Time Flies

Are we into another year already? And the end of February?? When did THAT happen???

First there was Thansgiving (all that terrific turkey!) and Christmas (MORE turkey...YAY!); I got a lot of wonderful presents at Christmas.

My Mom has been busy this past month on the computer...mostly practising her typing skills (getting a bit faster and more accurate!), but fun stuff too. She likes to play some of the games on Facebook (Farmville, Frontierville and Ravenwood Faire). Her real favourite is Wizard 101, where she gets to (what else?) be a wizard! Lots of really cool sounds and pictures are on screen when she plays...I like it too!

Doodles rule!
Sailor

The Headless Horseman Rides Again!

My mom saw "the cutest" dog costume..."it was just to DIE for!" So, of course, she had to get it for me.

The Headless Horseman from Washington Irving's classic tale 'The Legend of Sleepy Hollow.' (Spooky, whether it's Johnny Depp or Bing Crosby!) And I don't mine wearing it (see the end of My Photo album, for the latest); I'm very accustomed to wearing my doggy backpack, and it really isn't all that different.

Then, of course, Mom had to show the Groomers my 'new look.' They were all smiles and squeals...and "Isn't that clever?"..."That is SOOOOO cute!"

I didn't mind at all, especially since it got me treats and tons of attention. What dog wouldn't like that? Thank goodness Halloween is only once a year.

Now Thanksgiving and Christmas, on the other hand...

A Shelter Lass

Every now and again, my mom checks sites like Petfinder.com in search of a nice female to be my bestest friend; I'd like a say in the matter, too!

She should be kind of a medium height and weigh about thirty pounds...yeah, that's what I am and I don't know if I want a girl to be taller than me. I'm pretty open about the breed (mom is, too). Mom thinks the way to go is to get another hypo-allergenic dog like I am...whatever, as long as she gets a girl!

Mom says that she will most likely get her from the animal shelter, so we will be saving a life. I think that's pretty cool! However, she says that she will probably wait till I am more fully trained and wait till we move to Washington (state). We will most likely move to Port Orchard or Poulsbo; the climate will be a lot cooler than it is in Los Angeles.

Breeds we've been considering so far are Poodle, Schnauzer and the Portuguese Water Dog. My mom saw a breed she really liked a lot...the Samoyed...even though it is a breed which blows coat twice a year. I saw the photo (a really great-looking girl named Roxy)...I think I'm in love! Roxy is on Petfinder and needs help now, and we can't adopt yet. "The course of true love never runs smooth..." Or something like that!

Roxy is located at www.petfinder.com/petnote/displaypet.cgi?petid=13921086. I think she's really pretty...she has a coat colored a lot like mine! Let me know what you think of her.

Whatever young lady we adopt from the Washington shelter, and whenever we adopt her, I know she'll be as loved as I am...and that's a whole lot!

Doodles rule!
Sailor

Switch Hitter

Well, here I go again. Mom consulted another canine DNA testing source and this time, it's official...I am half Poodle and half Saint Bernard. Those testing swabs in my mouth were icky!

Oh well, if it keeps her happy it's OK with me. But this time, I'm putting my paw down...no more testing. I'm still a Doodle...a Saint Berdoodle to be exact!

Doodles rule,
Sailor

A New Car?

My mom is all excited because she's going to take some classes in Driver's Education and Training. Ordinarily, that wouldn't cause much more than someone saying, "Oh...that's nice." This is something kind of special: she's returning to driving after having had a stroke three years ago and the doctors say she's ready to drive.

I said a "new" car; well, it will be new to her even though the car is used! The car itself will most likely be an SUV of some sort. She talks about things like good gas mileage, reliable transportation, economical, a good sound system (I think she called it a CD), and air conditioning thoughout the car (not just for the front seat).

All I think is that last part being important, so that I have a steady stream of air from my place in the back seat!

If you know of anyone that's selling an SUV, contact me here!

Doodles rule!
Sailor

Surprize!

Guess what? Mom got me a surprize present...a Poodle Agility T-shirt from Cafe Press! (She has a matching T-shirt in charcoal gray.)

It's white and has a large double oval in orange on the back, so everyone else can see it...except ME!! Inside the oval it says "Outrun, Outweave, Outhandle" and further on the inside, it says "Poodle Agility." Over that, the silhouette of a poodle is shown jumping pover a hurdle through the clouds...it's really cool.

Thanks, mom!

Poodles Rule,
Sailor

Happy Woofday to...ME!!

Today is my Woofday...I'm three years old.

A special note of thanks to Bear, Spanky and all my pals at Dog Park USA and the Fancy Pants Cafe for sending me the YUMMY Woofday cakes; I love them both!

I tried sending you guys thank you's through the link from "Do You Want to Send (---) a Gift?", but the link just sat there and didn't send. Modern technology. So I'm sending my thank-you's here in my Diary entry, so everyone can see what thoughtful friends I have.

Mom gave me a new backpack for my birthday! I had one already, but it was way too big and flopped around all over the place. Mom says my new backpack is a Kelty Chuckwagon and it fits me as if was made just for me! Mom put two bottles of water in either side, and my potty bags as well, and then we went for a walk. WOW--What a difference! I liked the other backpack, but it was just the wrong size. This one is "just right." I walked right alongside my mom...not pulling ahead, not zig-zagging, not even looking for anything REALLY interesting that might otherwise have caught my attention. I was "in the zone." Thanks, Mom, for a really terrific gift!

Let's go for a walk, Mom!!

Doodles Rule,
Sailor

I Feel a Draft!

My mom took me to the Groomer's yesterday for a bath (ICK...I hate getting my fur all wet!), nails trimmed, and to get my fur cut. I should say crew cut because by the time the Groomer got finished with it, I had been shaved pretty close!

The Groomer cut the top of my head a bit so it was rounder, trimmed my eyelashes (watch it!), and shaped my plummy tail (oh yes...I LIKE that!). Even though I was at the Groomers from 1:30 till 4:45 in the afternoon (that's a long time!), they were nice to me there: they gave me a cookie for being good!

But OHHHHHH!!! It felt so different afterward! I miss my furry coat...well, sort of. I mean, I didn't miss it when I slept last night. Previously, I was rather hot, itchy and sticky...having to shift from one spot in the bedroom to another till I fell asleep. And I couldn't sleep in my bed at all; it was just too hot. Last night, it was so much more comfortable...I fell asleep at once and slept almost the whole night!

Mom remembered I'd be cold, so you know what she did? She got a specially-made tank top for me and put it on me! It was red and said in white letters "Doggy Sports Club," with bands of black around the neck and armholes. It was nice and warm...thanks, mom!

Mom told me that she also got me another "goody," but I'm going to have to wait till my birthday on the 29th before she gives it to me. Hurry up, birthday!

What do you think of my new look? Mom says that she wants to wait till the fur grows back some more (not as much as I had before) and then take me back to the Groomer to have it shaped.

Then, I'll be STYLIN' !!

Doodles Rule,
Sailor

Christmas Came Early!

I didn't think it could get any better than the Wag-n-Walk last Saturday, but Best Friends sponsored a Pet Fair on Sunday!

The event was at Westchester Park and, since my mom and my aunt grew up around there, it was like they were coming back home...they knew the area real well, so it was MUCH more relaxed than the day before. Since my mom was more relaxed, I was more relaxed and didn't do a lot of tugging.

Once we got there, my aunt and the Poms went one way and my mom and I went another; people...go figure! My mom went up and down the countless aisles of the park. This was really kind of fun, cause the ground was kind of hilly! It would have been more fun if I could have been off leash, but it wasn't too bad. There were all kinds of people selling all kinds of stuff. There were lots of people giving things away, as there had been the day before. I heard a man on a loudspeaker trying to interest people in various dogs from all over (Downer Shelter, Carson Shelter and L.A. Animal Shelter among them). Mom gave me a warm hug and said to me softly, "I'm so glad I adopted you." Me too, mom, but could we go over THERE? That looks like fun!

Finally, we made it to the spinning wheel...a wheel attached to a pole, with lots of colors on it. Mom gave the lady there $5...I guess she gets lots of spins for all that...go, mom! She spun the wheel a total of six times and got to choose three items from the table, PLUS they gave her a bundle of goodies for free! Yeah, sure, mom...the license frame from Best Friends, the Petfinder Bandana and the Poodle Christmas stocking (see photo of my Christmas stocking!) are all nice...but what's in the goodie bag?! That really smells great!

We're walking again...there are the Poms and my aunt! We walk over to them and my mom and aunt are talking about a pet psychic...what's that? My aunt took the Poms over to a bench and sat down while my mom led me to a nearby table and greeted another lady. Not the psychic, but she works with her. Five minutes later, another lady came over and asked for my name...wait a minute, that's getting personal!

We walked a few feet away and sat down on some folding chairs...well, my mom and the other lady did: I stood. The other lady (I found out her name was Sandy) was talking to my mom...about me! And she really understood me! She told my mom that I was not being stubborn or not listening to her; I just didn't understand what she wants all the time. (Finally!) She told my mom that I'd come to her rather recently and had been through two owners before my mom (how did she know that?). She said that even though I was nearly three years old, I hadn't really grown "into" myself...that I hadn't been given the opportunity to grow; she added that to really talk to me, in order to be understood, my mom needs to take my head onto her hands and speak to me softly. (Oooooooh, yeah! Listen to her mom: this lady knows what she's talking about!)

After about five or ten minutes, they stood up and hugged and said goodbye. Goodbye?! Wait a minute. mom...I want to go back there!

We met up with the Poms and my aunt and went back to the car. That was a LOT of fun!

I hope plenty of dogs got to go to nice homes this past weekend. For those who didn't, don't worry : I'll keep my paws crossed for you!

Doodles Rule,
Sailor

P.S. : Once we got home, I found out what was in that goodie bag that smelled so good: there were six little cookies (shaped like hearts) and three round sandwich cookies...all for dogs...HOORAY!!

Wag-n-Walk & Best Friends Adoption Fair

WHEW! I had a really great time over the weekend, which got kicked off by the Wag-n-Walk at Venice Beach.

I don't know why, but my Aunt Carolynn entered the data into her Navigation System as being in Santa Monica...and we spent over an hour circling round and round SaMo. Xander, Harley and I were getting pretty antsy in the back seat, I can tell you that! We saw some orange balloons and were sure that THAT was where it was...a fair deduction. It was only after my Aunt Carolynn had signed in that my mom told her that "We're at the WRONG walk!" As it turned out, the Psoriasis Walk; a worthwhile cause, no doubt, but not what we were looking for.

We started walking, but not to the car! With Aunt Carolynn leading and the two Poms at her side, they soon outdistanced me and mom...how dare they outdistance me!? We'll see about that...and I started tugging at my leash with all my strength to shorten the gap. It only succeeded in mom growing more and more agitated...mostly because she isn't in great shape to begin with, and she had a stoke just three years ago...so I understand. But the Poms were getting smaller and smaller till they were out of sight!

My mom decided that we'd take a breather on a long bench at the side of the beach. Several minutes later, my mom's phone rang. It was hard for me to know what was going on because I only heard mom's side of the conversation. She said, "I'm not sure WHERE I am...on some benches along the beach...I don't see anything like that...you can find me by back-tracking!" About five minutes later, the Poms came trotting up with my Aunt trying hard to keep up. My Aunt said that she'd asked a parking attendant where the address was, and she "thought" it was further ahead. We walked back to the cafeteria and had an early lunch...hot dogs and french fries...YUM!!! Luckily, this was shared with us dogs. After lunch, my Aunt was all for chucking it and going home.

"But we're so CLOSE!" my mom protested; and mom won out (yay, mom!).

Again, we took off...but in the opposite direction this time. About half an hour later, we found the right walk...and began the arduous task of looking for a parking place. That accomplished, we trudged back to the entrance. By this time, my Aunt decided that we'd done enough walking to equal the distance of the walk itself...perhaps with some left over. We began a more leisurely pace, which was easy with that enormous crowd of people! Mom and my Aunt separated (I don't know why), but they had their cell phones to stay in touch.

Mom stood in line...why was she doing that? Oh, it must be so I can see all the dogs better as they came up to me. I've never SEEN so many dogs at one time! A German Shepherd, a Rottweiler (both bigger than me...kind of scary!), oh look! there's a guy who looks like me!, a big Poodle, a Scotty, hey look! there's a Pom! Oh, we're moving again; mom is moving, off and on...oh now I see: she's going to have a guy draw my picture! Just make sure he gets my good side!

We met the Poms and my Aunt about half an hour later, and we were all pretty tired by then; so we all started the trudge to the car...I don't recall it being this far! We made it back to the car at last and we all came home.

There was the wonderful Best Friends Adoption Fair; but that was on Sunday in Westchester Park...so I'll tell you about that tomorrow.

Doodles rule!
Sailor