Hmm... out of date.

Wow, doggies, it's been a long time since my lady posted here. So much has happened in the past two years that it's hard to think what's important enough to tell.

First, we moved back to Boston. We only lived in Virginia for a few months. My lady said things didn't "work out" with her bf (I didn't really warm to him anyway) so she called it quits. We moved home in October, 2009. We stayed with a friend of hers when we came back, since she didn't have an apartment anymore, and that friend also had a dog (in fact, it was a friend from the dog park). So I got to live with another dog for the first time. We get along pretty well, now - Bandido is my pack. My lady says he's a Puerto Rican SATO, whatever that means. He's a mutt like me, but he's a bit smaller and all black. People sometimes mistake him for my smaller brother, but we're not related.

But yeah. Two years later, almost, we're still here. Turns out my lady realized she had romantic feelings toward the friend who let us stay, and their friendship turned into a relationship a bit over a year ago. So we're all a pack now. I really like this guy - sometimes he walks us without my lady and I'm pretty obedient. Mostly.

The only downside about this guy is that he got my lady into riding motorcycles. She bought her first one last year, crashed it, rebuilt it and then upgraded later in the year. I actually don't mind the motorcycles so much; they spend a fair amount of time out front working on the bikes and we dogs get to hang out outdoors with them while they're doing mysterious things. But what I don't like about the motorcycle riding is that it takes them away sometimes. They do weekend trips occasionally, but at the end of last year they took a big trip and were gone for FOUR WHOLE MONTHS!

Well, doggies, you can imagine I didn't like that. They apparently rode their motorcycles from here in Boston all the way down all the land to the bottom, to a place called Argentina. And then they came home. While they were gone, they got some ladies to stay with us in our own house, so we wouldn't be too upset. One of the ladies even had her own dog, so there were THREE of us for a while! It was great.

I really loved the new dog, Ella, who was something like a Labradoodle. But my packmate, Bandido, didn't like one of the ladies who stayed with us, and he started getting snarly and snapping at the people. I, on the other hand, was quite polite, so the people always wanted to spend time with me. They spoiled me a little bit, and they were always yelling at Bandido and sending him away because he was snarly, so our pack order shifted a bit and now I'm top dog in the house. Bandido, though, didn't really like that and he hasn't gotten over it.

Now that our people are back and the temporary ladies are gone (our people came back at the beginning of April) Bandido is still snarly sometimes to people at the park. It's sad for all of us because Bandido used to be such a lover; he was always asking for pets from people at the park and he's convinced me to be a lot more sociable with the people. But now he's not trustworthy and has to wear a muzzle sometimes. I'm glad that's not me! He doesn't like it; he's always trying to rub his head to get it off.

The people still leave sometimes for short trips, but now they leave us with a friend who has another dog I like (Dandelion! He's an English Shepherd - we herding dogs have fun together.) His people really understand how to handle dogs, and they spoil us roten in a good way. But lately I've heard the people talking about bringing us along in sidecars! I don't really know what that means, but I like car rides and I like being with my people, so hopefully it's a good thing.

So yeah. I'm clearly way behind on giving out updates and a lot has happened in the past couple of years. Hope all of my Dogster friends are well and enjoying the summer!

Moved!

Hey doggies! We've moved and I've survived! I'm now living in sunny (and HOT) northern Virginia, or NoVA as the people call it for short. What are my thoughts on moving?

1. Moving day was very stressful.

My lady had spent days packing things up, and continued to do so on moving day. And then her bf showed up, who I hadn't smelled in months, and I wanted to eat him. And then one of her lady friends showed up, who's been helping her pack for the trip, and I wanted to eat her. And then some people finally came to take my couch away, and I wanted to eat them, but my lady put me in the bedroom. When I came out, the couch was gone, and my lady put me in my crate shortly thereafter because more guys came and moved all our stuff out of my apartment.

It was not good. And then my lady dropped me off at a friend's house and left me there while she and said friends went out to dinner.

2. 10 hours in a moving truck is something I could live without.

After dinner, we all piled in a truck - me and the lady and her bf - and drove for a long time. All night long. They stopped for an hour to sleep at around 5AM, and I was stress panting. I panted the whole time they slept - when my lady went to sleep, I was panting, and when the alarm woke them up again, I was still panting. When we arrived at our destination, the lady and her bf left me in the truck for a few minutes while they ran in to buy some stuff for the apt. And then we drove to the apt for the first time.

3. Moving into the apt was stressful.

My lady knew I'd be anxious, so after she showed me around the new apartment, she tied my leash to the stairs where I could watch her and keep an eye on the proceedings. She gave me some water. I watched her and the bf and two guys carry all our stuff up into the apartment. I sat out there for two hours, panting, while they carried everything upstairs. And then I went up there with them, and I felt a little better that I could smell all the stuff from our old home, but it was all in boxes and I was still worried.

4. I didn't like it at first when they left me alone.

The lady and her bf still had to move his stuff in after we got all our stuff. They left me alone in the apt while they packed his stuff, and they left me alone again when they went to run errands and pick things up that they needed for the apt. I did not like being left alone in a new place, doggies. I barked. And barked. And barked. The entire time they were gone, I barked my head off, wondering where she was and if she'd come home again. Now that I can reach my couch again (it was hidden by boxes the first couple of days) I'm much calmer and I don't mind being left alone here. I get the idea that she's not abandoning me. But at first, it was bad, doggies.

5. The dog park in our complex is a joke.

There is a fenced-in dog park in our apartment complex that apparently really appealed to my lady. She thought it was a big selling point. Unfortunately, it turns out that very few people in our complex actually use it, and when they do, they don't bother to pick up after their dogs. I've only met one other dog in the dog park in the week and a half since we've been here, but there's lots of poo that people aren't picking up. It's hot and small and boring, and I don't particularly like it.

6. I LOVE the loft in our new apartment.

The new apartment is kinda small downstairs, doggies - a living space, a kitchen and a bedroom. But there's a staircase next to the kitchen, and it goes upstairs to a loft. And from the loft, you can look over the rest of the apartment, plus there's this nice spot in the back where I can curl up kinda like a den. I claimed the loft when we first moved in, and I love it up there. Now, whenever the people leave me home alone, I go hang out in the loft until they get back. It's great. I love hanging out up there when my lady works up there. And it's fun to watch over the apartment from up there.

7. My people found a new awesome dog park for me.

It's a bit of a drive, but my people have located a new super-cool dog park for me in a place called Shirlington. It's not quite like Fresh Pond was in Cambridge, but it's a long, wide fenced in area (like a half-mile long, maybe? My people haven't actually measured it). AND! Outside the fence, down a little hill, is a little river! And dogs are allowed to play in it! We went there once and my lady didn't let me go in the water, but we were there yesterday and she let me go down to the river to socialize with the other dogs. I LOVED it, doggies! I laid in the water and splashed around, and then ran around with the other doggies. It was great. I wish they'd take me there every day!

8. The new guy isn't so bad.

I wasn't sure about my lady's bf at first. He's a guy, and I tend to not like guys. But I did remember him from when I saw him last in April, and he's always been nice to me. He's now walked me a few times, and walked with me and the lady a few times, and taken us to dog parks, so I'm starting to take a liking to him. I actually played with him at the dog park in our complex the other day. And I may have snuggled with him on the couch the other night - I'd never actually admit it, but it may have happened. Possibly. So I think, if I had to relocate and live with some strange man, he's not so bad.

On the whole? The moving thing was stressful, doggies, but I'm adjusting. I like my new apartment itself, and I'm happy now that a lot of my stuff from the old apartment is accessible. And I like that the people are trying so hard to find dog parks for me. I miss my old pals in Cambridge, but I'm ready to make new friends here. Moving isn't so bad, after all!

Moving next week, and MORE trauma?!

Doggies, my house is in total upheaval. My lady has been trying to sell my favorite couch in the study in preparation for the move. (I keep telling her I've left my mark all over it - no-one will want it at this point except me.) She's been selling other stuff, too. And she has so many boxes full of stuff sitting around the apartment! I'm getting anxious about the move. I know it's coming soon, and I don't know how I'll react.

Every time she leaves the apartment these days, I'm dying to go with her because I'm anxious about what's going on... and every time she comes home, I act like I haven't seen her in a month because I'm so grateful she came back. My nerves can barely take it, doggies!

But she just told me about something even WORSE this evening! Apparently, somehow, she's booked tickets to go not just out of town, but out of the COUNTRY in late July. How long will she be gone, doggies? TWO WEEKS! My lady is leaving me alone for half a month!!!! The longest I've ever been away from her is the 3 or 4 days when she went down to DC in March (and now we're moving there, so we all see how THAT went) and now she's leaving me alone for TWO WHOLE WEEKS?!

It's not fair, doggies! This is going to happen less than a month after moving me to a new place. Just as I start to get settled into a new routine, and having a new pack member, she's going to go away for two weeks and leave me with some stranger! She's apparently already looking into potential dog-sitters, even though she's not even living there yet - apparently that long of a stay is going to set her back financially, and she wants to make sure I get good, personalized care.

I say I don't care, doggies. She can just suck it up and pay. Or better yet - decide she can't afford to find me a dog-sitter for two weeks and stay home.

Hmph.

Oh, the torture!

So, doggies, in light of my upcoming move, my lady has been making sure that I have everything done by my established peeps here before we go. What does this entail?

My annual vet visit was last week. Bah. They poked me with needles and trimmed my nails and felt me all over and stuck a thing in my bum and drew blood. My lady apparently told them that I'd been more sedate at the dog park lately (I'm not all that interested in playing with the other doggies, much of the time - I just hang out near my lady a lot and ask for pets and scritchies) and she didn't know if it was because I'm getting older or because I'm unwell. So they tested for Lyme (I was negative) and decided I was just becoming a cuddle pup. Well, duh! I could have told you that! I still romp like a crazy man when we go walking around the lake, and I'll definitely miss that lake walk. My lady and her man better find a good place to take me in DC.

Then, to add insult to injury, she took me to get groomed on Tuesday! Groomed! I was overdue for my Spring grooming, she said - I said I could be perfectly happy to pass. They trimmed the fur around my paws, and my ears, and my tail, and brushed me out real good.

They also told my lady that although she LOVES the FURminator and thinks it gets lots of fur off me, we actually need a different kind of brush to get my undercoat because my top coat is so long, so she's ordered a new brush for me which is supposed to come today. So much for the boatloads of cash she spent on the FURminator! But I got a bone out of the deal, so I didn't mind too much.

In prep for this whole move thing, my lady has gotten a LOT of boxes and is slowly packing up the stuff in my house. This makes me nervous, doggies. I don't know why she's putting everything away, but I think it can't be good. And I've even heard rumors that she's trying to sell my couch in the study. That's MY couch! How dare she sell it? She says she's got people coming by to look at it today, but I hope it falls through. Where am I supposed to sit while she's working in there if she sells my couch?

Bah. I don't think I like this moving thing very well so far, doggies.

Holy paw, doggies!

Wow, doggies - it's been a LONG time since I talked my lady into updating! In fact, she hasn't even been checking on my Dogster pals lately; I have no idea what any of you are up to, and this makes me vera sad.

I'm writing now because I have BIG news, doggies - I'm moving! We've been living in Boston since I came to live with my lady on Memorial Day weekend in 2007, but now we're actually moving much closer to where I originally came from; Virginia!

My silly lady is apparently moving so she can be with a guy. I don't get why she can't find a guy here; there are plenty of perfectly good men (if you need men - I personally could do without them) right here in the city, but she really seems to like this guy in DC. So we're moving to a suburb in DC at the end of the month!

I'm nervous, of course, doggies. I generally don't like change, and this is going to be a very big change. I've only ever lived here since coming to live with my lady, so I'm not going to know what to think!

Our new home is in an apartment complex, and it's on the third floor; two strikes against it, in my opinion. But, it does have a fenced-in dog park right there in the complex (yay for other doggies to play with!) and a nature trail running behind the property, right outside my building! We're at the back of the complex, and we'll apparently have a view looking out onto the woods from our balcony. I'm none to keen to move, doggies, but at least my lady has considered my needs in hunting for the right place.

So I hope all my Dogster pals are well, and if any of you are in NoVA, maybe we should set up a play date!

Home with my lady!

Huzzah, doggies! My lady came to pick me up yesterday evening!

This was the dreaded week when she left me alone with the d0g-sitter while she went gallivanting off who-knows-where. She was supposed to drop me off super early on Monday morning, but then she found out about a problem with her flight on Sunday night and found out she had to take an even earlier flight on Monday, which meant she had to leave oh-so-early. She couldn't get ahold of the dogsitter, so she ended up leaving a spare key with a dog park friend.

My lady left on Monday morning, with her luggage in tow, barely sparing me a pat on the head. A couple of hours later, our dog park friend came in through the side door - no-one ever comes in through the side door - leashed me up, and took me over to the dog-sitters.

I was terrified, doggies. My lady was gone, and someone else came into our house and took me away. I had several nervous accidents in the dog-sitter's house, and didn't know what to do about my lady! Eventually I settled in on the dog-sitter's bed (I never get on my lady's bed at home except when she's not around) and she petted me and cuddled me and I began to think things might be alright.

On Tuesday, the dog-sitter took me out for walkies to a little off-leash park, where I got to run and play with one of the other dogs she was sitting - we actually had fun. I wagged my tail!

By Wednesday, I was beginning to settle in ok. I let the dog-sitter pet me lots and we went on walkies and she brushed me and I got to hang with other dogs, and it was nice.

On Thursday, a new dog came in that was scared of big dogs, so the dog-sitter took me upstairs to the third floor! That made me nervous, because I hadn't been up there, and I had another nervous accident, but then the dog-sitter sat on the floor and brushed me and I started to calm down. And then my lady came to pick me up!

I was so glad to see her, doggies. When she opened the door, I froze, shaking, because I was so surprised to see her. After a minute, though, I started running around and wagging my tail like a happy dog, whining at her because I was so glad to see her and even jumping up on her a few times. I even gave her kisses! We brought my stuff home, and doggies - I've never been so happy to walk in my front door. I jumped up on the couch and slept like a baby all night, and I've been happy as can be today.

It's good to be home. It makes me appreciate my house and my lady even more. I survived her trip away! (Which is probably a good thing, as I heard her tell the dog-sitter that she wants to leave me there again in the future...)

Abandoned?

Oh, doggies, I don't like the sound of this at all.

My lady hasn't talked to me about it directly, but I've heard her on the phone with another lady about TAKING CARE OF ME next week. Because apparently my lady is leaving town for a few days.

LEAVING TOWN!

My lady has never left me with anyone else, ever, since I came to live with her. The closest we've come is when I used to go to the office with her and she'd occasionally run out for lunch and leave me at the office for an hour or so. She's never left me at someone's house before, or even left me alone with a friend for a few hours.

I am really anxious about how this is going to go, doggies.

I'm afraid I'll panic when my lady leaves me. She says she'll come back, but I'm afraid that the moment that door closes behind her, I'll feel abandoned. When she had to leave me alone with the instructor for a few minutes at my CGC test, I sat completely still and just watched the area where she'd disappeared until she came back again. I don't think I can sit completely still for four days, doggies.

I've met the lady before who will be taking care of me. She's nice enough, and she really seems to love doggies. But I haven't spent a lot of time with her, and I know I won't be comfortable.

How do you do it, doggies? How can I survive being without my lady for 4 days?

My lady tried to squish me!

Ok, so *maybe* I contributed to the situation, but still! I'm a poor little Ben-dog - I don't deserve to be squished! Let me tell you what happened, doggies, and you can tell me if I may be somewhat at fault...

We went walking at Fresh Pond today, which I *LOVE*, doggies. My lady has a friend who drives out there with her dog, and we walk around the reservoir and I get to run around off-leash and meet lots of other doggies and sniff things and roll in things, and it's a really great time. It's a 2.5 mile walk, give or take - not the longest hike, but I really love going. We go maybe once or twice a week.

So there we are, and it's the first time I've been there since Sunday, and there's all kinds of SNOW, doggies! (Huzzah for the snowstorm we got on Sunday/Monday!) All the snow was melted the last time we were there, so I was really happy that the snow was back. I was running around like a crazy dog, minding my own business, and I saw my lady walking off down a trail.

Well. I took off down the hill I was on, running toward my lady at top speed. I was going so fast, I may have miscalculated a bit... it's hard to say. Instead of running in front of her or behind her, I ran RIGHT INTO her legs.

Huh. You'd think my lady would be able to take a hit, but apparently that tiny little nudge was enough to send her sprawling.

Right on top of me!

I was all tangled up in her legs, and she fell down and I was unable to extract myself as she fell. We went down in a big heap, and I yiped and whimpered because I couldn't get out. She tried to squish me, doggies!

She was all kind words after that, asking if I was ok and petting me and trying to make sure I wasn't injured, but I was so anxious about having a gigantic person falling on me, I wasn't willing to be reassured. I kept pacing in circles around her, trying to figure out what had happened. Eventually, I forgot about it because I saw the most pawsome doggy I had to go meet...

But still.

She tried to squish me, doggies!

Or was it a little bit my fault?

Ben - CGC!

DOGGIES!

I had my CGC test last night and I PASSED! With flying colors! I did super duper well - better than any of the other doggies in my class (except when it came to petting from a friendly stranger - I only did ok there) but I am now Ben, Canine Good Citizen! Yay!

And somehow the weeks have slipped by...

Doggies, I feel so bad - I was all intent on making my lady resume her rightful transcription duties, but she has somehow gotten derailed AGAIN!

Things have been pretty much the same as always here, with a few small changes. My lady's beau was around less and less often for the past few weeks, and they finally decided to just be friends because apparently they're both so busy. I haven't seen him in a week, although my lady says he might be coming over later today.

She wastes no time, though, doggies - apparently she's already working on replacing him, but the beau she really seems to like lives 500 miles away. This is a problem for all of us, I think. He comes back to Boston fairly frequently because he grew up here and has family here, and I've met him a few times when he's come to visit, but haven't spent enough time with him to have a good read on him. I did let him pet me when he was here last week, which seemed to gratify both people.

Unfortunately, depending on how things go with the people, there may be a relocation in my future. I don't think I'd do well with a relocation, doggies. I love my doggy friends here, and I think that moving to a new home would be quite stressful for me. If the lady really likes this beau so much, I hope he finds a way to move back to Boston so we can stay here.

In totally me-centric news - I'm going on Thursday to take the CGC test! My lady is optimistic that I'll pass, so I might be Ben - CGC soon enough! We're excited about this, doggies, as it'll be a real measure of the progress I've made since my lady adopted me. I will DEFINITELY make sure she keeps you posted on whether or not I pass, so we can all celebrate my Ben - CGC status!