Hooray! It's Halloween and my Birthday!!!!!

Today is a very special day in my life.  It's my birthday!

Actually, when the Dog Officer took me from my first family, he forgot to ask when my birthday was.  I guess it must have slipped his mind.  Any way, when I went to live at the VCA Animal Hospital, they had to estimate my age and when my birthday would be.  They told my Mom that my birthday would be at the end of October.  My Mom, who can be rather forgetful, decided my birthday should be on Halloween, October 31st.  Plus, our good friend, Lisa (Casey, the Dog's, Mom) has a Halloween birthday.  How exciting is that!  I get to share my birthday with Lisa!

My Mom and Dad have already said Happy Birthday to me.  Some dogs - not me - get a birthday cake.  Check out this example:

 

How cute is that!  I hope it's meat flavored because dogs like the taste of meat rather than sugar.

 

Like I always say, celebrate your birthday by having a delicious treat - like that cake - YUM!  When it's someone's birthday, make the person feel very special.  I hope I made Lisa feel special because I'm wishing her a Happy Birthday in my blog.  This is the first time I've wished anyone a happy birthday in my blog. 

 

Also, have a safe and happy Halloween.  Be super careful when you're walking in the dark, especially when you cross the street.  Enjoy a special treat for me, too, since it's my birthday.  By the way, I'm 6 dog years old; that's 42 in human years.  Luckily, I'm still younger than my Mom and Lisa.  Oh, well, age is just a number, isn't it?

 

Hooray! My Dad is home! Now I can get treats again!

This is the most amazing and best news ever!  Yesterday my Mom said, "Come along.  Let's go get Dad."  Well, I'm always ready to go on an adventure in the car so off we went.  Then, after a while, my Dad got in the car, and I was the HAPPIEST DOG IN THE WHOLE WORLD!

The whole way home in the car I stood up, and I didn't take my eyes off of him for one second.  I wanted to make sure he got home and gave me a treat.  This is very important business, after all.

After he got home, I watched the Patriots' game with my Dad and my brother, Andrew:

 

This is the best part of sitting on the couch:

 

My Dad loves to give me A LOT of attention which I, of course, LOVE AND APPRECIATE A LOT!

 

Like I always say, celebrate whenever possible, especially if it involves someone special in your life.  Make sure to let your family know how much you love them every day.  Make sure to appreciate any and all treats every time because every treat is the best treat ever.

 

Where are my treats? Where is my Dad?

This is horrible news.  My Dad is in Florida, and now I'm not getting any treats.  I've resorted to watching the door so I know the exact moment he comes home so I can start getting treats again.

Here I am staring at the door where he comes in every day.  Of course, I'm always happy to see my Mom because she takes me for walks and feeds me my dinner.  I need my treats!  I need to mooch at dinner!  I need to jump on someone!  When is my Dad coming home already?

Like I always say, appreciate your family - especially the person who gives you treats.  Enjoy every single treat you get because you never know when the treats will disappear.  Also, make sure you keep an eye on the door to your house so you know who's coming and going, especially if it's someone special.  In the meantime, enjoy some treats for me because my supply has dried up.  Life can be so difficult sometimes.
 

I saw a deer in the forest the other day!

Every Sunday morning when it gets light out, I go for a walk in the forest with my Mom and our friend, Paula.  Of course, I have my eyes, ears and nose open for any activity.  Most of the time, I have my snout on the trail, and I pull my Mom and Paula along for our walk.  While they're walking and talking, I'm working my tail off making sure it's safe in the forest.  Well, last Sunday, I saw a deer run across the road.  My Mom and Paula were too busy yapping so it's a good thing that one of us (namely, me) was paying attention or they would have missed this:

Like I always say, be on the lookout for anything out of the ordinary.  You never know what you might be missing if you don't look in the first place!
 

How to communicate without words

As you know, dogs cannot speak with words.  It can be very frustrating for me sometimes because I can't seem to get my family to know what I mean.  Of course, my Dad usually gives up and gives me a treat.  That's not so bad, but there are times when I have to resort to other means of communication.  For example, I was sitting on my couch looking into the kitchen to see if my Mom was about to eat anything.  I ALWAYS have my ears open for sounds like the refrigerator or the cabinets.  I wouldn't want to miss out on any food opportunities.

Any way, I was just looking at her, and the next thing I know, she gets the camera.  UGH, I didn't want to get my picture taken so this is what I did:

I think I got my message across, don't you?  I DO NOT WANT MY PICTURE TAKEN!


Like I always say, pay attention to what your dog or another person does.  Obviously, I didn't want to get my picture taken, but that didn't stop my Mom from taking my picture.  Be on the lookout for non-verbal cues or hints.  People can also "say" things without using words.  I can usually tell by a person's tone of voice if they're happy or angry.  Plus, check out the person's body language.  Of course, you can always get annoying people - like my Mom - who doesn't listen any way.  Sometimes you're better off just turning your back and putting your snout in the corner.  You can't get in too much trouble if you're just minding your own business.

Find out what dogs do when they have a play date

How exciting is this!  Casey, the dog, came over to my house.  I love having human visitors, but having a dog visitor is really exciting and rare.  Here are some pictures from our fun visit:

Of course, Casey and I have to look out the back sliding door.  We wouldn't want to miss out on any of the action in my backyard.  You never know when a bunny is going to be there.

When we needed a rest, we sat on the couch:

Having a friend over IS THE BEST!

Like I always say, invite your friends over to your house and make sure that you all have a terrific time.  I can tell that Casey LOVES my couch.  Also, you can tell that he doesn't mind getting his picture taken.  Me, I'm thinking that we should be able to relax IN PEACE.  Why do people always want to take a picture?  I'm resting on the couch - what's so exciting about that?  Of course, I do LOVE my couches.  It's a good thing I can rest and relax on the furniture at my house.  Some dogs aren't as lucky as me.  I'm such a lucky dog, and I'm going to appreciate my good luck EVERY DAY!  By the way, you should appreciate your good luck, too.  Have a lucky day!

 

Terrific - Tanner, the Dog, is guest blogging!

Hello!  I am so excited to announce that Tanner, the dog, is my newest guest blogger!  I LOVE HAVING A GUEST DOG BLOGGER!  Plus, he is so cute - don't you just love the way he looks?  I would love to meet him myself.  Here's his picture:

Here's what Tanner has to say:

HI! My name is Tanner. I am a cockapoo. I don't really like my breed name. Can you guess why? Yes, because it has the word "poo" in it. Gross me out! I am a mixture between a Poodle and a Cocker Spaniel. I am very soft and I don't shed because I have hair instead of fur. My family likes that I don't shed. I was named after the Woburn Tanner's.
Do you have something that you just love so much? I do! It's my red thing-a-ma-jig. I love to play with it in my paws and chew on it. My mom will sometimes throw it so I can go fetch it too! My red thing-a-ma-jig just makes me so happy! I also have a secret. When my family leaves for the day I sneak up on the big, yellow, comfy chair in my living room. It is my favorite place to rest while I wait for them to come home. I'm not allowed on any furniture in my home so I hope I don't get caught one of these days. My comfy place makes me feel so good! Is there a comfy place in your home that makes you happy?
My mom works at your school. She always talks about how working with the kids and teachers at the Goodyear School makes her so happy! Can you guess who she is?

 

Wow, Tanner can't go on the furniture!  I'm glad that my family lets me go on the furniture so I can leave lots of black fur and dirt wherever I sit. 

Like I always say, every family and dog are different, and that's ok.  It's important that we accept and respect our differences.  As you can tell, Tanner and I are VERY DIFFERENT, but I still think he's awesome for sharing his story with me.  I love seeing how other dogs live.  The most important thing is that all of us dogs, are happy wherever we are because we love our lives and our families.  I hope you do, too.

My Sunday Walks

On Sunday, I went for TWO walks.  I went on my usual morning walk in Breakheart where I love to walk in the forest. 

Then my Mom took me for a very long walk around Horn Pond in Woburn.  When we first got there, I saw a horse.  I wanted to go check him out, but I just got pulled along with all these other people and dogs.  It was very crowded.  While we were walking, I saw the horse again - up close and personal.  When I saw how ENORMOUS he was, I pulled as fast and hard as I could.  Horses are huge - he makes me look small.  Yikes, it was scary!

The best part of the walk was meeting two clowns.  One of the clowns is named Spatz - he used to be in my Mom's class last year.  Does he look familiar to you?

In the background, do you see those red pants?  Those belong to Jimbo - another clown!

Look at Jimbo's shoes - they're so big and colorful.  He walked around the whole pond wearing those shoes.  I wonder if his feet hurt.

I know that I was quite tired after this walk - that's why I could only write a little yesterday.  Today I rested on the couch while everyone was at work.  Some times it's really nice to have the house to myself, especially when I need to rest and recuperate from all these walks.

Like I always say, walking is great exercise.  Plus you get to see and smell the sites.  If you walk too much, take it easy the next time so your body can get a rest.  I LOVED meeting two clowns - I think they liked me, too.  Clowns and dogs have a lot in common - we LOVE to make people happy.  Also, we love to smile.  I hope I made you happy today when you read my blog.  Have a happy day!

My cousin, Lulu, came to my house!

This weekend has been so busy that I can barely keep my eyes open.  Today I'll tell you about Saturday, but I'm too tired to write any more so check back tomorrow to hear about the rest of my very busy weekend.

As I was saying, Lulu, the puppy, came to my house.  For some reason, my Aunt calls her "a baby" or "a good girl."  Lulu is a dog - just like I'm a dog.  Of course, she can't call me a baby since I'm full grown and BIG.  She should refer to Lulu as a puppy because a dog is a dog even if it's a puppy.

Lulu loved my yard, and she found an old bone which she chewed on A LOT.  When she was done, I chewed on the bone, too.  Check it out:

I sure am big compared to Lulu.  No matter how big she gets, I'll always be MUCH BIGGER.

Like I always say, accept dogs for who we are.  We come in all different shapes and sizes, but most of us have good hearts.  We all want to be loved for who we are.  Also, remember we are DOGS, not people! 

I'm tired so I'm going back to rest on my couch - I need some beauty rest.  Until tomorrow....