickens and maybe even a pony. Plus we'd see Snoopy and Endy every day. But don't worry guys, if we do move it will be several months from now. We first have to sell our two houses, Endy's puppies have to get old enough to be sold. Mistress's uncle says he has it all worked out. We've prayed about it and God hasn't said no yet...well, if it's God's will we will eventually move. Of course, we'd be off Dogster for a day or two when we do move.

So many problems...sometimes I just don't feel like I can- make any difference...

BSL, puppy mills, BYBs...sometimes I just feel like that I can't make a difference... dogs are the least of everyone's worries right now and BSL is an effect of injustice. A little leaven leaveneth the whole lump.

Mistress will be going to Savanna March 4th

She has to see an eye specialist cuz her left eye wanders. She has had 2 surgeries to correct it (once as a baby and once again at 11 years old), but it still wanders. Her dominant eye is the right one. She can see out of the left eye, but her brain kind of blanks it out unless she actually looks out of that eye on purpose. Her right eye vision is 20/20, and her left I think is 20/10. She'll be gone all day. I don't mind being ignored all day (when her grandma owned me I was ignored most of the day), but I just can't stand being left alone.

CHicken bones haven't sent me to the Bridge yet. Guess I'll- be fine.

Nothing's happened to me yet. I guess I'm okay. Thanks fur praying fur me. My human will watch me a few more days.

I need prayers! I found a chicken bone...

Last night my humans got their supper from KFC. There were some leftovers tonight, and I found a chicken bone and started crunching on it. Mistress heard me chewing (and that chicken bone *crunch*), and said, "What are you eating?". Then she picked up a piece (I had chewed the bone into 3 pieces) and said "NO!" and took the bone away from me. *frown* How I got the bone, my humans don't know. They are usually very good about making sure we don't get chicken bones. Please pray fur me!

Nylabone...delish!

I love the Nylabone! I thought that it was food at first (mistress could tell because I was drooling), so mistress watched me to make sure that I wouldn't swallow it. She took 15 pictures, and 2 are on my page. Enjoy!

Mistress went to the dentist today...

Some of you may remember my thread on this from the end of last month. Today mistress had 2 teeth pulled out. It doesn't hurt her at all right now, but I will be a good girl and keep an eye on her anyway. Just wanted to you woofs know. On the way home she got another Webkinz. Good barks, this girl loves Webkinz. She got the Hymilayan Cat and named it after her dearly departed kitty, Tinker Bell.

Am I a dng-a-ling? Hmmm...Yes & No

See, yesterday I ate some tiny bells and then threw them up later. My humans keep saying that I'm a ding-a-ling. I've never eaten anything but food before and they though for sure that I was smarter than that. I showed them today! Mistress's brother was trying to call Treader back into the house from the back yard (yes, it is secruly fenced in) and Treader wouldn't listen to him. So, I started chasing Treader. They thought that I was just playing at first, but then I chased him into the house. I was herding him! See, I do have some herding instinct!

Oh on!

Beef recall! Now I'm singin' the cheeseburger blues.
His Cheeseburger

Went to the park today!

My human took me to the park today! There were two Labs there. A Yellow Lab and a Chocolate Lab. The Choc Lab was kind of mean, so I had to show him that he couldn't boss me. I have a new banner which attaches to my collars that says "Do I look like a killer to you? Punish the DEED not the BREED!!!" Lots of people read it. Some of them were nervous around me (though there's nothing to be nervous about), but most everyone liked me. :D You can see some pictures from the park today on my page, including the Labs and my banner. All the pics of my page (except the first one) are from the park.

V-Day tagged!

I was tagged by Charlie Girl
My Wishes
1. That I can be a glutton next V-day
2. That Treader will win one of those contests that he is in (see, I'm not all-mean to him)
3. That mistress will get to the see the puppies
4. That I will get to go the park this week (!)
5. That all pups had a wooferful V-day!

Tagged pups:
1. Madalyn
2. ♥Teddy♥
3. Matilda
4. LUCKY Wucky Stoo!
5. Bonny Blue Serenade

HQ, thank you so much fur the V-day hearts!!!!

They were good. We all appreciate you. Keep doin' what you do. :c9

Mistress's e-mail to Glenn Beck about BSL

Hi, my dad likes your show. I want to ask you about something. BSL stands for "Breed-Selective Legislature", and it refers to banning "aggressive" dog breeds like Pit Bulls. Could you do a show on that, please? It's not fair for an entire breed to suffer because of a few aggressive dogs of that breed. Some other breeds suffering because of BSL are German Shepherds, Siberian Huskys, Staffoshore Terriers, and Rhodsian Ridgebacks. I am a member of the website Dogster and on that site, we dog lovers have a little saying, "Punish the DEED, not the BREED!".
This is one thing that I have put in my German Shepherd, Cookie's diary:
"My BSL Growls
Banning breeds is reffered to, in the dog lover's world, as BSL - short for Breed-Selective Legislature. As I say when people ask me if German Shepherd, Cookie, bites, "Dogs bite when they feel threatened or when the owner isn't responsible enough to train or raise their dog right." It's a lot more compicated than that, but it is a good overview. People are so worried about discrinating against other people...well, banning a breed because of a few agressive dogs - this, my friends, is breed discrimination. German Shepherd owners, Pit Bull owners, and any other owners of any other so-called agressive breeds - do you want your dog taken away from you and "humanely" euthenized because of some unresponsible owners? I have my dogs on a website called "Dogster" - you should go there, www.dogster.com - and on this website we have a saying: Punish the DEED, not the BREED! This means, punish the DOG who did the crime, not the BREED of the dog who did the crime. That is like banning an entire race of humans just because some of them killed somebody. Now, in some instances, the dog is protecting himself, or his owners. These instances should not be punished...after all, the dog was only doing his duty. There is also a very rare type of agression. I suppose it is like a seizure, as the dog seems to not be in control of himself. In this rare agression, the dog will bite anything that comes near it, and - only a few minutes later - act as if nothing ever
happened. Dogs with this type of agression should be euthenized, because they ARE - unlike most of the dogs getting put down today because of being "agressive" - a danger to people. I believe that BSL will eventually try to ban all dogs. To stop BSL, I try to have my dogs behave as good examples of their breed. Instead of banning certain breeds, why not ban irresponsilbe ownership?"

I'm not mentioning any names, but I have actually had a few people tell me to put Cookie to sleep just for being a German Shepherd. Cookie's never even bitten anybody, and she loves people. All dogs have the same tendency to bite someone, even little ones. People think of little dog's "yippy and snappy" behavior as cute, but when a big dog does the same thing they call it aggression and demand that that the dog be put down. Does that sound fair? "Yippy and snappy" and aggressive are the same thing. If the owner would take the time to properly train and socialize the dog, they wouldn't be like that. And, in some cases where the dog bites people, they are only playing and may get carried away. Cookie used to play by gently grabbing my hand or arm in her jaws. Once she was playing with my dad and she accidentally did it too hard and broke the skin on his arm. Also, there is a very rare type of aggression where the dog suddenly starts attacking everything and everyone in his reach. Then, after a few minutes, they will act as if nothing happened. For the safety of people, the dogs with that type of aggression should be put to sleep. In some cases too, the dogs are defending themselves or their master and his family. If you decide to do a show on this, please listen to both sides.
God bless you,
Tiffany, dog owner and lover of all dogs

In Memory of Ekko, who was shot and killed

The Spirit of a German Shepherd Dog

I was standing on a hillside
In a field of blowing wheat
And the spirit of a German Shepherd
Was lying at my feet.

She looked at me with kind dark eyes
An ancient wisdom shining through
And in the essence of her being
I saw love there too.

Her mind did lock upon my heart
As I stood there on that day
And she told me of this story
About a place so far away.

I stood upon that hillside
In a field of blowing wheat
And in a twinkling of a second
Her spirit left my feet.

Her tale did put my heart at ease
My fears did fade away
About what lay ahead of me
On another distant day.

"I live among God's creatures now
In the heavens of your mind
So do not grieve for me, my friend
As I am with my kind.

My collar is a rainbow's hue
My leash a shooting star
My boundaries are the Milky Way
Where I sparkle from afar.

There are no pens or kennels here
For I am not confined
But free to roam God's heavens
Among my Shepherd kind.

I nap the day on a snowy cloud
Gentle breezes rocking me
And dream the dreams of earthlings
And how it used to be.

The trees are full of liver treats
And tennis balls abound
And Milkbones line the walkways
Just waiting to be found.

There even is a ring set up
The grass all lush and green
And everyone who gaits around
Becomes the Best of Breed.

For we're all winners in this place
We have no faults, you see
And God passes out those ribbons
To each one, even me.

I drink from waters laced with gold
My world a beauty to behold
And wise old dogs do form my pride
To amble at my very side.

At night I sleep in an angel's arms
Her wings protecting me
And moonbeams dance about us
As stardust falls on thee.

So when your life on earth is spent
And you stand at Heaven's gate
Have no fear of loneliness
For here, you know I wait."


Author unknown

No ride today!?!

Today my humans went on a field trip. When they finally got back, they let me out of the house. They can trust me in the front yard (even off-leash) as long as they watch me, so it was OK to do that. Treader isn't trust-worthy outdoors unless he has a leash, so they put him in the crate while they brought things back into the house. I guess he thought that they were taking me a on ride without him, so he started crying up a storm. They ignored him, of course. That the best way to stop your dog from whining for something, you know - just ignore them. It may take a while, but eventually they quit. You just make sure that they don't have a good reason to whine. A good reason would be if they were hurt. Anywoofers, mistress encouraged me to go into the car. Well, I even sat in the passenger seat like a person, just to make her happy. Thought maybe that they would take me for a little ride too, but - that trickster mistress - they didn't! When they were done outside, mistress let Treader out if his crate, then fed us.

I can't go on the bed anymore...

Anywoof remember my first diary entry where I was talking about how mistress let me on the bed? Well, with my incontinence, I can't do that anymore...

Aid's afraid of me!?!

An aid comes every day to take care of mistress's dad. Most of the aids at least like me (some love me), but the one today didn't. I wouldn't hurt anyone unless they were threatening me or my humans or...Treader. Anyway, I had to spend 3 hours in a room with Treader because of that. Wish that BSL was never even thought up. *grrrr* Well, even we have to respect people's fears will at the same time defending those breeds under attack I guess...

This is what I keep telling people

This morning, mistress woke up and let me and Treader out (as usual). When she let us back in, I noticed that she was next to the table where my medication is kept. I look forward to my medication at 9:00 every morning 'n' night because she puts it in a meat-tasting treat! So, she suddenly started walking away from that table. OH NO! So, I walked around her in a circle and rubbed against her like I do when I want something. She said, "Cookie, what is it?" I looked up at her with my eager eyes. Then she glanced at the clock. 9:13. "Oh..." she said. Then she prepared my treat and gave it to me. That little thief [Treader] was hoping she it fall on the floor so he could have it. So, I growled in his ear after I ate my treat. Mistress was saying how smart I am. Well, that's what I keep trying to tell people!

GSDs were at the parade today!

I didn't get to go (*shrug*), but my mistress was in the parade with the Webkinz people, and she brought all 4 of her Webkinz. There were several German Shepherds at the beginning of the parade. After it was done, mistress went over and petted all the GSDs (*cloud 9*), and most other dogs there actually. There was even a little black GSD puppy, 3 1/2 months old! 2 of the GSDs were therapy and SAR dogs. One looked about 1 year old and was training to be a therapy dog. Mistress never met a dog she didn't like.

P.S. As you may know, one of mistress's Webkinz is a GSD.

Mistress got a Webkinz German Shepherd today!

Pics of me and it coming soon!

One of my mistress's FAVORITE breeds is Breed of the Day!!!!

"Collie Breed Description
Collie refers to various breeds of herding dog originating primarily in Scotland. The fictional Lassie, star of movies, books, and television shows, was a Rough Collie, which helped to popularize Collies in the United States and the United Kingdom, as well as in many other countries. As modern-day "Lassies", both rough and smooth collies have become successful assistance, and therapy dogs. At least one guide dog school, Southeastern Guide Dogs in Florida, currently trains smooth coated collies as guide dogs, and a number of collies are currently partnered with disabled individuals around the United States. Collies are known to be generally sweet and protective. They tend to be easy to train due to a middle level of intelligence and a willingness to please. Some collies are known to be a bit clingy, but this is often seen as an over-enthusiastic sense of loyalty. They are natural herding dogs and need the companionship of a family or other dogs."

I know, I should've done a diary entry when GSDs were Breed of the Day too, but I didn't think of it.

Oh well...

Oh well...didn't win the BISSEL contest...didn't even make it as an honorable mention. On a brighter note, mistress made the treats last night! They are SO yummy! They look almost professional, except some of them differ in thickness. The recipe made more than 50! It made 53! There are now 49 left.

♥Got my paws crossed...♥

The voting period which I was entered in the BISSELL contest is over, winners to be announced soon. I have my paws crossed in hope that I made it.

Homemade Dog Treats?

Mistress wants to make me a batch of 50 homemade dog treats tonight from a recipe in that dog cookbook that she got for Christmas. It will almost be like I'm eatin' people food! And if ya noticed, somehow my page is back to it's normal width. That happened after I added a code fur a little picture at glitter-graphics.com. Now the ads won't block my page! This morning, we went on our 1-mile walk again. When we got back to our house, there were buzzards all over our yard! On the roof, on the ground. I guess something died. I wasn't at all happy with those darn buzzards intruding MY turf though. I tried to chase them, but mistress wouldn't let me! She said that buzzards will throw up on you if you bother them. Not that I care! Oh well, those darn buzzards are gone now...

I got a golden bone!

Did ya see? Emma gave me a golden bone special gift!! Thanks, Emma!!!

We have a plan...

That person that mistress was talking to goes to PE, if we remember correctly. So, mistress printed out a sheet with pictures of me wuth my sweetest expressions. (One does kinda look like I'm growling, but I'm not really. I have "slack jaw", which is where the lower lip hangs down a little. It's pretty common in older dogs. She will show those picture to that person and that person will see what a sweet, loving, and loyal dog I really am.

BSL is among even mistress's friends!?!

Mistress went to one of her friend's birthday party today. She was talking to one of the other guests (also one of her friends) about BSL, and you know what? When she told her friend (the guest one) about me, her friend practically said that I should be put to sleep just because I was a German Shepherd! She thinks that all German Shepherds and breeds like that should be "done away with". I know it should come as no surprise with all the media junk about "aggressive" breeds, but one of mistress's own friends!?! Even if there are "bad breeds" (which there aren't, people just need to be better owners), not all of the dogs in that breed would be bad.

Squirrel Appreciation Day is in 2 days!

I can't wait! I got a little something fur it too. Rascal from All Fur Fun designed it! Of course, I'm sure that Treader and I aren't the only pups getting this, but that just makes it even better! Be sure to check out my main pic on Squirrel Appreciation Day!

I got e-cards!

I've gotten several e-cards wishing me luck with dealing with my incontinence. Thanks, all the pups that sent the cards to me! I'm glad you care!

Diary of the Day? WOW! What an unexpected honor!

Diary of the day? I can hardly bewoof it! I bet my little brother Treader is jealous of me right now! Thanks, everyone!

I don't always want to eat my chewable tablet that is supposed to help my incontinence, so mistress has been hiding it away in some of my treats. The meat flavored ones, 'cause they're like play dough...they can be "molded" around my tablets. I don't mind, so long as it tastes good. BOL

I MIGHT be a model!

Mistress entered my into the BISSEL contest (see Dogster home page). Her mom said to put it in mistress's dad's name, since he is my legal owner in the eyes of the law. She picked out a REALLY good photo of me. I have excellent expression in the picture, wonderful coat (I'd just been brushed when that pic was taken), and and I look good. That photo is also in my photo book somewhere, I think.

My BSL Growls

An article written by my mistress. She plans to read it at a town meeting when and if BSL comes to St. Marys.

My BSL Growls
Banning breeds is reffered to, in the dog lover's world, as BSL - short for Breed-Selective Legislature. As I say when people ask me if German Shepherd, Cookie, bites, "Dogs bite when they feel threatened or when the owner isn't responsible enough to train or raise their dog right." It's a lot more compicated than that, but it is a good overview. People are so worried about discrinating against other people...well, banning a breed because of a few agressive dogs - this, my friends, is breed discrimination. German Shepherd owners, Pit Bull owners, and any other owners of any other so-called agressive breeds - do you want your dog taken away from you and "humanely" euthenized because of some unresponsible owners? I have my dogs on a website called "Dogster" - you should go there, www.dogster.com - and on this website we have a saying: Punish the DEED, not the BREED! This means, punish the DOG who did the crime, not the BREED of the dog who did the crime. That is like banning an entire race of humans just because some of them killed somebody. Now, in some instances, the dog is protecting himself, or his owners. These instances should not be punished...after all, the dog was only doing his duty. There is also a very rare type of agression. I suppose it is like a seizure, as the dog seems to not be in control of himself. In this rare agression, the dog will bite anything that comes near it, and - only a few minutes later - act as if nothing ever happened. Dogs with this type of agression should be euthenized, because they ARE - unlike most of the dogs getting put down today because of being "agressive" - a danger to people. I believe that BSL will eventually try to ban all dogs. To stop BSL, I try to have my dogs behave as good examples of their breed. Instead of banning certain breeds, why not ban irresponsilbe ownership?

Update to: I NEED PAWRAYERS!

We went to the vet's at about 11:30 this morning. When the vet finally was able to see me, I was weighed. I weigh 94 lbs. *blushes* What can I say? I'm a hungry girl. Anyway, that's not too bad. The vet says that just under 90 would be about ideal for me. The vet had my humans take me outside to see if they could collect any urine samples. They got some, and came up with no crystals. They had to draw blood from me in 2 or 3 places. Y-OUCH! Mistress had to hold me for this part, I tried to back away. They tested the blood and found no evidence of infection. They deduced that I have incontinence. Luckily though, there's actually a medicine for that now. But I'll have to take it as long as I live from now on...the bottle the vet gave us should last 3 months. IT COSTS $40!!! Wow, I'm glad my humans are willing to spend that much money on medcine for the rest of my life! Mistress's dad was joking that I would have to be sold to people who make glue out of my bones...NOT FUNNY! NOT FUNNY AT ALL!!!! Mistress didn't think it was funny either, even though she knew it was just a joke. She says that if someone offered her a million dollars for me, she'd refuse. Wow, what a loyal human! And they think that dogs are loyal! I picked out a good person to be my special person, let me tell you.
~Lady Cookie the Villainous

I NEED PAWRAYERS!

I've been leaking pee all over the carpets. My bed smells like pee too. I have had urninary tract infections twice before, so it could very well be that. But, I'm almost 10 years old now, so it could be incontinence. Let's hope it's just an infection, 'cause mistress's grandma wants to have me put to sleep if it's incontinence. EEK! *wipes eyes with paw* My humans wouldn't let that happen of course unless I was in a lot of pain and nuthin' could be done to stop the pain. But I'm not in pain. I'm walking around, acting normal, wagging my tail, and begging for treats as usual. You could say that I don't even know that something is wrong. If it's...you know what, then I will just need washable doggie diapers. BOL

PAWLEASE HELP, SOMEBODY!!!!!!

I must have done something on the keyboard by accident. Many of the pictures here on Dogster aren't showing up on my computer now! I'm crying! Can SOMEBODY pawlease tell me how to fix it?

The "Afterbath"

My bath is over, and I'm in the schoolroom (my mistress is homescholled) drying off what the towel missed. I want to go roll in the dirt outside to shake this dampness, but mistress won't let me out. And mistress DID decided to humiliate me by taking pics. You can see one that she unkindly put as my main pic. Look at me! I was miserable! And while I was recovering in this room all alone, the humans were fixing the internet, as the connection failed. Well, as you can tell, it's fixed now. Good thing that I have a waterproof laptop of my own, or I'd would have to wait 'til I got out of the schoolroom to do my diary.
~the damp Lady Cookie the Vallainous of Lower Helleswicke

BATH!?! TODAY!?!

My humans sya that I'm a stinky-poo lately and I need a bath. They can't give me a bath outside in the winter (that's why I haven't had a bath since summer), but I leave a carpet of hairs on the bottom of the tub when they do it there. Also, it's hard to rinse me in the tub since I'm a big dog. So they're going to have as deep water as they can. OH NO! Even worse! I hope that mistress doesn't decide to humiliate me by taking pictures and puting one on my page...after my bath maybe I'll post an update, but...oh HOW I HATE BATHS!

Guarding the truck (and my little brother) at the Pelican- Apartments

My humans are taking care of their friend's dog. This friend lives in the Pelican Apartments. She has a Lab/German Shepherd mix named Bandit. Bandit is blind (cataracts) and deaf, and this friend can't affor to have surgery done on his eyes. Anyway, while this friend is out of town, my humans go to her apartment to take care of her dog. Today, they decided to bring Treader. When I saw them puting MY leash on Treader, I couldn't allow that, so I pretended to attack him. (I make noises like I'm attacking him, but that's all I do.) Well, at this apartment, there are lot of dishonest people. So, they let me come along too to make sure that no one steals Treader (which could easily be done). Treader and I had to stay in the car. (It was a chilly day. My humans would NEVER EVER leave us in the car in the summer.) They were gone for several minutes. While they were gone, I figured that I would sit in the driver's seat. You know, so I could see them better when they came out. When they finally came out and saw me in the driver's seat, they joked about how I was going to drive away. (Haha, very funny...) On the way out, we saw the cutest American Bulldog. Then we got back home, and I drank some water.

Stocking Stealer

My mistress got out my stocking (and Treader's too). She was puting a bunch of treats into it. Well, I was thinking those treats would spoil if they weren't eaten right away, so I kept trying to gobble them up while she was stuffing my stocking. She wouldn't let me! Then she put my stocking on the couch. When she walked out, I took my stocking off the couch and began chewing on the threads to get to the treats inside. Then mistress noticed my laying in the living room floor and chewing in "something". She took my stocking away and put it back on the couch! What!?! TREATS ARE FOR EATING! NOT STUFFING SOME DUMB OLD STOCKING WITH! So I took it off again and the same thing happened, except this time mistress put my stocking (and Treader's, just in case I tried to take his) on a table where I can't reach them. *humph!* Well, she says that I can have it in a few minutes, I guess I forgive her...

Pawlease don't IM us

Our mistress get very nervous when an IM message pops up. Don't know why, cuz she's a very socialable person. Maybe it's because she doesn't like having to do the talking fur me so fast. Anyway, please don't IM me or my family. We love you all, but we don't care for IMing.

Christmas Tagged!

Wow, I haven't been tagged in awhile! This time Charlie the Great Dane tagge me. Here's how Christmas tagging works:
"You have to write a letter to Santa Paws with 5 requests in your diary.
Then you have to give whoever tagged you 5 bones or treats.
Then tag 5 more cats or dogs"
Dear Santa Paws,
I've been good this year...unless you actually count my bullying my little brother as being "bad". Here are 5 things that I want the most.
1. I would just LOVE one of those treat jars that is shaped like a fire hydrant.
2. A manual showing me how to open and close the door to Treader's crate to I can put him in there when I get tired of him.
3. An entire pepperoni pizza all to myself! Talk about Heaven on earth!
4. Is there anything that will keep my claws from growing? I hate having my nails trimmed.
5. Fur all homeless pets to find a furever home!

I'm tagging:
1. Vincent
2. ♥Bell♥
3. Mighty Mika
4. Cookie
5. Jake

Christmas in the Park!

Our city had a Christmas celebration in Howard Peeples Park today! I didn't get to go though, *pfffft*. There was a scavanger hunt for some u-logs, but my people didn't find them. But it wasn't a total loss! My mistress found a store with that Webkinz Collie she's been wanting! She'll have to wait until Christmas Eve to play with it or anything though...
The "Christmas in the park" thing was an all-day event, but my humans had to leave early because they couldn't leave mistress's dad (who is bedridden) alone that long. They went again earlier this evening (and brought that darn little Treader with them instead of ME! *grrrr*) to see a life Nativity Scene, but either there wasn't one or they missed it. They got some hot chocolate though. Mistress says that Treader went crazy whenever he saw a girl dog. For some reason, he loves girl dogs even though he neutered. He'll drive you up a wall until you let him see one he has never met before. It's not so bad with ones that he has met before. He's never tried to do anything to a girl dog but sniff it. Except me. Sometimes he tries to "you-know-what" me. (BOL) He seems to love Angel, the mixed breed that lives behind our house. He respects Angel, but always *tries* to sniff her rear end even when he's already said hello! I think that he's rougher with me because I drive him crazy so much with me always reminding him that I'm the boss. Well, he'll just have to shape up, cuz I'm not givin' in!
~Lady Cookie the Villainous of Deepest Throcking

"Guess who" ate a frog once!

Nothin', zlich, nodda (at least nothing worth barking about in my diary) has been happening in the past few days, soooo I'll tell about one of my experiences as a puppy. I was somewhere around 6 or 7 months, so I don't remember the story that well. When I start telling the story, I may be a little off. Here goes...
I was out on the porch one afternoon minding my own business. This green, slimy looking thing hopped out of nowhere. I thought maybe it was new kind of dog treat, so I picked him with my mouth. Suddenly, my mouth was wet and had a sour taste in it, so I spit him out as quickly as possible. Later on in life, I learned that that "thing" was a frog. I've seen them since and I leave them alone now. They taste like...like...something you never want to taste again in your entire life!

My Tail of Devotion for Cookie TN♥

Cookie-a dog for me when I needed a dog. She is my big guardian. She loves me like no other person. I'm her mistress, her special person, her god. She is pleased when I am pleased and upset when I am upset. She would give her life for me and my brother and my parents and even the "little pest", Treader, I know she would. She may not always want to do or learn a trick I am teaching her, but she will put up with it. My dad thinks that if I died Cookie would die from missing me. Cookie hates cats, yet she loved my kitty Tinker Bell during Tink's entire lifetime. I thank God for this devoted dog...

This is a special Tail of Devotion

See All Tails of Devotion

UPDATE

I put the BSL video on my page. Now the adds are covering my page a little, but I'd rather have the video on and a little of my page hidden than not have the video on at all.

Cherry made a PAWSOME anit-BSL video

Cherry NPC made a PAWSOME video against BSL! I am honored to be included in it. I bet that only a few out of 10,000 dogs of the breeds BSL bans ever bite anyone. Anyway, all dogs bite; all dogs have the equipment to attack someone. Most are good dogs.
See the video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x3N4EpBJCP0
Take a stand!

I ♥ this time of year!

I love this time of year: I get presents, extra petting, it's cooler outside so I feel like running around. Everyone is so full of good will and love at this time also. Wow, if it's this good at Christmas down here, I could only imagine how mucher better it would to celebrate Christmas in Heaven! This is Treader 1st Christmas with us. I hope mistress saved the best presents fur me, muhahahaha! I know what Treader is getting: a little dog bed with a resereable/removeable cushion. I'm sure that what I get is better, but I have to admit that that is a good present!

IM

Sorry to my pal Maisy for accidenatly turning off the IM screen. I meant to turn off my pop-up-blocker temporarily, but I hit "hide tabs and chat" by accident. I'm sorry that happened. Having to refresh the IM window every 10 seconds was annoying so I wanted to turn Gogo Data (my pop upblocker) off. I know it was Gogo by the popping sound I hgeard when the window closed. I finally figured out how to turn the thing off. Sorry...

The 12 Dogs of Christmas, and I have 9 rossettes!!

Noticed that the movie the 12 Dogs of Christmas is on the Top Gifts list! Funny, my mistress's mom ordered that for mistress a month ago! Mistress is hoping the movie has Collies, Shelties, Border Collies, and GSDs in it (go figure, BOL). I have 9 rossettes! That's more than my family, but I have been on here long then again. My stardom is growing! (BOL!)
~ Very Lady Cookie the Villainous of Deepest Throcking

My Stomach is Grrring

I'm SO hungry! Fur some reason, my mistress won't feed me tonight. Wonder if it's because of my "sick" time earlier today?

Misunderstood

This is just a quick entry then I get back to stopping a remote controlled vehicle from driving me dog biscuits. Mistress and most all the humans were gone for a long time on Tuesday. They went to visit a farm called Conner's A-Maize-ing Acres. They went with their neighbors. I heard something about two dogs there. One was very old Chesepeke Bay Retriever, and to other was a young (and VERY friendly) Rottweiler. I tell you Rotties and similiar breeds (including my own) are very misunderstood. *shakes head* Sure there are some aggressive dogs out there, but those breeds must be socialized more carefully is all. I turned out fine. Would have passed the CGC test if I hadn't thought the testing place was the vet's office. Okay, now I gotta go stop this remote controlled thing from chasing me around...
~ Very Lady Cookie the Villainous of Deepest Throcking

Move your caboose

The phrase "move your caboose", sometimes said as "move your big caboose" hasn't been used around here for a while-having been replaced with just "move". Needless to say, I like the latter better, but those timeless words came up once again on Friday. "Move your caboose" my mistress said on Friday when I was road-blocking the kitchen. She and her mom and brother were gone at some play or something, and they had just got back. They think "move your caboose" is funny. They don't know funny. How could anyone who thinks Treader driving me dog bones is hilarious know what funny really is? Let me show you funny: Treader is smart, but when he gets the zoomies he gets rowdy. And when he gets rowdy he gets careless. Anyway, one time he had the zoomies, and the door to his crate was open as usual. He ran right into the door! Hahahahahahahahahahaha! Now THAT is funny! Once my poor old back legs slipped right out from under me while I was running. That's NOT funny. Well actually no one thought it was funny, not even Treader. But you get my point.
~ Very Lady Cookie the Villainous of Deepest Throcking

Our Peculiar Aristocratic Titles

Mine: Very Lady Cookie the Villainous of Deepest Throcking
Treader's: Duke Gray Dawntreader the Nefarious of Lower Hellswicke
Sadie's: Lady Sadie the Undefeated of Frome Valley
Snoopy's: His Noble Excellency Snoopy the Encompassing of Nether Wombleshire
Tink's: Milady the Right Reverend Tinker Bell the Elephantine of Larkhill under Porton
Bronson's: Very Sir Lord Bronson the Decent of Larkhill under Porton
Ferdnan's: The Very Ferdnan the Arboreal of Chipping Sodbury

Try Again...*whimper*

I took the CGC test on Saturday. For showing too much shyness (which I normally don't do except in a vet's office) I had to be marked as...failed. Did great on the first two-tests though. (I thought that place the test was done at was a vet's office.) I was a little upset about letting mistress down, but she wasn't mad at all. She told me I was a good girl? You'd think that I actually passed the way she's been talking to me. Then she said that I could have done much worse. Guess that's true.

I'm in The World's Coolest Dog and Cat Show!

So is Treader. Please check out our pictures!

Cookie's Tail of Devotion

This is Cookie's mistress. I could say a million things about Cookie. I admit that while she is smart she is not as smart as some other dogs I've known. When I was just 5, my parents devorced and we had to move to an apartment that didn't allow dogs or cats. That ment my dog (a Toy Poodle named Rascal) and my cat (a mixed breed named Ginger who had kittens) had to go to the pound. I hated living in the apartment. I am dog-crazy and I really wouldn't know what to do with myself if I didn't have a dog nowadays. By a work of God (when I was 8), my mom found someone and married him. My stepdad had a beautiful German Shepherd namded, you guessed it, Cookie. I had been praying for a dog ever since I lost Rascal! Cookie wasn't sure about me at first, but it didn't take long for me to become one of her very, very favorite people. The amazing thing? Cookie was born that same (1998) year my parents had gotten devorced! I liked to walk Cookie. One day there was a dog on the other side of a chainleak fence. He was barking bloody murder at us. Cookie has a short temper with other dogs. She started to run toward the other dog. I was really little then so when I held onto the leash really tight I went flying (actually flying in the air)while still holding the leash behind Cookie. I remeber Cookie running running toward a tree stump, and I was thinking I would hit it and get hurt bad. Instead of going around it like I expected her to, Cookie leaped easy as pie over it. I now think that she didn't go around it because I was flying along at the end of her leash, maybe she decided I WOULD hit the stump if she did. So she jumped as high as possible. She finally stopped at the fence, and I dropped to the ground. I got a few scratches from that. Cookie started a barking match with the other dog. I got up, and yanked Cookie's leash as hard as I could. Cookie eventually got the idea that I was trying to lead her away. She followed, still glaring at the other dog. I think that would have been fun if I wasn't so scared. Well, my grandma (who lived up stairs at the time) was actually the one taking care of Cookie. One day she decided I could start taking care of her. Now I feed, water, bath, exercise, and brush Cookie. Just a little while before that I had gotten a kitten named Tinker Bell. I was afraid Cookie would chase her away because she hates cats with a vengance, or maybe it's just the fun of chasing them. Well, I decided that instead of keeping Cookie away while I was playing with Tinker Bell that I would let her meet Tink. Cookie just sniffed her, and Tinker Bell wasn't scared at all: just batted Cookie's nose playfully. Cookie and Tinker Bell started to play. They would chase each other across the house, and Tinker Bell would "tag" Cookie's nose with her paw. Cookie seemed to understand that Tinker Bell was my valued property, just as she was. I have been training Cookie to be a Canine Good Citizen (CGC) for the past year. Even though Cookie has a very short temper with other dogs that happen to be on "her" property or "her" road, I think she's still trained well enough that she will become a CGC next month. I know for a fact that Cookie would lay down her life to protect me, my stepdad, my mom, and my brother. She and Treader are our "security alarms" night and day. Cookie's the better guard dog (scarier I mean), while Treader's the better listener. In many ways Cookie is better that Treader, but in many Treader is better than Cookie. I am blessed by God to have two great dogs, and privileged by God to have had the world's smartest cat, Tinker Bell (2003-2006). Cookie is 9 now, so who knows how long she has left to live? She had started to slow down, but then we fed her Lassie Natural Way and she is just like a 3 year old dog in looks and energy now. She even runs faster and has much less "bad days". Cookie knows 17 tricks, but she hates doing some of them. But she does almost anything for me. She does her very best to understand me, and when I get mad at her she forgives me without a second thought. Cookie, a true Tail of Devotion!

CGC here I come!

The date for my CGC test is set to October 20th, with the possiblity of changing. Mistress is sure I'm ready, but she's going to work with me while we wait for the day to come so that I will be in top form for the test. The place it is to be performed at, Kats 'n' Dogs, is only down the street from the pound. It will cost $15. You don't have to be a member of the AKC to have the test done. Shucks, even mutts can earn the CGC title. And mutts are not allowed to join the AKC. Oh yeah, I have a title already: Trick Novice (TN). The TDASM (Trick Dog Association of St. Marys) awarded it to me. To learn more about the TDASM, see Gray Dawntreader's diary. Not that it's anything big. TDASM is NOT an official organization, yet anyway. The only thing you have to do to earn titles is live in St. Marys, Georgia, and learn a certain number of tricks. To get TN, you have to know 16 tricks. For TA (Trick Advanced) you have to know 25, for TX (Trick Excellent) you have to know 35, and for TDCH (Trick Dog Champion) you have to know 60.
I know: come, sit, laydown, stay, get up, crawl, wave, shake, "which one?", play dead, "mailbox", "house", go laydown (mind your own business), up, down, "get it" (catch Frisbee), and move. That's 17, so there you are. (Some of the tricks I know, such as crawl, Gray Dawntreader just doesn't seem to get. So even though he's listed as being smarter than me I can still feel superior. Well okay, I admit that there are tricks he's learning that I don't get either, like dance and spin.)
Wish me luck on my much longed for CGC!

!!!X to earn some titles!!!

This Saturday, mistress is volunteering at the local animal shelter. She must really care about animals, which she does. Oh, and soon I will get the chance to become a Canine Good Citizen (CGC)! How neat is that? Once I accomplish CGC, mistress might look into a Companian/Social dog career for me. I think that's also called Delta Pet Partner (DPP). And mistress will DEFINITELY look into canine backpacking. She puts her backpack on me, and I carry on as though it's not there. I know I would excell in backpacking. I could get two titles, BPD (BackPacking Dog) and BPDX (BackPacking Dog Excellent). Of course, to gain the titles I will need a canine backpack.

Dreaming...of Macraroni and Meat

Luckily for me, my mistress can be a bit of a klutz. She's nay be14, but she's still kinda like a younger kid in a lot of ways (one of 'em is she still plays with toys). She's also studying REAL hard so she can breed Collies and Shelties someday. Back to the story...she picked up her supper off the table so she could rinse the sauce off it (I know, funny), then she (accidentilty, of course) dropped it. Sauce flew all over the kitchen, and (for me) supper was served. She called on me, the family food mess eater (and World-Champion Glutton), to clean it up. I found out what her supper was: Macaroni and Meat! I love macaroni, but I LOVE meat. There was sauce too, and it was pretty good. But...I would have liked my special supper a little better without the sauce. Treader would have liked some. Only he's not allowed in the kitchen (or to have scrap) anymore. Haha! Even if he was, he wouldn't have gotten any. I'm real food protective. I could out-glutton ANY dog with a leg, tail, AND an ear behind my back.

My 100th Pal!

Unless, I'm mistaking, Duchess (a St. Bernard) is my 100th Pup Pal. I gave her a bunch of bones. Thanks, for being my Pup Pal (and my familie's too) Duchess!

Lend a Pup

This is a touching poem I came across while looking at a Collie breeder's website. Don't cry because your dog (or cat) died; smile because it lived. As long as it lived a happy life, there's nothing to be sorry about.
LEND A PUP
I WILL LEND YOU FOR AWHILE, A PUP, GOD SAID,
FOR YOU TO LOVE HIM WHILE HE LIVES AND MOURN FOR HIM WHEN HE'S DEAD.
MAYBE FOR TWELVE OR FOURTEEN YEARS, OR MAYBE TWO OR THREE
BUT WILL YOU, 'TIL I CALL HIM BACK, TAKE CARE OF HIM FOR ME?
HE'LL BRING HIS CHARMS TO GLADDEN YOU AND SHOULD HIS STAY BE BRIEF,
YOU'LL ALWAYS HAVE HIS MEMORIES AS SOLACE FOR YOUR GRIEF.
I CANNOT PROMISE HE WILL STAY, SINCE ALL FROM EARTH RETURN,
BUT THERE ARE LESSONS TAUGHT I WANT THIS PUP TO LEARN.
I'VE LOOKED THE WHOLE WORLD OVER IN SEARCH OF TEACHERS TRUE,
AND FROM THE FOLK THAT CROWD LIFE'S LAND, I HAVE CHOSEN YOU.
NOW WILL YOU GIVE HIM ALL YOUR LOVE, NOR THINK THE LABOR VAIN,
NOR HATE ME WHEN I COME TO TAKE MY PUPPY BACK AGAIN?
I FANCIED THAT I HEARD HIM SAY "DEAR LORD THY WILL BE DONE,"
FOR ALL THE JOYS THIS PUP WILL BRING, THE RISK OF GRIEF WE'LL RUN.
WE'LL SHELTER HIM WITH TENDERNESS, WE'LL LOVE HIM WHILE WE MAY,
AND FOR THE HAPPINESS WE'VE KNOWN, FOREVER GRATEFUL STAY.
BUT SHOULD YOU CALL HIM BACK MUCH SOONER THAN WE'VE PLANNED,
WE'LL BRAVE THE BITTER GRIEF THAT COMES AND TRY TO UNDERSTAND.
IF BY OUR LOVE WE'VE MANAGED, YOUR WISHES TO ACHIEVE
IN MEMORY OF HIM WE LOVED, TO HELP US WHILE WE GRIEVE.
WHEN OUR FAITHFUL BUNDLE DEPARTS THIS WORLD OF STRIFE,
WE'LL HAVE YET ANOTHER PUP, AND LOVE HIM ALL HIS LIFE.
AOUTHOR UNKNOWN

When the Lights Go Out

On Saturday night, our electricity went out. Mistress thought the light out was fun. Doesn't make much difference to me. The only time I use electricity is when I post things to Dogster. Mistress had a fun time taking pictures of me and Treader and playing with Treader. I don't play anymore, at least not the same games I used to. Nowadays, I prefer "wrestling" with Treader, only on occasion, of course. The rest of the time, I'm either being petted, eating, sleeping, or taking a walk. Anyway, the lights came back on around 11:00. ~The Cookie Monster

Treader is Even Tougher Than What I Said Last Time

I said in the last entry that Treader is tough. Well, it's true...very true. And now...I have an even better reason to say that. You see, it's the way he got out of our yard. How? I'll tell you, but first I had better say that the part of the yard we're allowed to be in by ourselves is fenced. The rest is unfenced, and we have to be supervized when we're there. Well, mistress's brother Charles was out on the (fecned in) porch with us, and someone accidentally left the slid glass door locked. Charles found out he couldn't get back in, so he went through the little gate that leads into the yard (also fenced) of the guy that rents upstairs. He forgot to tell Treader to "stay", so Treader rushed through the little gate. Now, understand that the yard that the gate leads to is fenced, but there are stairs that lead up to the "upstairs house" of the upstairs renting guy. Now, at the top of the stairs, there is no thing between the upstairs porch and the roof of the first floor. So what did Treader do? Why, he walked through that opening at the top of the stairs and ran onto the roof! He ran across and jumped to the ground. Didn't even whimper, so I guess it didn't hurt him, or at least not much. He's part Sheltie and part Papillon. I've heard that Papillons are frail: their bones break easy, while Shelties are one of the toughest breeds around. Yet another way Treader is more like his Sheltie side! He acts like a Sheltie too. This is the Cookie Monster, over and out (like a light). G'night!

Okay

Cookie here again. Gray Dawntreader, my new little "brother", is not too bad. I do kind of push him around a bit, but I am the Top Dog (well of him, anyway). I really do love him. My mistress accidentally scratched him pretty hard while brushing him. It must have been hard, 'cause this little guy is TOUGH for his size. He fell on his back after trying unsuccsellfully to jump onto mistress's dad's bed, and didn't even whine. Now, if that had happened to me, I would have made a big fuss about it, tough as I am. Anyway, when I heard him yelp (when mistress stratched him), I went over to make sure he was alright. He was, you bet. Anyway, the point is, we may pick on each other a lot, but we do care about each other too. I do admit that I am a little too hard on him, but I want to stay the Top Dog. I have a quick temper too. He tries to get me to play every day. What can I say? Sometimes I do, sometimes I don't. Not really interested in playing much anymore. I just like being loved, petted, fed, and walked. Treader does steal a lot of my attention, and I can't blame my humans for doing that, really. He's just too cute. I know that they give me as much attention as they can, but I just don't feel like that's enough. So, I've been barking when nothing's there lately. After all, when I bark, I get praised, right? So more barking should bring more atention, right? Wrong. When I bark at nothing, they ignore me because they don't like it. (Even "punishing attention" counts for somethin'.) I'm only supposed to bark at something that's there, they say. I'll have to think of something else...

Face to face with an intruder...

A few days ago, I came face to face with an intruder. I was guarding my humans, when I saw a terrible thing. It was a round cat-like thing with what looked like armored plates. This thing was in part of the garden. I stiffened my muscles, walked over, tried to sniff it, and...it ran (which was what I wanted). I chased it under the shed. That was good enough. The humans called it an "armadillo". Oh, there was also a garter snake, but he lives here so no need to chase him off. They say he's good for the garden anyway. Did I mention we've been having thunder storms almost every day lately? I hate those things, they scare me to death with all that loud noise. Mistress also has a new music CD. Something called "Boyz in the Sink", but I don't see why they're in a sink. Probably because they're vegetables. She says she likes the songs but not the music. I heard it to. My favorite song is called I Can Be Your Friend. (All songs on this CD are copyrighted by Big Idea Inc., so I can't post any lyrics. Sure is a great song though.)

I have been TAGGED!

I have tagged by Pawnne (correct me if I spelled it wrong)
Here are the ruels of the game:
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 !
Here's my seven facts:
I was sold the Rowell family at six months old.
I am on my way to becoming a Canine Good Citizen.
I like catching Frisbees.
I don't mind cats anymore.
I LOVE Canine Take Outs.
I know about twenty tricks.
I like Shelties.
I have chosen Dutchess, Gunner, Skye, Douglas, Java, Kito, and Soldier.

My capers

Last night I was chasing a cockaroach. I think I got rid of 'im. I know it's cat work, but with Tinker Bell at the Bridge for about half a year, someone's got to be the exterminator. I''m not allowed to bring scraps to my bed, so this morning, I took my whole scrap dish in my mouth, and carried it to my bed. When I got there, I ate my scraps. Nap time...

Special Thanks!

First of all, I would like to thank God, who created all of us dogs (and everything else too). Secondly, I would like to thank my pup pals. Those guys are great! Thirdly, I would like to thank Lassie (the real thing) and the people and dogs of lassie.net. Without them, I never would have found Dogster! And, last (but not least) I would like to thank the owners of Dogster for making such a great website!

What a Dog Believes

Have you humans out there ever wondered what dogs belive about God? Now's you chance to find out. Most of us believe every word of the Bible (King James Version), and we stand up for what we believe in. We believe Jesus died on the cross for every one's sins. Not to leave out that He rose again three days later; that was the greatest victory of all. We even believe in the rapture. For those of us dogs that have humans that are saved, I don't know exactly how'll we'll survive. But, God will make a way. Even if we die, I think all of the animals that ever died will be around again (on earth) duting the Thousand Year Reign of Jesus Christ. Until then, the animals that have passed away will stay at Rainbow Bridge until their humans go to Heaven (if they're humans are saved) or until then. I don't know why many humans turn away from God, it's so simple to avoid Hell. Just ask Jesus to save you and forgive of all your sins, and you'll never have to worry about Hell again. You'll be in Heaven the rest of eternity if you are saved, and if you never get saved, you go to the worst place imagionable...Hell! Be sure to read your Bible, humans! We dogs know who created us (and not over millions of years, either). God did.

Please Help!

Cookie again: My mistress has been wondering for quite some time who my family is. She knows that dad's name is Romell, my mom's name is Pirncess Leta Gulledge, my breeder was Jeanne Burkett, that I'm registered with the World Kennel Club (my registration number is "G-02449"), and that I was born on March 2nd, 1998. My pedigree name is Cookie Miller, though I am not a Miller anymore. "Ownership transfer" (should be guardianship). If you recognize me (and can tell me sbout my family or have pictures of my parents or littermates), please send me a paw-mail.
Thanks in advance, Cookie

Anybody Know an Available Sheltie?

Cookie again. My mistress might by getting a Shetland Sheepdog soon, and we would like to know if anybody reading this entry knows an available Sheltie in soueast Georgia or even Northeast Florida? If you do, please send me an E-mail. Mistress doesn't care whether it's a boy or girl (or what color it is), as long as it meets a few requirements:Must be spayed/neutered, housebroken (if possible), and be up to date on it's shots (if possible).I don't see why I can't be a lone pet around here, but mistress's dad says I'm getting old and I could teach the Sheltie a few maners. If you don't what I mean, when mistress tells me to move or something, the Sheltie (if we get one) would see and understand. Okay...nap time...

Herding Breeds are the smartest

It's me, Cookie the GSD, again. I know us herding breeds are the smartest breeds 'cause herdin' requires high intelligence. Want an example? Okay. The handlers have to call out commands to the herding dogs, and sometimes, they give a wrong command. The dogs have to know when to obey commands, and when to ignore them. See? No offense, but terrier breeds are the least intelligent. They were bred to dig! You don't have to be smart for that. I'm sure there are some really smart terriers, but, as a breed, terriers are not so smart. I've met enough of 'em to know. I'm not saying terriers are bad dogs; Hey, most of 'em are smart enough to learn lots of really neat tricks. But, I think that even the smartest terrier is not nearly as smart as the average herding breeds. Another thing I've noticed. We breeds that have been kown to attack people have a lot of laws against us. I'm talkin' my ownbreed, GSDs plus Rottwielers, Bulldogs, Dobermans, and Pit Bulls. One law in one county says that breeds like that have to be tied up because they are mean dogs. What? Hey, that just makes us meaner. Besides ANY dog that's trained right won't attack people. People need to take time to understand us better. It'd be a better world for people and dogs that way. Not all "mean" breeds are mean anyway. My mistress says I'm just about the sweetest German Shepherd in the world. Sure, I bark and all, but's to protect my property. I LOVE people! One time some visitors came, and I just wags my tail in a friendly way at them, and asked them to pet me. Mistress says I was acting just like a Canine Good Citizen, which is good, because that what I trying to become. Some pounds won't let people adopt Germa Shepherds and other "mean" breeds because of our bad reputation. It's not their fault they were born that breed. I once heard of a man who kicked a Pit Bull for "just being a Pit Bull". He even let his German Shepherd attack it. I was ashamed that my breed would involved in something as cruel as that. What if someone did that to his German Shepherd for "just being a German Shepherd"? Bet he would call the police. Anyway, just something to think about.

New sleeping quarters

My mistress is now letting me sleeep on the people bed because I'm getting older. It much more comfy than the carpet! I haven't allowed on the furinture my whole life, so I wait untilshe gives me permission. It's almost time to check th mail...gotta go!