WOOHOOOO!!!!!!!

MOM'S HOME!!!!!!!!!!!! And her suitcase is already unpacked!!!

It's been five days, and I finally jumped in the air and caught a ball! Mom is so good at throwing it. Gramma didn't even try while she was gone. BOL!

So everything is back to normal. The suitcase is back in the closet...where it should be, and my toys are flying through the air again.

THIS is the life.

Until next time, go cuddle with your pup! And if you've been gone for a while, play play play with them!

Rocket

A Long Time Coming...

The dreadful suitcase has made a comeback.

And I am not OK with it. Mostly because mom is only packing her stuff, and none of my stuff.

Dang, the last time I saw that thing was a couple of years ago! So maybe mom DOES kind of deserve this vacation.

I'll just...miss her a lot! :( But she said she'll be back in a few days...so I guess I can hold down the fort until she gets back.

Until next time, go cuddle with your pup! And give them extra kisses and hugs and lovin' if you plan on leaving them any time soon!

Rocket

OMD!!!

Mom just put that deliciousness she calls "wet food" in with our kibble this morning.

That must mean it's SUNDAY!!!!

Happy Sunday!!!!!

Here Goes!

OMD!!!

Mom just put on her scrubby clothes.

Hellooooooooooooo Saturday!

Warm-Ups and Naptimes.

Hello there! How is everyone today? I hope good. Especially since it's Friday, and you know what that means? It means mom stays in her scrubby clothes for the next TWO days and spends all of her time with me. Yes, I said all of her time. Does Friday mean that to you!?

Today also marks a lot of days in a row where me, mom, and 27 have all walked 2.3 miles every morning. Mom even said today was our best walk!!! It's such a routine now that I don't even pull mom when someone walks out of their house to get the paper or load their trucks for the day, and I even know to get out of the way of oncoming cars! Mom was so proud of me and 27. Today was the first day that we walked side by side, me and him. Usually mom has us on each hand, but this morning for some reason, 27 wanted next to me, so the whole time mom was only using one arm to walk us. Aren't we awesome?! She kept telling me I was a good girl during the whole walk. I kept looking at her and smiling.

The thing that's cracking mom up the most is that 2.3 miles of walking should be tiring me out for the day. Well, that ain't happening. What IS happening is that by the end of our walk, at the same exact spot every morning, I dig at the collected dirt in the curb. And dig like crazy! And dig! And dig! Then I get so excited I do a zoomie around mom. She laughs really hard and then we just keep walking. Then when we get home, we eat, but mom takes for.ev.er to eat (I always have wondered why it takes humans longer than ten seconds to eat a meal). So I rest my head in her lap, or stare, or sit about ten feet away and whine, or go behind a corner and only look at her with one eye while half my face hides (which mom can't get over how hysterical that is). I do this on repeat until mom puts her dish in the sink and takes us out to the backyard. Then I get in my ready stance and stare until she throws the ball. Then I catch it!

Is there really something wrong with a dog who can do all that after an hour's walk? BOL! What mom doesn't know is that me and 27 sleep all. day. Gramma isn't lying about that! Mom asks everyday when she gets home from work what we did all day. Gramma says, "They just got out of bed when they heard your car pull up." Mom is so jealous! BOL!

Mom needs to learn that a 2.3 mile walk is just my warm-up.

Until next time, go cuddle with your pup! And take them for a looooong walk and see what happens! Will you still want to play afterward? Or will you crash on the couch for the next 23 hours?

Rocket

In Mourning...

The world is one less great Catahoula today...

Rest in Peace dear Charlotte...

Quickest Update Ever!

Just a quick fix to my last blog:

Charlotte is still on this side of the Rainbow! She wagged her tail for the first time in weeks yesterday before her appointment, and was curious about the world again, so her mom decided that Charlotte was not quite ready to leave her yet. What a brave pup she is! Major hugs to Char and her mom.

And an update:
Our morning walk was two-and-a-half miles long this morning! Thanks to mom's new phone, the EVO, she was able to use GPS updates and calculate it. We actually walked to the end of the block. That's the farthest we've ever gone in the morning. Mom loves it because it's still before the sun comes up so it's nice and chilly. We can't WAIT for winter! Mom is hoping to walk to the end of the block again tomorrow and make it our new routine. I just have to make sure to wake mom up early enough! BOL!

Until next time, go cuddle with your pup! And keep giving them some extra love, in honor of the bravest pup I know, Charlotte!

Rocket

An Active Day on Dogster...

Hey everyone...

While I'd love to start my diary update on a happy note, I've got devastating news. Charlotte, one of mom's greatest helpers during my adoption, ran over the Rainbow Bridge this morning...

Charlotte's mom was a great help on everything Catahoulas when mom first adopted me. Mom was taught all the Cattie quirks, including hating things that move the wrong way, extreme protectiveness of the family, and the ever popular throw-me-the-ball-NOW stare.

While her mom was not recently active on Dogster, she has been very busy with her photography, but always had time to snap a few new shots of Charlotte and her brother, Wilbur. Please stop by either site and send your condolences. It was a very hard decision for Charlotte's mom to make, but Charlotte's heart was just too sick...

She is now running freely and healthily over The Bridge, chasing those tennis balls and Frisbees as fast as she can.

I miss you already, Char.

...

In completely other news, you guys have to check this out. I have found my cosmic twin. Her name is Kiko and when mom saw a picture of her, even SHE did a double-take. Mom, Gramma and Grampa can't BELIEVE how much Kiko looks like me. What do you guys think? I mean, even though I'm about four years younger than her, it looks like we could be from the same litter. BOL! Let me know what you think!

Until next time, go cuddle with your pup. And give them extra hugs and kisses tonight, in the name of Charlotte Don Marie Johnson Poulos...

Rocket

My Yearly Check Up and a Completely New Routine

Hey there everyone! I finally have time to sit down for a little update. Things have been beyond crazy around here, so now that it's early on a Saturday morning, I can sit and write.

First off, the past couple of weeks have been a little nuts. Mom's dad was having a bunch of tests done on his throat and after a million rides up and back to and from the doctor, he flew up to somewhere named Baltimore to have something removed from his throat! Mom keeps saying the word cancer, though I'm not really sure what that means. Mom's mom went up to Baltimore, too, so mom has been alone here taking care of her grandma - who is blind, deaf, and forgets things the minute you tell her something! Mom says that's called Alzheimer's, but I call it exhausting. That's why, occasionally, you'll find me hiding under the couch because sometimes it gets a little too loud in here...

...especially now that mom has to work from home, which means during the day, there are two little girls here! Mom does homeschool preschool with them, and that's always fun! Especially when they get to take a little break and they come running to me for kisses and hugs and tail pulls and ear rubs and trampolining off my belly. BOL! The youngest one, she's two - me and her, we're best buds. I mope around the house while she is napping, but when she wakes up, I go and greet her with a big sloppy kiss and then she chases me around the house until it's time for her to go home.

So yes, my routine is completely changed. Thank Dog mom's sister is here helping tend to her grandma, but she leaves tomorrow! That means no more morning walks until mom's mom comes home. No walks for at least another week! Gah! I do love my morning walks, especially now that it's dark and it's soooo much cooler. Mom and I can't WAIT for fall and winter. More time outside!

On Thursday I had my yearly check up and you know what? It was mom's goal last year during my appt. to not have to bring me in at all during the year until my yearly check up. She met her goal! I didn't have to go for an entire year! Mom is awesome!

So we went and waited in the waiting room where a HUUUUUUUGE dog (mom told me later was a Bull Mastiff) met me and we gave each other kisses. I wanted to play with him so bad but as soon as I sat to wait for my turn, it was time for his turn. Anyway, mom got me on the scale and I weighed 45 lbs. exactly. Then we went into the exam room where I greeted all the people with kisses (and jumps, oops!) and the vet came in and I hugged her too. Then she left and came back with three needles and something that I wasn't OK with! My tail went right between my legs and I ran over to mom. The vet had no idea why I was so scared, but mom had to hold me while she checked my ears with that scary looking tool. She said my ears looked great and that my teeth looked great (thanks to an antler or two). Then she went to give me the shots in my legs, and when she went to grab some fat, she couldn't! She said I had not once ounce of fat on me! BOL! Mom said she was very jealous.

Anyway, I was scared the whole time, especially when they brought me in the back to draw some blood for my heartworm test. I jumped off the table three times and I whimpered when they tried to take it. When the vet brought me back to mom, she said it was really unsettling how afraid I was. Mom was at a loss. I mean, it's not everyday someone pokes and prods me, right? Don't I have a right to be afraid? And I never got aggressive, never growled or snapped or anything. I just got really submissive. It was like the doctor had never seen such a thing, and I KNOW I'm not the only dog out there who is afraid of their doctor. BOL! Right? I was great with the people, even when we were done and in the waiting room, I greeted everyone who came in. It was just when the doctor had things in her hands that I didn't get to sniff first, I ran to mom. So it left mom confused that the doctor would even mention something.

What do you guys think? Are you afraid when you go to the vet? Mom kind of thinks it has something to do with my lack of exercise, since our routine is so messed up for the time being, so she's not really worried about what the doctor said. It really was the first time I showed any amount of fear - I mean, I'm not even afraid of fireworks! Or thunderstorms! Or strangers! BOL! So I don't know. And neither does mom. But she'd appreciate your thoughts.

Oh, and by the way, the doc said I'm the healthiest pup in town. She even added I looked great. Isn't mom awesome!?

Until next time, go cuddle with your pup! And take them for a walk or two, especially since Earth is showing the first signs of Fall!

Rocket

Wet Food and Marrow Bones and New Toys, Oh My!

Today is the day! My Gotcha Day! Mom still can't believe it's been two years that she's had me. But we already had that discussion. BOL!

Anyway, mom surprised me and 27 with some Solid Gold canned food in our kibble this morning and tonight. YUM! We were drooling before our dishes hit the ground. Then after breakfast mom presented me with a new stuffie I can groom. LOVE IT! It's wool and it's so soft and it's the perfect texture to groom. Mom laughs at me because I don't chew toys, I groom them. I don't think I'm that weird!

When mom got home from work we had to skip our walk because it was STILL raining (it's been raining all weekend!) but she let me out and we played fetch for a while. I LOVE playing in the rain. I get all hyper and run around and jump higher for the ball. Mom gets a big kick out of it. But ooooh it's so fun! When we got done playing outside, I ate some of my yummy special dinner and then about an hour later, mom surprised me and 27 again with marrow bones YUMMM!!! I love them.

The only thing now is, mom thinks she fed me toooo much today because my stomach is making noises and I already look like I've gained weight! So now mom gets to worry all night and all day tomorrow until I poop. BOL!

Thank you again to everyone who sent me American flags to help me celebrate this weekend. What a great weekend it was!

Until next time, go cuddle with your pup! And every now and then, surprise them with goodies!

Rocket