Mail Call - Thank You Gizmo & Finn

We entered in Finn and Gizmo's Park Day 1 and won a prize - it arrived today and dog oh dog did I had fun opening it.  Hmmm I smells treats - nice soft ones - perfect for my still sore mouth. Lets see what else there is  - toys. Those must be for the Dweeb - he does love his toys. And....a new poop bag holder - now how is this for perfect timing - the one I have on my leash actually broke on Saturday and Mom was planning to buy a new one - now she doesn't have too!














Those treats sure were good Mom - but I think I may need  to have another one just to make sure I wasn't imagining it. And look, I got a nice card from Gizmo too. Thank you Gizmo - we loved our prize and have already stated our Park Day 2 adventure. If you haven't checked it out yet - pop on over to Finn's or Gizmo's blogs and check it out.

Musing on Monday #19

Are you a right or left sided chewer?  I have to admit I hadn't given this much thought until I had that dreaded tooth out and discovered that yes - I am a right sided chewer. I do indeed tend to chew on that side a lot and of coarse now I am having to learn to chew on the other side which feels quite odd I might add!

Can you believe Mom has been laughing at me as I struggle to find my new chewing rhythm. She says I look like I have a mouthful of peanut butter the way I slobber and try to move food around now (Daaa did you think Mom - it could be that sloppy soft food diet I have been on all week!)  Thank dogness I can start eating normal food again tomorrow!



Oh - now some of you may have been wondering about that other Dweeb that use to live here - you know - the Dorky - erm what was his name - oh yeah Jackeeeeee. We have asked for some photos of him but his Mom never sent any but we did manage to find one on her sisters facebook page. We can tell you all - that YES - he is still a Dweeb - and a cheesehead as well since he lives in Wisconsin now !!!! We hear he is doing fine and enjoys playing with his cousin Max (a boxer who's paw is about about as big as the dweebs head - all the better for 'boxing' him the ears with I say!)

Double MY Parks Walk

The sun finally peeked out this morning and we decided to take advantage of it and head out for a walk  before more rain arrives...so off we went to MY big park. Now it has been raining A LOT here the last few days so we decided to stick to the paved path and we discovered something new AGAIN! We followed the path all the way to the end and guess what - it led right into to MY little park and the best thing of all - MY little park isn't actually open until 1.00pm on Sundays but following the path from one park to the other you can go in and we had MY little all to ourselves! We got to do the tree top walk all alone!













Here we are heading down the steps from the tree tops deck to the lower deck. The little lake is really full and the water is only a couple of feet below it on the lower level. We saw lots of turtles and two pairs of geese today. And this is the view from the new Parks and Fisheries Building they have built in MY little park. It you biggify the picture you can see all the water in the background - that isn't a lake - it is all the rice paddies that are around us or as Mom calls them - Mosquito De Bayou :)  Hope you have all had a wonderful Sunday too.

We are featured in a book!

Our cute synchronized butts have been featured in a book called Sheltie Tails and Tales by  Chula Wula D’Augue.  It is an e-book and you can download it for FREE here 
(note - the books seems to load funny on our laptop - once you go past the first few pages it was fine - but worked fine on the Ipad)

If you haven't seen our synchronized butt wiggles - you can check them out in our video :)

More tree frogs

Ho hum - BORING !!!!!  It is RAINING - non stop and they say we are going to have 3 days of it.  The weather radio has already been issuing flood warnings. As far as we know we are not in a flood area but you can never tell what will happen.  The only ones who seem to be enjoying all this wet  are our tree frogs who have been "quacking" up a storm. And guess what - now you can hear them (hopefully this link works - we have never added an mp3 to our blog before!) Just click on this link (it will take you to our Google storage page) and then click on  "download" and tell it to open with Windows Media player or what ever media player you have like I-tunes or such.
https://sites.google.com/site/cowspotdoggies/media
Mom loves these little guys and was smiling like crazy this morning when she got up - as there was two of them clinging on to the windows  with their cute tiny sucker feet. They seem quite partial to Mom's Gardenia bushes - one if which is flowering already and smells divine (at least to her). Mom thinks they like them because they blend in so well with the leaves. Really MOM - you so need to get a life - who the dog give a woof about frogs!  And the darn things can really make some noise when they get going! Personally I think they sound like one of those duck calling whistle things.  Hmm I wonder how they would feel about a train ride on the Dogville Express or better still - I wonder what would happen if we tied them to the tracks and turn up the trains to their fastest setting - "oh save me - save me - they would be quacking" !!!!!

For who the Troll Tolls!

I was feeling pretty good this morning and after "nose rattling" my lead a few times Mom finally got the message that I wanted to go for a walk. She said "only a small walk - you had a big day yesterday" Yeah yeah - what ever Mom. So off we went to MY little park. BUT there was something VERY strange and I mean VERY strange about MY park today - I had the weirdest feeling we were being watched!

We looked everywhere and listened intently but we couldn't see anything. Then all of a sudden we heard all these strange scurrying noises and maniacal little giggles coming from the bushes.  I must admit - the hackles on my neck were standing up and Dweeb was shaking in his in his paw prints! When we looked at Mom though she was just smiling and she said "it's okay boys - nothing to worry about"  EASY for her to say!!!   I checked for squirrels and other varmints thinking it was just some of the local wild life - but there was a strange  unfamiliar musky scent in the air.

Mom told us we had to be VERY quiet and still and then SUDDENLY - there it was - OH MY DOG ! WHAT THE HECK IS THAT!!!!!!!!!!  It was gone in the blink of an eye but as we continued on our walk we kept seeing a flash of it out of the corner of our eye. "Is that following us Mom?"  Mom just smiled and said "maybe"













When we finally got back to the car park we stopped and rested at this little bridge. I told Mom - "Gosh I sure am glad we left that thing behind us in the woods. What the heck was it Mom?" Mom just smiled AGAIN - (Dog I hate it when she does that) and said "it was just an imp troll" An IMP WHAT???? An 'imp troll' Reilly - they are keepers of bridges but imp trolls are very playful and sweet. I told Mom "Well what ever it was let's make it stays here in the park where it belongs!" Mom got some water out of her backpack for us and then we headed home for a rest but you know what - I am sure I could still smell it and hear that weird little giggle. Mom says I am just imagining it and that it must be an after affect of my tooth surgery. I sure hope - I wouldn't want those things infesting our house!

Wordless Wednesday - Croak!

Home again home again

Mr Reilly is home safe. He had to have two

teeth removed - the big one at the back that was causing the abscess and one on the side that had the top broken off and was exposing the pink inside. All the rest of the teeth are perfect and he didn't even have any scale on them (which for a 6 year old dog is pretty darn good). He just got his teeth polished so they would be nice and smooth. He is on a soft diet for the next week as he has sutures in both places where the teeth were removed and will be on antibiotics and pain meds for the rest of the week too.  He is still a little groggy but is outside dogervising Dad who is digging a hole for a new tree. Thank you every doggie for P.O.T.P - we know it helped keep him safe.

The REAL Vacation Report - by Denny

Big Dog is off having his tooth taken care of so today I get to tell the REAL story about the dreadful, scary and terrifying vacation !!!!!

It all began early in the morning when Mom and Dad were busy putting things in the BIG car. I knew  something scary was happening so I stayed under the kitchen table out of the way (trembling) - but then the Mom TRICKED me - yes she did. She offered me a treat and then GRABBED me and put me in the BIG car.

Now  we hardly ever go in the BIG car so I knew straight away this was not going to be good. Mom had even put MY little snuggly bed and security blankie in there but I wasn't falling for that trick - okay I did eventually! We drove and drove for like 87 days and we kept stopping at these terrifying places called "Rest Stops". They were sooooo BAD I would plant all 4 feet and refuse to get out of the BIG car. Dad would have to pick me up and put me outside but I didn't like one little bit - NO I didn't - not one little bit!  There was so much noise with cars and trucks whizzing by and even though I didn't like the BIG car it soon became my safe place. I got so good at not leaving it that I would jump back in the car before Mom and Dad could blink. Big Dog didn't seem to care at all - he was to busy sniffing and off in his own little happy place.


Finally the BIG car stopped moving and Mom said "okay we are here" - but where was here?  This wasn't my house or my garden - it was a terrible haunted scary cabin thing. NO WAY was I going to go in that - I ran straight back and jumped back in MY big car. It took many many tries on Mom's part to finally get me in that cabin thing and then when I did get inside - no way was I going to go out again with all those weird animals and noises.

It took most of the afternoon but eventually I did come out to investigate and look around - so long as Mom left the door open so I could run inside if any monsters came chasing me. This is where I spent A LOT of my time though - safely hiding behind - I mean protecting Mom's legs. The minute she stopped or sat down - this is where I would be. Someone had to protect her -  right?


I can't say this vacation thingy was really ALL bad - just MOST of it! People did keep telling me what a pretty boy I was - when they could see me peeking from behind Mom's legs.

Overall -  I think the very best part of this vacation thingy was finally getting home - dog oh dog - I ran inside and kissed the floor (well I slipped actually and did a nose dive) but yes - I was SOOOOO HAPPY to be home in my house and in my garden and I don't ever want to go on vacation again MOM!

Note from Mom - it didn't help that I forgot to take Denny's "Chill Pills" his anxiety medication. He actually did better then I thought he would. He is without a doubt a  "weird scared little dude" but we love him anyway :)

Musing on Monday #18

Mom says I am suffering with "post vacation blues" and that I am just laying around all depressed looking. But what is a dog to do - I get taken somewhere TOTALLY pawsome where I can run and sniff to my hearts content - off the lead -  and then they bring me back to my fenced in yard (even though it is huge) and expect me to be happy?  What the dog? Dad was talking to our neighbors last night and they were saying they are going to the Crater of Diamonds Park in a few week for the kids summer vacation. Now admittedly I am not fond of little ankle biting rug rats - but heck if I can figure a way to stow away in their RV - I think Diamond John would let me stay at his place. Mom says all the twitching and feet waggling I am doing in my sleep in me dreaming of chasing those pesky peacocks (YES - me bad - I did chase them !!!)  Now the dweeb on the other paw had a whole different experience but I will let him tell you about it tomorrow - he should of de-stressed by then.Oh - I am have my tooth removed tomorrow, the abscess cleaned out and all my other teeth cleaned and looked at - power of the paws please to make sure I get through it okay.

Park Day at the Crater of Diamonds State Park

We had planned to join in Finn's Park Day because we knew we were going somewhere special. Although there was a wifi connection you had to be with in 15 feet of it for it to work and our cabin was a lot further away so we didn't have have a chance to post our "park day" on the day. This was also a special time for our Mom for the 25th of April was ANZAC day (An Aussie Special Day) and the 26th would of been her Mom's birthday.

Anyway - our adventure continues. Now as we mentioned we stayed at a place called Diamond John's Retreat. He is actually surrounded by the State Park (They are trying hard to buy him out but he won't sell!) The front of his property is right on the river which has Rainbow Trout and Big Mouth Bass and River Otters. Now Diamond John also provides FREE fishing equipment, canoes, barbeques and stuff for rug rats to play. The accommodation is basic but clean and well kept. The cabins are all air conditioned and heated and a couple of the tee-pees are air-conditioned. The BIG tee-pee sleeps 10! Pets are most welcome - we were allowed to run free because there was no one else there but normally long leashes are required around the accommodation - there are plenty of areas away from the accommodation where we can run leash free though.

The Crater of Diamonds State Park allows pets too - if you are actually digging in the crater it costs $7.00 to enter and dogs can go in there too. You can rent digging stuff right there. There are plenty of shady places to sit and watch the peeps while they dig. The actual park and trails are all free to use.
 

Here we are at the Crater of Diamonds - now there are not only diamonds found here but many other gem stones as well such as peridot and garnets and Diamond John surprised Mom BIG TIME  by giving her some of these when we left. Was that ever nice or what? And guess what - there were 5 diamonds found the day we were there - none by us of coarse but 5 lucky people found them!

And here is the Sea Shanty Cabin (that is what Mom called it) - this one is close to the river. And here is one of the peacocks that lives there. There are two males with these beautiful tails. Being spring time they were busy calling out for females (which they don't have) and we must admit they were a bit noisy but you get use to them after awhile. They only call like this during spring.

We are back

We went on a mini vacation with Mom and Dad this past few days. Mom was a bit worried about my tooth abscess and whether should go but the vet said it would be okay so off we went. We had hoped to share adventure for Park Day but we didn't have any internet connection.

Anyway - we went to the Crater of Diamonds State Park - one of the few places in the USA where you can dig for diamonds and keep what you find.  No - we didn't find any but we sure  had fun looking and for us - the BEST part was the totally pawsome park trails. We stayed at this awesome little place right on the River called Diamond Johns and he let us run around all over the place with NO leashes - Dog oh dog - we were so happy!

And yes - Diamond John has tee-pees - we stayed in a the cabin though (you can see in the right hand corner behind the tee-pees) and we had the whole place to ourselves - no other guests!!! And check out the big doggie he has - Mom says it was miniature horse named "pretty-boy" but let me tell you - he sure didn't have a pretty nature - he doesn't like doggies and he tried eating Mom's shoe! Mom knew how to handle him though and he behaved himself after that.













We did meet a real doggie too - this is Bandit and he belongs to Diamond John. We made him an honorary cowspotdog as he has a brown spot on his back. He followed us around everywhere. I did have to tell him who was the boss - ME - and once we had that all sorted out we all got on great. He would go for a walk with us every time we went. We also met some fainting goats which are as weird as the Dweeb, geese, ducks, chickens and peacocks! There was even tree-rats (squirrels) and C.A.T's around.













The best part of the trip though was all the park paths we went exploring. We walked for miles and miles and didn't meet another single person or doggie. What could of been better then that ....well getting to explore with no leashes on - which we did!!! I think we have found doggie heaven. We have some more photo's to share tomorrow and yes I am feeling okay. I still have a little bit of swelling but it is hardly noticeable and Mom has been giving me my medicine and that has worked wonders.

An Update

Mom says I am doing okay after a bit of a rough night.  Late in the evening my face swelled up so much my eye was nearly closed  and my nose kind of looked like a white bull terriers- thankfully this morning it has subsided.

I am actually feeling okay apart from the swollen face, it does hurt a bit and I don't like Mom touching it - or the Dweeb who wants to keep licking my face - ERK! For some reason the Valcro Kid is stuck to my side worse than normal - Mom says he is worried about me and KNOWS my face is hurting" I am going to make his butt hurt (with a good nip) if he doesn't back off and give me some space! Mom has been checking and I don't have temperature so she thinks the antibiotics are working their magic. This morning she even made me a special "soft" breakfast because she didn't want me eating crunchy kibble.



Of coarse I am milking it for all it's worth and got coconut milk ice cream as a treat last night.  I think Mom might be on to me though as I keep racing outside and BARK at that pesky dog that lives behind us. Mom says "how can I go out there barking and making lots of noise while telling the other dog that is barking - to be quiet"  DOH - Moms can be so dense - I am TELLING it to be quiet - therefore I have a REASON to bark. IT - is just barking at NOTHING therefore it doesn't have a reason!  It's exhausting having to explain dog logic to hoomans......and it's making my face hurt - MOMMMMMM  I think I need some more ice-cream :)

Had to rush Reilly to the vets

(Mom) - I popped out to pick some groceries this morning - was out for about an hour and when I came home I noticed Reilly's face on the right side was swollen. I rang the vets and got an appointment for this afternoon but half an hour later it was even more swollen he was shaking his head a lot so I called back and they said bring him right down. They checked him out and it is an abscess caused by one of his back teeth. He had an antibiotic shot and has more antibiotic tablets and pain pills to take. He is scheduled for next week to go have the tooth removed and have the rest checked.  It really scared me how quickly it swelled up - I thought maybe he had stung by something - especially after the tick scare we had. It just added to the stress of me waking up at 1.30 am this morning with an itchy arm only to find it was tick causing it! It had bitten me! Thankfully I had just read up on how to remove them and Dave was able to get it off with no problems. Both Dave and I had a restless rest of the night though - we both kept feeling like there were things crawling on us!!!!! It's going to be one of those weeks!

Park park park

Thank dogness!!! Even though Mom says we can't go walkies in the woods because of the ticks - we can still go to MY park and for the 4th day in a row we have had the most gorgeous weather. It also helped that I used my CMI (Cowspotdog Mind Influence) on her - basically this involves following at her feet EVERYWHERE she goes and sending a constant barrage of thought chants to her brain - park - park - park - park - (trust me - it works!)

So off we went to MY park - Hmmm I wonder if anything is living in the hole this year - Mom pulled us away REALLY  fast as last year there was something living in there - BEES! Sometimes it is not a good idea to stick your nose in someones else's home!

We followed the path around the lake until Mom found a nice spot for the 'required' photos - (payment for the walkies she says!!!!) Notice how the Dweeb not only sticks to my side but even keeps in step with me! Mom finally found the 'right spot' and after what seemed like 87 gazillion pics she finally got one she was happy with. Believe me - we tried to thwart the process - we looked in different directions, we looked up, down and sideways trying to avoid the flashy beast - but that darn buffalo jerky she suddenly pulled out of her pocket did us in! What an under handed trick MOM !













And of coarse as much as she TRIED to capture MY regal self for a close up - I wasn't going to let her have her way - (by then we had scarfed all the jerky so I had no reason to co-operate any further!) It went something like this "Oh look Mom - there's a squirrel over there - and look - there is a bird over there. Was that a squeaky tree I heard - oh there's a jogger coming and what is that -  THERE IS ANOTHER DOG in MY park!!!" All good decoys - You get the idea - I hope you are all taking notes!

Musing On Monday #17

If I don't look happy - it is because I am NOT !  Something awful, terrible and devastating (at least according to Mom) happened - after our Saturday & Sunday walks in the woods  - Dad found a tick crawling up his arm after he gave the Dweeb a cuddle. It totally freaked out the Mom !!!  She was all flustered and dad had to vacuum everywhere, then she checked us from head to tail with a fine tooth comb - we got brushed and brushed and there wasn't a square inch of us she didn't look at and I mean she looked EVERYWHERE - please Mom - have you no shame!   She was even more unhappy when she found a tick on ME - but the darn thing was dead already (thanks to our monthly flea and tick treatments) but did that matter - NOOOOOOO. She says NO MORE walkies in the woods - WHAT THE DOG!!!!!  Is that fair I ask you????? 

Black & White and Steps Sunday

 We are joining in Nola's Black and White Sunday and Steps Sunday with George The Lad

Have a wonderful Sunday

What an glorious day

Oh my DOG !!!!  It is the MOST beautiful day - 60 degrees, clear blue skies, bright sun, no wind - PERFECT. Best of all - Mom said "we can't waste such a gorgeous day - lets go to the park!!!" We even managed to drag Dad along with us!!

We decided to follow a path we hadn't been on before and it meant going up through the Nature Center and then down the steps and along the path. It was so pretty - as you can see it is greening up beautifully!













It was also VERY muddy - in fact there were little pools of water and small creeks flowing everywhere.Some had little bridges over and some didn't but you know what - as much as I hate to admit it - I didn't even mind getting my feet wet going across them! Mom kept mumbling about how fresh the air smelled - blah - Mom there has been deer, possums, racoons and skunks here - now those sweet smells.













We eventually came across a creek that was to big for us to cross so we turned back and decided to go on the boardwalk amongst the tree tops. The sniffing isn't as good there but the folks liked it better.













We saw LOTS of turtles out sunning themselves and MY little lake is full to over-flowing. I must admit MY little park is just wonderful this time of the year. We also met a corgi-blue heeler cross puppy called Sally - (she was a pretty blue merle color) and Mom wasn't to happy cause I told her off for being in MY park. Mom says I am getting anti-social in my old age! Blah - it is MY park and I am allowed to say who can and cannot go there! As you can see - we were two happy doggies after our walk.