Sniff, sniff..........bye bye Brooke

Oh what a bittersweet day I had yesterday.  I went to see my favorite Vet, Brooke, yesterday and it will be the last time I do see her.  Since mommy and sis and I are moving at end of month, we wont be able to come to Brooke for our check ups, and shots and belly rubs and it was sad, mommy almost cried in the office when Brooke was saying good bye.

She has been my vet for wow, over 6 years if not more.  When mommy and my then daddy first got me they took me to this vet that was close to our home, and I was 9 weeks old, and they quickly learned that they did not like this vet as he kept talking about me and calling me a girl but clearly I was a boy dog, and mommy looked at daddy and said, "hmmm, how can you miss that" so they opted to get a new vet and then they found Buckeystown vet and wow, it has been bliss since.  But Brooke did not come on board till I was around I think 5 or 6, and she was the only one mommy wanted me to see as we had a connection and I like Brooke.  She always gave me so many kisses and hugs and belly rubs and was just so sweet.

I hope I find a vet or mommy finds a vet as talented and nice.  Lately as I have gotten older, I have been scaring mommy big time with these new fatty lumps that I seem to be getting and mommy rushes me right in for a check up.  So, lets just say since January I have been to see Brooke about oh close to a dozen times but I knew in my heart I was going to be moving so I wanted to make sure I got my visits in.  This last time mommy was pretty worried, she found this new lump on my neck and brought me in but Brooke took a biopsy and found it was just another fatty lump, she called them old man lumps on the other visit.  Only mommy worries about everything, so I take advantage of that you know what I mean.  Haaaa.  But, it was a sad day as it was my last visit and I am going to miss everyone at Buckeystown Vet because I was always well taken care of even if boarded and when groomed and when I had my teeth cleaned and the good ole, snip, snip.

So, well, I was so sad yesterday but mom brought Dakota over as we are watching her for the neighbor's next door and that was well, worthy of it's own blog post!!!!

OH YEAH!!! IT"S MY BIRTHDAY!!!

Oh yeah!!! I am 11 years old today!  I had a fun day with mommy, she had friends come over for dinner, and they were nice, I really liked them.  They brought mommy a gift, Mozart, we will listen to that together.  Then after they left, mommy shared a very small piece (bite) of chocolate cake with me, then she brushed my teeth.

Not sure I enjoyed that as it was directly after the bite of cake, so there is this lovely chocolate flavor then a burst of chicken flavor.  Well, after she spent around 200 for my teeth cleaning a couple of days ago, I kind of figured she would keep up on the brushing.  

Then we went out on the deck and Dakota was outside, so mommy asked if we could have a play session and then Dakota came over to play.  You know, I figured, a young sweet lab comes to play, it's my birthday and well, I thought it would be OK to get my groove on with her.  But nooooo, mommy said when I tried to hump Dakota "I did not bring her over as your birthday present, it's your birthday, but not your b-i-r-t-h-d-a-y, get me!"  Basically meaning that just because it was my birthday it did not mean I was going to get a cool birthday present but hey I tried, what do dogs do right???

OH YES!!! WE ARE MOVING SOON!!!! Our house had a buyer and only after 2 months, so we are all excited, mommy, sis and I.  Mommy said I do not act like I am 11, she still sees me as a puppy and I do act like one, probably because she takes good care of me.  I try not to pay attention to the vet bills, she takes me all the time.  She is one of those overprotective mommies but I love her, I think my sis is going in soon, like Monday.  Mommy wants her checked out as she seems like she has dry skin, hell, I just say throw some water on her and she will moisten up, oh damn did I just say that????

I love my sis, she is fun.  Oh so sweet, the other night in bed, she actually rubbed her face on me and I think wanted to get close and give me love, but I am so afraid of her devil claws I do not want to take any chances.  Therefore i moved away from her approach. Mommy said I was being mean, but hey I have to protect myself.  Always anticipate an attack that way you wont be caught off guard!!! Well, it is my birthday and I am getting sleepy so good night.

Zombie Pets

I took this picture in the dark of me and my sister to show mommy how her eyes glow in the dark (Which freaks me out) but mommy said after looking at this picture that she has zombie pets because both our eyes glow, but she loves us anyway and for me not to fear my sister as my eyes glow at night too.  But I think my eyes look this way from the camera's flash, but look closely at my sister's eyes, they look white!!!!!!

And it is not the flash I tell you because when there is no flash and it is pitch black in the room, and I look at her when she is laying next to me, she lifts her lids and all I see are glowing white eyes.   In earlier posts I stated that I fear she is the devil's spawn, and now I fear I have proof, she acts so innocent when mommy is around but then alone, those eyes, those eyes, they haunt me!!!!!!

My beautiful sister, Mandy

So this is what my sister Mandy does all day, she sits near a window looking for birds.  We have three beautiful trees in front of our home and she sits there every day looking at all the little birdies that she wants to pounce on, which is OK, but NOT AT 6 AM IN THE FREAKING MORNING, she makes this cackling sound in the back of her throat when she sees one she wants to eat and it wakes me up from my peaceful slumber.  Mommy has tuned her out but not me, I hear a noise and I am awake, ready to protect the house and it irritates me to discover it is my sister playing some kind of 007 game in the early morning hours.

And mommy wonders why I sit and stare at her with such disdain in the early mornings.  I just sit there and stare at her and I swear she smiles back at me, I swear she does, her little whiskers flicker and flicker like she is giving me tiny little smiles over and over again, she always finds a way to get me.  She is just jealous that I got to go to canine spa, but hey, I would love for her to go with us, I would love to see her in the pool (image of me with an evil grin) but mommy wont allow that.  

I am Mommy's boy but Mandy is Mommy's girl, and she really is a princess in this house, but I am the prince, mommy balances us out but we do fight for her attention and we do things to each other when mommy is not home that I am sure mommy would pull her hair out if she knew, but she does know about Mandy stalking me.  She has caught her doing that a few times already.  But lately Mandy has not done that either in front of mommy or behind her back.  Hmmm, I guess that evil spell is over which is good.

But I do like to chase her when mommy is not home and we run around like mad dogs, I think mommy knows something was up when she comes back from the store as she can see skid marks on the carpets, and by skid marks I mean a tuff of fur here and there in a straight line from the quick zip both Mandy and I do when we dig our claws into the carpet to stop ourselves and turn around and face the other.  It is a quick stop, mommy is not a dummy, maybe that is why she has been taking me everywhere lately with her.

But all in all, Mandy and I do love each other, as a matter of fact, she really loves me, when daddy was with us Mandy kind of stayed to herself a lot, but once he left she came out of hiding, she even began rubbing up against me, rubbing her head on my head, sleeping next to me, and now at night, she, mommy and I all sleep in the same bed and even though it is a kind size bed, we still do not have enough room, but Mandy is very cute when she sleeps, and so soft, occasionally we actually touch while sleeping and then in the morning we go right back to "don't touch me" mode.  We love each other, and she is my beautiful sister, even if she does get on my nerves from time to time........

My new indestructible toy, has worn me OUT!!!

Well mommy did it, she finally did it, she found me a toy that gives me full mental stimulation, exercise, treats, and wears me out.  She found it at the Pet Loft,  you put treats in it which are hard to get out!

We are talking about a good hour entertainment here and it is FUN!!  She helps me out at times when she sees me struggling to get a treat, she will come over and pull it out a little to give me an edge, but this toy is unbelievable for sure.  It is made out of some kind of rubber that is soft so it works against your efforts, you would have to try for yourself to understand.  It also comes with this large disk like treat which is so hard, a knife wont cut it, and trust me mommy tried as she struggled to get it in the correct way and she did not have the strength to pull the rubber apart to get it in.  Once you get it in, you do not get it out unless you have canine teeth and tongue to eat it, which provides at least two days worth of entertainment, but cleans teeth too.

Which is why mommy bought it, she has been trying to clean my teeth for me, but that has never worked, and soon she will be taking me in to get my teeth cleaned, but in the meantime, she gave me this toy and we both love it, she is my best buddy, she is always finding something new for me play with and new places to go to, like the canine spa, WE WENT AGAIN LAST WEEK!!!! YEAH!!!  I love that place, I swam for over 30 minutes again, with the pool all to myself and had a blast!!!

Mommy would throw toy after toy for me to run and jump in after and I did a great job, as always, I am a water dog of course so to expect me not to do a great job well, that would be underestimating me and my desire and love for the water.  Mommy promises to find a new spa for me when we move, and hope that is soon, we are hoping our house sells quickly!!!  It is very hard for her to keep the house spotless with me in it, as I like to shed, oh well, sue me, but hey, I probably would not shed so much if she would not rub me so much and massage me so much and chase me in the house and wrestle with me so much.  those things do make my loose hair fall out, and she does brush me, oh yes she does so do not think she does not do it.  We sit on the deck together in the evening and she brushes me over and over, but I just shed.  

She even brings my sister Mandy out to sit on her lap and brush her too outside, it is so funny, sometimes I wish Mandy would hop down and get away from mommy so I could chase her around the yard, but mommy would not like that one bit as Mandy is an indoor cat only, but hey, what do brother's and sister's do anyway but have fun right, and give each other hell.

She gives me hell, I give her hell, and all is well in our household.  And then of course the real balance in our household comes from mommy loving us and caring for us with all the love and affection that she has for us, we are truly a happy little family..

canine spa

OK, not my best look I have to admit, my eyes look a little strange, but I had a blast at the canine spa in Dillsburg, PA!!!  Mommy took me as a surprise, it was such a long ride, 50 minutes and well worth it when we got there and I discovered I was GOING SWIMMING!!!

I have the best mommy in the world, it was a grand surprise to say the least and I swam for a little over an hour.  Mommy and I had the place to ourselves for about 40 minutes then five other dogs showed up but by then I was pooped and ready to go home.  

So mommy washed me and dried me off then loaded me up and we went home where I was in need of a massage as I am an old man and swimming that long was good for me, but a little tiring.  Mommy knew it was time to leave by watching me and if not for her I would have stayed there all day and collapsed from exhaustion, when it comes to water I have no boundaries and will swim and swim till the cows come home!

Mommy did a great job rubbing when we got home, she does it so well, and then she tucked me into my dogie bed and covered me with a blanket and I slept all night, it was a good day and she promises me it will be a weekly outing for us both.  Now, if I can only get the cat to swim we can have one hell of a family outing, but I just can not seem to get my sister Mandy to enjoy the water, when mommy leaves us alone I try and dunk her in the toilet but she runs away and hides.  Oh well, still need to work on her but only when mommy is away.

I want to suck your stuffing!!

OK, so I like a little vampire action here and there so sue me.  This is my favorite stuffed bear, he is a Halloween bear and just playing with him makes me want to bite his neck, and the stuffing is so tasty how can anyone dog pass that up.  I find a little rough play with my stuffed toys keeps me sane.  I enjoy a good bite session and as I have advanced in age I have kept my toys in tact, no stuffing oozing out from ripped seams, I just bite and bite and bite, and if stuffing comes out I eat it.

Although my favorite thing to do is take my toy outside with me but mommy does not approve of this as i end up leaving them out there and then they are ruined, like Ducky, he has been out in the elements for three weeks now, but mommy promised to wash him and make him close to new again.  I just love that little yellow squeaky duck.  Mommy found a new game for us to play, it is called "toss the treat" mommy throws a treat in the back yard and I run after it, I get great exercise this way as I run and keep running as I want a treat.  I for some reason just wont run after a ball and bring it back to her.

I usually make her come to me to get it and then have her throw it again.  I like this game a lot, but mommy says it is not normal, she should not be retrieving, I should be, so she came up with this new game in the back yard and I have to say, I like to eat so I run and run for those treats.

And just when I think I have her trained, ha, she comes back and finds a way to get me to run.  You may think I am lazy but I am not, I just do not want to run, it is a choice.  I choose not to unless there is something in it for me, like a treat, then I run.  And now it is time to turn in as we have a long day tomorrow getting the yard in tip top shape.