That was no animal!

I was so busy this afternoon! I love feeling energetic and excited and full of mischief. I realize this is a time in my life I may never get back and I want to make the most of it. And I have!

Today, I enjoyed playing with the very big animal that I generally use to perch myself upon in front of the big opening near my lair. It looks like an opening but when trying to exit through it you always get stopped by what appears to be a very strong magical force. My mom calls it a window, I call it problems.

So, back to the big animal in front of the opening....it is really kind of a lazy animal. It actually only moves when I jump on it and that is only a little movement. It is also not very muscular, probably due to its lack of movement I suspect.

I knew it wanted to play. It was tempting me with its fluffy bigness! First I did my super agile leap followed by a jaw clamping down into the vast fluff. This was all done in the most playful of ways of course. That animal played possum! I am pretty certain a possum it is not, but I was almost fooled. I jumped onto the floor, assessed for any damage and chose to sneak upon my new playmate with all the gusto I could muster. As my glistening white canines broke through the outer covering I pulled back with great force to find I had revealed the guts. My animal instinct took over. It was as if I could not control the urge to remove the entrails of this thing.....it couldn't really be an animal...could it? It never eats or drinks. Hasn't ever attacked me back. I have only seen my mom cover it up with a blanket and tell me to get off of it at times. Well, I decided to get to the bottom of this....I removed all of the entrails onto the floor of my lair.
That is when they returned, my family.

Mom saw what I had done. I was so excited that I had discovered the truth about this thing in our home, saving her years of worry and concern. I was ready for my medal of honor and all the hugs and kisses a dog of my stature and experience deserves. Oddly, this is not what happened. Mom just stood there, so still, kind of like that animal I just rendered lifeless. It was so surreal. Then, to capture this precious moment Mom got her camera and took pictures, for the family history book I am sure. She must be in awe of my power and strength though because she really didn't give me the hugs and kisses I thought I would be getting. I do think, however, that they have put a special order in for my new medal of honor, I will make sure she lets you know what it is.

Well, that's my update for now. I am off to bury some important documents in the backyard for security purposes of course!

How much excitement can one dog have in a day?

I found a big bag of crunchy little morsels on the patio shelf and pulled it down to play with it. It was BIG! I had to drag it around a bit before some of the morsels came out of it and it could finally fit through the magic portal where I could take it to my lair. Those little morsel are....well....little and they got everywhere! I tried to cover them up with other useful household items, unsuccessfully of course.

I found one of the very delicious items that my people like to hold and tempt me with on occasion. I played with it for a while....until it wasn't fun anymore. My mom said it is a book called "Deathwatch". I will have to do further research to understand what this means.

I love birds. They are delicious!

I wanted to share a wonderful recipe with you that I shared with my mom the other day.

Buddy's Favorite Bird Snack

1 Unsuspecting Bird (preferably a Robin)
1 Perfectly clean braided rug
1 Devoted, Strong, Handsome and Caring Dog

Mix together vigorously and serve. If feathers do not get EVERYWHERE you have not mixed vigorously enough.

What Do Dogs Do All Day?

Most people don't have a clue what their dogs do all day while they are away at work or school so I thought I would let you in on the big secret. Don't rat me out to any of my fellow canines, this secret has been kept for generations and I don't want to be known as the one who spilled his guts for a couple of chicken treats.

Every morning my people get up, get dressed, feed me and my sisters and give us all a love goodbye. My love is generally the longest, and the best, and the most heartfelt but don't tell the girls....it would just make them pout. I like to watch my mom back out of the garage through my special portal to the great outdoors.

After making sure she gets out safely I generally like to return to the front room window for a morning nap in the beautiful sunlight. A dog, such as myself, should really save his energy for the important efforts in life. After a leisurely nap I prefer to roam the backyard, inspecting all areas for safety and making sure the stray animals, including the feline named Macaroni that thinks she lives here, find their way home.

It is usually a short time after this that I find my schedule lacking in the really "meaty" activities that a dog of my stature needs in order to promote and/or sustain mental and physical growth and agility. Therefore, I am literally forced to make some decisions that may or may not be viewed as positive by my people. I have included some photos of these decisions and ask you to render your vote as to the best choices I have made.



This first photo may appear a tad bit disturbing to some of you but believe me....this was not an easy endeavor! I literally had to take this 6x9 foot heavy braided rug and fold it over and over upon itself just to get to the under-padding! This took a great deal of time and effort on my part. I had to take another nap just to finish the task! Once the under-padding was revealed I painstakingly removed very small pieces from it with my teeth. I was so proud of my work that I brought several of my toys to the scene and sat upon the rug. Truly, I am the KING of the mountain!

Another job that didn't take nearly half as long as I thought it would was the day I found the cord to my dad's computer. It was a beautiful thing. I licked it and it felt smooth on my tongue. I wondered what it would taste like if I took a bite. At first I chewed gently, one never knows if one will like what one is biting into. Well, long story short.......I only got one good bite before it bit me right back! I felt the bite all the way through my body and out my tail. I have never had anything bite me like that before. It made me jump and yell and run out the magic portal to my Garden of Eden where I had to continually lick my tail just to make it feel better. This was not a good day but when my people got back home I didn't let them know what the cord did to me. After all, why get made at a silly little cord?

One of my favorite things to do to help my mom while she is away is to clean things off the counter for her. Because of my perfect size I am able to place my front paws at the edge of the counter and allow my incredible sensitive nose near the edge. I found this to be especially fruitful one day when I came across a fresh loaf of whole wheat bread. I was able to snack on this prior to the people's return but found the outer coating a little unappetizing.
Well, there you have it......all in a day's work? I think not!
Let my mom know which one is your favorite so I can make sure I continue the good work for her. Until later...

How I Got Here: Part Two

I hope you read the first part of my story. It kind of left in a sad spot and I wanted to let you know after that people left me and went into the people playground I just laid down and closed my eyes. My thoughts were racing. How come the little dogs got a people to take them home and I am still here? I was on my best behavior and I still couldn't convince a people to keep me.

After what seemed like hours she came back. YES! She wants me! She went right to the man who seemed to be in charge and asked if he could keep me for a week. She said they were on their way to Texas and would be there for a week and could pick me up on the way back. He said he couldn't do it. She looked at me. I pleaded with the best puppy dog eyes I could muster. I could feel her sadness in my heart like it was my own pain. I heard her tell the man she came with that if I was still at the shelter when they came back through they would get me. She said it was meant to be.

I am still a little surprised at my feelings but, I actually prayed that I could stay at the shelter for one more week. I knew she was the people I needed for my own. I could endure this for one more week. I knew I could.

I watched her walk back to the silver car, get in and drive off. Our eyes met and locked while her car drove away. I heard the sound that her car made so that when I heard it again I would be ready for her. I held the sight and sound in my heart and knew we would be reunited soon.

I planned it all out in my head how the next seven days would go. How I would tune out the lonely cries from the other dogs. How I would eat my kibble and exercise in the small kennel so I would be strong and handsome when she came back. In the midst of my plans I heard something that just so recently I had etched in my mind....the sound of the car. And then, there she was. She had the biggest smile on her face and came directly to my kennel. She told the man that she had to come back for me. She signed the paperwork and the man she was with went into the people playground and came out with things for me! I got a new collar and leash, a couple of bowls, some kibble, water and a kennel for me to sleep in.

They took me to the car, opened the door and tried to get me to jump in. I was still in such sheer shock that I didn't dare jump in the car. They finally lifted me up in. She got in the back seat with me and put her arm around me. She kept telling me she loved me and was so happy that she had found me. I know she felt my feelings in her heart. I finally had my own people. I was so tired I fell asleep with my head on her lap and rode that way for the next five hours. I hope this is what heaven is like.

Wanna know how I got here?

After mom told me the blog was up and running I told her that you all might want to know just how I got here. So here goes.....

I was born in the beautiful state of New Mexico. Hot, dry, sandy, windy, did I mention it was hot? Whew, I am pretty sure that whoever first used the phrase 'Dog Days of Summer' was in New Mexico at the time. Not a lot to tell for the first nine months, popped out of a birth canal, had some siblings (they never call, they never write:(, lived with a family for a while and they took me to the Los Lunas Animal Shelter. They said they were moving to an apartment and couldn't take me with them. My dad says they meant they wanted to keep the furniture they had left.....not sure what he means by that. Anyhoo, I spent the longest 14 days of my life there. To put this into perspective, that is like three and half months to a dog! Nobody stopped to visit. Families would come into the shelter and they all went gaga over those little, tiny pups. No one was interested in a bigger dog that had all of his adult teeth. I guess they couldn't see the value in having a dog that is past what you all call 'the terrible twos'. I am almost 7, in dog years that is.

Life in the shelter.......really, what can I say? It's not as sweet as it appears. You have this very, very small area, I guess I at least got a private kennel which is more than I can say for some of the other dogs. I didn't get to run and play. It was hard to sleep cuz so many of the other dogs were sad and lonely and would cry or bark all night long. I tried to just keep to myself, I kept my cries inside so I didn't bother anyone else. It wasn't easy.

One day a group of people came to the shelter and took a lot of us dogs, put us in wire kennels and put us in a big van. It was nice to get out of the shelter for a while but I wasn't able to put my head out of the window and breathe the rushing air like I wanted to. After a while we stopped at a big building with a huge parking lot. I think it is a people playground because lots of people would go in and out of the big building. They must give treats inside when you go to play because people would go in without anything and come out with treat bags! I want to play in this place sometime.

I spent a good part of the day watching people go in and out, in and out. A lot of them stopped to look at the other animals in the wire kennels. Some of the animals left with the people who had treat bags. They were sure happy.....and a little scared. I did my best to look attractive to everyone. I laid down, real calm like, and just hoped that someone would rub behind one of my ears....I hadn't had that done for so long. I found myself watching the cars pull into the parking lot and seeing the people pass me by. Then I saw a silver car pull into a parking spot and one of the people in the car caught my eye. I must have caught hers too because she came straight toward me. She didn't stop, didn't go into the people playground. She couldn't take her eyes off me. She sat right down next to my wire kennel and bravely put her fingers in to see if I would sniff her. It was all I could do not to jump up and down, I was so excited someone noticed me!

Her touch felt so good. It was like I had known this touch my whole life! She asked if she could get me out of the kennel and the man said yes. As soon as I was out I knew I had to be on my best behavior. I really didn't want to ruin this chance. I calmly went with her. She sat down and I sat right next to her. I gently put my head in her lap. She kept saying what a good boy I was. It was sheer bliss! I got to spend 15 or 20 minutes just smelling her and feeling her touch. I knew she was the one.

Then, it ended. She handed me back to the man and went into the playground. I was devastated. What had I done wrong? How could she just walk away? I needed her and I thought she needed me too. The pull of the people playground must have been too strong. She went inside. I laid back down in the kennel and closed my eyes. What did I do wrong? What did I do?

A dog has a blog?

Yep. It's true. I talked my mom into making a blog for me. Hey, I have a lot to say and I want the world to know it! I hope you have a great time reading about my adventures. Definitely let me know by leaving your comments, mom will read them to me of course.