A Sad Day

 This is Aunt Pat taking over for this post.  Chloe will be back tomorrow with a new post.  We are sorry to announce the passing of our friend across the street, Tony.  You may remember his visit with us in August of 2009 when his owners went away for the weekend.  In his enthusiasm to see us, he jumped up and accidentally locked the kitchen door when we took him outside.  We couldn't get back inside the house, and we were afraid the neighbors would call the cops on us if we tried to climb through a window,  so he stayed the night.  He was full of energy, and it was really nice to have his positive energy around the house especially since Katie had passed a short time prior to that weekend.

Although we were all fond of Tony, it seemed that Chloe was especially enamored of him.  We would go over to say hello, and the two dogs would inevitably start playing.  Chloe always would watch from her perch in the living room, and whenever Tony would come outside, she'd whine, whimper and bark because she wanted us to take her outside to see him.  On our walks she would sit in front of his house, and wouldn't move for several minutes, in hope he would come out to play.  There were times when we'd have to pick her up and carry her across the street.  Tony was a great dog, and he will be missed.

 

Getting Settled In

Freddy's been with us for three weeks now, and he's making himself right at home.  I've been doing everything I can to make him feel more comfortable, and he seems to appreciate it.  He certainly licks my muzzle often enough, especially when we're both draped across Aunt Pat's lap or we're playing. 

Freddy likes to play with me, which I'm really enjoying.  We'll run around after each other either in the living room and dining room, or even outside. Freddy's finally discovered the chew toys!  He's a great chewer!

Whenever I see him pick up a toy, I have to make sure he knows how to play with it.  I know, he's an adult dog, like me, but I want to be sure he uses the toy properly, and doesn't get hurt.  Plus, with the way he's destroyed, err, chewed the toys, I want to be sure there's something left to play with!

 

 Plus, I want to play too!  He has this game with Aunt Pat in the back yard where he'll play Keep Away.  Aunt Pat will throw him a stick to fetch, but he won't bring it back.  He'll run away from Aunt Pat and dodge and turn until he lays on the ground with the stick to chew it. 

 

Another game we'll play is Tug-of-War.  Freddy's very good at it. I think it's because he gets a really good grip on the toy before we play.  He has to learn to be careful, because he'll pick up the toy a few times and roll it over before he gets the grip he wants to on it.  He's almost bitten Aunt Pat on the foot and on the hip a couple of times, because he uses her as a way to position the toy. 

So far, I've let Freddy win these little contests, because he's new and I don't want his feelings to get hurt.  So what if he has a bigger mouth and stronger jaws than I do.  I know I can play with the big dogs!  I am woman, hear me bark!

What Every Girl Needs!

 Okay, and every boy needs, too.  A day at the spa, err, Groomer!  As you can see from my before photo, I was a little, well, more than a little scruffy.  But a morning of pampering resulted in this:

 

They always do such a lovely job.  I am wearing two bows in this photo, it's just at a jaunty angle.  The other is a little more towards the rear.   

 

This is Freddy's "before" photo.  You really can't see much of a difference between his before and after, but Daddy and Aunt Pat can tell he's not shedding as much.

Freddy behaved very well during his visit.  He was a real gentleman, err, gentledog, and everybody seemed to like him.  I was very happy about that.  You know how guys can be sometimes, especially when you're at a salon.  Some guys don't have the patience for all the girl bark, err, talk that goes on, as well as the gossip.  But, he was a real trooper.  I think he and his Groomer, a guy, were able to talk baseball or football or other guy stuff.  Afterwards, Aunt Pat took us for a walk.  Freddy still limps, but doesn't seem to be in more pain.  Daddy and Aunt Pat want to take him to the Vet they took Heidi to for her therapy to see if they can help him.    Anyway, we helped Aunt Pat with some things she wanted to do upstairs in the bedroom she uses as a computer room.  All in all, it was a lovely day.

I'd Like To Introduce

my new brother, Freddy!  He's a 7 year old Yellow Labrador Retriever.  Same breed as Heidi was, but he's a guy, and he's a different color.  Our Vet connected us with his human. She's having some health problems and needed to find him a good home.  So, they recommended us!  So, she brought him over here a couple of weeks ago, and then, last weekend, we went to his house to visit!  He's a very sweet boy.  Very affectionate, even with me.  Last Saturday he planted a big, wet, sloppy kiss on my face!  Both Daddy and Aunt Pat fell in love with him right away.  I like him, too. 

                                                   
However, as his sister, I have a big responsibility.  I have to show him the ropes around here!  Today, I took it pretty easy on him. Once he got here, we briefly played chase around the back yard.  Sometimes I ran after him, other times he ran after me!  It's all in good fun, of course. I introduced him to one of our neighbors, Mr. S.  His daughter has a yellow lab girl named Stella we've mentioned before. Then we hung out on the sofa and watched a baseball game.

After dinner, Daddy took me for our usual walk around the neighborhood.  He didn't take Freddy.  Freddy limps a little.  He probably has arthritis like Heidi did.  He was limping quite a bit this evening after all the horsing around we did outside.  

 So, Daddy and Aunt Pat are going to take him to the Vet they took Heidi too.  You know, the one where she got to go into the whirlpool, and walk on the treadmill underwater...and generally have people fuss all over her and tell her what a good girl she was.  No, I'm not jealous.  My humans fuss over me and tell me what a good girl I am all the time!

End of the Season Gardening

Aunt Pat and I took advantage of some nice weather to do some end of the season gardening.  I ate, err we picked the rest of the beans.  But, there are still some carrots left, and the strawberries need some tending.  The carrots are delicious, if I do say so myself. 

 

I haven't found any strawberries in a while.  Aunt Pat said it was due to the really hot summer we had.  They're supposed to be ever bearing plants-which means they grow all summer long, but I guess Mother Nature had other plans.

One thing I like more than working in the yard, is laying in the sun.  Laying in the sun and having a tummy rub is the absolute best! If I look a little tired in these pictures, it's because I had a very busy weekend.  Saturday, Daddy and Aunt Pat took me to the pet store!  We bought a present for a new friend of mine and we went to see him.  More details about that this weekend, along with a big announcement...and photos!

Enjoying the Summer

The weather's been so nice, so the best thing to do is to get out and enjoy it!  It won't be long until it gets colder and the snow starts to fall.  The humans have been taking me out for more frequent walkies, which has been nice.  We've met more neighbors and their dogs.  Last night when Daddy had me out for walkies, we saw our neighbor who was walking a lovely Springer Spaniel.  I was so excited to see him.  Our neighbor is dog sitting for a friend, so I wanted to make sure he felt welcome. 

Daddy and Aunt Pat even had a garage sale!  At first when they talked about it, I thought they were going to actually sell the garage!  But, then she walked me past one of the neighbors garage sales, and then I realized what she meant.  Silly humans.  Why call it a garage sale or a yard sale if you're not actually selling the garage or the yard?  Of course, I was at the kitchen door just begging to get out and greet our prospective customers!  Some ladies commented on how cute I am.  Yes, this picture was from earlier in the summer, not too long after I'd gone to the Groomer.  I was waiting for Aunt Pat to let me out so I could go play with the bird  in the back yard. 

But anyway, my friend Lucy came over with her people!  I was so happy to see her.  Aunt Pat brought me out and we ran around the back yard together.  She even took video!  Aunt Pat tried to upload it here, but the system is being a bit buggy right now.

We've also had a couple of other dogs over to visit, and I think one may be coming to live with us! I don't want to say anything else until he's really here, because I'm afraid I'll jinx it. 

 

A Human May Work From Sun To Sun....

 

...but a doggies work is never done!  For the last couple of weeks, there has been a lot of commotion around here. The town hired people to dig up some of the sidewalks and gutters, and to replace them.  Obviously, the workers had their own foreman to supervise them.  But someone from the street needed to step up and make sure the work was done to my, err, our-everyone who lives in the neighborhood's specifications. 

 

So, everyday I would watch from my usual perches in the living room and inspect their work when Daddy or Aunt Pat would take me for walkies.  I had to stop and watch them work, so the workers would know that the residents were concerned and we'd keep our eyes on them.  I figured if they knew they were under extra watchful eyes, they'd do a better job.  

 

The sidewalk looks great.  I was so tempted to immortalize my paw prints in cement, like the famous humans do, but Daddy and Aunt Pat said no.  But, they left these gaps in the pavement around the new gutters.  I can jump over them, but Daddy and Aunt Pat were afraid that the tires on their cars would be damaged.  One of our neighbors but some wood pieces in the gap in front of her driveway.   Daddy did the same thing, although he put more wood in ours.  It's much nicer to walk across the wood instead of jumping like I have to when we're walking and trying to cross the street.  Daddy's like Sir Walter Raleigh-the guy who put his coat over a puddle for Queen Elizabeth!  He's my hero!

So, after all the time I spend on my usual chores plus the extra time supervising the workers, wouldn't you know it, I have to become a flying instructor of all things! 

Aunt Pat took me out to do my potties after dinner one evening and she noticed I was paying close attention to something by the back door.  It was a baby mourning dove that was a little tuckered out.  Aunt Pat said that it was learning to fly and just needed a moment to rest.  Right.  Everyone knows when you fall off a horse, you get right back on so you're not afraid to try it again.  Aunt Pat didn't appreciate my enthusiastic attempts to get the bird flying.  But, the bird did, because he flew right up onto the top step.  He was just getting started, so I kept encouraging him. I got real close to him.  Aunt Pat thought I was going to bite it or eat it or something horrible, so she grabbed me by my collar and took me inside the house.  A little later, Aunt Pat saw the bird in the garden, sunning itself.  By the time I went out to do my pre-bedtime potties, it had gotten into the grass.  So Daddy went outside, picked it up in some gloves and put the bird in the front yard. 
They should've let me out. I whined and barked, but they wouldn't listen.  I was right.  I'm sure if they had listened to me,  and let me out there to coach it, the bird would've gotten over its fear and flown away.

 

I met him again in the back yard a few days later.   He had me chase him around so I could see how well his flying lessons were progressing.  Aunt Pat picked me up and put me in the house again.  She didn't believe we were just playing with each other.  After a bit, he flew away.  

The bird must have put in a good word about me to his friends.  Last week I found a mouse that was in trouble.  It had gotten stuck in the trench Aunt Pat dug for the edging she put in.  I heard it squealing so I tried to dig it out.  I knew it would run away if it could.  But, Aunt Pat picked me up and brought me inside.  Thankfully, Daddy was home, so he went out and freed the mouse because I wouldn't let Aunt Pat out the door without me.  Plus, two nights ago, I woke up and ran all over the house barking.  Daddy went outside with the flashlight and saw a skunk in the front yard!  I don't know what he or she needed.  Daddy took one look at it and came back inside.  He didn't let me out until he was sure it wasn't going to waddle under the fence into our back yard.  I was eager to go outside and get the scoop, but it was pretty stinky out there...even for me.