Oh dog - a birthday surprise !!!

"HEY MOM - THERE'S SOMEONE AT THE DOOR !!!" Oh my dogness - it's the mail-lady and she bought me a present - she even gave me a pat on the head !

It's a VERY big box and it is from my buddies Maggie and Mitch. I wonder what is inside?

Come on Mom - hurry up and open it already! Okay what do we have here and why is "the honey badger" checking out MY pressies????? Let's see - a water bottle toy monkey. Can I get a drink from that Mom??? {Mom} "No Reilly, you put an empty water bottle inside so when you play with it make scrunchy noises - same as it does when you play with a water bottle - but much nicer". Okay - that will be fun, what else is there. I see treats - yum pumpkin and apple flavor. A bone - yum! and a bone toy {Mom} "that will be good for cleaning your teeth." What else is there, oh a big tough toy, yep we can put that to good use in the garden and look at the cute card my buddies sent me. Will you put that in my scrap book Mom, you know I like to keep my cards. {Mom} "Yes Reilly"












Okay - what is going on here - why does "the honey badger" have MY bone and MY toy? Give those back you little "THING" they are MY birthday presents !!!!!












{Mom} "here you go Reilly - try some of your cookies" - Mmmmm these are good - keep them coming Mom.

I think I should have a birthday like this EVERY day. Thank you Maggie and Mitch. I LOVE everything and so does "THING - Denny" and "IT - Jackson". Last we saw of "IT" he had MY bone in his mouth and he was heading out the doggie door to his favorite hiding place - under the deck (he knows I won't fit under there - not fair) so we couldn't get a picture of him.

Mmmm these cookies are really good, really really good!

My Not So Great Birthday

So here we were getting ready to go to the pet store and Mom just HAS to give me a quick brush before we go. She notices the fur on my chest and neck feels kinda damp and moves it apart to look. Where I have been scratching it is BRIGHT red and kinda oozy. Mom calls the vets straight away but we have to wait until our appointment that afternoon - - - but but but --- what about the pet store????? "Later Reilly" she says "I am not putting a collar on you with your neck so sore looking." Hhmmmmmfffffff - I grumbled as I flopped down dejected on the floor!

So in the afternoon, off we go to the vets - no fun. He moves my fur around, pokes and prods and says YES - that is definitely infected. We need to shave that area so we can put some powder on it and then we have to keep it dry. Mom says she will do the shaving (as she knows vets don't really care about how something looks). So now twice a day I have antibiotics to take, have the area washed and dried and then powder has to be put on it. He says I have a very large and nasty 'hot spot' on my chest. Some birthday huh!

The Denny also came with us and had his 12 week shot and his rabies shot. That "little honey badger" has put on 2 pounds already !!!

Now as for my present - my Dad bought me a brand new treadmill - which of coarse I will let him use occasionally. I love being on my treadmill and with it being so hot outside this is the perfect way for me to get a good workout. Mom says I REALLY need to work out as she was ummmmm a bit embarrassed when the vet weighed me. I did get a bag of jerky and some treats for my birthday too and Mom says when my chest and neck isn't so sore (and I can wear my collar) we can go to the pet store. - Hey Mom - does that mean I am running naked !!!!

It's My Birthday !!!

Happy Birthday to me, happy birthday to me. I am a big 4 years old today and Mom has a fun filled day planned for me - I will share pics of my day later and show you what my Dad got me. And look - my Mom had a postage stamp made in honor of my birthday - how cool!

The Garden Monster - Uncovered

The Mom put a soaker hose on my tree this evening to make sure sure it got a really good drink as we are heading for temps in the 100+ all week and guess who appeared - that naughty little garden monster. Caught red pawed he was, happily digging in the softed ground. He dug himself quite a hole and seemed to enjoy it even more as it filled up with water. You can biggify the last photo to see what a little mess he made of his face. And YES - the Honey Badger is growing !!!!

Tornado Sing-A-Long

Every Thursday at 12.01pm on the dot - I just have to race outside and have my sing-a-long. How kind it is of the city to do this regular tornado siren check just for me. It is so nice to have some background accompaniment so that EVERYONE in the neighborhood can hear my wonderful singing voice (glares at Mom who is laughing in the background) Yes, I admit I haven't quite got the howling down part yet - but I am getting there. A few more weeks of practice and I will sound like a wolf baying at the moon! I will do my ancestors proud ! Denny as you will note was paying careful attention and I am sure I can teach him to sing too.

PS - It's going to be my birthday in 4 days and I will be 4 years old - where has the time gone. Tomorrow I will show you what my Dad got me for my birthday!

Those Pesky Monsters!

Hmmm what happened over I wonder..........


Come on Denny "we had better check this out because I don't think the Mom is going to be to happy when she sees what I see!"

Denny thinks it would be better to just stay and look cute on the lawn.


Oh Oh - The Mom is definitely NOT going to be happy when she sees this - Look - those pesky garden monsters have attacked her herb planter!!!!

And look - they have left little paw prints just like ours!!!!

Jackie checked it out carefully and was sure he could detect monster smell.

Yep - those pesky monsters better hide cause the MOM is on the war path. It was bad enough they were digging holes in the lawn but getting up and deck and attacking her planters......oh oh !

What will his ears do today?

eLO ITZ ME DENY - izzz lernin ta bloogg hfgffp;h;fnagfjngghb44uy350

Okay Denny - I think you better let me take over and you can try again in a few weeks. The boy has potential - pitty about the four left feet at the moment though! As you can see 'the thing' I mean Denny (YES MOM - I remember - geesh!!!!) is going through what all we shelties go through - the ear up, the ears down, one ear up, one down, slightly tipped, straight up and so on. This will probably be happening for the next six months. Mom prefers we dogs go "au natural" - which mean our ears will end up being what ever they turn out to be - naturally. The Denny as you can also see is a shade hog and likes sitting under MY tree - the one MY Mom bought for ME. Well it is 104 outside so I guess I can't complain - well I could but Mom would just grumble at me!













As you can also see Denny and "IT" get along just fine. Here was Denny having a nice nap (resting on his paw even) and "IT" had to come over and check on him and wake him up. Denny was caught having a little puppy yawn. Click on the pictures to see them bigger - he does look kind of cute.

Me - I am still happy keeping the youngster at a distance for the moment and letting it pounce all over "IT" with those sharp little teeth. Ahhhhh sweet revenge! The "IT's" Mom will be leaving at the end of this week - heading back to Nebraska and "IT" will be staying here until she finds an apartment. She also has some training to do so the "IT" will probably be here for another month. It will give the Denny something other then me to gnaw on for awhile - gotta love that. Keep cool every furbody if your in the hot zone and make sure the hoomans keep those water dishes filled and the air conditioning up high :)

How Denny Got His Name

Now some of you may be wondering how Denny got his name. No - he isn't named after the restaurant chain (which Mom and Dad saw a lot of in Kentucky but not here in Arkansas) No - Mom wanted a good Scottish name and of coarse wanted a name ending in 'y' or ie' as us doggies tend to respond better to names with those on the end. Dad of coarse bought up "Clancy" yet again - both Mom and I rolled our eyes and sighed and both said "NO". "Well what about another name from my favorite movie?" Dad said. His favorite movie is "The Man From Snowy River." Mom thought for a bit and then said "what was the horses name in the movie?" It was of coarse - Denny. By co-incidence the horse was a red roan in color. Mom then checked the Scottish boys names site she had open and there is was - Denny and the meaning of it "red headed one." I mean to say - how perfect was that! So that is how Denny got his name and we had it picked out a week before he came home and even better - it suits him perfectly and he already responds to it.

Body Language

Do I really have to acknowledge this little guy is here Mom ? Maybe if I just turn away - he will go away ! Hmmmm I don't know what my Mom and Dad were thinking getting ANOTHER young one in the house. Here I was - the one and only pup and happy to be that way, then along came "IT" to disrupt my world and now Denny which I am really wanting to call the "THING" but Mom says I am not allowed too. Don't you think I should be allowed to call this little monster what ever name I want to?

What have we learned today.....

That when you only weigh four pounds - everything is a big job and the little Denny has been so hard at work. First he re-arranged all of Mom's shoes for her, he thought they looked better with miss matched pairs. Then he re-arranged the bathroom mats for her - he was sure they weren't in the operative position for drying feet. Lastly, he emptied the laundry basket for her and sorted out the clothes according to smell rather then color. After all that hard work he just had to have a nap because he couldn't keep those little eyes open. Next week he will be starting my blogger school for beginners - yes he is young but he's a quicker learner. He already knows what F-O-O-D spells.

A present from London !

Sally and Paddy and their Mom Diana recently had a giveaway on their blog which was some commemorative goodies from William and Kates wedding. I actually won something and was so surprised when the package arrived yesterday. We got a wonderful re-usuable bag (perfect for my trips to the pet store) an egg cup which my Mom LOVED because egg cups seem hard to find in the USA. There was also a box of chocolate truffles - the Mom's mouth watered at these but sadly she can't have sugar so the Dad (under much pressure - YEAH Dad we all believe that !) is going to enjoy those. He's already sampled them !!! Here we are checking out the goodies - Denny was very interested in the egg cup and thought it was fun to roll around - Mom had to take it away from him as she didn't want him to break it. We are ALL pleased to say the Denny had a quiet night last night. He cried a little when first put to bed, but then not a peep out on him until this morning.

Taking back MY blog !

I am taking back MY blog ! I don't get what gives with these young whipper snappers hogging the space on MY blog. I am the Cowspotdog and this is MY bloggie after all.

It is still so hot and humid here but I did agree to the Mom taking few photos yesterday. Here I am doing my patriotic pose and then just doing my inquisitive look and thinking "why are you making me sit here in the hot sun MOM!"

This weather is also making my allergies go crazy and I am not a happy doggie at the moment. When I am not scratching I am rubbing my face on anything with corners on it. (Note from Mom - Reilly is now having allergy shots ever four weeks and is on antihistamines but they really don't seem to be helping much, we had to stop the prednisone - even though they helped a little, as they were making him act like he was starving and he was putting on too much weight. We have tried different allergy and hot spot shampoos and I have been doing patch tests on him to see if it is specific plant or grass but nothing so far - sigh, I hate seeing him so uncomfortable)

Hey MOM ! Are you taking over my blog too! Okay, I give up - I will share - but ONLY sometimes! Mom took the Den-myster (Dad has already nic-named him) to the vets this morning for a check up and we are pleased to say he got the okay, ears, eyes, heart, lungs, legs - everything. He had a good going over and was so well behaved. The vet did notice that the Denny has a few sores on him (given that he was a litter of seven and pups like to play fight it is to be expected. He said he will check on those again in two weeks).

Early Morning Photos

Little Mr Denny is a bit of a cry baby during the night - actually more then a bit - he howls and yodels and just makes the loudest and weirdest sounds. Mom says he is just missing his brothers and sisters (he was from a litter of 7) and it will take him a little while to settle in.

He is one fiesty little guy (Mom chuckles and says it's because he's a red head) He has no problems taking on "IT" and will give as good as he gets. I am loving that he backs the "IT" into the corner and pounces on him like "IT" was always pouncing on me - yeah for Denny! I must admit I am enjoying the rest from having "IT" constantly in my face wanting to play. I hope every furbody has a wonderful and SAFE 4th of July - stay cool and enjoy the day.

So hot

It is still so hot here - over 6 weeks and non stop 90+ degree heat. Yesterday it reached 100 but with the humidity felt like 110 and it's the same today. We pups are having to do the dash, pee and run back in the house routine. Denny cried a little last night and had us laughing like crazy - he makes the funniest noises - like he is rolling his tongue and sort of gurgling and howling or maybe yodeling all at the same time. We will have to try and catch it on video. He is eating well - has a great appetite and drinking plenty and got to gnaw on a bone for a little this morning. His teeth are so tiny he really couldn't do much. Sorry no photo's today, it's just too hot to take any outside.

In other news, it was my Dads birthday on Friday (we share the same birthday month). Poor Dad has come in contact with something he is allergic too and both his eyes were swollen and red - he looked like a funny panda bear :) It seems to be settling down but Mom has told him he has to stay out of the garden (he was doing some weeding). We think it was one of the weeds he touched - maybe something related to poison ivy - which my Dad is highly allergic too and which causes the same problems with his eyes. I told him I would be his seeing eye dog if he needed my to be and that I could lead him to all the important things - like the cabinet my food is in, the shelf where my treats are and the box we keep my toys in.

Hope you are all having a wonderful long weekend and for all of you in the hot zone (we know many parts of the country are) keep cool okay and not to much sun!

The Surprise - Unveiled

We would like to introduce a new member to our family - this is Denny (which in Scottish means 'red headed one' ) and like Reilly he is a color headed white - only he is sable instead of black. Like Reilly he also has spots so yes he is another cowspotdog ! Denny has a spot just on one side though and on his tail. So far everyone is getting along just wonderfully.















Denny is 9 weeks and came from a breeder in Kentucky! That is why Mom and Dad were going there. He slept for the whole five and half hours to drive home and is so adorable. If you look at his spot sideways - you can see it heart shaped! We are all pretty tired now so we will share lots more tomorrow.