What were they thinking?

Picture this - Researchers standing around watching 7000 of  us doggies peeing and pooping with compasses in hand to check which way we align ourselves when taking a wizz.  Doh - even we doggies are laughing at this one!

Well it appears we like a north south orientation - whoop te doo!  We are shaking our heads wondering what use knowing this information will be....as compared to doing REAL research into something important like doggie cancer?  Hmm maybe if peeps get lost they can follow our pee and poop trails to find there way home :) :)

If you want to scratch your head and wonder "what were they thinking?"  - you can read more about the research here

Playing in the cold...we're playing in the cold

Okay - we know it's cold like it is up in the northern states but 30 degrees with a real air temp of 21 is COLD to our Mom....but she knows how much we love it so she bundled up for a game with us outside.  Now some of you may be surprised to see ME the BIG dog play.....but I actually love jumping and weaving and having a great time outside. Mom says when it warms up a bit she will drag the rest of my agility stuff outside. It is kind of difficult because our yard isn't flat but Mom says she will make it work.  Now the Dweeb he is more of a throw and fetch doggy. Mom has been trying to teach him jump and weave but he is scared of them so she has her work cut out for her - once a dweeb always a dweeb I say!

We got a sprinkle of snow!

It was just a dusting of snow but we are loving it and even though it way cold (for the Mom - not for us) she rugged up and came and played toss the toy with us.

The Beaver Buffet - I am FAMOUS !

Mom contacted one of the reporters at our local TV station about the beavers in MY park and the trouble they are causing and he wanted to interview US !  You can read all about here.... http://www.kait8.com/story/24339105/craighead-forest-park-becomes-a-buffet-for-beavers oh my dog - I am famous...he even showed us ME on the video. I think I deserve a huge box of treats for all my environmental endeavors :) Mom says this make me a tree hugger - I don't think so Mom - I prefer to just sniff and pee on them :)

A Happy New Year

We just have one single wish for everyone this year - Be Happy - that is all :)

There is a camera dog afterall !!!!!!!

Thank you thank you oh great and powerful Camera God DOG. Mom has decided to sell her Nikon 3100 which means one less flashy beast in the house !!!!! This is an awesome camera but for Mom who has Rheumatoid Arthritis is is just too heavy for her knobbly little hands to hold. Mom has only used it like four times. If you know anyone who needs a great camera send them over  here for all the details - there are lots of extras with it.  http://www.ebay.com/itm/331096508565?ssPageName=STRK:MESELX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1558.l2649

BAD BAD Beavers

Okay - now I am seriously ANNOYED at the beavers. We went for a walk to the other side of the lake today and we counted 7 trees that have gnawed all the way around - and many more with patches gnawed out of them.  You can see 6 of them just in this one little area. There is no hope for the trees that have gnawed all the way around - they will die  :( 

Now even though we all know it is really MY park it is technically owned by the city we live in and I am NOT happy they are not doing something to protect the trees. There is actually staff that live at the park and it is also a place RV's can stay. These damaged trees are also going to be a big risk to people and doggies that use the park. Today we found beaver foot prints and the 'runs' as Mom calls them - where you can see where the beaver(s) have been coming and going in and out the water - they are like tunnels in the grass.  Mom has sent these pics to the local TV station in the hope they will show people what is happening over there and start doing something to protect the trees. Hopefully they can catch the beavers and move them somewhere else. It makes Mom sad cause she loves beavers but she loves trees too.

The Mystery Continues.....

We headed back to MY park today to do some
further investigation regarding the damage to MY trees. Reilly Holmes and Denny Watson are on the trail. We found an additional 3 more trees that have been damaged!!!!

Here are the clues we uncovered so far:
1. Chomped all the way around the trunk
2. No foot or hoof prints
3. Strange smells around the trees
4. Only trees on the waters edge have been chomped
5. See the tree laying in the water - chomped right through!
6. We heard some strange noises to which I listened to intently before going back to check the evidence some more.
7. I had a weird feeling there was something nearby but I couldn't see it?
8. Mom drove us crazy singing "If you go down in the woods tonight you're sure of a big surprise" - what the dog was all that about??????

The chase is afoot....and it is quite elementary dear friends as to just what it is - do you know?

Something strange in MY park?

Mom and Dad took us to MY park today but we saw something strange there.....something has been chomping on MY trees - without MY permission !!!!!!  Back home in Australia they call this 'ring-barking' a bad bad practice some farmers use to kill off trees.

Now we are not sure if it is a beaver or a deer. We have seen deer prints along the lake edge recently and we didn't think there was any beavers around here but recently there was a story on our local TV news about some beavers that have been causing havoc with the trees over at the mall. It appears there is a big drainage ditch over by the mall  (Mom says it is big enough to be called a stream) and some beavers have made their way along there and took up residence near the mall - home and shopping in one we guess :) Anyhoo - we are thinking maybe the beavers have followed the drainage ditches all the way to MY lake and park. We saw 3 trees that have gnawed upon. I gave it a thorough sniffing and there was certainly something strange smelling around the trees.














Thanks Mom and Dad for braving the cold and taking us walkies......it was deceptive - it is so bright and sunny today but it is also on 40 degrees. I know - not as cold as some of you but to Mom is is FREEZING - she was rugged up more than a polar bear.

Merry Christmas 2013

As one grows older your Christmas list gets
smaller and the things you really want for the holidays
can't be bought. Give the things that are free this Christmas -
love, friendship and hugs.

Merry Christmas From Reilly, Denny, Bree & Dave
 
Our Christmas Morning
 We started our Christmas morning with a special breakfast - Mom made us a waffle with whipped cream and bacon on the top - dog oh dog it was good!

 Then we got to open our presents and we want to say a BIG thank you to our buddies Shane and Hokie for the MOST pawsome box of goodies they sent us in the Christmas gift exchange. You can see them opening the box we sent them here. They were totally perfect gifties and we love every single one.....I especially LOVED the treats and Dweeb of coarse LOVED LOVED LOVED the toys which is exactly the way it should be.

 

 Our Final Card Card Count - US - 93 Mom and Dad 1   - Bawaaahhhhhh

 

Christmas Shopping

Mom and Dad took us Christmas shopping today over at PetSmart which in a town about half an hour away. On the way there we stopped at one MY parks to check on things. This is the one that has the swimming lake that they empty each year. Mom just about froze but we loved it.

After our walk we headed to PetSmart we we scored big in the goodies department. Bully sticks, soft treats and some new toys.  All round the perfect way to spend a Sunday and even though it is Christmas time - it was very quiet every where we went.

Card Count

Card Count - Us 86, Mom & Dad 1

We are have a soggy doggie weekend with 5 inches of rain so far and it is still coming down. Mom says we may have to build ourselves an ark!

Looking for green

MY Mom REALLY misses the green in winter so when ever we go to the park she is always on the lookout for a splash of it somewhere.

This time of year the only bit she finds is pine trees and the moss.  Now as much as we HATE sitting for the flashy beast we kinda don't mind sitting on the moss as it soft and doesn't feel as cold on our butts as the ground.

I must admit I am surprised the Dweeb hasn't tried chomping on it though.....during summer he could barely walk past a single plant without taking a nibble on it. Mom says he was a grazing COW-spotdog! She was constantly worried he was going to poison himself but as we can plainly see he is still here.....as dweebish as ever. He didn't even make himself sick once and believe me - he tried EVERY plant he walked past.

We even went over and checked out our favorite Mossy Knoll. This is what it looked like in October.  Mom said it was our own hidden little grotto.....and now in December.....well at least the moss is still there. Mom says she can't wait for spring to arrive. And yes - even though we love snow we are thankful not to have any :)

That will teach you

I HATE Canadian Geese !!!  There I have said it - does that make me a racist dog? Not that I have anything against Canadians in fact Mom says she loved it when her and Dad went there.  It is just the Canadian Geese. I don't mind the white geese even though they honk and hiss even worse than the Canadian geese and I don't mind the ducks...............but for some reason those Canadian Geese have me stomping my boots and wanting to grab their tail feathers. Now I have never had a bad encounter with any of them, none have ever attacked me or tried to peck me....but for some reason I just don't like THEM in particular.

Notice my "tail held high" that is my way of looking even bigger to them.  Of coarse the goose chasing would be much more effective if I didn't have the Dweeb Ball & Chain holding me back. There is just nothing more satisfying than a good goose chasing session - that will teach them for pooping all over MY park!!!!

We have puppies !!!!!!!!!!!!

Our mini-me's arrived from Malaysia yesterday and Mom says they look like little puppies they are so darn cute. Dweeb of coarse thought it was a toy for him and tried running off with it and I of coarse just gave it my best grumpy look and told it "you are not as cute as the REAL thing".

Now for those that don't know, these are made by Miss Diana and you can see more of her work here https://www.facebook.com/MyCrochetPage.  She actually crochets these - can you believe that and look how amazing they are - the colors match perfectly, the spots match perfectly - she even got our ears perfect. She does all breeds of dogs too.

Mom also found some clear acrylic display cases on ebay to keep them in so they stay nice and clean (although really we know it is to keep them out of the jaws of the destuffy monster)

The park at last

It warmed up to 50 degrees yesterday  - so even though she shouldn't have (that is what Dad says - not US) Mom took us to the park for a quick walk and sniff.  It was over a week before Mom could get MY car out the the garage because of the ice storm we had and then it has just been so cold she wouldn't go outside. The paths around the lake were still all icy but the road was clear so we walked along that.  Scrunching in those leaves sure was fun - thank you Mom :)

Musing on Monday #36

Ice isn't as much fun as snow!

Winter is one of those odd times of year for us doggies. There are negatives and positives.

The positives
For one - there is snow zoomies - we were watching our buddies Chewy and Katie having such fun zooming around in a big thick layer of fresh snow- sigh ! wish we had some.
Once you get warmed up from the zoomies you can grab mouthfuls of the lovely cold stuff - it is like doggie snow cones!
It is cold - which we long furs especially like - there is nothing better then feeling that arctic wind blowing through the furs
It is quieter at the parks as not people go out when it is cold
We get to leave lovely soggy footprints all over the floors

The negatives
It is boring !!!! The peeps don't like the cold and are not as inclined to go outside in it
They are constantly waiting with towels to dry us off when we come back inside
They don't want to go to the park because it is cold
They don't want to go to the pet store because it is cold
They don't want to walk around the neighborhood because it's cold
The drabbness of winter makes the Mom sad.

We of coarse think the positives outweigh the negatives - but try convincing the peeps of this.

Just an update on Mom - after having many tests and seeing different doctors they finally rang this morning and told her she has what is called acute pancreatitis. The CT scan showed some fluid around it last week and then her blood tests came back with high readings. She will be off to see another specialist as soon as they can get her appointment as they are not sure what is causing it as she has never been or drinker or smoker which is the common reasons for it. They think maybe the surgeries and infection triggered it.  

It was a cold and blustery night.....

You know with all the cold and ice we have been having the Mom has been closing our sun-room door that leads into the main house ... it is still warm in there as it is heated but the door that leads outside is off that room and it has our doggie door in it - so we can come and go as we please.

The other night the wind was blowing the doggie door open and causing a draft so Mom shut the sun-room door into the main house not realizing the we were outside.....it was around 9.00pm.  Now in her defense she wasn't feeling well and was extremely tired and normally she always give us a bedtime cookie and would notice us not being there but she laid down and fell asleep straight away and didn't realize we were not inside. (PPPPPsssss - Dad didn't notice either and he didn't go to bed early like Mom!)

About 2.00am  my Dad felt my nose nudging his hand...I often do this during the night to both Mom and Dad just to let them know I am there....it kind of makes them stir but not wake up but that night I was being very persistent with my nudging and it finally woke my Dad up....... and then he heard it.......the scratching noises.

Dad got up to see what it was and found me and Dweeb in the sun-room. We weren't cold or anything as the sun-room is heated.....Dweeb was asleep on his bed under Mom's work table and I was at the door scratching.

But Dad said it was REALLY weird  cause he felt me nudging and nudging his hand and waking him up...even though I was out in the sun-room.  So yes we doggies can have more then a special connections with our peeps - especially if they learn to 'listen' to us.

Pssss - Dad felt sooooo bad we got extra cuddles and cookies even at 2.00am :) The reason he didn't notice was because we have a habit of sleeping all over the house - only the bedrooms are carpeted the rest of the house is tiles and wood floors so we move about a lot because we like to be cool  but always end up by their bed in the morning.  We are in and out their room all night - mom says it is like living with doggies who suffer hot flashes...... always going from hot to cold......bawaaaahhhh bawaaaahhh :)

Card Count

Reilly & Denny - 59

Mom and Dad - 1

Bow tie winners

We have some winners in our bow tie giveaway with many thanks to Tail Trends who donated the prizes.



The blue one goes to Stellaroselong for Gussie (who we hear is wanting to wear it when he asks someone special out on a date)

The pink one goes to Linda and Cinnamon.

Thank you to everyone who entered......we wish we had more to give away. Winners - Please email us your mailing address so we can send these to you ASAP - our email link is over there on the right hand side--------------------------------------------------->

Christmas Greeting From Blish

Greetings fellow aquatics  types and Bar Humbug to the rest of you!

Really it has been soooo long since I have been "allowed" to blog and LOOK AT ME - am I not the MAGNIFICENT one in this household. I blame "The Hand" of coarse - she simply isn't doing my bidding.

As for those none aquatic furballs that live here...well let me tell you a thing or two about them. The smallest one - they call it 'The Dweeb' a perfectly fitting name I think.....well ......IT has taken a liking to playing this thing called BALL. 'The Hand' throws this yellow round thing called a ball and IT and the OTHER hairy furball go galumping past my tank at great speed barking their heads off and causing almost tsunami like tidal wave vibrations in my tank. I swear  - even for a fish I feel sea sick with all that swishing back and forth!  And they do it for hours and hours!

And see those nommy foodables floating above my head - one of my favorite feasties....well 'The Stupid Hand' knocked my container over the other day and they spread all over the floor and you know what those furry hairballs did - you know what they did - they vacuumed them up in their big hairy mouths is what they did. All my lovely shrimp pellets and they scarfed the lot before 'The Hand' could even say 'leave it' !!!!

REALLY !!!  The things I have to put up with. I can at least forgive 'The Hand' for she did go out and buy me lots of yummy new foodables for me for Christmas.....but those other non scaley things.....I am sure they are the cause for earthquakes with all that galumping about.