it's a good time..

things are changing around here..
good and not so good changes.
I am on the road to retirement, meaning pretty much retired :o) Officially my last big job will be a trip over Christmas til the end of year.
You'd think this is a bad thing, right? Well, it has it's disadvantages, but in the picture it is a really cool thing. I can do all the things I was not allowed to do before.
I can officially snarl at dogs, which bother me, I can carry my ball around, I can beg at tables, take treats from people, I get to swim and walk around all day (well, that's not a real change ;o)
On the down side, I am wearing a harness now, because it's better for me. Better.... well, it looks like my health is not on my side at the moment.
My coat is not looking good at all! I used to have this very shiny and silky coat, but now it's rough, like the one a rough coated Jackie would have. It hasn't fallen out, nor has it grown back in a year! It looks sunburned, yellow, brittle and dull. It even has spliss! Also my coat is not growing back around my butt and leg area - remember after my surgery it never came back?
Well, our vet told mom and dad that we have to do a special thyroid test. It had a name, but I forgot. It's expensive, but it might make sense. We are not too worried about all of this, but worried enough. Well, we will see.
For now I am taking the fatty acids, and what have you, get regular baths with conditioner.. etc.

Jolanda is up and running. All are well so far.
For the last two weeks we have had family stay with us at our house, which was super! I had the best time and was very, very sad when they left again.

Our time was busy. Mom has worked a lot, but likes it. Jolanda and I went to the Pet Pride Day with her! Dad was there, too :o) It was big time fun. All these dogs and foooooood everywhere :D The disc dogs were there, too!
So much fun stuff. I got treats from so may ACC people. Someone wanted to keep me even! Mom said no, though ;o)
One of the ACC vets gave us the bestest treats on the planet.
Jolanda even got a second chip - an ISO chip. I have one, but she had a no ISO. Since she travels to and in Europe, she needs one so their machines can read it, too. Jolanda did not even feel the needle. She was so busy picking up the fantastic treats.. smart vet ;o) No wonder everyone, including me like her!
Yesterday we met with our pal Becker and his family to spend time at the GGP and at Japantown. That was pretty awesome.
Today dad, mom and us went to the science fair at the AT&T park in SF. Awesome event. We stopped at our cafe place to collect treats and fetch a tea and then we walked aaall the way up to the pier 39 to visit the sea lions. I used to be worried about them being so close, but now, that there are so few, I enjoy watching them through the fence :o)
On the way back Jolanda and I convinced our humans to get on the F-line, which is the historic streetcar line in SF, and get a ride back. The driver liked having us on the train :o) Some of you might not know, but pet dogs are welcome on SF public transportation. Sometimes you got to pay sometimes you don't. Depends on the driver..
We had a little pit stop at one of our pet stores, where we not only got treats, no, I got a really pretty thin collar to wear with my tags. The harness is my new "walking harness" to attach the leash. It's ok. Mom loves it and I start to like it, too :o)
Ok, enough talking..
Here are a few pictures and videos for you - click on the grey link:

october/november

woofs to you and greetings!
Thank you all so much, so very much for my birthday gifts, your thoughts, comments and pawmails, your fun little pictures and the individualized one, which Redford made and thanks PDPC for the honor!
Happy woofs to you all, thank you for thinking of me... Love, Jojo and sonja

happy halloween!!

happy woofs from all of us *licks and kisses*

feel free to click on our photolink:
maike und johannes

worries about Jolanda, and a visit from Dora, Max and Becker

I am writing today. Life has been treating us well so far - lots of beach fun and visiting with friends, having visitors here, going to restaurants, having to work, etc.
On Tuesday mom had to go to the vet with Jolanda. I sure joined in, because they have all the treats :o) Jolanda has had a swollen anus - yes, she does. It's gotten bigger over the last few weeks. Mom was worried, because she thought that she did something wrong with the anal gland squeeze, but she did not it turned out.
The vet visit was fine for me. Lots of treats and stuff. For Jolanda it was more worrisome. The glands were perfect. They checked out Jolanda from inside out. When she was done, the vet brought her out to us. Then she told us that she is worried about this "swelling". It might be a cancerous growth. It might not be. Mom kind of fainted for a split second. That was not the kind of news we wanted to hear. To make a long story short, the vet gave Jolanda steroids. I think it's called Prednizone. None of us liked having to give it to her, but our vet really wants to know what is happening. She said that she wants for the inflammation, in case it is one, to come down fast. Because if the swelling is not gone after 4 or 5 days, we have to come back and she has to do a biopsy. Given Jolanda's history, there is a chance..
Horrid news. If this is really a cancer - we don't want to go there..
The swelling is still there. We stay positive, maybe it's just inflamed for whatever reason. Happens.
Jolanda can't work right now, because the Prednizone makes her go to the bathroom more frequently. Also she stepped on a mussel and cut her pad a little. Therefor easy going..

In the mean time mom met up with our pal Dora and her mom and with our pals Max and Becker and their moms. Dora brought a friend of hers, Piper! Mom and them went to the beach and for some lunch that one day. I could smell that they had a great time there :o)
Today, mom met up with Max and Becker. They went for dinner and lots of talking. Apparently we will go to the Great America on Saturday!! This is awesome. I don't know whether I will go, though. Mom might leave me home with Jolanda, because then Jolanda will be a bit happier.

I don't know what else to say. Right now we are all hoping that her butt is going to be fine again. ok - enough. Happy woofs with a touch of worry..

Fritz and Muf are here!

Yes, they came this morning. Their dad pulled in the driveway and Muffi and Fritz came flying into the house. That was awesome! They are still here.. Mom said that they will stay until next week Tuesday, which means we will have a splendid time together :o)
Check it out, today we went to the Crissy Field and enjoyed ourselves for more than 3 hours.. That was brilliant. We are pretty tired now and will probably sleep until dinner, which is in about 2 hours :D
we took a few pictures and videos - check them out:

From julyaugust

Enjoy and feel free to run at the beach with us!
Happy woofs from all of us :o)

uneventful

It's been kind of uneventful these last few days. We went to the dentist, watched the "Rising of the Apes", "Glee" and some "Monk". We went on many walks at the beach and Golden Gate Park, went to the cafes and walked around in the city, we ran errands and yesterday we both got a bath *sigh* Also mom clipped our nails. Guess what? She clipped one of Jolanda's nails a millimeter too much. It did not hurt, Jolanda said, but it started bleeding a little! Mom felt awful, but Jolanda did not care at all. Mom put a little bandage around Jolanda's foot to help for it to heal quickly. Then we went on a walk. All was ok, and now her nail is fine.
Today, mom and us will go on a walk early, because in the afternoon we will go meet up with pals for a baseball game!! I think Jolanda will go this time, since I have been to several games lately. That's ok, no problem.
Other than that all is fine and we are (surprise, surprise) all well :o)
Happy woofs to you all..

having fun :o)

since dad needed some time off work, we decided to do some low key stuff with him, to make him smile and heal well :o) We went on a few day trips, with lots of sight seeing and little walking. His leg is improving well and he feels a bit more at ease.
I helped him with the having fun part - check it out:

having fun :o)

We had a great time. Dad needs to start taking vacation regularly, like others do, too. He also needs to be sick when he is sick. I will make sure he remembers next time!
Happy woofs and hope you like having fun on the trip with us :o)

$30 per person?? they got to be kidding..

Today is Bay to Barkers day. Bay to Barkers is (supposed to be) a family event where you bring your dogs. They usually have a few dog related and not directly dog related vendors there, who sell stuff or share new and old foods, promote themselves. Some raffle, a short fundraising walk beforehand and some games. You know, the typical small events for dogs. Nothing spectacular, in fact nothing special really.
We have been going for the last 7 years now. It was an open event for whoever was interested and had fun to come, watch dogs or catch up with other dog owners.. If you wanted to participate in the games, you could register per dog, got some goodie bags and a print out certificate in the mail, for doing all the games. Mom and dad used to register both, Jolanda and me, for about $25 per dog - this money goes to the Berkeley Humane Society, who organizes this event. The event itself is not "worth" the $50, but it's more of a donation for the organization, which is totally fine. They used to do it at the Cesar Chavez Park at the Berkeley Marina, which is a really nice spot, all green, a little "island" in the Bay. Lots of people came and had a good time.
Then, three years ago, they moved the event to the racetrack. Mom thought, that this was a great idea, picturing the dog events in Germany, which often times take place on racetracks. Well, it was not on the racetrack, it was and is on the concrete/gravel parking lot of the track. No good. It's dusty and no fun. There is no sitting on the ground and chasing frisbees, etc.
This year, they topped their downgrading even more!
They turned the whole thing into a (solely) fundraising event, which is not family friendly anymore and exclusively for people, who have money to spare. It's fenced even, which makes it very uncomfortable, since it is a very small area.
This is how it goes. You have to enter through a designated area and pay $30 per adult human and $10 per child, to just get in! We payed less at the Cow Palace for the huge dog show! Then on top, you pay another $25 per dog ($50 for both of us) for participating in the games. This is ridiculous. For us it would have been $110 (+ gas and $6 bridge toll) :o| We used to bring friends from Germany and friends from here, which are dogless, to share this event with them and to help promote the organization. Well, what a big surprise it would have been for our friends to pay $30, too!
Well, that certainly leaves lots of people outside the door......
Several people, who were there were upset about it and left, like us. Some people we know went up to the entrance area, learned the news and turned around to go on a walk and then home.
Here is the thing. If you want to do a "closed" fundraising event, you invite your guests/a group of interested donors and promote it as such for people, who can afford the fundraising and are willing to in the first place. They can't expect from people, especially families, to come and pay an arm and a leg for a small, uneventful event! It's also not ok to "tell" the ones, who can't afford it to stay away.
Well, apparently they can. We told them that we can't afford $110 and the response was that they were sorry we could not.. *scratching my head*
What an awkward planning on their side.
Mom and dad were planning to register us to support the animals, but paying $30 per human on top? No way..

http://www.kintera.org/faf/home/default.asp?ievent=47762 2

Well, they did not make a whole lot of friends today *shaking my head*
If it were something we would deeply care about, we would complain, but I already told mom and dad that, if it is going to be like it was last year and the year before, we would not come back next year. Well, they helped us make this decision :o)

Other than that we went on a walk at the Albany Bulb, went to see Muffi and Fritzie and their family, which was a lot of fun.
Now we are home, mom is printing a few things and dad is doing some writing. Later we have to do some grocery shopping.
Happy woofs and happy Sunday to you all :o)

my dad

We are a little flaky with the entries at the moment and reading our pals' diaries is challenging right now. We have a lot to do and just can't find the inner calm to sit and go through them. What a shame, but soon it will change we hope. Sending you love and happiness, though!

Lots has happened. Right now dad has a little bit of a set back. His leg hurts and he is not feeling well. Mom is worried and now dad is grounded ;o) He has to stay home, off his leg and take it easy. I think he is glad..
We are going to the cafe soon and sit in the sun for a little. Then dad has to go back to bed, elevate his leg, ice it and not move around.
It's kind of sad our guest, one of the physicists, who lived at our house, left today. She was nice and really likes me. But she has to go home to her dog and write about the experiment and stuff. I am sure she will come back, though..

We went to lots of interesting places and showed our guest around. It was really nice :o)

We will have another guest, soon! In fact, she will be here tomorrow! It's our pal Rethy and her mom :o) They are coming for a visit. Looking forward..
Happy woofs to you all..

dad better, the cat is soooo annoying, long swim with mom- and the 4th

Dad is doing so much better. His calf is still injured, but he gets around well with his crutches now. He had to get used to it and practice, cause he is not the crutch hopper type of guy ;o) But now he does great. On Wednesday, at 10:00am, he will go see the Ortho Dr and they will do his MRI. Cross your paws that all will be ok..
Mom had to redo the bandages today since dad's leg is less swollen and the splint started sliding down. I supervised the whole thing. I think dad is happy, now.
We had the nicest wheelchair, took a long trip around the Embarcadero the other day even - it was fabulous, because the weather was great and people were nice. After several hours of walking/rolling, we headed back to the car. All of a sudden, on a 6 lane road, the wheelchair broke! The front wheel gave up and died on us. Dad reacted quickly and stopped his fall *oh boy* Luckily all the cars, out of all 4 directions stopped and made sure we were safe. Wow. One guy jumped right out of the car and helped dad to get to the safe curb. Boy, mom was in disbelieve. We sat in the middle of the road and waited patiently, monitoring the rescue effort - how good people blocked those lanes. Mom and dad had no time watching us. No problem, we just sat, supervised, gave good advice, and watched. Mom and dad were very glad we responded so quickly. We spent 3 green cycles getting it all sorted out! No one was impatient and there was a lot of traffic. Wow, that was unbelievable. Compliment.
When dad was take care of, mom and us went to the car and headed over to the corner where dad was waiting to pick him up.

Our cat is so so so so so annoying. He so hates being inside. We all try to make his life as easy as can be, but this night he pushed the buttons. Not for one minute he shut up! He meowed all day and all night! Like a kook. No one could sleep. Not our guest, not us, not mom and dad. Boy were we all exhausted. Mom opened the door in the morning and said to him "don't ever come back" - she did not mean it, trust me. I followed him around outside and kept telling him to be home by 8:00pm sharp! He did, good boy. 8:00pm sharp it was. I was very relieved. We hope that he will be better this night. You know, the fireworks have been going on since the 30th - every night... wow. No problem for us furries, but you never know, right? We are all inside, safe and sound. Two more sleepless nights.. He can go back outside on the 5th in the morning *yay*, no more complaining. Our ears are ringing *phew*!!

Today mom and us went to the Marina. We have a swimming beach there. There were several Mexican families with their BBQs. They invited mom for some lunch! The kids played with Jolanda. They swam with her and threw the ball and made her really tired :o) Mom and I were in the water together! We swam for one hour straight. I love swimming with mom. She swims and throws the ball and I follow her around, get the ball, swim back to her and spit the ball right in her face. It's hard to retrieve in the water and place the ball correctly :D Sometimes we raced for the ball and sometimes I pretended to rescue mom. It's fun.
I was happy after the swimming and mom was too. We got in the car, soaking wet, got a shower at home and then got some rest. Dad came home, too! Then we all got ready again, met up with our friend Saidie and her mom, and drove into the city for dinner. That was neat. The weather was perfect. After dinner we stopped at the cafe for some postdinner coffee/tea zip. Then Saidie her mom and us went on a little walk through the park.
Now we are home :o)

Tomorrow we will meet up with our friends with the pool and the chicken. They have a pool party! Guess who is invited *huge grin* mom said she will bring our balls! We will have a splendid time in the pool, with all the people, who can't wait to play with us :o)

Happy 4th and stay safe - don't forget to wear your collar with the tag. Even if you are in the house the entire time!
Woofs to all of you!

the clepto cat, heat..

it's hot, so the entry will be on the short side..
Today we stayed home until about 2pm. It was so hot. We got in the car, which was even hotter, and drove to the Crissy Field, which was PACKED with humans and other dogs. Wow, never seen it THAT crowded. Nevertheless it was great. We were in the water the entire time pretty much.
Here a few pictures and videos of the beach visit. Have fun!

june

It felt so good. After 4 hours of swimming and digging, we drove back home, watered the flowers and surrendered to the hot weather again. Right now we are all spread out over the hardwood floors and try to cool down. Since Mr Justin has to be inside, which is so stressful for all of us - he is driving himself and us crazy with his meowing and pacing and complaining...... - we can't even open the doors and windows *huff*
Well, mom had to put him in the bathroom to open everything at least for half an hour. That felt good.

Then dad found that:

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2011/06 /19/BAIN1JVI D8.DTL

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fDX7tevXO1E

http ://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xhRW4WmfrDA&feature=related

This is a cat from our county - boy, this is so hilarious :o)

I wish I could go with him on those sprees!! Happy woofs to you all..