Pre-Blog
Diary |
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5.24.01 Gosh, it's been a long time since I've written in my diary. Sorry to keep you waiting! A lot of neat stuff has been happening and something tells me there is more to come. Well, let's see... in March, Mom and Dad went on a long trip and left me at home. I am not sure where they went but it had something to do with that church and those bridesmaids I heard them talking about a long time ago. Jefferson and I stayed home and this guy came to stay with us. I think I heard Mom and Dad call him "Joe." He was very nice and I had a lot of fun with him. After they got back from their trip, I started going to school again. I had finished my first agility class at the end of February, and this one started sometime in late March. It was a blast and guess what? I learned how to do the teeter! I learned all other kinds of words at school too, like table, over, a-frame, plank, tire, weave, and tunnel. On the last night of school, Mom and Dad brought the weave poles home! That is the only thing I still have much trouble with. I am not sure exactly why we took them from the school, but they smell like school and that makes me happy. Maybe I will get good at them soon. I think something else must be getting ready to happen... like maybe Mom and Dad are going off on another long trip again. They keep talking about a place called North Carolina, and I hear them saying things like "None of these houses allow pets" or "This one has a fenced yard." I know what a yard is, because Mom's Mom and Dad have one. I like to go there because they have lots of sticks. Anyway, back to the subject, I think something strange is going on because Mom and Dad are talking about all this stuff a lot. Also the last night of school there was all this hugging and talking about new schools, and that has never happened on the last night of school before. I will let you know if I find out more about it. Whatever North Carolina is, if I am going, I hope they have lots of water for me to swim in and sticks for me to play with. Well, that's about it for now... gotta get back to my nap. 12.6.00 Boy do I have a lot of news! I am not sure where to start. First of all, as an early birthday present (my birthday was November 9, I am a big girl now), I got a kitten! You know I had been wanting a pet. His name is Jefferson (named after some human, Thomas Jefferson, have you ever heard of him?) and he has stripes on his body and he is kind of strange. When I first got him I was SO happy! I don't think he was as happy, but now we are best friends. We play chase every now and then and sometimes I start it but sometimes he starts it, so I don't get yelled at very much about that anymore. For some reason he likes to climb on my head and bite my ears. I don't know why he does that but I guess it's okay. I try to have patience for him because after all, he is just a baby. Sometimes we even curl up and sleep together, and that is kind of nice. He is a good little brother most of the time. Today we got into some trouble, though. A few days ago, the humans brought in this tree and put all this junk on it, balls and little sticks that looked like treats and stuff like that. I was not allowed to go near that tree except to smell it politely and Jefferson was not supposed to go near it either. Since he is a baby he doesn't seem to know very much and so he would try to play with the balls and he would get sprayed with a water sprayer. I know better than that. Anyway so today we were home by ourselves for just a couple of hours, and that Jefferson decided he HAD to play with the tree and those ornaments and stuff. I told him that we would get in trouble but he didn't believe me, he just kept trying to play and sometimes he would knock an ornament off onto the floor. Well I know that things on the floor are usually mine so I figured if those ornaments weren't going to be on the tree anymore I might as well do something with them. So I took some of those shiny balls to all my favorite spots and chewed on them. They were very crunchy and fun to bite but they didn't really taste all that good. Then Jefferson knocked off a couple of other kinds of ornaments and I tried those too. They were a little bit better but still not as good as real treats. All in all I chewed up 4 of those balls and 3 other kinds. I might have eaten some of those things that the balls were hanging on but I really don't know. Anyway, tonight I haven't felt so good and so now I have to eat a high fiber diet for dinner and try to take it easy. Jefferson is a stinker, he got me in trouble and he got me sick too! Good news! In January I get to start my third class at school. This one is going to be sort of different from the other ones, I think. It has something to do with agility. I don't know what it is but sometimes I have seen dogs on TV running and jumping and going through these tubes and stuff and it looks like fun. I hope that is agility! Mom said that I wouldn't be doing too much jumping yet because my bones still aren't done growing, but maybe we will just learn about jumping and then I will get to practice when I get a little bit older. Oh wow, I know what I didn't tell you about yet. I got to go to the ocean! It was at the beginning of October and it was SO MUCH FUN!! There was this water that was real noisy and moved around a lot and sometimes it went over my head. But I had a good time chasing after sticks and digging in that sand stuff. I've seen sand before on a golf course, so when I was at the ocean I knew it was the same stuff. Also right after I got to go to the ocean I got to meet my cousin Tanilla. She looks just like me except she is littler. She is a lot of fun to play with and I hope that I get to see her again soon. I think actually I might get to see her on about December 16 or 17, but I'm not sure when that is. Mom has told me that we are going on a big trip for Christmas. We are going to spend lots of time at her mom and dad's house. That's good because I really like them and I like their backyard. It is a really fun place to play. Well, I hope you all have a good Christmas and get to spend lots of time with the humans and poochers that you love most. I hope that Santy Paws brings me lots of toys and treats and socks and scrunchies and maybe even a few more of those shiny balls, oh, wait, maybe not since they make me sick. Anyway, have fun and I'll see you later! 7.20.00 Well, it has been a while since I got a chance to write in my diary, and boy do I have a lot to write about! At the end of May, Mom and Dad started acting really strange... I think it is because they got engaged, whatever that means. They have been talking to other people on the phone a lot and have been having lots of long conversations with each other. These conversations must be important, because if I try to get them to play with me during one of them, they put me in my bed. No fair!! But they seem very excited and happy, so I guess it's okay by me. I keep overhearing stuff that I think is about me though, like "No, they won't allow dogs in the church" and "She could wear a purple collar to match the bridesmaids' dresses." What's a church? What are bridesmaids? If anyone knows, maybe you could send an email to my mom that has my name on it. I am finished with my first round of classes at school. I love school!!! And just a few days ago I got the best news: I get to start school again on August 2! I am not sure what else there is I could learn, because I thought I learned it all in the first class. Let me tell you about that... I learned sit, down, and stand with hand signals, I learned a new way to stay, I started learning "back" and "leave it"-- I don't like that "leave it" business. Why doesn't anyone want me to have any fun? Anyway, there were lots of cool dogs there and I think I sort of learned that I don't always have to play with every dog I see. There was Buster, who looked sort of like me, and Mia, and Max, who also looked like they were related to me. There was this one really big dog that barked at me if she thought I was getting out of line, but Mom and Dad thought she was cool. On the last day of class, we had some games and we got points for how well we did. I got 14 points out of 15 possible points, and I had the most in the class. I am feeling quite proud of myself, and Mom and Dad have been kidding around and calling me "valedictorian", but I don't know what that means. I hope it's a compliment! Anyway, I go back to school on August 2, and I think it has something to do with CGC, but I don't know what that is, exactly. Mom keeps saying that maybe someday I'll have some letters after my name. Oh well, I'll figure it out when August 2 rolls around. Before then, I think we must be doing something pretty important. Mom has been packing lots of boxes, and usually when she starts putting stuff in bags or boxes, that means we're going somewhere. I don't know if it's another trip or what. I'll let you know if I find out. Let's see, what else has been happening this summer? I got to go to see Mom's parents again, and that was fun. I was better behaved this time (the first time, I was just a kid and everything was SO exciting!). Also, last week, some friends of Mom and Dad's came to visit. They didn't stay with us, but they kept showing up all the time and knocking on the door. It was very exciting. There were four of them, a man and woman and boy and girl. I think their names were David, Teri, Ben, and Grace. I really liked them and we had a lot of fun together. Ben and Grace took me places with Mom and Dad, like the field and the park. I hope they come back to visit soon! I also overheard that they are getting a puppy just like me. It is going to be my cousin and her name is going to be Tanilla. She is going to look like me, same color and everything. I am pretty sure that Mom wants to go visit her, and I really hope I get to go along. I am good with babies. I met one in the park a while back and I was very nice to it... I even let it bite me on the neck. So I hope I get to go meet this Tanilla I've heard so much about. With all this riding in the car I've been doing (besides these trips, I help Mom out when she runs errands if it's not too hot), they went and bought me a seatbelt. It's red and yellow and black and it's called a Ruff Rider. Mom thinks I look like a search and rescue dog when I wear it, but I'm not so sure. Whenever they say we're going for a ride, I have to stand still while they put it on. I don't exactly like it, but if it means I get to go for a ride I guess I'll be good and let them put it on me. Lately I've decided that I want a pet. I get kind of bored sometimes while Mom and Dad aren't with me and there's not much to do that won't get me into trouble. I think that if I had a dog or one of those things that kind of looks like a dog (Dad says it's a cat), I'd be able to have lots more fun. Last night I met three cats. I was very nice and laid down so they could get used to me before we started playing, but they never would make friends with me. Every time I got close to them they made funny noises and I had to do a lot of running around to make myself feel better. I think that if I got to raise one of them myself, it'd know how to play, don't you agree? Well, I keep telling Mom and Dad what a good idea it is to get me a pet, but so far they haven't done anything about it except tell me I have to wait. Boo! Well, I had better go, I have bones to chew on and toys to play with, so I can't spend all day writing in this diary. I hope you'll stop by again soon! PS-- I forgot to tell you, I ate another one of Mom's hair scrunchies but this time it didn't make me sick. That's because I'm bigger now. :) I hope she buys some more soon, those things are tasty! 5.1.00 First of all, many thanks to Mom for typing this out for me. This morning I had to go in for some surgery... I'm not exactly sure what it was, but Mom said that it meant I wouldn't ever have any babies. Well, that's fine by me... I don't want to lose my girlish figure! Anyway, I'm home now-- wearing a nice bandana with apples on it-- and resting comfortably, but I am a little too drugged up to type. Lots of stuff has happened since the last time I wrote in my diary. Around the 9th of March, I got to take a big trip to my Mom's parents house. I got to spend sooooo much time outside... I was really happy. There were so many sticks and leaves to eat, plus something new called pine straw. I don't know what it was, but it was tasty. I am developing quite a varied appetite. Anyway, in the backyard there was this house that was just the right size for me. I wasn't sure about it at first, but then I decided I liked it. During this same trip, I also got to meet Dad's dad. That was fun too... he kept calling me "old Blue".... another nickname to add to the list. Anyway, Mom's mom spent a lot of time with me and sent me home with lots of goodies... a pillow to lie on, some flowerpots to chase, and some rags to chew on. I really like traveling. Riding in the car is fun, even for long periods of time. I wonder when our next trip will be? Now that the weather is warming up, I am learning how to swim. I have been twice and I think it is great fun. I get very excited when I come out of the water and I like to run laps at full speed on the shore. I am looking forward to going swimming all summer long! On Good Friday, Mom and Dad took me to an Easter Biscuit Hunt at Wiscoy Pet Food Co. I LOVE going there anyway, but this time was extra special. I lined up with 4 or 5 other dogs, and once they said "GO!" we had three minutes to find as many biscuits as we could. They were everywhere! I found 19... the winners found 29. I think that if Mom and Dad hadn't been worried about cheating, I would've won. Of course, there might be another reason why I didn't win... read on. I spent the week before Easter sick as a dog (ha ha!). Mom didn't know this at the time, but I ate one of her hair scrunchies early in the week, probably on Sunday night. I was sick Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday, so on Wednesday night, I thought maybe eating another one of those scrunchies would make me feel better. It didn't really help, and Mom took me to the vet on Thursday (I love to go there, it is so much fun!). Dr. Metrey (who is SOOOOO nice, by the way) told Mom to only feed me rice and cottage cheese for the next few days to see if it would settle my stomach. No treats or Milk Bones, boo! Well, the next afternoon, Mom was talking on the phone and I was in my bed... I got sick. Mom came running in to see what was going on... it looked like she was getting ready to take the scrunchies away from me, so I ate them again! Finders keepers! Mom got right on the phone to Dr. Metrey and things went downhill from there. First Mom put a whole bunch of salt on the back of my tongue. She did this three times. I don't know what she was trying to accomplish (and I'm not a snail) but I have an iron stomach... nothing can hurt me. When Dad came home, they squirted some really nasty stuff called hydrogen peroxide down my throat with a turkey baster (I'm not a turkey either... don't they know I'm a dog?). In a couple of minutes I was sick again and they grabbed those scrunchies. Rats! They were amazed that there were two of them... at the time they only knew about the one I ate on Wednesday night. Oh well. What they didn't understand is that I get this trait from my mom, Kate. Apparently when she was my age, she liked to eat shop rags on a regular basis. I have to keep the family traditions going! Family is important, ya know? So anyway, it was only a couple of hours after they took those scrunchies away from me that we went to the biscuit hunt. I should've been on the DL, but I had to compete anyway (I'm very competitive). If I'd been in tip-top shape I know I would've beaten that bloodhound and that cocker spaniel. Besides, they were lower to the ground than me... there should be some kind of height regulation, don't you think? For those of you who are interested in my education, let me tell you that I've learned a new command: roll over! I can only roll to my left, but I know how to fix my back legs to do it if they are lying the wrong way. And, in a few weeks I'm going to start some puppy classes. I expect to learn a lot and maybe I will be the teacher's pet! :) Check back soon to see how things are going! 2.18.00 So you want to know more about those pictures that were taken of me around 3 months of age? Well, I have some stories to tell. My biggest accomplishment of late has been winning the campaign to be allowed onto the couch. Usually while Mom was working at her desk and had her back turned to me, I would hop up on the couch and lay my head between my paws, making sure not to bite anything. When Mom would turn around, there I would be, behaving like a little angel except for the fact that I was not supposed to be on the couch in the first place. Finally Mom decided that she would never get any work done if she had to always be getting me off of the couch, and she and Dad had a little conference. They talked about how they weren't going to "give in" to me, but instead were going to invite me onto the couch from the floor, like it was their idea and not mine. They think they're smart, but I know that I am terribly cute and irresistible, and I use it to my advantage. For any of you puppies out there reading this, I guarantee that this method will work if you really want to gain access to the couch. One fine Sunday afternoon, Mom and Dad took me to Mom's advisor's house. Her name is Jan, and she has a big chocolate Lab girl named Nutmeg. We played and romped in the snow for an hour, and it was so much fun. Nutmeg is about 4 years old, and she has lots more energy than me! I was getting tired by the end, and I looked for places to hide so I could rest. That bench was an excellent hiding spot-- no way could Nutmeg fit under there! Nutmeg and I also had a toy exchange. She played with my Jolly Ball, and I played with her barbell. I was really impressed by the way she could pick the whole Jolly Ball up in her mouth... I still have to use the handle. For some reason, Mom and Dad had these boxes in my crate. I think it had something to do with housetraining, whatever that is. Anyway, these mean old boxes were in my way, and I didn't have enough room to lie down and stretch out. So, I decided to redecorate. Guess what, it worked! The first time I did it, they took out one box at the very back, which gave me about another 12 inches of room. That was okay for a while, and then I felt cramped again. I could never get comfy. I tried the redecorating thing again, and they finally took all of the boxes out! YAY! I have soooo much room now, and I like being in the back of the crate sometimes instead of always up by the door. Right before Valentine's Day, Mom and Dad gave me this thing called a Buster Cube. It is this big blue cube, and they put food inside it. I have to push it around with my nose and my paws to get the food to come out. I'm not totally sure what I think of it... it takes me so long to eat a meal now! But I get really excited when they start filling it up. Hey, I have to tell you what kinds of things Mom and Dad have taught me. I know how to sit, lie down, and come when they call me. Lately they've been telling me a new word, "stay." I think I'm catching on, but it's pretty hard since I like to keep tabs on what Mom and Dad are doing at all times. I also know some other words... "food", "treat", "bone", and "cookie". Each of those words stands for a different yummy thing that I get to eat. I love to eat! Okay, I think that's about it for now. I hope you'll stop by again soon! |
