To All My Pup Pals...

Thanks VERY much for the Birthday wishes. Wowzers, it feels good to be luved.

Mom said it was my weekend. We went up to a special place where we walked for hours and Mom let me off leash most of the time. It was great!
We saw something called a chipmunk. Rhudi says it's a snack, Mom says it's not. I'm undecided. But they're fun to watch.

I got a big rubber foot ball from Rhudi but as soon as I opened it he took it back. That's ok though - he washed my face for me after dinner and that was nice.

We all had a special fish dinner that Mom made just for us when we got home, more treats after that and then we all fell asleep for a really looooong time.

Birthdays are good. I hope I have a lot more of them.

Hugs and wags,

Boo

Kiss Me I'm Irish!

We met a little beagle girl and her Mom today on our walk. At first I thought we scared the lady cuz she screeched out "Oooh my God!..." as she came towards us, "...I've always loved Irish Wolf Hounds!" .

The lady gave me a big pet on my head and then stuck her face in mine and said "Do you give kisses?" I wasn't sure what that meant so I looked at Mom for a clue and as I turned my head the lady grabbed my face and stuck her lips on my nose. "Mmmmmwah!... what a nice boy! Here's a cookie" She reached in her pocket and pulled one out and gave it too me. The beagle girl was very friendly but just as nosey as her Mom.

Mom and the lady talked for a bit and the beagle girl and the lady went one way and we went the other. Mom started laughing. The lady must have said something that made her happy.

I felt a little bad for Rhudi who got kinda left out. The lady never even noticed him although the little beagle girl gave him a good sniffin' over.
I don't know what and 'Irish thingee' is but if there's cookies in the deal, then go ahead kiss me - I'm Irish!

Whad I Do?

Uh oh. I think I did a no-no. My brother Rhudi and I were playing in the living room last night and he showed me that part of playing is to grab the hair on the side of the neck and pull. His hair is kinda flat and short so it's hard to get a hold of. But he's got all this loose skin there if you just open your mouth a little wider that's easy to grab. So I did. He pulled at me... I pulled at him. This is kinda fun! Let's do it again. Grab tug, tug, tug...
I'm not sure what happened but Rhudi yelped real loud. MAN he scared me and I let go and sat down. Was he yelling at me? What happened? Whad I do?

Mom was there and took Rhudi into the little room in the house. I don't know what she was doing but she put all kinds of weird stuff on him. I thought she was dishing out treats and just missing the mouth so I grabbed a sample but it didn't taste very good.

I'm not sure what happened. Nobody is saying anything. We all went into the kitchen after and waited for dinner. Mom now calls Rhudi 'My Holey Dog'. Hope she doesn't change my name again, I might get confused.

When's dinner?

My Happy New Year...

I'm not going to harp on about my past and the people who never saw my worth, they just don't matter any more. What does matter is NOW and 'now' is pretty good I think. My best New Year so far for sure.

On December 30, 2008 I sat in my shelter kennel, way at the back in the last one on that row where few people go. This is where they put the ones that they don't think will get adopted anyway. I'm big, too big for most people, I'm black and apparently people don't like black dogs very much and I am afraid. Not many people came look at me and those that did just turned away.

But not today. Today, instead of a person coming to see me it was another dog. He looked happy and sat down outside my door to say Hi. I didn't know what to say so I just lowered my head. A moment later a lady also came and gave the dog a big rub. They sat there for a while outside my door. I looked away for a bit because I didn't know what they wanted but they smelled different from the shelter staff and I had to get a closer whiff. A while later the lady got up and left, but the dog stayed behind. I thought perhaps she had come to leave her dog there too and now she's gone. But a few seconds later she was back with a leash and opened my door.

This lady, the dog and I were heading for the shelter door. The door opened and out we went. The lady didn't say anything and the dog was sniffing here and there. We walked slowly for a long time and I kept trying to hide under the dogs chin. Maybe they wouldn't notice I'm here. It was cold and the lady's legs were warm so I leaned on her a time or two just to catch a bit of heat. After a long while the lady said "Let's Go Big Guy" and she started to jog. The dog started to trot and I didn't want to be left out there alone so I jogged along between them. We jogged all the way back to the shelter where they let me and the dog off our leashes. They didn't take me back to my cage - something is different. The dog seems very confident so I followed him around. He found the kibble and cookie stash in the back (I'm gonna like this guy!) and they gave us some treats and let us just wander around for a while. The dog went to see the lady a few times for a pet and a rub and I went too and got pets and rubs. She never spoke to me but I had a feeling that she would not hurt me.

After a while the leashes went back on and I thought the fun was over and the lady was just a new dog walker so I started to head back down the ward to my cage. The lady stopped me and said "Where ya goin' big guy?" I just lowered my head again. "Wanna go home?" she asked in a really happy voice so I followed them out the door thinking we were going for another walk.

It has been almost a month since we left the shelter. The lady is really nice to me. She feeds me, brushes me, takes me and the dog on long walks. When it's too cold we go for many short walks instead. The lady and the dog don't say very much but they don't have to. I think they really love me. I feel safe when I am with them. I don't startle very much any more. I'm getting used to all the noises and movements. I let her hold my paws and clean my ears. She never rushes or pushes me to do anything.

The lady calls the dog Rhudi and says he's now my brother, the dog calls the lady Mom (weird name) and she now calls me Boo. They are teaching me all sorts of things and never say anything bad to me. Mom never yells or gets angry with me even when I make mistakes and she only touches me in a gentle way.

Rhudi gets rambunctious at times and tries to get me to play. I'm learning how still. I wanna get it right. He likes to chase this red round thing with horns on it but I don't like to go too far away from Mom so I let him go get it instead.

They sleep on a bed and Rhudi sometimes sleeps on the couch. I've never been on one or never been allowed on one so I stick to the floor and my bed which is pretty comfy anyway. Sometimes Rhudi sleeps on my bed too. It's crowded but it's warm.

They do eat weird stuff. Most of which I wouldn't touch. I mean nothing is as good as kibble right? But Rhudi did get me try this thing called fish and I like it, but I still want my kibble.

A lot has happened in the last 4 weeks, but it's all good and that makes it easier to take maybe. Mom says I worry too much so I try not to now and I feel more relaxed. Even my new vet puts me at ease and gets down on the floor with me for sniffs. He's a nice man.

All in all, it was a pretty good New Year. I can't wait for my feet to heal and warmer weather so I can show Mom how fast I can run.