hematoma

Clooney has been behaving himself, but life has been catching up to him. Mom is now having doubts as to Clooney's true age: he might be older than originally thought judging by the graying around the muzzle (sweet). Clooney had surgery last night. He was groggy and exhausted, and with his head all bandaged up, he looked like he had partaken in a drunken brawl. He is doing better today though. Thank you for everyone's thoughts and good vibes! One of Clooney's cat housemates (Wally) had a panic attack at the sight of Wally's "new" head, challenging the assumption that cats go by scent. Apparently appearances are important to them too!

lame excuse

Clooney has been misbehavin' and paying for it! Actually his humans have been literally paying for it! Over $600 by now. First Clooney tore a cruciate ligament in his back left leg, and now his right back leg is bad. That's what happens when you cannot tame your own hunting demons. And Clooney just cannot leave the back yard critters alone. He has been taking a little Tramadol, but the pain is better now, so there is no longer need for it. He is still taking his Glucosamine and other arthritis herbs and spices to controll swelling and inflamation. Clooney is a very smart fellow and knows that if he acts forlorn he gets catfood (very little) and lots of kisses, so he has been milking it for what it's worth! The cute pouty wrinkles on the face! Oh, they are irresistible and Clooney knows how to make them to good use to get attention. He is total love, Clooney is.

The Great Escape

Clooney has recently lost some weight. It looks really good on him! His perfect physique is now the envy of all the neighborhood dogs and their owners. Clooney's waist is now clearly visible. Clooney is now even faster than he was before, and he was never known for being a slow runner. Sadly, this may have accounted for an untimely death of a squirrel in Clooney's back yard; we don't know though for certain. What we do know is that the slimmer size allowed Clooney to dig under the fence and to squeeze under the fence Peter Rabbit style. Clooney's disappearance was immediately noted, and family members still clad in pajamas were immediately dispatched to find Clooney. Well, thankfully he didn't go far. He was in the yard of the next door neighbor, scaring the neighborhood cats witless. The numerous Clooooo Neeeeeeeee cries could be heard in the neighborhood until the culprit was captured and hand-carried (not easy) back into the house. He received one minor smack and dozens of kisses. He was so out of breath he couldn't even get up to drink! The exciting escape was over. It's unfortunate a pile of very heavy bricks appeared out of nowhere and found its way under the fence where it was so tempting to dig. Oh well. Clooney enjoys being obedient too, most of the time.

Clooney's Labor Day 2009

Unfortunately, the weather wasn't great for Labor day; otherwise Clooney would have enjoyed his treasured walks at the lake. But Clooney was busy all day, helping his family replace the faucet in the kitchen sink. Clooney was always on hand to offer his valuable technical advice, as well as "on top" of his people to get the job done. Clooney had a long day and was really tired afterwards. Too tired to even think about misbehavin'.

Dog Days of Summer

Clooney doesn't like the heat either, but he never neglects his responsibilities of the neighborhood patrol and varmin control officer (unfortunately to him squirrels are varmin too). So he gets busy with his daily chores in the back yard and then comes back in, gulps down half a gallon of water (fitered and cool, please!) and sprawls down on the cool tiles in the kitchen. As this summer draws to a close, Clooney is patiently awaiting the cooler days of fall, which is very pretty down where he lives. He loves going for long walks at the lake with his sister Josie and his parents. Clooney loves his leash walks, the longer the better, as long as the weather is cool and he has his water bottle on the walks. Clooney is just a happy fellow and the love of his parents' lives. Stay tooned for fall pictures!

Clooney has the raw thing down

All of the family pets have been transitioned to raw foods after studying what's really in dog food (you don't want to know). Clooney was hesitant at first: the idea that he is a carnivor seemed erroneous to him. But Clooney has to keep up with the Josies, or his sister, Josie, to be precise, who has taken to raw like fish to water (we all know girls are better at learning new things:). He could not have Josie overtake him in the area of such vital skills, so he taught himself to deal with raw meat and bones like a true carnivor. To be perfectly truthful, he had to watch Josie and learn a few things from her. But now he has it down and is very proud of himslef. He has lost some weight too, while at it! That's a good thing.

dilemas and disappointments

Yesterday Clooney had a real dilema. He hates rain and tries to avoid going outside when it's wet, but on Tuesday is when trash is picked up, and that's the highlight of Clooney's week. The dilema was whether to go outside and bark from the deck railing, where he can see the action, or to stay in and bark from the kitchen. So Clooney needed to decide whether a satisfying barking session from his favorite observation platform outside would justify getting wet. He was really struggling with this decision, standing at the open door unsure as to how to proceed. He finally ran out, issued two barks and ran back in to be dry. He continued the barking from the kitchen window, but it wasn't nearly as satisfying as from the deck. A dog's life is just full of disappointments. He did get some extra pets though.

snow

It snowed for the first time today where Clooney lives. Clooney doesn't like cold weather any more than rain, so he wore his little boy school bus stop clothes and had a good time in the snow anyway. He played and frolicked with his two sisters and tried to catch even more squirrels than usual, and as usual wasn't successful. It is so pretty with the snow and so nice and cozy at home too!

saving for a rainy day

For the past several days, it rained; then it rained; and then it rained some more. Clooney is REALLY not a big fan of rains. First it was thought that he didn't like getting wet, and since it was a struggle pushing him out the door to take care of important business, a Clooney-sized rain coat was obtained to protect him against the water. Well, Clooney is a very smart fella. He would put his coat on (see the picture) with some help from his mom and then milk it for what it's worth! Clooney is CUTE to begin with. But with the coat on, and especially with the hood coming over his big head, the cuteness is simply unbearable! And, of course, with the unbearable cuteness come the extra kisses and hugs, not to mention the ever desireble reminders of just how CUTE Clooney is (did we mention that?), which is what Clooney lives for. So anyway, with the coat on, Clooney goes out and hides under the deck. His folks later figure it out: Clooney doesn't like to get his feet wet. Booties? Now that is going to far. Clooney is a cute dog, not a froo-foo dog:)

You make your bed, you sleep in it.

We have a terrier, named Caddie, who is 16. In defference to his age, we offer him some special privileges, such as roast beef in the morning, and extra fluffy quilts on top of his regular doggy bed. It turns out Clooney disagreed with Caddie's special status. He does get some roast beef as a treat, but he feels that's not enough. Yesterday, he waited for Caddie's bed to free up and took the quilt in his teeth, dragging it over to his favorite chair in the living room (see the picture). I gave him some help spreading the quilt evenly over the chair, and he plopped on top of it for a nice long nap. He did get to keep the quilt; Caddie got a different one for his bed.