Merlin's Monthly Diary
Year Four
February 24,
2004
This month was much quieter than last. Mostly Mommy and I hung around the house
and did doggie and Mommy stuff. We worked on tricks, took walks, played in all
the snow and painted some pictures. I have painted six so far. We are going to
donate one of my new paintings to LEARN, the rescue place that pulled me out of
the pound, for their annual auction. We haven't decided which one yet, and we
may ask all of you to vote for the one you think we should donate, but I haven't
gotten around to scanning them yet. Mommy is trying to take photos of me
painting, but it isn't very easy. I don't like having an audience around while
I paint, so I tend to glare at the cameraman. Mommy says I am a temperamental
artist. She has taken pictures of me with each painting (click
here to see one ), but she really wants an
action shot. She's been setting up her camera to take photos with the timer
setting. Some of the shots should be really good. I think the latest roll has
a nice picture of my butt because I turned around and backed towards the camera
just as the timer went off.
The big event this month was the Great Squirrel Hunt. Mommy and I were walking
and we spotted a squirrel. Well, we spotted TWO different squirrels. Mommy was
prepared for me to chase the one she saw, but I took off after the one I saw,
which was in the opposite direction. I pulled the leash out of her hand and ran
at the squirrel. He zigged left, I zigged left, he zigged right, I zigged
right, he zigged left again, I zigged left again, he zigged right again, I
zigged right again and I got between him and the tree. He froze. I GOT HIM!!
Mommy was VERY upset and yelled at me to drop him. I eventually did, but, even
though a neighbor took him in to try and save him, the squirrel didn't make it.
Mommy said that was VERY BAD behavior and now she won't let me out in the
backyard without checking to make sure there are no squirrels on the ground or
feeder.
Finally this month Mommy was taking a shower when she suddenly yelled out,
"GRANDMA ARMS!!" I'm not sure what that meant, but she spent some of MY weekend
time going to look at something called "the Y" and "health clubs" and now she is
spending MORE of my time at "the gym". I'm not sure what it is, but it can't be
good because dogs can't go there and she comes back tired and aching. If she
wants to be tired and ache she should just take me for walks in the woods
without my headcollar on. I could pull her all over the place, make her run,
and knock her down hills and stuff and then she could come home tired and
aching, but still have spent quality time with ME!
March 23,
2004
Happy Spring!
This month was another dull one. Mommy and I mostly hung around the house, went
for walks and hikes and all of that. I couldn't even play run along the fence
with Berkley this month becaue he hurt his foot on the concrete slabs on his
side of the fence and now his mommy and daddy say no more fence game until they
can fix up the yard and put some sod there. It is very upsetting. I want to
play and so does Berkley, but we aren't allowed to be out in our yards at the
same time anymore.
I have two girlfriends now. The first is the WONDERFUL chocolate lab puppy in
the new development. I wish she could come out and play with me, but she is
rarely in the yard. I check every time we walk by. Sometimes, if I think she
might be coming out soon, I refuse to continue my walk. The second is a yellow
lab puppy who lives one block down from the chocolate lab. She escaped from her
yard the other night and we got to jump around and sniff noses a little. She
was too shy to get closer than nose sniffing distance, but it was fun anyway.
Then her daddy caught up with her and picked her up and carried her home. She
wiggled and squirmed and tried to get away again, but he held on too tight. Now
I sniff her yard and the yard where we met when I walk by, but I haven't seen
her again.
I've been doing more painting and I've been working really hard trying to learn
the "turn off the light trick" but that isn't going so well. I can't quite
decide where exactly I need to hit to make the light turn off so now the bedroom
wall is covered with footprints and scratches and I have scratched a lot of
paint off the door jam. Mommy says we need to stop working on that trick until
she gets some of the quirks worked out of it. Mommy has put my new paintings
into an online photo album. I am donating the one called "Chasing Squirrels" to
the L.E.A.R.N. auction in April. Mommy got it framed the other day. A lady at
the store helped her decide how to frame it. It is in a "frameless" frame with
a black matting. It looks really cool. Now Mommy says she really has to get
some of my other ones framed so we can hang them up at home. Right now they are
in my "portfolio" (a large binder with 12x12 sheet protectors)
Click here to see my paintings.
April 20, 2004
This was a BUSY month. First, Mommy spent the early part of the month working
on "Heel!" with me and making me walk on a short leash once a day. I don't like
my short leash much, but I played along. She also kept telling me, "If you do
that at Grandma's house you are going to get smacked on the nose." whenever I
did things like countersurf or jump on the couch and stuff. Then she started
packing things up in boxes and putting them in the basement. Finally she packed
my vacation bag, but she didn't pack hers. I was getting a little nervous.
Then Mommy went downstairs and got the babygates. I smiled and smiled to remind
her that I am a good dog who doesn't need babygates anymore, but she brought
them up anyway. Then Grandma came to our house to pick up her canary, Willy
Singh, who we had been babysitting and she took my bird, Fred Astaire, too! I
was VERY upset. Grandma did take the babygates away though.
Then the next day Mommy went to the L.E.A.R.N. auction where I donated one of my
painting, "Chasing Squirrels". Along with the framed painting the high bidder
got a
photo of me
with the painting, and a one page bio. Lots of people looked at the painting
and made comments, and the people at Mommy's table thought it was really cool
that I painted, but only one person bid on it. Mommy was happy that SOMEBODY
bid on it, but she kinda wished that more than one person had. She noticed
that a lot of the people at the auction weren't bidding and some of the high
ticket items, such as a weekend in Wisconsin didn't get any bids at all!
Anyway, my painting sold for $25 and the woman who bought it talked to Mommy
afterwards to tell her that she collects unusual art pieces with stories
attached to them, so I think it is going to have a good home.
When Mommy got home she put some more stuff in our basement and took me for a
long walk and then she packed up the car with my bag and feeding station and
beds and stuff and we went to Grandma and Grandpa's house. Mommy ate dinner
there and she hung signs on the doors that said, "Where is the dog?" and she put
my bed in Grandma and Grandpa's bedroom. Grandpa blocked off their living room
and dining room with the babygates and they talked a while about me and then
MOMMY LEFT WITHOUT ME!!!!! I barked and barked and barked and barked, but she
drove off without me!!! She had abandoned me at Grandma and Granpa's house! I
got my Pyramid and carried him around and I followed Grandma around the house
and I whined a bit. Mommy called when she got home and I whined and moaned some
in the background while Grandma talked to her. After a while Grandma and
Grandpa went to bed and I tried to get on the bed with them, but they said NO.
I tried again, but they said NO again and I had to sleep all alone in my own
bed.
I stayed with Grandma and Grandpa for a whole week! Mommy called every day to
ask about me, but she didn't talk to me. Grandma said I was a being a very good
boy and she thought that all bad dog things I do were in Mommy's head! This was
great revenge. I didn't counter surf at all or take anything off the table
except for a mailing tube that Grandpa had left in reach. After the first night
I didn't try to get on the bed. I didn't pee in the house. I didn't get on the
funiture. I didn't knock them over when we walked (Grandpa held the leash and
he REALLY out-weighs me so I couldn't have knocked him down if I tried). I
didn't wake them up in the middle of the night to say, "Hi!" I didn't try to
bolt out the door to chase squirrels. I was PERFECT!! Heh heh heh. Grandpa
and I saw a deer every night on our walks and one night we saw a coyote (I think
it was a coyote, Grandpa said it was a fox, but it was big and grey with a not
so bushy tail). They have windows that go all the way to the ground so I could
sit comfortablely and watch the squirrels and bunnies and birds all day. I got
treats and stuff too and NO NOSE SMACKS!
After a week Mommy came back to get me. I was watching squirrels in the family
room, but when I heard her voice I came running out to greet her. The rest of
the night I followed her around the house. Velcro Dog. After dinner Mommy
packed up my stuff again. She picked up my feeding station and said to Grandma,
"Hold him for me will you?" and Grandma said, "He never bolted. All we had to
do was say, 'you stay' and he did." She said, "You stay." and reached to open
the door. The door opened about 2 inches and I shoved Mommy and Grandma aside
and ran out the door to the car. Grandma shouted, "You could have said, 'Thank
you Grandma!' and 'goodbye!' you know!" but I didn't listen. I was making sure
I went home with Mommy. I sat in the car the whole time she was packing up.
When we got home I ran in the house and went flying! The kitchen floor was
wooden and slippery instead of linoleum and the rest of the floors in the house
were polished to a high shine too. The house smelled funny and I had to sniff
everything and glare at Mommy every once in awhile. I couldn't eat that night
either because the strange smell of the house made my food taste funny. I
wasn't very happy with what Mommy had done. My fur rug was gone too and I
searched all over for it until Mommy brought it up from the basement and made it
into a fur pillow on my daybed. That night when I jumped off the bed about 3
a.m. to wake up Mommy to say, "Hi!" my feet went sliding and I fell down. That
woke Mommy up and she said, "oh poor baby!" but she was laughing at me too. So,
since I had gotten used to it at Grandma and Granpa's house I slept in my own
bed and refused to talk to Mommy when she asked if I was okay. A few days
later, when the house smelled a little more normal, Mommy brought Fred back home
too. And now things are normal again, even if the floors keep making me slip
and fall.
Oh, and after having to watch those squirrels at Grandma and Grandpa's house,
but not chasing them, I got my revenge this week. Let's just say there is one
less garden raiding squirrel and one less chipmunk running around these days.
Sorry Auntie Naomi I just can't help myself!!
May 25, 2004
This was a month of recognition.
First I got a check in the mail. That's right, I got a CHECK for $5 in the
mail. Mommy said it was a mistake, but I think that FINALLY the world has
recognized me for the special dog I am. The check was from Heartgard, the
company that make my heartworm preventative. When I had my check-up in February
the vet told Mommy there was a $5 rebate and if Mommy wanted they would send in
our info electronicly. Mommy said that was fine and forgot all about it. Then
one day she opened the mailbox and said, "Merlin, you have mail." I let Mommy
open it because she has opposable thumbs. When she got it open she laughed and
said, "Some data-entry person was on his first, or last, or possibly both day."
She showed me that we had gotten the Heartgard rebate check in my name. I think
it is only right that I got the check because, after all, I'm the one who has to
eat the Heartgard tablets and get a tummyache for a day, not Mommy.
Anyway, Mommy didn't know how she could cash my check so called grandpa to see
what he thought she should do with it. He said she could just deposit it in her
account because with computerized banking nobody would ever see that it wasn't
signed by me. She thought that didn't seem quite right so she called her bank,
but it is big and impersonal and she got agravated by the phone jail and hung
up.
She realized a few days later that I have a PHOTO ID from dog camp so she took
me, the check and my photo id to a small local bank to see what they would say
she should do. They were very nice and let us cash the check even though we
don't have an account with them. They even gave me a treat for coming in! I
really like that bank now, and so does Mommy. She says she thinks she is going
to open a small account there just because they were so nice to us. Maybe it
will be my account. So, Mommy took the $5 and said, "We'll have to go to the
petstore so you can buy something with your money." I thought that sounded like
a good idea, but first I wanted to go to the lake. When we got there I saw some
ducks and took off after them and I broke my zipline. After Mommy caught me she
said, "Well, you can forget about a toy. Your $5 is going towards a new zipline."
What a rip-off!
The second bit of recognition for me is that my webpage was chosen as
Cartoon-Dogs' Website of the Week
for the week of May 17! If you go there it says my site is a "Site dedicated to
Merlin--lab mix and painter." Mommy was very pleased.
The third bit of recognition was that Mommy FINALLY sent in the necessary stuff
to get me my official Pack Dog title for carrying my pack for 50 miles. My
certificate arrived the other day. It is already outdated though because this
weekend my total packing miles exceeded 100 miles! That means if Mommy can find
a 10 mile check-out hike I can get my Pack Dog Excellent certification.
Auntie Naomi, don't read this next part it has nothing to do with recognition
and you will just get mad at me...
I caught another squirrel and a baby robin. The squirrel got away because Mommy
didn't grab it when I threw it at her (It was her birthday present and she
didn't appreciate it!) The robin had been knocked out of its nest by the last
big storm we had and he hardly had any feathers. Mommy said I probably did him
a favor by catching him since he probably would have died of exposure anyway
(like the baby sparrow she found the next day), but that didn't keep her from
telling me that grabbing birdies is a BIG NO NO BAD DOG!! She worries about
Fred and Willie Singh, but they are safe as long as they stay in their cages
where birdies belong.
June 22, 2004
I don't care what people say, this past month was the dog days of summer, or
late spring I guess.
First, Mommy and I went to Grandma and Grandpa's house in Wisconsin so Mommy
could help them get ready for summer. We were going to be the only ones up
there with Grandma and Grandpa, except Mommy's oldest brother and his family who
have their own house there now and would come by to help with the raft and the
window wells. When we got up there though Grandma said that Mommy's middle
brother was going to come up with his oldest daughter and my Portugese water dog
cousin, Missy. Mommy did outside work with Grandpa and I helped some. When
they got the blower out I decided it was a good time to wander into the woods.
I went rather far and I didn't hear them calling me so Mommy was kind of mad
when I came back on my own later. After that I had to wear my leash. Mommy
says she is buying me bells for our next trip up. Anyway, around dinner time
Mommy's oldest brother came by and everyone was sitting around talking when
Mommy said, "Look Merlin!" and pointed out the back window. I looked and Missy
was here! I ran around and barked and cried and Mommy let me outside. Missy
and I ran and wrestled until dinner and then we ran and wrestled after dinner
until dark. I ate Missy's dinner because she was too slow. It was lots of fun.
The next morning I woke Mommy up at 5 a.m. and said we should go find Missy. She
said nobody else would be up and I should go back to sleep. I woke her up again
at 5:30 and she said it was still too early. It was STILL too early at 6 a.m.
but finally at 6:30 Mommy let me get up. She said that nobody else was going to
be up, but I could go have potty time and breakfast before Missy got up. The
minute Mommy opened the bedroom door I ran down the hall, shoved open Mommy's
middle brother's door, ran in to say hi to Missy (who was asleep in her crate)
and jumped on the bed to say good morning to Mommy's middle brother. He wasn't
happy. Mommy took me away and made me go outside and eat breakfast and be quiet
for a whole HOUR!! Finally Missy got up and we ran and ran and ran and wrestled
and ran and ran. We played all day. Then around dinner time Mommy said I
should go for a walk. We went walking and when we got back to the house I heard
a dog barking! It was Mommy's oldest brother's new golden retriever puppy,
Walter the Pooping Dog (he pooped in the car on the ride up! heh heh heh) He
was chasing Missy around. I ran up and said hi and we chased and chased and
played and wrestled.
After dinner Missy and I were tired and wanted to have nap time, but remember,
Missy and I had been playing all day and Walter had been sleeping (and pooping)
in the car all day so while Missy and I got tired and wanted to rest, he wanted
to keep playing. We tried to tell him to leave us alone nicely, but he wouldn't
listen. He kept jumping up on me and biting my face and ears. I would shake
him off and he would hop back up again. Finally I couldn't take it any more and
I said, "ROWF!" he jumped back and I hooked his back legs with my foot and sent
him flying onto his back. Then I stood over him while he tucked his tail in and
said he was a sorry little puppy. When I let him get up he left me alone and
went off to pester Missy some more. She kept showing him her teeth, which
looked extra scary because she has an underbite, but dumb Walter wouldn't take
the hint. Finally she snapped at him and pinched his butt and he cried, but he
still didn't stop pestering her. Then his Daddy sent him outside so we could
rest.
The next morning Walter came back again. Missy and I ran around and played and
wouldn't let him join us. He got frustrated chasing us on his little fat puppy
legs, and it was great fun. Then Missy and I ran down to the bottom of the hill
and stood on either side of the path. We looked up and said, "Walter! Come
down and play with us! We'll play with you now!" Walter came wobbling down the
stairs and when he got to the bottom of the hill Missy and I looked at each
other and then we both ran straight at Walter and both bodyslammed him at the
same time, smooshing him between us. Then we ran a few victory laps up and down
the hill while Walter pouted. It was very funny. Soon after that Missy and
Walter both went home and I spent the rest of the vacation sleeping.
The next weekend Missy came to our house for a sleepover! It was great! We ran
around in the backyard from 9 in the morning until about 6 at night, then we ate
each other's dinners and took naps. At sunset though I was tired of being a
good host. I like having friends over, but they go home at the end of the day,
and Missy was still at MY HOUSE. She was playing with MY TOYS and getting
attention from MY MOMMY. I couldn't take it anymore and when she stepped over
my tail to go see Mommy I jumped up and said, "ROWF!" and snapped at her. She
yiped and ran behind Mommy and Mommy grabbed me and threw me out onto the porch
for a time out. Then she gave Missy MY TREATS!! The rest of the night whenever
Missy would try to play with a ball or her lamb toy I would charge up to her and
take it away, and Mommy would give me a time out. It wasn't fair. Finally it
was bedtime and Missy had to sleep in her crate while I slept with Mommy on the
bed, which was a good thing, 'cause there was NO WAY I was going to share the
bed with her. The next morning I wanted to play with Missy, but she told me I
was a jerk and wouldn't play with me until about 10:00. Then we played until
her family came to get her.
And finally, the Friday before last, when Mommy and I were walking, a young
and stupid English bulldog came charging up to us wanting to play. I didn't try
to bite her because she was smaller than me, but I didn't want to play with her
because she had a square head. I kept trying to get her to go away and Mommy
kept swatting at her and telling her to go home, but she wouldn't listen. She
followed us for our whole walk until we got to Jessie and her brother's house.
Now Jessie and her brother really only like each other, not other dogs, but this
stupid little bulldog didn't understand that. She kept jumping on the fence
trying to say hi while they tried to bite her. Mommy was going to leave her
there, but thought that would be mean to Jessie's people so she brought me home
and went back for the bulldog. When Jessie's daddy went into his house to get a
leash, the silly bulldog followed him inside! The dog didn't have any tags so
Mommy brought her home and tied her to our tree out front and called the
police. They said they would take her and put her in a local training center's
kennels for the weekend, but Mommy didn't want that to happen since the kennels
also house police and guard dogs in training and Mommy could just see her
getting mauled overnight, and besides, her people would have no way to find her
for the whole weekend since the training center would be closed. So she said
she would walk the dog back to where we started being followed in the first
place and ring doorbells to see if she could find the dog's home. They got
about 3 doors down when a truck pulled up and a woman yelled, "You have our
dog!" This dumb puppy sure had fitting owners. They were just as silly as she
was. They said the dog's name was Payton and they lived a couple blocks down
from where she had started following us. A neighbor had seen us and instead of
stopping and saying, "Hey we know that dog, let us help you get her away from
your dog." They had driven over to Payton's house to ask if she was missing!
The family had to look around to see if she was missing and when they decided
she wasn't home they went looking for her. They drove along asking people if
they had seen me, Payton and Mommy and followed our trail that way. Mommy said,
"Do me a favor and get a tag for her." and the owners said, "We can't do that.
She has lots of different collars." Mommy said, "The petstore has a machine
that sells them for $5, buy one for each collar." and they said, "Oh, that's a
good idea." As I said, they were fitting owners for such a dumb puppy.
That was my dog days of late spring.
July 20, 2004
This month Mommy and I visited Auntie Naomi and Uncle Fred at their new house in
Door County, WI. When Mommy was packing I figured we were going to Grandma and
Grandpa's house, but then we got off to a late start and we didn't take the
right turns and the smells didn't smell quite right. When we finally stopped we
were at a house I had never seen before. Auntie Naomi and Uncle Fred were
there, which was exciting, and we walked around the house and I sniffed stuff,
but I was kinda looking for Grandma and Grandpa. Mommy unpacked the car and she
hooked my leash up to a tree while she carried our stuff inside. That made me
rather nervous so Auntie Naomi stayed outside with me while Mommy put our stuff
away. Then we went inside. They had a whole room just for me and Mommy with
our own stairway and everything. I felt very special. After we had settled in
Auntie Naomi and Uncle Fred said we should take a walk and see The Lake.
We went out, but there was no hill to run down to get to The Lake. Instead we
walked down the road. At the end of the road there was THE BIGGEST LAKE I'd
ever seen! It went on forever. I could have waded the shores looking for fish
for days. Mommy took off her shoes and went wading with me. We were having a
great time until clutzy Mommy stepped on something called "fossilized coral" and
sliced open her foot. Then we had to go back to the house so Mommy could patch
up her foot before we finished our walk. After the bandaging, we went to see
the neighbors' houses. They were very nice. We even met one neighbor and he
took us around to see his garden. The humans seemed to like it. Mommy said I
had to stay out of the flowers tho and the neighbor's wife didn't seem too happy
to see me in the garden. Then we went back and we hung out on the porch and we
ate and we sat around and I had to stay on a leash by Mommy so that I wouldn't
think of trouble to find. At bedtime I got the spooks and barked at every noise
I heard. Then at 3 a.m. or so Auntie Naomi's daughter arrived and I really
barked. Mommy said she was sure the whole neighborhood was glad to know that
Laura had arrived.
The next morning Mommy and I went shopping for bandaids and watershoes so that
we could go wading again without Mommy hurting herself. Then we walked down to
The Lake. Auntie Naomi and Uncle Fred followed us a little later, but I was so
busy sniffing things that they caught up before we got there. When we got to
The Lake and I went in looking for fish I found THE BIGGEST FISH ON THE FACE OF
THE EARTH!! These fish were BIGGER THAN CATS!!! And they were right up on the
shore. I chased them and they swam away and once one got confused by some rocks
and I could have caught him but he was BIGGER THAN A CAT and if cats have hidden
knives what would a GIANT FISH be hiding? I decided that I would be nice and
let the fish go without trying to pick him up. When we were about to leave a
loose pit bull came to the beach. Uncle Fred distracted her while Mommy, Auntie
Naomi and I left. Brave Uncle Fred. The rest of that day was spent meeting
friends of Auntie Naomi's and hiking on some cool trails. One of the friends
told us the GIANT FISH were called carp. The trails were fun and one of them
ended on the top of a 100 foot cliff. I didn't understand why Mommy was so
nervous about me getting too close to the edge (and Auntie Naomi was even more
nervous!) After the hikes Mommy and I went to visit some old neighbors of hers
who lived in the area. They all thought I was wonderful.
The next day was the 4th of July. It was raining and cold but we went to the
parade anyway. Because it was going to be so crowded we all went in Uncle
Fred's car. I didn't know how to get into a car where you have your own door
into the back seat. Finally Mommy got in first and then I got in. Then bad
Mommy slammed the door on my tail! She really only caught my fur, but I acted
like she had amputated my tail just to make her feel guilty. Anyway, we got to
the paraded and it was the looooongest one I had ever been at. I liked most of
it (there was even a Scottie club that marched and handed out milkbones!) but
there was a terrifying thing called Thomas the Tank Engine in the parade. He
was a big monster with an evil grin and he went "WHOOO! WHOOO! TOOT! TOOT!" It
was so scary that I just sat next to Mommy and shook. Mommy had to take me away
for awhile so that I could calm down. I wasn't really calm until he was out of
sight. After the parade Auntie Naomi, Mommy and I went to see the craft sale in
town. Lots of people pet me and EVERY SINGLE ONE of them asked Mommy, "May I
pet your dog?" before they touched me and EVERY SINGLE ONE of them said, "Thank
you for letting me pet your dog." when they were through! What a great place.
Mommy bought a sign for our door that says, "The dog and his housekeeping staff
live here." After that Mommy, Auntie Naomi and I went treasure hunting on
Auntie Naomi's property. It seems that the houses were built in an area where
people used to dump their garbage. Mommy and Auntie Naomi found and old runner
for a sleigh and some old pottery, bottles and pans. I found some bones, a dead
thing, poop and something hiding in a half burried can that went "GRRRRR!"
Mommy and Auntie Naomi got to bring their treasures home, but I didn't get to
bring mine back. No fair! That night we went to the fireworks. I love
fireworks, but I wasn't so sure about the crowd. They all hollered and whooped
when the fireworks went off. At home they don't do that and I got kind of
nervous and sat real close to Mommy. I did watch the whole show tho.
The next day we had to go home, but first Mommy and I took our morning walk.
When we were just about home one of the neighbors who have three dogs, two labs
and a shepherd mix, were walking their dogs off leash. The male lab and the
shepherd mix charged me from way down the road. They may have just been coming
to say hi, but I figured they were coming to get me and the shepherd and I went
at it. We had quite a tussle. I lost some fur and I don't know if I actually
bit him or not, but Mommy gave him a good strong kick in the ribs, so I think we
won. The neighbors were sorry (they HAD promised to keep the dogs on leashes
while I was there to avoid just that sort of thing from happening) and Mommy
said it was okay, but she was a little mad at them for being irresponsible.
Still, I wasn't hurt so, after breakfast, Mommy drove me down to The Lake and we
had fun (no fish tho) until that pitbull came back. Mommy put me in the car and
then we got stuck because the dog kept coming close to the car and Mommy
couldn't see where she was. She didn't want to drive over the dog. Auntie
Naomi and Uncle Fred came up in their car and they could see where the dog was
so Mommy could pull out. We then went to see the ferry to Washington Island and
Uncle Fred found out that dogs can ride free but kids cost $5.00! Mommy says
next time we will ride on the big boat. Then we went down for ice cream.
Auntie Naomi bought me my own cup of ice cream and it was HUGE!! Mommy only let
me have half of it. Mean Mommy. Then we really had to go. I slept the whole
way home and then I took a nap, had dinner and went to bed. It was a fun
vacation.
The next weekend I painted a picture for Auntie Naomi. It is called, "Fireworks
for Auntie Naomi"
Click here to see it.
August 24,
2004
This month Mommy and I went to Grandma and Grandpa's house in Wisconsin.
EVERYONE was there because we were celebrating Grandma's 70th birthday (3 months
early)! I got to play with my Portuguese water dog cousin, Missy, and my new
golden retriever cousin, Walter, and my old mutt cousin, Harley. Actually, I
didn't get to play with Harley much because he didn't want to play big dog chase
and wrestle games on account of he is really old. So mostly I got told "NO!
STOP THAT!" when I was around Harley. Harley did shock Missy and me one day tho
when we were playing retrieve Duckie. Mommy was throwing Duckie in the lake and
Missy and I were racing for it. Harley was watching us from the dock. I was
always winning so Mommy started holding me back and letting Missy get long head
starts, but I still won each time. Then Mommy threw Ducky by the boat and I was
afraid to get it. Missy couldn't figure out where it was, so Harley and Mommy's
brother swam out and got it for us. Missy and I couldn't believe how well such
an old dog swam and we watched him from the dock in shock. He had to be helped
up and down the shore, but once he was in the water, he was an amazing swimmer,
and he wasn't afraid of the boat!
Everyone left before we did tho (except Grandma and Grandpa) and Mommy and I had
our vacation. The next door neighbors had their family up too and they brought
a beautiful black standard poodle named Panini with them. Panini was four
months old and I really wanted to play with her, but for some reason they didn't
want to let me. I ran over there every day to ask too, and only got in trouble
each time. On their last day up Mommy was playing the "stay around" game with
me. I didn't have my drag line on and Mommy was giving me tiny pieces of cheese
just for staying in sight of her and coming when she whistled. It was fun.
Then, after awhile, Mommy ran out of cheese. She handed me the last piece and I
looked at her, turned around, and RAN over to Panini's house. Boy did I get in
trouble then! I knew I was going to have a time-out so I made the best of it by
running around and dodging, Mommy and Panini's daddy, mommy and human sisters.
Panini's daddy even managed to pull both my collar and my bandana off me on one
of my passes. Finally Panini's mommy sat on the ground, and, since I can't
resist a lap, I ran over to sit on her's and she grabbed me. I got time-out in
the bathroom after that.
But Mommy forgave me and since I celebrated my 4th birthday up there (we usually
celebrate on August 1) she bought me a marrow bone from the butcher. It was
yummy! When she first gave it to me it was too cold so I decided I needed to
bury it until it warmed up. Unfortunately I was in the house. So I dug some
pretend holes in the carpet and then covered it up with pretend dirt. I worked
so hard at burying and reburying the bone that I wore the leather of my nose
bloody. Mommy says for a smart dog, when my instincts kick in, I sure get
stupid.
Finally this month Mommy and I babysat Missy for two and a half days and two
nights. We had a good time running and wrestling in the backyard and I showed
her my favorite walks. She didn't understand about running through the cattails
so even though I showed her how to do it a bunch of times she never joined me.
Oh, and I didn't bite her even once. I did give her my "sideways eyes" a couple
times and I made sure I took whatever toy she was playing with away from her if
she looked like she was having too much fun, and I finished her dinner for her
each night, but she stole mine while I was stealing hers, and I made sure to get
between her and Mommy whenever Mommy was trying to pet her, but I didn't bite
her, so I was a good boy.
September 21,
2004
This was a boring month. Mommy and I did nothing fun. Oh we took some of our
normal hikes and stuff, but that was about it. Mommy spent a lot of time
getting some new furniture. She got a brand new table and chairs in the kitchen
and now I can't jump on them and I'm not supposed to lick them either because
they are wood, not metal and formica. I don't like that. Also, she came home
from work late and would have things with her that weren't good to eat. Once it
was some pictures and once it was two chairs. She said they came from Auntie
Naomi. I don't believe this because Auntie Naomi knows what I like and only
gives me good stuff. Mommy said the pictures and chairs weren't for me they
were from her. Again, I don't believe this, why would Auntie Naomi give MOMMY
things and not me? Mommy says she was getting the stuff because Auntie Naomi is
moving to her new house in Wisconsin and Mommy had bought Auntie Naomi's mommy's
dining room table and chairs. Then one day Mommy came home late and she brought
her middle brother (Missy's daddy) with her, but they didn't bring Missy!!
Instead they brought another wooden table and more chairs and now there is
another "no touching" table and chairs in the dining room. What good are tables
that you can't put your paws on and clean the middle of? Mommy did buy me a
comfy new blanket to cover my bench under the window. So I guess all her
redecorations aren't that bad.
Also this month Mommy's car started making funny noises so we couldn't take our
normal weekend drives to go hiking. We had to stick closer to home because
Mommy was afraid we'd get out to a trail and not get back. But, she got the car
fixed and was very happy because the part was still under warranty even though
the car is older than I am. What's a warranty? I don't see anything on top of
the car.
The only exciting thing this month is that (DON'T READ THIS AUNTIE NAOMI!!! IF
YOU DO YOU WILL BE MAD AT ME!!!) I have learned to catch shrews. Mommy is mad
at me about that because she likes shrews. She says they are like little tiny
wolves and I should have more respect. I think they are just fun to catch and
throw around. I can hear them from across the yard and I take off and dive into
the bushes or plants where they are hiding and grab them. Then I toss them in
the air a few times until they stop working. Mommy says it is odd that I can
hear a shrew from across the yard and I can't hear her say "NO!" or "COME!" when
she is only six feet away from me. I think what is odd is that when you catch a
shrew, if it bites you on the mouth your mouth gets tingly numb and you drool
for about an hour or so. Mommy says it is because shrews have venom and it
serves me right and maybe I should learn something from this experience. I
have. I've learned to grab them with only my front teeth and to make sure my
lips are pulled way back.
October 19,
2004
This month was fun! Missy came over for sleepovers two weekends in a row.
We've established some rules so things go much smoother when she is sleeping
over and we don't get in trouble as much and we don't get early bedtimes. Here
are the rules:
1. Mommy is MINE!! If Mommy sits down I get to sit on her lap.
Missy can sit BY Mommy but she must not TOUCH Mommy. Mommy can pet Missy as
long as she is petting me at the same time.
2. All stuffed squeeky toys and all pull toys are for sharing. The only
exeptions to this rule are Pyramid and Jack. They are MINE!! Missy may look at
them and sniff them, but she must not touch them. Also
first-thing-in-the-morning toys and bedtime toys do not have to be shared and
dogs should not ask to share them and must never just take them or Mommy will
step in.
3. Keep away and tug-of-war are just games and should not be taken seriously.
If one dog starts to get too involved in the game the other dog should stop and
lie down to indicate the game is over.
4. The bed is MY SPOT!! Missy's crate is HER SPOT!! Missy can't get on the
bed, I can't go in the crate. If we don't want to share a toy we can bring it
to our spot and the other dog can't ask for them.
[Mommy added this rule: Only two toys can be reserved at one time. More than
two reserved toys becomes a hoard and ALL reserved toys in a hoard will be given
to the other dog by Mommy. Also, toys may not be grabbed away from the other
dog and brought to your spot or it will be deemed "bullying." Repeated bullying
is punishable by mousetrap.]
5. The bench under the window is to be shared. Whichever dog gets up on it
first gets to sit or lie down until he or she is ready to vacate the spot. The
latecomer can put only his or her front paws on the bench until the first dog
gets down.
6. My dogfood is served in the kitchen. Missy's dogfood is served in the garden
room. Mommy will stand guard between the two rooms. Dogs may not investigate
each other's bowl until both dogs have decided to leave theirs. If you leave
your bowl before you are finished and discover that the other dog has eaten all
of his or her food, too bad, the other dog gets whatever you left in your bowl.
7. There will be no tennis balls or bones allowed during sleepovers. [This rule
was established by Mommy since I seem unable to share tennis balls and Missy
made bad dog faces at Mommy when Mommy tried to take one of my bones from her.]
Since those rules were established we have had nothing but fun. We run run run
all day long and drop from exhaustion at night, but we are ready to run run run
the next morning.
On the first sleepover Mommy drove us to a nearby forest preserve for a walk,
but Missy has to sniff everything for FOREVER. When I sniff something I give it
a quick sniff and say, "Hmmm. Large male dog about three." Missy gets tot the
same spot and says, "Large male dog about three. Usuaslly eats Iams and some
people food, but got into the garbage yesterday and had some moldy bread and
chicken bones. Wears a red leather collar..." at which point Mommy and I are
both bored and Missy gets pulled away. Also, she is afraid of big dogs (but not
me for some reason) and we had a lot of sudden stops when she would see another
dog and refuse to go on. So the walk took a lot longer than Mommy expected it
to and she says only street walks from now on.
When Missy was supposed to be getting in the car after the second sleepover she
found a pile of cat poop to roll in instead. She rolled in it so well that her
daddy couldn't get the poop out with a wet towel and she had to be hosed down.
When I saw the hose I was upset, but when they started spraying Missy I stayed
just out of the splash and watched and wagged my tail. Hose baths are terrible,
unless they are happening to another dog. Then they are funny!
November 23,
2004
This was a strange month.
First Mommy woke me up really early and put my seatbelt on me like we were going
to Grandma and Grandpa's house in Wisconsin, but she hadn't packed anything
except water and a leash for me. Mommy said we were going to a doggy haunted
house. Then we drove and drove and when we stopped she parked on the side of
the road and left me in the car for about an hour. When she came back she put
the leash on me and we walked down the road to a place that had all sorts of
dogs hanging around. There were poodles and collies and little fluffy guys, but
no German shepherds. Mommy said that was because she had called ahead and all
the GSDs were inside where I couldn't see them. We hung around for a little bit
and I talked to the poodles and fluffy dogs and then they called my name.
?Mommy and I had to walk past a scary, smelly kennel and then we were by a field
that was set up with orange cones and folding chairs and stuff. I looked at the
set up and knew right away that this was some sort of obedience test, so I put
myself into test mode. We walked to the first chair and I heeled the whole
way. Then a lady got out of the chair and shook hands with Mommy. I knew
this! This was the first test in the CGC. I figured I must be taking the CGC
test again so I carefully ignored the lady. The lady and Mommy talked for a
long time until the man in the middle with the clipboard said, "well okay, go."
and we went to the next chair. That lady got up and made a fuss over me so I
made sure my feet were all on the ground and I didn't jump. Then we went to the
next station and someone made a loud noise in a yard shed and then they put a
bucket on the ground outside the shed. I checked the bucket to see if maybe it
was food, but it was rocks. Then I looked in the shed to say hi to the person
who made the noise. Then we walked to a big wood wall and stood still with our
backs to the wall, but I saw the shed person run out of the shed and behind the
wall so I was looking at her when she made three loud bangs. When she was
finished I went to the wall to tell her she didn't scare me. Then we walked to
another lady in a chair and she opened an umbrella right in front of me and hid
behind it. Rather rude if you ask me, but I still went behind the umbrella to
say hi. Then we had to walk across some plastic and then I had to walk over
grating while Mommy walked on the grass. This made me nervous because Mommy
likes me to walk on the same surface she is walking on, but when I looked at her
to see if I was doing it right she pretended like she didn't see me. Then we
stopped and looked at a fence and this strange man with a stick came out and
waved the stick around. I watched him closely because he was acting kinda
strange. Then he saw us and started yelling and coming at us. I gave him my
big dog stare. Then he started banging the ground with his stick and running at
us. I tried to run away, but Mommy didn't follow so when I hit the end of the
leash I turned around and barked at the man and he left. Then Mommy and I went
to sit on the chairs by the side of the field. The man with the clipboard came
up and said, "He passed." and I jumped up on him and licked his face. Then he
sat with Mommy and they talked awhile and we went back to the car and drove back
home. Mommy said I had passed my Temperament Test and she bought me a
cheeseburger at McDonalds. She made me give a little bit of bun to a seagull
who came to the car to beg, but that was okay since the meat is the important
part. Oh, and now I can put a TT after my name and I got a new patch for my
backpack!
A week after that Mommy did that strange thing where she plays with the clocks
and doesn't feed me on time, and then that night she made me wear bunny ears for
the kids who came up in costume and begged for treats. I was going to be
Superman, but Mommy had made the outside of the house so scary this year that
she decided I should be something really silly instead.
Finally, Missy sent me a Petco gift card as a thank you for all the sleepovers
and Mommy took me to the store to spend it. I would have bought nothing but
bullysticks but Mommy said I could only have two of them. It didn't stop me
from taking them out of the basket each time Mommy set it down though! I got
lots of yummy bones and treats and a squeeky zebra. Then Mommy took me to see
the fish, but I wasn't very interested in them. I like the aerators better
because the bubbles moved really fast and I also liked the crickets that someone
had let escape from the feeder cages. As we were heading to the checkout from
the fishtanks we passed another tank that was right at my eye level and there
were BUNNIES inside it! I had to stop and stare at the bunnies and one of the
stupid bunnies came right up to the glass and looked back at me. I couldn't
believe it! He came towards me instead of running away. I thought maybe we
should get a bunny instead of some of the treats, but Mommy said no and
eventually dragged me away from their tank. At the checkout I kept grabbing the
bullysticks off the counter before the girl could ring them up. The girl seemed
to get rather annoyed at that, but I thought it was fun. I FINALLY got to eat
one of the sticks in the car on the ride home.
Have a good Thanksgiving. Hope you get lots of treats, but don't eat any turkey
bones!
December 23,
2004
Sorry this update is late. Mommy has been so busy running around getting ready
for Christmas, and then her car broke down, well we kinda forgot about my diary
until today.
Let's see, this month we celebrated Thanksgiving. Mommy had Grandma and Grandpa
and their next door neighbor over. I was very good and showed off my tricks.
They were very impressed by the new one Mommy and I are working on where I read
flashcards and do what they say. So far I have sit, down, stand, sit up, and
where's your nose down. Mommy made a really yummy cheese spread hors douvres.
I tried to lick it a couple times but was twarted by Mommy. I did get a few
crackers tho. I got the most when Mommy went into the kitchen to check on the
spinich dish, but bad Grandpa smacked my nose so I dropped them. (Mommy told
Grandpa not to smack me and then let me eat the crackers!) I got to lick the
turkey pan after Mommy has scraped out most of the grease. Mmmmm. I also got
some pie crusts.
After dinner everyone sat around the table and talked until I made a pest of
myself and got them to get up and go into the livingroom where it is more
comfortable, but then after they had been at our house for almost 5 hours I
decided I had had enough and became a royal pain until they noticed what time it
was and left. I had to go outside while the neighbor was helped down the
stairs, but then I came back in to watch out the front door as they left. As
soon as the car pulled out of the driveway I ran to the bedroom and jumped in
bed. Company wears you out!
Mommy wants new countertops so she had a guy come out to give her an estimate.
Every time he went by the side of the counter where the antique canisters are
that hold my treats I would run over to him. When he wouldn't notice me I'd
jump up with my front feet on the countertop to show him what he should be
looking for. He just didn't get it though. Mommy finally told him what I was
after and then she asked how Corian holds up to dog claws!
Finally this month it has been very very cold. Mommy has to really bundle up to
take me for my walks. I don't see why she needs to do that. Just because the
temperatures are in the single digits and the wind chill makes it feel like it
is 10 or 15 degrees below zero. I think the weather is GREAT and I want to play
play play after our walks, but Mommy usually doesn't. After one recent walk she
weighed herself and found that she was wearing 15 pounds of clothing!
Happy Holidays and have a great New Year!
January 25,
2005
Busy, busy month.
First we celebrated Christmas. Mommy and I went to Grandma and Grandpa's house
on Christmas Eve and we had a whole carload of stuff. Some of Mommy's cousins
came over for Christmas Eve dinner and I was very good and only ate the hors
d'oeuvres that people offered me, which was very good of me considering that
they had cheese, herring and a liver pate! At dinner I mostly sat by Mommy but
sometimes walked around to check out the other guests because they were doggie
people and I thought maybe they'd sneek me some stuff. At one point Grandma
said something funny and everyone laughed so I ran around the table smiling at
everyone and then they laughed some more because they hadn't seen a smiley-face
dog. After dinner I showed off my reading skills. Then I got grumpy and wanted
to go home, but Mommy said we were spending the night and I was NOT to chase the
guests out of the house like I did on Thanksgiving. We didn't have a very good
night because we had to share a twin bed and Mommy kept kicking me and hogging
the bed so I kept waking her up.
Chirstmas Day we opened our gifts. I got a GIANT real bone from the butcher, a
huge doggie stuffed animal, a giant tennis ball, a bullystick and a bag of Tiny
T-Bones. In the afternoon my cousin Missy came over with her family. We had
fun chasing each other around and Mommy's brother let us escape from the house
so we had fun avoiding Mommy for awhile too. I didn't pee in the basement this
time either. Missy gave me some Iams biscuits and a tennis ball. I gave her a
Dentibone and some Tiny T-Bones. When we got home that night I stole my entire
bag of Tiny T-Bones and ate them. I had a tummyache the next day and Mommy said
it was my own fault.
For New Year's Eve Mommy and I went to Grandma and Grandpa's house in
Wisconsin. It was cold and snowy, but we had fun. We took walks on the lake
and I watched squirrels and birds. There was an evil red squirrel that kept
teasing me.
Click here to see how mean he was.
Mommy's oldest brother and his family came over, but they didn't bring Walter
the Pooping Dog. Missy had stayed at his house earlier in the week and even
though Walter wasn't quite such a jerk-puppy she still didn't like him, so Mommy
thought it was best that we not hang out together. I ate the herring that they
left on the coffee table one night. Mmmmm.
Then Mommy got the flu and stayed home for a week. I was a very good boy and
helped her get better.
Click here to read how I helped.
Then on the 19th Mommy and I celebrated my adoption day. She gave me another
big real bone from the butcher and that night she brought home a roast beef
sandwich and fries from Arby's. Mmmmm. Then that weekend she made steak and
mashed potatoes and spinich and apple pie for dinner and I got my own serving of
each. Mmmmm again.
Unfortunately, after such a happy month, a sad thing happened. My birdie foster
brother Fred Astaire died on Friday. Mommy was sick again (relapse) and was
asleep when Fred fell off his perch. He had been playing with his bells and
stuff before so Mommy says she thinks he had a heart attack. I ran into the
room and woke her up, but she thought I just wanted attention and told me to go
away. I did, but when Fred hadn't gotten up again after an hour I went back in
to Mommy and whined and carried on until she came out. I took her straight to
Fred's cage and showed her what happened. She took Fred out and put him in a
box. She didn't let me sniff him because she thought my retriever insticts
might strike and I would try to grab him. She put the box in the downstairs
freezer ('til spring) and put his cage on the porch. The next morning I
wouldn't leave the porch. I kept searching his cage, but I couldn't find
Fred. It smelled like Fred, but Mommy said it was his cuddle cave that smelled
and finally she took the top off the cage and threw out the cuddle cave. Then I
walked around the porch looking up at all the places he could have flown to, but
he wasn't there. That afternoon we went down to my studio and I painted a blue,
purple and orange picture that Mommy named "Fred Flying Free"
Click here to see it.
