Visiting My Estate with Baci

Baci

We had been friends for a while, Baci and I, even though we had never actually met snout to snout.  Sure, I'd hear tales of him from conversations his Mom and my Sister would have (and I'm sure Sister shared quite a few overly exaggerated stories about my daily forays into mischief because she's that kind of person), but Baci and I were, essentially, unknown to each other.  But then, a couple of weekends ago and after nearly a year and a half of listening to stories, I was beyond happy to hear that I was finally going to meet Baci.  And even better, I found out that I was going to meet him at my estate (AKA Old Westbury Gardens) at their Fidos at Four event.

For those of you who don’t know, Baci is a 16-month-old Silver Labrador Retriever who calls Sister’s friend Gina "Mom."  From day one, I knew that Baci was a really cool guy even though I most certainly did not understand his love of swimming or why he got eggs for breakfast and I never did (I only get my kibble, a small pretzel, a single Cheerio, and maybe a blueberry if it's in season).

Anyway, as soon as I found out what was going on, I went into my normal routine of excitement overdose (pacing, barking, whining, running in and out of the house, stealing shoes and socks as Sister tried putting them on, and, of course, drooling all over the place).  When I got in the car I paced, huffed, drooled, and generally drove Sister (the driver) crazy.

Baci Leading the Way

Needless to say, by the time we reached my estate, I was pretty much exhausted.  But me being me, I dug deep and managed to find enough energy to drag Sister from the parking lot to “Rigby’s wall” located directly in front of the house (see my profile picture featuring a very young yours truly and his namesake wall).  Not that long after arriving, Sister knelt down next to me and whispered “There’s Baci” in my ear.

And there he was, pulling his Mom up the path just like I had a few minutes earlier.

With a wag of the tail and a nose bunk, Baci and I said our hellos.  Then I said hello to Gina while Baci said hi to Sister.  Gina tried to give me a treat in greeting, but as my loyal readers know, I’m very suspicious of freely offered food and immediately spit the cookie out onto the ground and walked away (Baci then swooped in and ate the cookie himself).

Art of Water Bottle Drinking

Once our greetings were over, we set off to explore the estate.  I took Baci to all my favorite spots, we bunked noses with a whole bunch of dogs (there was an especially large number of cousins present), I taught Baci how to drink out of a water bottle, and we were good boys and didn't cause too much drama when either Gina or Sister held both our leashes when the other stepped away for a moment.

Overall, a grand time was had by all (though I did notice Baci looking longingly toward the two ponds and one reflecting pool we passed on our travels).

Baci and I Twining

 

Outtakes

Spring Dog Days at Old Westbury Gardens

Loyal readers of my blog know that there are a handful of specific dates/events that I look forward to each and every year.  There's my birthday of course, Christmas, the day the air conditioner is installed, and Dog Days Weekend at Old Westbury Gardens (AKA "my estate").  Well, my birthday's a month away, Christmas is seven months away, and as much as I huff and puff Ma insists that "it's not that hot" and therefore way too early to put in the air conditioners.  That means that this weekend past had to be Spring Dog Days at Old Westbury Gardens.

On Saturday, the first day of Dog Days, I went with Sister, Karin, and Mecki.  As is tradition, we met at "Rigby's Wall" (the one depicted in my profile picture) and participated in the great cookie exchange. Deciding to be ornery that morning, I refused to eat most of the cookies Karin offered me, choosing to instead roll them around in my mouth (getting them good and slobbery) before spitting them out onto the grass.  And do you know what happened next?  Karin actually picked up each slobbery cookie (unless Mecki got to it first) and put them back in her pocket.  What great fun!

Anyway, after the great cookie exchange (Mecki ate the cookie Sister offered), we made our way into the gardens.  We wandered around the West Pond, perused the Rose Garden, scurried through the Ghost Walk, and explored the East Lake via the Woodland Walk.  On our stroll, we met lots of pups (including numerous Golden Retrievers), sniffed lots of interesting smells, and begged for attention from passersby.

 

 

And then we met something that I can only describe as other-worldly.

Snapping Turtle

Wandering down one of the paths, the four of us ran into a giant snapping turtle who was making his way, rather determinedly, across the property to get from the East Lake to the West Pond.  Sister and Karin took turns checking out the turtle, leaving Mecki and me behind which was fine by me because that turtle was scary looking from a distance and I certainly did not want to get any closer to him.

A couple of hours later, our walk was over, and we returned to the car.  I was exhausted and fell asleep in the backseat before we even left the property.

When I got home, I drank about three gallons of water and stretched out on the kitchen floor in a puddle of drool and drinking water.

 
I snoozed there until dinner time at which point I ate my food, went out for a quick business trip, then settled down on the living room floor for another nap.

I roused briefly to sample the ice cream Sister had for dessert...

...but spent the rest of the evening snoozing on my pillow when I normally would have been barking for a PB&K or at car doors slamming blocks away.  At 10pm, Sister asked if I wanted to go out to do business one last time.  I didn't really want to, but I knew Sister wouldn't leave me alone unless I did so, sore and achy, I got up and dragged my weary bones outside.  When I got back in, I collapsed on my pillow.  It was after witnessing that particular moment of sheer exhaustion that Sister decided to camp downstairs in the living room rather than force me to drag myself upstairs to bed.

Early on Sunday morning (6:30am to be precise), I woke up bright eyed and bushy tailed having slept nearly 17 hours straight.  I was begrudgingly taken outside by Sister for a morning business trip (Sister, as I've said before, is not a morning person) then Sister declared that it was still too early for breakfast and she and I snoozed for another hour or so.  By the way, that's why I like Sister--she's always up for a nap!

Anyway, shortly after we both woke up for the second time, Aunt B came over and she, Sister, and I piled back into the car for a second round of strolling around the estate.  The weather was decidedly unsettled that morning so there wasn't nearly as many people and dogs to meet, but even so, we had an enjoyable walk filled with lots of sniffing and posing for pictures.

Emma Rose and Me:  Oct. 2018

Unfortunately, there was one sad thing that happened on this second excursion:  I learned that my Dog Days Golden Retriever friend Emma Rose had passed away since I last saw her in October.  A highlight of Sunday morning Dog Days was always running into Emma Rose (and her human mom and grandma) and I'm going to miss her a lot.  Sister was very upset about the news, too (I let her give me an extra long hug later in the day).  But, while there will never be another Emma Rose, I did get the opportunity to bunk noses with the newest member of her family:  Alfie, a five-month old mixed breed pup with huge ears and a long curly tail.

Fall Dog Days 2018

Surveying My Estate

It's the most wonderful time of the year!  No, not Christmas (though that is a lot of fun with all the food, wrapping paper, and toys).  This last weekend was Dog Days at Old Westbury Gardens (AKA my estate) and while I wasn't able to hang out with my pals Mecki and Bastille (their mom is vacationing in France), I did have an absolutely wonderful time.

The day (Saturday) started as any other day that promised an outing would; basically, I was crazed.  As soon as I realized that I was going somewhere, I started running through the house, pacing back and forth, eager to get going.  I barked loudly when either Ma or Sister slowed us down by doing such pointless things as packing my traveling bag, checking the weather on TV, and putting on shoes (I don't bother with shoes, why should they?) and when my collar was placed around my neck and the side door opened, I bounded out toward the car.  I even huffed, drooled, and paced in the backseat of the car during the twenty-minute ride to the gardens!

Sister and Me

Ma, Sister, and I spent nearly an hour wandering through the gardens that morning.  I stopped to sniff random plants, I posed for pictures, I bunked noses with a couple of pups, and even showed off my prowess by jumping over the cement bench Sister wanted to pose with me on for a photo. I even stopped long enough to sniff the tree that Mecki and Bastille are routinely photographed in (and yes, I did thank my lucky stars that I'm too heavy to be picked up and put in that tree).

Liberty, Me, Baxter, and the Rest

Eventually, Ma, Sister, and I made our way to the great lawn out back behind the house where I was met with a fun surprise:  three Golden Retrievers (two under the age of one and the other eight years old), a big fluffy black dog, a German Shepherd, and their humans.  I was first greeted by the big fluffy black dog who was off leash and made a bee line straight for me.  He was obviously the welcoming committee.  Anyway, the black dog and I bunked noses then the three Golden Retrievers ran over to say hi.  The two young-ins (one was named Liberty) ran straight to Ma and Sister and began begging for pets and belly rubs.  The older Golden, Baxter, walked over to me to say hello.

The final part of the trip was perhaps the best.  I got to see my Old Westbury Gardens pal Emma Rose.  My readers might remember Emma Rose as the Golden Retriever “cousin” I first met all the way back in 2011.  Since then, Emma Rose and I have run into each other, always unscheduled, at every single Dog Days weekend.  My pal is eleven years old now and had had a serious health scare a couple of weeks ago, but I was happy to see that Emma Rose was feeling better and acting like her old self; calm, quiet, and reserved.  Emma Rose and I bunked noses and hit up each other’s humans for pets.  Then our humans came up with a spectacular idea.  We needed a picture together.

Emma Rose and Me

After saying goodbye to Emma Rose, Ma, Sister, and I made our way back to the car and headed home.  I was completely and totally exhausted, but it was so worth it!

Spring Dog Days 2015

Before I begin to wow my loyal readers with my tales of last weekend's Dog Days at Old Westbury Gardens, I'd like to explain my week long absence.  It was Sister's fault.  You see, she started coming down with a cold last Sunday and "didn't feel like" writing for me (sadly, I'm still dependent upon Sister for typing out my dictations due to my severe lack of thumbs and dew claws).  Anyway, I did my best to try to persuade her otherwise.  I even went so far as to give her an occasional jab to the gut while she lay in bed coughing in an attempt to take over the bed...I mean....get her to start typing.  Sadly, up until today, it was a waste of time (and I never did get the bed to myself). 

So anyway...Old Westbury Gardens.

Snout to Snout

Bastille in a Calm Moment

The big moment from the weekend had to be my official introduction to Mecki's little brother Bastille and, despite my reservations, it went okay.  Sure, Bastille's a bit on the loud side (very loud), and yeah, he has freakishly strong upper and lower body strength (I've never seen a dog jump so high or do pull ups against a stone wall), and there was that problem of him always lunging forward with his mouth fully open, but once he calmed down a bit we actually got to a point where we could stand within a foot of each other.  I’m sure that after a few more meetings we’ll be best of friends (or I’ll be deaf from his shrieking).

Other highlights from the weekend include:

Bastille In A Tree

• Mecki and I arguing over who was going to lead our pack during our walk.
• Play boxing with a cousin (AKA a fellow Golden Retriever) named Riley in the parking lot.
• Mecki and I bonding over the fact that Bastille was placed in a tree for a picture.
• Mooching baby carrots off of Mecki and Bastille's mom (then chewing them, spitting them out, and mooching some more).
• Saying hello to cousin and yearly Dog Days participant Emma Rose and her family.
• Keeping a close eye on Mecki and Bastille's mom because she threatened to pick me up and put me in the tree (I've never fully trusted her after she hoisted me up and into Sister’s car after a BBQ at her house two years ago). 

Needless to say, I was totally and completely spent after all this fun.  On Sunday morning, after only one trip to Old Westbury, I refused to get up until well after 8am despite the fact that I had yet to go out or eat my breakfast (when Ma checked on me prior to 8am, all I could do was give a few thumps of my tail).  I spent most of Monday, after two days of wandering the estate, moving from one soft cool spot on the bed to another.

But, aside from exhaustion, there was one particular low associated with this year's Dog Days weekend.  Pa and Sister each had to pull a tick off of me.  The first one was on my leg and was really hard to get out, but I was really brave and cooperative and earned a whole piece of cheese for my troubles (of course, I really wasn't fond of Pa's idea of marking the spot with a Sharpie marker for easy medicine application--sorry Pa, no matter how hard you try to sell it, that black spot on my fur does not qualify as a tattoo and certainly does not give me "street cred").  The second tick was found on my cheek and as much as I was happy that Sister finally tweezer-ed it away (it was only nestled in my fur--Sister said it couldn't penetrate through the drool), I really didn't appreciate her removal technique of grabbing hold of my snout. 

But back to more pleasant things.  Check out some more pictures taken at this year's Dog Days weekend.

 

← Showing Off Our Best Sides →

A Tale of Two Days in One

I'm a literary dog.  Not only are books tasty (I've gnawed on travel books, shredded the dust cover of Pa's favorite Keith Richards book, and "edited" another book that Pa was reading but not enjoying), but I can also quote from them.  The opening line from Charles Dickens' "A Tale of Two Cities" sums up what my day was like on Sunday.

"It was the best of times..."

Johnny and I Vie For Pa's Attention

Me at Old Westbury Gardens

Sunday was Dog Days at Old Westbury Gardens.  For two glorious hours my family and I wandered around the estate taking pictures, sniffing interesting smells, and bunking noses with a whole pack of strange dogs (well, I bunked noses with the dogs, my family just gave them pats on the head as they passed by).  Speaking of bunking noses with other dogs, I ran into two of my Golden Retriever friends:  Emma Rose and Johnny.  Emma Rose is very refined and is more than happy to bunk noses and move on.  Johnny, on the other paw, is, well, a lot like me.  He loves to roughhouse!  We ran back and forth on our leashes, boxed, and then took turns trying to knock the legs out from under each other (Pa calls this technique submarine-ing). After one boxing match, Johnny flopped down on the grass and started rolling on his back.  I took advantage of the situation and scurried over to Johnny's mom for pets.  Then Johnny got up and ran to my Pa for pets.  Not wanting to miss out on any attention, I then horned in on Pa and Johnny and forced Pa to pet me as well as Johnny (good thing he has two hands).

Into the Woods

I also played a trick on my family.  When we were walking through the Boxwood Gardens, I made a bee line for the reflecting pool.  For one frantic moment, my family actually thought that I was going to jump head first into the smelly water.  I smiled and wagged my tail at the fun.

"...it was the worst of times."

Despite all the fun I had at the Gardens, there was something missing:  my bff Mecki.  You see, my friend Mecki and I have meet up at both the spring and fall Dog Days every year since we first met.  It's always an entertaining event:  Mecki climbs all over me, I whop him on the head with my paw, and we fight over who is going to lead our little pack as we walk through the estate.  But Mecki's mom (who always brings me a special cookie) was on vacation, so I didn't get to meet up with him or his new little brother Bastille (though I'd be lying if I said that I wasn't a tad but concerned about meeting a pup who has been described to me as a "vampire piranha" who is actively spitting out his baby teeth left and right).

After the Bath

Not getting to play with Mecki and meet Bastille was disappointing, but something even worse was about to happen to me.  On the way home from the Gardens, my family stopped off at the doggy spa and I was unceremoniously tossed into a bathtub and scrubbed down with soap and water.  It goes without saying that I was completely devastated by this turn of events.  All the lovely smells I had collected over the past weeks (not to mention those I had collected over the previous few hours at the Gardens) were gone; washed down the drain.  And if that wasn't bad enough, I was so exhausted from gallivanting around the Gardens that I didn't have the strength to put up a fight while Ma and Pa washed me (the way I see it, if I'm going to be wet and unhappy, everyone involved should be wet and unhappy too).

So there you have it, two very different days wrapped up into one.  I had a blast at Old Westbury Gardens and I had a bath and missed out on playing with Mecki and Bastille.  What can I say?  I guess you can't win them all (though Sister did take advantage of my clean state to take some new head shots).

 

Dog Day Weekend

Two weekends a year, a wonderful thing happens:  Old Westbury Gardens opens its doors to canines and humans alike in an event known as Dog Days.  Over the years, I have made it my business to take part in the festivities and this year was no different.

Saturday: 

An Extreme Close-Up of Mecki

On Saturday, Ma, Sister, and I met my bff Mecki and his Mom and Dad at what has become known as "Rigby's Wall" (it's the wall I'm standing on in my profile picture at my very first Dog Day weekend).  Mecki and I exchanged hellos with our humans (sorry, Karin, for almost taking off your hand when you gave me that treat, but did you notice that I actually ate the entire cookie this time rather than simply chew it apart and spit it out?) then we turned our attention to playing.  Mecki rolled over me multiple times in greeting and I swatted him with my paw.  We also chased each other as far as our leaches would allow.

Then something strange happened.  A nice Japanese family came over and asked if they could take a picture with me.  I wagged my tail with glee!  "I've finally made it," I thought, "I have groupies!"  Basking in the thrill of being a celebrity (okay, I realize that the chances of this family recognizing me from my blog is small, but a dog can dream), I positioned myself in the grass and smiled at the camera while they posed next to me. 

Mecki and I

After the impromptu photo session, Mecki and I wandered our way through the gardens.  Along the way, we bunked noses with some dogs (including Emma Rose, the Golden Retriever cousin we bump into at every Dog Day event), took some pictures, sniffed some bushes, and Mecki's Mom put him in a tree for the second year in a row (Mecki was not thrilled by this...I was just happy that I'm too big for Mom and Sister to do the same to me).

Having checked out all the dog friendly spots in the garden (for some reason dogs are not allowed in the formal gardens...not sure why) we all headed back to our cars, said our goodbyes, and headed our separate ways (and I got into the car without Karin's help--I learned my lesson last time).

Sunday:  

Hanging Out IN the Garden

This time, Pa joined Ma, Sister, and I at the estate.  As soon as we exited the parking lot, a big commotion started from within the vender's section and suddenly everyone was screaming and running toward us.  At first, I thought all the hubbub was a result of my celebrity status and I cursed myself for not remembering to bring an ink pad to sign autographs with, but the crowds ran right past me.  Turns out, they were chasing after a little spindly dog that had gotten loose and was running toward the wooded area.  I won't lie, I was a little disappointed, but I reminded myself that I would never want to become such a celebrity that I wouldn't be able to enjoy Dog Days without a huge mob forming around me.  So, I lifted my head up high, and continued into the gardens with Pa, Ma, and Sister.

Johnny and I

A little later on, I ran into a cousin named Johnny.  Johnny and I got along right away.  It turns out, we both play the exact same way...we cheat at every opportunity.  He was very mouthy and kept grabbing my ears and my paws and tugging while routinely rolling over top of me.  I, on the other paw, kept trying to go up and under him and eventually used my secret weapon, the atomic butt, to subdue him (yes, I sat on him).  Johnny and I had a great time pouncing, rolling in the grass, and tying our humans up with our leashes and we were both quite disappointed when our humans said it was time to move on.  With a parting sniff, Johnny went home and my family and I continued through the gardens where I bunked noses with a number of other dogs who, while nice, were not fun like Johnny.

Checking Out The Estate

When we were done, Ma, Pa, Sister, and I walked back to the car and started home.  Totally exhausted, I slept the entire way on Pa's lap.

I can't wait for next spring's Dog Days!