How Nice They Look!

Katie and Chloe had a great time at Mommy's Thursday. I missed them, but it was nice to have a few extra tummy rubs while they were gone.

This is Chloe the day before her visit to the Groomer.

This is after! There was a little dog beneath that furry coat! No bows this time, but a snazzy patriotic bandanna to celebrate Independence Day holiday next week. She couldn't wait to show off her new look when she got home. Aunt Pat could hardly keep up with her so she could take her picture.


This is Katie before. She was laying out in the sunshine in the backyard getting some sun on her tummy. It's one of the simple joys in life. I think more humans should try it. If more people let the sunshine on their bellies and rolled around in the grass, there would be fewer problems in this world.

This is Katie afterwards. Daddy was getting the biskees out, since I really wanted a snack. All the excitement made me hungry!
She preferred this pose, but it's a little blurry. Katie didn't mind, since you can see her green eyes. Plus, a little blur will disguises a multitude of sins! After the excitement of coming home wore off, we all took a nice nap.

Oops, She Did It Again!

Katie ate another dead bird. It was mine, really I found it under a shrub and was sniffing it out. Finders keepers and all that. But, Aunt Pat noticed me warning Chloe to stay away, and told Chloe to leave it. I thought I was in the clear when Aunt Pat told me to drop it. She turned away to get the trowel Daddy uses to clean up after us with when Katie swooped in and grabbed it.

Aunt Pat was not happy. She tried to massage Katie's jaw joint to get her to open her mouth. It didn't work. Nope, Katie ate her treat, had a big drink of water when we got inside the house, and took a nice nap. Just like the humans at Thanksgiving! Mommy wasn't happy either when Daddy told her.

Mommy came over today and took Katie and Chloe for an overnight! They were so excited! Tomorrow they're going to the Groomers for a beauty treatment. Aunt Pat will post an "after" photo tomorrow once they get home.

I Shouldn't Have Spoken So Soon...

when I talked about Katie's "Ewww" moment. I had one too, yesterday. Aunt Pat was having breakfast in the bedroom she uses for a den. We all hang out there while she's eating and reading the morning news on her computer. Well, lets just say one minute she heard me gag, and the next minute she found a nice...present on the rug right beneath her chair. Thankfully, it was an old rug, but it wasn't machine washable. Aunt Pat cleaned up the big mess and tossed the rug in the garbage.

We're resting on it in this photo. Luckily, a department store she likes was having a sale, and she had a coupon to get extra money off, so she bought a nice new throw rug. This one is a bit cushier than the old one, and can be tossed in the washer if anything happens. I was fine the rest of the day. I ate a little too much grass while we were outside. I can't help myself. It all looks so good!
Katie's been just fine since her little escapade in the yard. She's been patrolling that same spot where she found her little "snack" but hasn't found anything else.
Chloe keeps chasing squirrels that are on the phone lines, and in the shrubs in the yard. I swear she's part bird dog. When she hears a rustle or sees a bird or chipmunk, her ears perk up, she points with her leg and looks around where she heard the noise. All this work tires a girl out. So after a nice tummy rub, Chloe takes her afternoon nap.

Ewww!

Katie ate something she shouldn't have on Saturday and grossed out Aunt Pat. If you get grossed out easily, you may want to stop reading right now.

Still with me? Good. Aunt Pat noticed that Katie was walking towards the back door from beneath the crab tree and had something big in her mouth. Katie looked like she was having a little trouble chewing, so Aunt Pat came over to investigate. Lo and behold, Aunt Pat saw a
little bird leg and foot hanging out of Katie's mouth, with the rest of the bird inside. It was probably dead before Katie got a hold of it. Aunt Pat found one in the same spot a couple of weeks ago, and there was another one near the shrubs in the front yard that morning.
Anyway, Aunt Pat kept telling Katie in that bossy voice of hers to drop it, but Katie kept chewing. When Aunt Pat went to get some gloves to get the bird out, Daddy came out to see what all the rukus was about. He actually put his fingers in Katie's mouth to get the bird out, but by that time, it was gone. Daddy and Aunt Pat watched Katie closely. She took a nice nap after her snack, and napped on and off all day. However, Katie had to have a nerve pill because of a thunderstorm that came through, which made her sleepy too.

Mrs. G was working in her back yard and came over to the fence to see what was going on and to make sure Katie was okay. She even asked Aunt Pat about her today when we were out back. She's always been nice to us.

I've always known that Katie, even though she looks like she inhales her food, knows that chewing thoroughly is the key to good digestion. Everything has come out well in the end...if you know what I mean. Gee, I've never known humans to be that interested in our...backyard deposits before. Katie's fine, although Aunt Pat is still concerned that Katie may have picked up a parasite or something from the bird. I think it's the ex-nurse in her coming out.

A Bunny's Tail Part 3

Tail, instead of tale, get it? The mystery grows. I think Chloe's friend is back. This morning, Daddy and Aunt Pat heard Chloe barking a lot, but Daddy couldn't see what she was barking at.
Later on, Aunt Pat went out to see the trimming Daddy had done to some of the shrubs, when she noticed a hole in the garden, along with some foot/paw prints beside it. We didn't dig this hole! Chloe isn't dirty, neither is Katie, and my feet are too big to leave a print like this! Aunt Pat and Daddy talked about it, and think the bunny did this! It looks like some animal dug into the ground to make a nest to sleep under the plants that are growing there. It's also about the same size as the bunny. Aunt Pat showed Chloe the hole, but Chloe didn't react to it like she does to the fence. Katie and I will have to keep an eye...and a nose out to see what other clues we can find.

It's Been Three Days...

Daddy fixed the fence on Saturday, and we haven't had any indication that the bunny that was stuck on Friday has come back. But, every time we go out, Chloe still goes to that corner of the yard and sniffs for the bunny! She even sat there for a little while this morning before she did her business.

I haven't seen or smelled anything when I've checked, and I've tried to tell Chloe that, but she's a stubborn little thing. We've had some severe thunderstorms and rain last night and today, so I think Chloe must be worried about the rabbit. Katie has been sleepy today. She had to have a pill early this morning when the thunderstorms went through. She gets very scared when we get thunderstorms and she hides under tables or behind the sofa.

Chloe and Katie did have a nice conversation with Lucky last night. We went out to do our
business last evening and Lucky and Katie started barking back and forth. I don't like to listen in on a conversation, but it was nice for them to catch up at the back fence.

We've been checking out the garden, too. Chloe is sniffing one of Aunt Pat's strawberries that are very close to being ripe. Chloe thought they might need another day or two. Aunt Pat thinks so, too.

Daddy's Our Hero!

This morning when Daddy let us out to do our business, we saw a big bunny rabbit in the yard! I think we scared it, and it tried to wiggle underneath the fence escape into the next door neighbor's yard. Chloe got very excited, and she and Katie kept barking at it even though Daddy told us to back away. I backed off, though. You just never know if the rabbits in the yard could be the Easter Bunny in disguise, or somebody working for him. I want to be sure I get biskees in my Easter basket next year...and nothing else.

Well, Daddy saw that the rabbit was stuck under the fence! He was afraid the rabbit would get hurt, or we would get hurt if we got too close. Daddy got the snips out and clipped a link in the fence and helped the rabbit get away! Aunt Pat didn't see any blood on the ground with all the fur the rabbit shed, so she thought the rabbit was unharmed.

Chloe's been very excited all day! Mommy stopped over to see us, and Chloe told her all about it. A thunderstorm moved in so we couldn't go out and show Mommy where it all happened. Katie had to have her nerve pill, so she's been pretty sleepy most of the day.
Now, every time we go outside, Chloe patrols the area to see if the rabbit has come back.
Daddy, Aunt Pat and I tried to tell her that the rabbit is gone, but she keeps sniffing and looking into the neighbor's yard for any sign of our visitor. I'm sure Chloe would love to know if the bunny is okay and make friends with it. Aunt Pat just wants to make sure the bunny doesn't eat the lettuce and the strawberries that are getting ripe in the garden. Hmm. I wonder if Aunt Pat would let me eat a strawberry from the garden? I'll have to practice my begging bark, and all the cute looks I can muster. Maybe if I get Chloe to practice her cuteness, it'll get her mind off the rabbit!

Today's Weigh in and Scary Weather

Katie went back to the Vet today for her weigh-in, and the news wasn't what Daddy or Aunt Pat expected. Katie's up to 20 pounds, and has gained a pound since her last visit. The Vet said she wasn't dangerously obese, but that her weight should be lower. So, we're all going on a diet. We won't be getting as many biskees as we did before. Rats! Katie will also get more of the canned food, since it's lower in calories than the dry. She gets stressed whenever the leash comes out-she pants a lot and just looks scared, so taking her for walks isn't a good idea. She looks sleepy here, because Daddy had to give her one of her thunderstorm pills. There was a thunderstorm that came through this morning, and Katie got very panty and tried to climb under the table. It wasn't very bad here, but it did do damage elsewhere. There are more expected later this afternoon, so she should sleep through them.

During this hot weather Chloe and I have been helping Aunt Pat inside. Yesterday we helped her sort some magazines. We've also helped her get her yarn in some kind of order. She has some room for some of this in the closet, and will put more of the yarn under her bed. It'll be nice to have more room to lay down when Katie and Chloe are with us.

Keeping Cool

It's been very hot and humid the last few days, which can be dangerous for us. Daddy and Aunt Pat won't let us stay outside for long because they don't want us to overheat. We don't stay outside for very long anyway. It can be a little hard to...ahem..perform one's daily necessities when someone is standing over you, watching. Well, they really aren't standing over us, but they'd like us to keep the sniffing around to a minimum. When we are outside, we generally stay in the shady areas.

If anyone starts panting too hard, it's inside the house immediately for some cool air and fresh cool water. They've even put a few ice cubes in our water dish as a nice treat. It's nice and comfy inside because the house is air conditioned. I'll sometimes lay down on the exposed tile in the family room because it feels nice against my tummy.

I scared Aunt Pat today. We were playing fetch this morning, when it was cool out. I went to get the ball and tried to stop because the ball bounced to one side. Well, I turned while I slid and got the ball. Aunt Pat noticed that I was limping, favoring my right front leg. I still wanted to play, but Aunt Pat tossed the ball right to me! I wasn't happy, so she only threw it a little way, so she could see if I was still limping. I was a little, so Daddy called the Vet. I felt fine. I ran up the stairs to get my biskee, and Daddy and Aunt Pat pet me and I didn't flinch or whine, and there was no warmth or swelling. The doctor said to watch me, to see how I did today, and if I needed to, I could come in to see him. Well, thankfully I'm fine. Aunt Pat hasn't seen any limping since early afternoon, and I'm still running around as usual. Especially when there's a biskee involved. I really don't want to go to the Vet's tomorrow with Katie. She's going for a quick weigh-in to see if she's lost any weight since she's been eating our new food.

I'm Getting Worried...

about Daddy and Aunt Pat. When I bark and start jumping up and down, they normally know that I'm telling them I want a biskee. Especially when I do this after we've come in from outside, or after they've eaten. Heck, if they're not going to share their food, the least they can do is give us a biskee. But lately, they've been saying "Show me" like they don't know where the biskees are. Have they been spending too much time in the sun? I run up the stairs, barking and making darn sure the humans are behind me. Then I'll jump and bark when we get to the cupboards by the refrigerator. Daddy will open the door and get me the biskee, but Aunt Pat will sometimes pat the cupboard to make sure it's the one. I don't know, maybe it's the "brain fog" she keeps talking about. Eventually we'll get our biskees. Although, a couple of days ago Daddy and Aunt Pat were laughing about this, so I wonder if this is something they consider a trick that I'm doing. If it is, well, then, that's okay...as long as we get our biskees.


Chloe must think she's Superdog. Yesterday, when we were outside, she spotted a squirrel running across one of the wires on the pole. The chase was on. Chloe ran below and barked, following that squirrel until it went into the neighbor's tree. I swear she thought she could fly up and catch it! Katie and Chloe also barked at a cat that wandered into the S's yard. Katie used to bark at the cat next door when we lived in our old house. I think Katie wanted it to go away, but Chloe wanted it to come over. With every bark, she leaned back like she does when she wants to play, and ran around in front of the fence. The cat didn't care. She (or he) hunched down and crawled under the gate into the S's front yard. Every time we went out, Chloe ran to the fence looking for her friend. She was very disappointed when she didn't see her friend again.

The Neighbors Had a Cook Out

but they didn't invite us! Sunday, the G's cooked out on their back patio. Chloe got so excited, she sat by the fence and watched. And watched...and watched. But they didn't share! You can bet that yesterday when Mrs. G was out in the back yard, Katie barked a piece of her mind. I don't think it did any good, though. Mrs. G probably though Katie was barking "hello" since her barks sounded like they normally do whenever Mrs. G in in her yard.

Sunday, we had our first Heartworm pills. Aunt Pat hid them in some bread. Katie spit hers out, so Aunt Pat had to put hers in another piece of bread. Then, she gave us another piece, too. Mary Poppins was wrong. A spoonful of sugar doesn't help the medicine go down. Bread, however, works nicely.

I Broke Down

and tried the dog bed. Chloe looked so comfortable on it, I had to lay on it.

Wouldn't you know, I fell asleep. I had a nice nap. We still use the dog bed in Daddy's room, especially if Aunt Pat's on the computer for a while. Chloe likes to sleep there at night, too.


Now that the weather's nicer, we've been staying out for longer periods of time. We're checking out the garden and finding nice shady places to sit under the forsythia, the crab tree and the lilac bushes by the house. Chloe and Katie occasionally wander through the garden, doing a closer inspection on what Aunt Pat's been doing. She found out from the ASPCA: Animal Poison Control Center that many of the plants in the back yard are toxic to dogs. She and Daddy dug out the Lily of the Valley, and the Iris to replant elsewhere. Daddy put down weed barrier and stones to mulch around the new plants Aunt Pat put in. They're also trying to dig up the tulips, but Aunt Pat's had a hard time getting down far enough to get them out. They have more things to dig out, but they're almost done. The ASPCA also had a list of plants that are safe, and Aunt Pat's taken it to garden stores when she's gone shopping. She's put in some plants, but needs to get some more for one corner of the back.