Christmas 2016 Roundup

Posing with the Tree

It's official.  I was a very good boy last year.  How do I know?  Well, Santa doesn't lie and between him, my family, and my two and four legged friends, I really cleaned up this Christmas.

From Tink and ZeeZee I got a filleted snowman with a rattle in its hat, a squeaker in its stomach, and crinkly plastic in its base.  I was given this toy on Christmas afternoon and I immediately ripped a hole in its hat, shattered the rattle with my teeth, broke through the fabric divide between the snowman's hat and head, and started ripping out its stuffing by the mouthful.  I intended to do further damage, however, it was at this point that Sister took the snowman away from me which was definitely depressing.

Scruffy Mini-Mecki

My BFF Mecki and his little brother Bastille gave me a box of cookies (I've already added them to my cookie jar) and a brand new Mini-Meck that was not only scruffy like its namesake, but smelled like him and his brother too (apparently, something happened during the wrapping phase of this gift, but I won't go into that).  Anyway, I was given my Mini-Meck a couple of days ago and it is already in the toy hospital awaiting surgery.

From Santa I got two new light-up squeaky balls (one for home and one for out east) which I squeaked straight through Christmas dinner (to the chagrin of everyone in the room with me) and a bag of treats which I sampled almost as soon as it came out of my stocking.  And while I'm on the topic of stockings, it finally dawned on me this year that all good things come out of them (I have always thought it weird that my family would hang giant socks from the living room/dining room doorway, but I just wrote it off as a human oddity much like saving leftover food for later rather than eating it immediately).  As a result, I spent a fair portion of Christmas Day barking at the over-stuffed stockings despite my family repeatedly telling me that only one of the stockings was mine and that I had already played with all the toys and sampled all the food within.  I, however, didn't care and continued to bark.

From Ma and Pa I got a couple of squeaky tennis balls which I immediately shredded into tiny little yellow fuzz and brown rubber pieces.  Sister got me a plush polar bear toy, but I've yet to lay eyes (or teeth) on it.  According to Sister, it is quite cute which means that I'm going to have to keep my eye on her lest she declare it a stuffed animal ("stuffed animals" are off limits to me).

Cookie from Jack and Sadie

Finally, I received the surprise of a lifetime when loyal readers Jack and Sadie sent me two giant decorated Christmas cookies.  Jack and Sadie are the four legged companions of Ma's co-worker Dianne.  I was super surprised by this generosity and, well, the cookies smelled so good that I kind of ate one of them before Sister could take a picture of the two.  That being said, here's what the second cookie looked like just before I ate its head.

Of course, I didn't just receive gifts.  Oh no.  I gave plenty of fun gifts too.

Twins!

I gave Tink, ZeeZee, and Mecki their very own light up squeaky balls and Bastille, because his mouth is so small, got a squeaky bone that smells like bacon.  My four legged friends also got a box of cookies to share with their respective siblings.  Pa, however, got the piece de resistance of Christmas gifts.  I got Pa a red and white scarf which, get this, came with a matching one for me!  Now Pa and I can walk around town like we're twins!

But Christmas isn't just about giving and getting gifts.  It is also about having fun times with family and friends.  I spent my Christmas Eve and Day with my Ma, Pa, Sister, Aunt B, the hamsters (Mittens, Skittles, Neville, Brownie, and Eddie), and the Library gerbils (Bonnie and Bay) who were visiting for the long weekend.  And even though I got yelled at a couple of times for being a little too exuberant with the shredding of the wrapping paper (there might have been a few near misses between my teeth and the recipient's fingers) a fun time was had by all.

So, to all my friends and family, Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

Merry Christmas!

According to the song (which is occasionally sung at ear piercing levels in my house) and warnings issued by my family, Santa Claus is not only watching constantly, but he's also labeling handsome pups such as me as either naughty or nice.  Nice pups get loads of toys to rip the stuffing out of and bones to chew on (the obvious goal).  Bad pups receive a lump of coal in their stockings (which, frankly, doesn't sound all that bad to me).

Now, it is well known that I have a bit of track record of being mischievous.  But mischievousness, in my eyes, is not necessarily synonymous with naughtiness.  I'd be lying, however, if I said I wasn't, going into Christmas, concerned that perhaps my fun loving antics might be misconstrued as naughtiness by the big man wearing red.

Well, it turns out my concern was unjustified.  Despite all my mischievousness this year, I apparently ended up on every one's extremely good list because I really cleaned up this December 25th.  Between Santa, Ma, Pa, Sister, Aunt B, Faye (Tink & ZeeZee), Karin (Mecki & Bastille), and Jim (Pa's friend from work who is the human dad to Dixie whom I've heard stories about but have yet to meet in person), I got:

Octopus, Reindeer, & Raccoon

• a bag of treats (yet to be opened)
• a new antler (chewed on)
• an orange squeaky ball (plucked, ripped, and thrown away)
• a giant octopus (awaiting surgery for a ripped tentacle)
• a football (still whole...great for greeting people with)
• a plush raccoon (ripped, gutted, and awaiting surgery)
• a flat plush squeaker dog (waiting to be chewed on)
• a Christmas Mini-Mecki (also waiting to be chewed on)
• a giant plush reindeer with tennis ball feet (tennis balls ripped off body and partial lobotomy?--check!).  

Christmas Mini-Meck

But despite all the toys and all the tasty food I grubbed (the less said the better), this Christmas wasn't all good.

In the wee hours of Christmas morning (while Santa was making his rounds), I was felled by an unhappy belly.  Ever helpful, Ma heard my pitiful cries at the door and got up to let me out while the rest of the household slept.  Once I was feeling better, Ma let me back in the house but, in the process, accidentally slammed the side door.  Ma and I both thought that the sound would have woken up Pa, but we were both pleasantly surprised to discover that he had slept right through the noise.

Still emotionally troubled by my earlier experience (I hate feeling sick), I grabbed my new football toy that Ma had given me earlier in the evening and curled up on my pillow.  Sadly, I gave it a squeeze, but, because it was squeaker-less, it didn't make a sound.

So, in review, Pa slept through me crying to go out, Ma getting up, Ma accidentally slamming the side door, and Ma and I wandering back into the bedroom.  I then squeaked a squeaker-less toy.  To quote Charles Dickens (from a story that is very appropriate given the time of year) "this must be distinctly understood, or nothing wonderful can come of the story I am going to relate."

Like a shot, Pa jumped up, turned to me, and told me that it was too late to play with my toys and that I should go to sleep.  He took my football from me, scratched my head, and then fell back asleep.  With a sign, I too went to bed.

Later in the morning, after all the presents were open (and some of the paper shredded), Ma related this story to both Sister and Pa (Pa was unaware of what happened before I squeaked my squeaker-less toy) and everyone had a good laugh.  More importantly, however, I got my football back.

Christmas 2014 Summary

Christmas 2014

I love Christmas!   Why wouldn't I?  It's the one day of the year that I get to spend every single waking hour eating, shredding wrapping paper, or playing with new toys.  And this year's Christmas celebration was one for the books; one of the best.  Why?  Because I made out like a bandit this year.  Here's some of the fun stuff I got:

• 2 squeaky tennis balls from Pa.
• A replacement Rudy the Reindeer from Sister (my former Rudy is missing three of his legs, both antlers, half his skull (including a nostril, an eye, and an ear), and his tail).
• A bag of cookies from Mecki, Bastille, and their mom.

  

  Rocky, Bullwinkle, and Me

• A set of Rocky and Bullwinkle plush toys from Pa's friend Jim and his dog Dixie.
• A floppy snowman toy from Tink, ZeeZee, and their mom
• The book "Ask Anna" from Ralphie and his mom (Sister and I read it before bedtime).
• A few packets of special flavoring for my food from Ma.
• A new bed from Pa (which I'm really not a big fan of--when will people finally accept the fact that my rightful place is on the couch?).

And the only fatalities (at least as of right now) from my list of Christmas gifts are a handful of cookies (which are obviously in my belly), one packet of special flavoring (again, in my belly), and the floppy snowman which I happily filleted the very first night I had him.

But the fun didn't end with presents.  I found numerous ways of entertaining myself throughout Christmas Day (a necessity brought about by the fact that my family forbid me to shred any of my other toys so soon after receiving them).  So instead, I...

• helped unwrap presents (I believe my teeth may have accidentally gotten a bit too close for comfort to some people's fingers.  To that I say:  I'm sorry).
• shredded discarded wrapping paper (I was helping--the more finely shredded the wrapping paper is the more of it can be cram into a single garbage bag.  To that I say:  you're welcome).
• carried off presents that didn't belong to me (which lead to numerous joyful romps throughout the house as my family chased after me to retrieve their packages).
• managed to get close enough to the snack food table to lick a few shrimp (which ended up backfiring on me because, rather than give me the "tainted" goods, Pa ate the shrimp I slobbered on.  To that I say:  not cool, man, not cool).

My Face Says It All

There was, however, one low point this Christmas.  Sister received a goat.  Sure, it wasn't a real goat, but I think it still warrants a certain level of concern on my part.  What if this is a "gateway goat"?  What if Ma and Pa are merely testing Sister to see if she cares for this one before getting her a real one?  If that's the case, there is a horrifying possibility of waking up on the morning of Sister's birthday and coming face to face with a real-live-head-butting-sideways-prancing goat.  The horror!

Bastille

Every once in a while, someone in my family comes home smelling like another dog.  For some dogs, jealousy might kick in; "My [fill in the family member's name] betrayed me!  How dare he/she!"  For me, however, I feel...well...jealous also, but in a different way.  You see, whenever I detect another dog's smell on one of my family members, two thoughts go through my head:

1. Hey!  [Fill in the family member's name] went to work and met another dog there.  Why wasn't I allowed to go to work?
2. Hey!  Why did [fill in the family member's name] get to play with another dog and I didn't?

And the jealousy levels really spike when that dog my family member smells of is one of my friends.

Of all the members of my family, Sister is the one who comes home smelling of other dogs the most (I can't count the number of times she's come home from work smelling of my bff Mecki).  In fact, this happens so often that, over the years, she and I have come up with a system.  You see, originally, Sister would come home from work at lunchtime after playing with a dog in the morning and expect me to leave her alone long enough to eat her lunch before I was allowed to sniff her all over.  Well, it doesn't take a genius to know that that rarely worked.  While she would be desperately trying to eat, I'd be climbing all over her sniffing her from head to toe (and occasionally trying to take a bite out of her sandwich when she wasn't looking).  Not the best plan.  Now, with our new plan, as soon as Sister gets home from playing with another dog, she immediately lies down on the living room floor and lets me sniff until my heart's content and then eats her lunch.  Much better.

Well, when Sister came home from work today, she immediately assumed the "I Played With Another Dog So Sniff Away" position.  I ran over to her figuring that she had been playing with one of my Library friends (Mecki, Ralphie, Tink, Harry, or Zee Zee) and discovered, with just one sniff, that Sister had been playing with a new dog.

"That's Mecki's new little brother, Bastille" Sister explained while I sniffed her all over, my tail wagging furiously.  Bastille is a French Bulldog, Sister explained, with really big ears that point straight up to the sky.  She told me that he is super cute and really tiny (to view pictures and watch videos of Bastille, check out Mecki's blog).  She also told me that his Mom said that he, unlike Mecki, eats all his food (so I guess I won't be able to steal his leftover breakfast like I did to Mecki when he slept over) and has already figured out how to smack Mecki upside the head with his paw (just like me--I'm so proud).

So welcome, Bastille, to the pack!  I can't wait to meet you in person (sniffing is good, but it pales in comparison to actually bunking noses) and keep an eye on those dew claws (I'll explain when you're older).

A Fun Weekend, Except If You're A Flower

I've discovered that weekends come in three varieties:

1. Lazy Weekends at Home:  involves finding a warm sunny spot on the floor, taking a nap, waking up, finding a new warm sunny spot on the floor, and taking another nap.
2. Action Packed Weekends Out East:  involves chasing squirrels, going to the beach, running up and down the porch steps, and tracking deer.
3. Dog Days Weekends:  involves exploring Old Westbury Gardens with my favorite two and four legged friends.

Well, this weekend was a Dog Days weekend, and let me tell you, despite it being a little too warm for comfort (it has been a very cold, very snowy winter and I haven't gotten around to shedding my entire winter coat yet), I had a blast.

Here's a rundown of some of the fun stuff that happened this weekend:

Saturday: (Visiting the Estate with Ma, Sister, Mecki, and Mecki's Mom)

Mecki!

- Went berserk in the car when I realized that Sister had parked her car next to Mecki's and that Mecki was barking at me from the front passenger seat.

- Patiently listened while Sister brought to my attention the fact that Mecki was sitting, unrestrained, in his seat, next to an open window in a convertible, and was not trying to jump out (geez...you jump out of a moving vehicle one time and you never live it down).

Mecki Pulls Ahead

- Played follow the leader with Mecki (Mecki hates it when I lead).

Giant Water Bowl

- Hit up Mecki's Mom for lots of Pup-Peroni treats (and only once nearly took off her hand when trying to grab the treat).

- Inspected the biggest water bowl I have ever seen (Sister said it was a fountain, but I don't believe her).

- Drank out of Mecki's water bowl (I left him some water).

- Singled out one clump of daffodils in a sea of grass and peed on them (with an audience watching and, ultimately, moaning in distaste).

- Took some stylish (and less than stylish) photos.

Sunday: (Visiting the Estate with Ma, Sister, Tink, Zee Zee, and Tink and Zee's Mom and Dad)

- Met a Golden Basset (a weird combination, but she seemed nice enough--though a bit short).

Walking with Tink

- Jumped ten feet in the air with fright when Tink managed to sneak up on me in the Rose Garden (for a big dog, she's quite light on her feet).

- Got yelled at by Sister for trying to dip my feet in the communal watering trough (I saw no sign forbidding public bathing).

Tink and Me Staring At The Bird

- Settled for dipping my entire snout in the communal watering trough (hey, it was hot).

- Competed with Tink and Zee Zee to see who could retain the most water in his/her face (I had to admit defeat when I realized that my enormous jowls were no match for their absorbent beards).

- Conspired with Tink and Zee Zee to grab the remains of a dead bird we found next to where our humans were resting in the shade (sadly, we did not succeeded in our quest).

Later, At Home

My New Leopard Toy--Thanks Sis!

Spit Ball!

But the fun didn't end at Old Westbury Gardens; it continued when I got home. Sister bought me a brand new toy (a plush leopard that's longer than me) from the doggy toy store and Pa gave me an old baseball he found when he was cleaning out the basement (Ma took it away from me last night when I finally managed to tear off its outer shell).

All in all, not a bad weekend!

Christmas Roundup 2013

Christmas 2013

It’s a good thing Christmas comes only once a year; I’m not sure I could handle it occurring every month or so. Think about it from my standpoint. I spend an awful large amount of energy in the months, weeks, and days leading up to Christmas just trying to be on my best behavior (after all, you never know when Santa is checking in to see if you’ve been good). But that’s not even taking Christmas Eve and Day into account! Christmas Eve at my house culminates late at night with a special viewing of “A Christmas Carol” and a smorgasbord of tasty snacks including cheese and crackers. Christmas Day, on the other paw, includes a visit from Aunt B and the excitement of my family suddenly taking a page from my book and ripping brightly colored paper to shreds. Believe you me, this type of activity takes a lot out of a dog!

Lookin' Stylish

Won't You Be My Neighbor?

Anyway, I got a lot of cool stuff this Christmas including a long limbed pink pig from my friends Tink and Zee Zee (I’ve already managed to rip the ear off and pull out its head stuffing—it is currently drying so Sister can sew it up again), a small red stuffed Christmas tree that Santa left in my stocking, and homemade dog treats baked by Mecki’s mom (cheese and rosemary flavored—yum!). And I mustn’t forget about my brand new stylish green cable knit turtleneck sweater! Sister says that I kind of look like Fred Rogers (from Mr. Rogers' Neighborhood) when I have it on, but I know that it will come in really handy when Pa takes me on my early morning walks this winter.

But do you know what? I haven’t even received half of my gifts! I’ve noticed that there is a suspicious bulge in the foot of my Christmas stocking, Mecki’s present to me is trapped in the Land of No, I’ve heard Ma and Pa talk of a ‘Ronnie the Rhino’ in the trunk of the car (I have no idea what a ‘Ronnie the Rhino’ is), and Sister’s gift to me is sitting on the entertainment center fully wrapped (it smells a lot like a replacement lunchtime squeaker toy which is good seeing that Ma threw out my old squeaker toy because I had spent the last couple of weeks ripping off chunks until it was half its size). My family says that I will get the rest of my presents later; that I should pace myself and save a couple of toys for a rainy day. That’s all well and good, but I’ve got a sneaky suspicion that that isn’t their only motive. I think they’re holding my presents hostage to ensure good behavior on my part.

Oh well, I guess a few more days of good behavior won’t hurt me.

Old and New Friends

Paint On My Ear

I'm covered in paint.  Actually, to be more precise, I am covered in linen colored paint.  I have it all over my right ear and down my right side.  I think I even have some in my tail.  Now, you might ask, why am I covered in linen colored paint?  And the answer:  It is a result of having way too much fun Sunday morning and being so completely exhausted by the afternoon that I did not realize where I was laying.  Let me explain.

I sensed something was up as soon as Sister stumbled down the stairs a full two hours before her normal Sunday morning waking hour and I knew something was up when she started packing my travel bag with cookies, newspaper, and my water bowl.  I was going on a trip!

After a twenty minute car ride, Ma, Sister, and I pulled up in front of a place I had never been before:  it wasn't the house out east, it wasn't my Old Westbury Gardens Estate or Sagamore Hill or Sands Point, and it wasn't, thankfully, the vet's office (don't get me wrong, I like visiting Doctor Friedman, but I really hate it when he tries squirting medicine up my nose).  On Ma's command, I jumped out of the car and looked up and down the street.  It was then I saw it:  a small rat-like animal on a leash.  Mecki!  Dragging Sister behind me, I lunged toward my bff and bunked noses with him.  Then, I realized Mecki and I weren't alone.  There were two other dogs on leashes, a big black Giant Schnauzer and a medium sized gray Standard Schnauzer.

Tink and I Hangin' Out

I immediately recognized the Giant Schnauzer.  It was my friend Tinkerbell (known as Tink) who I haven't seen since our play date at my house in the spring of 2010.  The Standard was her Sister (Tink has a four legged Sister) Zee Zee.  After bunking noses with Tink and Zee, I turned my attention to the humans holding my buddies' leashes.  First I said hello to Mecki's Dad Andre, then Tink and Zee's Mom and Dad Faye and Doug, and finally I scurried over to Karin and checked her for cookies (Karin always has something tasty in her pockets).

Tink, Zee, and I

After all the hellos were said and a couple of cookies mooched, we all walked into Tink and Zee's backyard.  It was then that our leashes came off and the fun began.

Mecki and Tink

We chased each other all over the backyard:  through the bushes, around the pool, and to and from the water bowls.  Tink and I boxed like we did a couple of years ago then spent a fair portion of the rest of the time getting each other soaking wet from the water we were storing in our beards (her) and jowls (me).  Zee and I tussled for a little while and Mecki scuttled around eating all the dog biscuits that Tink and Zee had been hiding away for the last few weeks.

Watching the Fun

After playing for over an hour and a half, it was time to go home (but first we walked around the corner as a pack to visit a house with a whole herd of dachshunds--I won't lie, it was a bit disturbing).  Although I did not nap while Sister drove Ma and I home, I did lounge in the back seat comfortably while Ma scratched my back.

Once at home, Ma decided that she was going to spend the rest of the day painting the living room walls.  Unfortunately, she failed to inform me of this decision so when I, thoroughly exhausted, curled up in my usual spot by the front door, I brushed against the fresh paint, coating my beautiful blonde locks.  Ma made a face at me, but honestly I was just too tired to care.  Not to mention, people pay big bucks for faux finishes and I just created one for free.  You're welcome Ma.