Sunday, November 30, 2008

We Met HIM!!!


Santa Claws! Ooops, Santa Claus. Sorry. I know he knows when you're awake and sleeping and everything! I hope he knows that was a mistake, and he won't put coal in my stocking. Although these days, coal might be a good thing to get.


Even though we were taking photos, I had the chance to give Santa my Christmas list. I won't repeat it here, because it's between me and Santa. But, I'm sure you can guess biskees and some new chew toys would be high up on the list. Anyway, the photos turned out nicely, and Aunt Pat made copies (since the photographer signed off the copyright, which is why they're posted here.) for Mommy, the Vet, the Groomer and to put on the mantle.

It was a very exciting morning. I thought we were all going with Aunt Pat, so I climbed into the driver's seat before she could get the back door open. I figured I'd drive because I heard Daddy say that Katie and Chloe's licenses needed to be renewed. Aunt Pat wouldn't have it. So, after a couple of minutes, I moved over to the front seat and Aunt Pat drove. I didn't mind too much. It would've looked pretty funny if I'd been behind the wheel. Since we had an appointment, I wouldn't have wanted to get pulled over.

Anyway, when we got home, we were very tired. We all slept for most of the afternoon while Aunt Pat made turkey pies from the Thanksgiving leftovers. Katie got up once in a while to do her rounds as floor sweeper.

Chloe napped under the dining room table. She really likes to use that as her den, or safe spot. I'm too big to fit under there, and Katie doesn't go under there. Chloe can see what's going on in the kitchen and come in if need be. Plus, she can take her biskees under there without worrying that Katie or I will eat them.

Thursday, November 27, 2008

Happy Thanksgiving!!!!


We hope everyone has a lovely Thanksgiving! We have a lot to be thankful for. Caring people rescued us and matched us up with our humans; our humans love us and give us lots of tummy rubs, a nice home and wholesome food; biskees; the three of us get along well; we're healthy-we're especially thankful that Katie recovered from her problems and continues to do well; we have great people who work hard to keep us feeling and looking great. Oh, did I mention biskees?

Aunt Pat made dinner, and we helped! She's worked hard the last couple of days to get things ready so she wouldn't have to rush today. We stood, well, laid down nearby in case we were needed for spill clean up, help getting ingredients out of the fridge, and so on. Today was no exception. We all took different positions to make sure we could be where we were needed quickly. Katie stayed by the door to the dining room, making sure Aunt Pat got the the turkey and stuffing in the oven safely.

I positioned myself by the kitchen table, so I could read the meat thermometer to be sure the turkey and the stuffing were at the proper temperature. No undercooked turkey for us...or our humans!

Chloe came in and out, but she stayed out of the way during cooking. She's still a little young to be worrying about meal preparation. Katie and I want her to focus on looking cute to get table scraps, and getting the humans to drop food on the floor.

She showed up in time for the carving and the serving. She worked on her cute and hungry looks, but neither Daddy nor Aunt Pat would share their meals with us. They didn't drop anything on the way to the table, either. Darn it! It looked very tasty.

So, we had to wait for clean up. Katie and I waited as Aunt Pat took the turkey off the bone.

Katie got lucky. She's used to sniffing around and licking, er sweeping the crumbs and bits off of the floor. So, she was off in a flash when Aunt Pat dropped a couple of turkey bits. She sniffed the rest of the floor but only found a couple of leaf pieces that had come in from the outside.

After dinner, we chilled out for a while. Chloe helped Aunt Pat with the Black Friday Ads.

Katie made sure Aunt Pat didn't gain any weight after eating her big dinner. She barked for a tummy rub. After a couple of minutes she'd get up and walk over to a new spot. Then, she'd look at Aunt Pat, bark and lay down for another tummy rub! Aunt Pat had to get up and move around.

I put myself in charge of the snacking. Around our usual dinner time, Daddy and Aunt Pat made themselves sandwiches. I thought I'd get a snack if I barked and startled Daddy so much he dropped something. Or, if I bark a lot, the humans will give me something, usually a biskee, to shut me up. It'll work sometimes with Aunt Pat, but it didn't work with Daddy...this time. Oh well. It's for our own good, I guess. Too much human food can upset our tummies, and the last thing we want is to go to the Vet. We love them, but only want to see them for our routine vaccinations and check ups.

Monday, November 24, 2008

Teaching Chloe

First off, we want to give lots of get well kisses to Daddy who has an eye infection and isn't feeling well. The Vet, err, Doctor, gave him some antibiotic eye drops to use. We hope he feels better tomorrow, or he may have to go to another Vet, err, doctor for his eye.

Although Chloe isn't technically a puppy anymore, she still has a lot to learn. Yesterday, during the Bills game, Chloe decided to play with my tennis ball. Nice idea for some new fun, but she had a few problems. At first, she wanted to chew it, but couldn't find a place to start. I know, small dog, small mouth. But, Chloe was able to pick it up and roll around with it, so I believed that chewing was still possible. After all, Chloe can rip apart a chew toy with the best of them.

So, since Chloe often turns to me for help and guidance, I took it upon myself to show her the finer points of ball chewing.

Chloe's a very smart girl, and a very attentive pupil. I don't think her looking at me had anything to do with my taking the ball from her. She'd put it down for a little while and was staring at it, so I knew I had to do something to help. In this photo, I was showing her how to rip off the cover of the ball to find a good chew hole to get the squishy part.

Well, I suppose I should have let her practice chew, but I got so wrapped up, I chewed the ball up before Chloe could get her chance. Hey, I thought we had more. We always have more. Aunt Pat or Daddy go into the cupboard and pull another one out. It's like magic! But, as she was cleaning up the mess, Aunt Pat said that the ball I chewed up was the last one in the house. She promised to go get more soon. So did Daddy. I know Chloe is a smart dog, but I may have to chew one of the new balls up just to refresh the lesson I gave her. Everyone can benefit from a brief review of what they learned before they put those concepts to use in the real world.

Thursday, November 20, 2008

Our Vet Appointment


It was supposed to be just Katie's appointment, but I ended up going too! Daddy heard me chewing my nails so he called the Vet's office to have them trim mine. Plus, I heard him tell Aunt Pat that he thought Katie might not get as upset as she usually does if I went with her. Well, she was a lot calmer and didn't cry at all. We both were very good while we were waiting. I was so relieved to be finished, well, I um, relieved myself on their front yard. I did a number two in their yard last time, so I guess I'm consistent. Anyway, the doctor said we both were in good health. Katie watched very carefully while I had my nails trimmed and I made sure Katie got her Kennel Cough vaccine without any trouble.


Chloe stayed home with Aunt Pat to keep her company. Chloe really wanted to come with us, but when Aunt Pat picked her up for a cuddle and took her into the living room, Chloe realized how much Aunt Pat wanted her to stay home. Chloe kept watch for a while, and then she snuggled with Aunt Pat on the sofa.

Now that the snow is here, Daddy and Aunt Pat got worried that we might slip or lose our footing when we go outside. It can get icy on the concrete steps, so they bought some non-skid mats and a stair tread to put down. It's worked so far, and it's cutting down on the amount of leaves and dirt we track in also.

I still love to roll in the snow, as well as eat it. Some humans like to chew ice or suck on ice cubes, so I don't see a problem with chewing snow. It's not like I can open the freezer door and get the cubes out of a tray. Plus, the biskee cupboard is right next to the fridge, so whenever I sit there and bark, the humans think I want a biskee. I usually do, and lets face it, I'll never say no to a biskee. So, I'm stuck with the yard. I'm very careful. I only eat snow that's clean, and some that's melting. Plus, if there's a little on the grass that I eat, I won't spit it out. The only problem is a little drip I get on the side of my mouth. It doesn't look nice, but I get rid of it quickly.

Monday, November 17, 2008

Chloe Went to The Vet...


Friday, and she's doing well. She had her rabies update and her kennel cough vaccine. Turns out, Katie hasn't had the kennel cough vaccine in a while. The Vet thought that she should have one. So, Daddy will take her this Thursday.

Today, we had our first measurable snow! Daddy had just finished mowing and mulching the leaves in the back yard when the flakes started to fly! Before anyone went out, I had to sniff and well, sample the snow to make sure it was safe for my sisters to be in it.

And no, I didn't eat the yellow snow. There wasn't any yet! Not that I would anyway.


However, I did make a snow dog. I can't make a snow angel, since my legs don't move that way.
We really had fun this morning. Aunt Pat brought a toy out and we played a little fetch. Chloe was very excited to see the snow, and we played for a few minutes.

Katie took it all in stride. She's not a big fan of the cold. When Aunt Pat holds the door open, Katie stops at the door and looks outside. Then she'll look at Aunt Pat with a "Do I have to-I'm so small and pathetic" look. Aunt Pat will provide encouragement and reassurance that she won't have to be outside for long. She did her business, sniffed around the perimeter, and wanted to go in. I know she sampled the snow, though. Katie barked at Chloe and me when we were playing, so I think our enthusiasm and enjoyment of the snow bothered her. She may have been upset with us for disturbing the peace and quiet atmosphere that comes with the snowfall.

Thursday, November 13, 2008

*Yawn*



Today is a rather lazy day. We've been laying around, taking frequent naps.

It's been rainy, chilly and now, although it's stopped raining, it's pretty cloudy out. And yes, I am using the new dog bed in Daddy's room. Daddy took this picture with Aunt Pat's camera, since every time she comes in to get a photo, I do this.

I assume that she either needs me to sniff something out for her, or she wants to give me a biskee, so I get up. Chloe, however, just likes to relax. She and Katie will often lean back to signal that it's okay for whomever comes in the room to sit down and give them a tummy rub.

The girls love their tummy rubs just as much as I love mine. Too bad humans have only two hands. Although Aunt Pat used her hands to rub Chloe and Katie, and then tried to rub my tummy with her foot (very gently, I must add) but it didn't work out too well. The foot tummy rub just wasn't the same.

Oh well, time for another nap.

Tuesday, November 11, 2008

There's a New Dog in Town...

...but we haven't been formally introduced. The people that live diagonally behind us, next to the G's, got a new dog this past weekend. We saw him/ or her, we don't know yet, on Sunday. Aunt Pat says its a boxer and he seems as excited to see us as we are to see him. Chloe and Katie ran to the fence to say hello, and he seemed very excited to see us. Their back yard doesn't butt up against ours, so we can see each other, but not sniff. Aunt Pat doesn't like it when we bark at each other. She thinks we make too much noise and she doesn't want us annoying the neighbors. Hopefully, some day we'll get to sniff each other out.

Daddy came home with a surprise the other day. He bought us a new dog bed for his room!

It's just like the one in the computer room/den that we lounge in during the day and Katie and Chloe like to sleep in at night. I like to rest in the new bed if I've been on the floor for a while in the den and Aunt Pat's busy on the computer.

As you can see, Chloe's down to one hair bow in this photo, and that bow didn't last too long after this photo was taken this morning. Bow on or off, she still looks good after her trip to the Groomer on Friday. Thankfully, she hasn't gone digging in the garden, or rolled in the wet grass.
Lately, however, we've been eating a bit more grass. I don't think it's excessive, even though we've dug...well, I've dug a couple of divots out of the grass. We're cleaning out the areas where Daddy and Aunt Pat would have to put grass seed in next Spring anyway! Plus, dethatching is good for a lawn! Since Daddy works for a lawn care company, our lawn has to look good. We're just doing our part. Even though Aunt Pat says we eat like cows, I know she knows we're really dogs.

Friday, November 7, 2008

Chloe's Back From the Groomer


You can see from this photo, she really needed to go.


Afterwards, she looks adorable, as usual! The bows look so festive with the holidays coming soon.

Chloe got so excited this morning after Daddy put the leash on her. Katie, though, got worried that Chloe was going to the Vet, and not the groomer. She got a little upset and cried a little after Daddy and Chloe left. Aunt Pat and I reminded Katie of Chloe's appointment with the Groomer, and she calmed down. I think Katie whimpered a little just so she could get a longer tummy rub from Aunt Pat. It made Aunt Pat feel so bad she went to the pet store to get some wee pads, and she brought home some new toys for us! Katie really liked them, and I know she felt better later.


Once Chloe got home, she was still very excited. So much so, that Katie and I had to sniff Chloe to make sure she was okay! She couldn't wait to tell Katie and I about her appointment. They were so nice to her, they gave Daddy extra bandanas for Katie and I to wear on Thanksgiving. Katie and I will wear them with pride. I'll try not to make a mess of it on Thanksgiving. Hopefully, Aunt Pat or Daddy will drop some turkey, some dressing, some pie, or maybe even a drumstick!!

Daddy, Aunt Pat, Katie, Chloe and I want to say Thank You, for everything you do for us. Having people like you who take care of us like you do, is something we're all very thankful for.

Thursday, November 6, 2008

The Stick!


The stick has been added to the Strong National Museum of Play National Toy Hall of Fame!
We always knew how much fun it is to play with a stick. If a stick looks sturdy enough, I'll play with it. When I see Aunt Pat picking them up in the back yard, I go inspect them. If I like it enough, I'll take it from her, or she may even throw it! Chloe's learning what to do with them. So far, she's played mainly with crab apples when we're outside, and with our toys when we're inside.

Poor Aunt Pat can't lay down, because if Chloe wants to play, she'll jump on the sofa and walk across her body and start kissing her face to the point where Aunt Pat can't breathe! So, Aunt Pat will sit up. Then, Chloe will either lay down on the sofa for a tummy rub, or jump off the sofa for play time. They'll play for a little while, then Chloe will go on the dog bed and play with her toy, or run over to me to see what I'm playing with. I'll usually get off the sofa or the floor, and go over to Aunt Pat to either ask for a snack ( all this play gets a girl hungry, you know), or to get a nice tummy rub myself.

If we get a little too rowdy, Katie will give us a good talking to...or barking at. She tries to stay out of the way as much as she can, but sometimes she gets into the action a little.

Tomorrow's a big day for Chloe. She gets to go to the Groomer! She's getting pretty fluffy, and her nails are getting long. I can't wait to see how nice she'll look when she gets home.