Sorry for a long break

I know, I know, it's been a while. Lots of things going on in a busy dog's life. Mom went back to work (she teaches everybody!), Dad is building a VERY BIG kennel (I am thinking it's probably a replacement kennel for my mom and dad though - I don't need one THAT big...). So, I am it. Taking care of the household when everybody is gone. Granted, I do get to take a lot of naps, but would you call it a resful sleep when no one is home and I am responsible if something goes wrong? That should explain my long absence...
So, I was going to talk about encountering another "small dog syndrome" creature in the last post, and never got around to it...

(our park)

... One day mom and I were talking a walk in the neighborhood during one lovely morning. We usually have a route we always take. Go through the neighborhood, then wait for the traffic to go by before one busy road, and then - there is something I always look forward to - a park, well, it's actually an open feild, but still lovely to run through... There mom always puts me in a "down" stay - she calls it "dog training", then she keeps walking away, and I paitiently wait until she waves... and then - I just go!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Really fast, as fast as I can. And run some more. Then we cross the park, my mom says "walk", and I just join her by her side, and we keep strolling on the neighboring streets until we make a loop and come back to our kennel, oh, I mean "house" in a human language. And by the way, what's that long line that most dogs have attached to their moms and dads? I wonder if it keeps your human from running away? Mom and I don't use that sort of thing.

OK, let's get back to the story. This time our walk wasn't as peaceful as usual. We were walking on one of the sidewalk, when something really square and short ran across the street straight over to us. He snorted, made noise and agressively clenched his teeth. I was going to say "hello" anyway in spite of his weird looks, when all of a sudden I felt this sharp pain in my side. I screamed, mom stuck her hand around my side to push the creature away, and got bit too! Her finger bled, my side hurt, and we walked home really fast where my dad was waiting. When mom told him what happened, he called someone and there was a lot of commotion, then some guy came and dad talked to him for a long time. What I got out of it was that square thing and it's dad were punished for being mean to us. I felt bad I couldn't protect myself and my mom. But I was only 8 months then. I am older now, and I won't let anyone get so feisty with us next time.

I need to find a bigger friend

Sorry I haven't written much. I've been busy lately with the beginning of a school year and all. My boy is back at school, my mom is, too. Dad is busy building something (I suspect it could be a dog house for me, but it looks almost too big?), and my mom's aunt doesn't want to have anything to do with me, because of.. well, it's another story, and again, not a very glorious one...I wouldn't be surprised if I had to move outside, so a dog house would be handy. 

Every dog I meet is smaller then me. Every dog starts out by moving it's nose close to me, and suddenly transforming into a super agressive monster actively attacking my nose or something worse. Mom thinks it's funny - I overheard her talking to dad the other day. I don't mean the attacks are funny. It's the way it's starts. The owners always say from a distance,"What a cute puppy you have, can they say "Hi"? My dog would never hurt a fly!" Then they approach, and - it's all over with. May be they never never hurt a fly because they have been waiting for a perfect moment to hurt something much bigger, like a St. Bernard dog. And every one of them tries!

Big Dog - Small Dog - continued

Before I moved into my new place, another dog lived there. He is a small black dog, who thinks he is a Ruler of the Roost. It always amazes me how a small dog can be so vicious and blind to the fact that he could be gone from one tap of my paw...
Well, anyway.... The first week of my life in my new place I thought I would go deaf. That thing screamed and howled from the top of its lungs non-stop! Of course, it lived in a different room and we hardly ever crossed paths. It still hated me that much...
TIme went by. The house became quieter. Once we even went for a walk together. Everything was going really well, we walked side by side, and I was overjoyed - we are finally friends...until I got a little too close - he jumped up and grabbed me .... well, let's just say I am glad I still have a lower lip left.
When he is in the same room, I still try to be friendly - what if he changes his mind? So far, no luck... But I'll keep trying. After all, he is my only dog friend.

My New Life Began!

What can I say? I found my home. My new mom taught me how to do a lot of things. Now I can not only politely wait for my dinner, but walk on my own (no leash) and the best thing of all - no more cages! I do have a little crate and sometimes I use it. But only when I want some extra privacy.
My new dad... he is very special. I really love him and I wish I could go everywhere with him, but he says they don't allow dogs at work...
And I really love my new boy, too. He is a little afraid of me because of my size - and I try to be really gentle with him most of the time.

I've done so many things with my new family!


I watched fireworks on the 4th of July,
 
I ran as hard as I could in a forest where we stayed one weekend,

I even went to a classical music concert in a park with lots of people around me!

Everyone was saying how well behaved I was.

I will be back soon. It's late and I have to get some rest. Even though I am 90 pounds already, I am still only 11 months old.

First Day in My New Home

Wow, that was a neat ride. I got to see lots of new things on my way to this new place. Lots of new smells and another new person. Okay.. finally I am out of this strange cage. Everyone is hugging me and making funny noises.
Got ta pee ah.

(This is me on my new soft pillow).

The bald guy carried me into this big room that has a cage (oh, not again!) and a water bowl. Lots of new smells again. Hey, here is a small friend... I hope he will play with me, but not like that other creature a while back.

Well, the friend thing didn't go well again. He is fiesty!!! As soon as I approached him, he growled in a low tone, then quickly ran over, jumped up, grabbed my nose and hung on it! Oh, boy, did it hurt.. Why, why, why? I didn't do anything wrong, what's up with all these other dogs???

However, we did learn to coexist (see us below). But if you ask me, I wouldn't mind being a little closer...

My New Life begins

It's a lovely day outside. I hear today is Labor Day. Not that it makes much difference to me except for the fact that my family is home and I don't have to wait for them all day...

Oh, yes, I was talking about waiting in my previous post.
There I was. Sitting. Waiting. Not a happy puppy. And then... One of the people came and picked me up. He carried me to a separate room without any bars. Just a door and cement floors. He put me down. What am I doing here? Ahha! I get it - it's a public bathroom! I can do that - and then my kennel will be clean! Here, there, or there? There! Feel great now!
Wait... the same smell!  It's that lady with her boy! They are coming into the room to play with me! But why are we meeting in the bathroom?! Oh well, the main thing is that they are here!
They stayed a while and we all enjoyed each other's company. After half an hour or so I was put back in my kennel. But for some reason, I didn't feel so lonely any longer. I felt if as something very heavy was lifted up from inside of me and suddenly I felt lighter and happier. I knew I would be all right. Not sure how, but I just knew. My wait is over, and my new life is waiting for me now.

You probably know what happened later. The lady and her boy were doing all that stuff with papers that humans love doing. Then the same someone came and carried me to the room that had big doors leading to the outside World. Of course I remember that room - I was brought in through these doors twice already - once with my parents, sisters and brothers, and the second time alone... I really hope it won't happen the third time!

And here I am - in the car, with my boy, going home!

 

 

Wating...

I am back. But not for long today, it's late and I usually live by the schedule. I like to go to bed at a reasonable hour to get an early start the next day.
So,where was I? Sitting in a big kennel...
There I sat all by myself. For the first time in my life. Lots of people were walking by, many of them stopped by my cage. Looked in, smiled, talked among themselves, kept on going. And I felt all alone. Very, very lonely...
Most of the time I liked to stay away from the metal bars, close to my food bowl. It was my only consolation after so many unlucky events...
I heard people talking and the words Human (or humane?) Society. But the only humans I see are the ones outside the bars. It must be a place for humans who want to find animals and take them home?

OK, it's morning and I have a lot of energy today. Let's get rolling!

...A tall lady with a little boy came over. They stood there and looked at me. They weren't talking at all. Just stood there silently. I got up and sat closer to the metal bars to see them better. And there we were - I was sitting on one side and they were standing on the other one. We were silent and very interested in what was on the other side of the kennel...They stood there for a while, and slowly moved on looking at others behind those awful bars.
I feel like I am in a fishbowl - everyone walks by and looks, then moves on.
And the most horrible thing is that I have to use my kennel as my dining room and bathroom. And you never even get to go outside and run around!
Waiting... What am I waiting for anyway? I might be in here until I grow up. Then no one will want me for sure. They say big dogs eat and poop a lot. And NO ONE will want this.

Sorry, my boy is having a meltdown. I can't concentrate on anything creative when he cries. I will go and kiss him and hopefully, will be back soon.

Dog Memory Lane - 4 months

OK, I had a nap and a very filling dinner. Let's keep going here, shall we?

After that fiasco with the angry creature I ended up... well, you guessed it - back in a big cage. I was happy at first since I thought I would be reunited with my brothers and sisters. Who knows, may be the lucky stars would even bring my mom and dad back to us!
When they brought me in through the big doors, my stomach was jumping up and down (is this what they call "butterflies in your stomach"?), and I suddenly needed to go... you know... potty. I was determined to wait  - what if I missed them somehow? People talked, wrote something on a big piece of paper, then took me back and put that big paper on the outside of the kennel. Then they put me in and locked the gate.
I am in the same cage. Or at least it looked the same. Same smells, same noises, same feeling. And no brothers and sisters... I tried to distinguish their smells among all others, but no luck. No luck AT ALL. I knew they were all gone. Every one of them.
OK. What now? I just sat next to those metal bars and cried. You probably don't know, but dogs DO cry. You can't see it, because they don't have tears. But believe me, they do have pain and they do cry - inside.

Sorry, I have to take a break. Those are not the most pleasant memories, you know... I'll be back in a little while.

And this is me when I was about 4 months old.

Dog Memory Lane - 3 months

Oh, these people were so nice to me! They bought me a  beautiful blue collar (I really like blue:) on the way home, petted me and loved me in the car, and brought me to their home to stay. It wasn't a big home, but cozy. Beats a big smelly cage! I thought for a split second that it's going to be all right, my life is settled here until... a little screaming creature flew out of another room charging at me full speed and yelling at the top of its lungs. Oh boy... Do I run? Do I hide? No, wait. I get it - it wants to play! OK, strange style of introducing yourself to somebody, but oh well. Everybody's different. I don't judge. I came running towards the creature, wagging my tail, smiling and getting ready to do a little mingling - OUCH! Why does my lip hurt so much?!!!! This thing bites! Oh, I am not stupid - it's a little overzealous - just a different way of engaging. I don't know how to bite like that, but I can use my paws - plop!
Wait, where are you? Oops, you are under my paw, screaming again! Sorry, didn't mean to push that hard. (And by the way, I don't like these piercing screeching noises... I wish you didn't have to yell like this...)

This is me as a baby right around the time when my new mom came running for the creature - she took it and locked it in the bedroom). I am not happy here - I have no one to play with now...

Oh, I forgot to mention an important detail. My new parents gave me a new name, too. They called me Blue - because I am very serious most of the time. Of course, they also thought I had sad eyes...
Kind of romantic, if you ask me...

 

I'll be back later - I am tired and need a nap. It's not easy for a dog to write a memoir...

 

 

 

Dog Memory Lane - 2 months

I woke up this morning feeling like it was the best morning of my life. But I think that's how I felt yesterday, too. And probably every morning since I moved here.
This is me, by the way. (Not to brag or anything...)

But wait, let me go back to where it all started...

My first memory was when I was really little. I had 6 brothers and sisters and my parents who really loved us all and each other. It was always very crowded, there was a lot of activity around me, and I was always hungry. My mom and dad were hungry, too. Not sure why there was no food, but it was nowhere to be found (I looked often). Sometimes a big lady would bring us something in a bowl, and somehow I was always next to it, so I got my share quickly. I thought I was pretty lucky that way! I've heard a saying "always being in the right place at the right time" - I wonder if it means always being next to the food bowl when it comes near?

It didn't last long. I remember new people,  cages and new smells, lots of noise, some building with bigger cages and then all of us in a very big cage with a divider in the middle. I thought to myself, " Moving is fun. As long as we are all together." People walked by saying things to all of us. Some of them tried to reach us throught the rails with their fingers, some just stood there and smiled.

Here are my mom and dad:

Two days later some people came and took my mom and dad. All of us thought they'd be back... But in two more days some people came and took me! I was so scared! No mom and dad, sisters and brothers left behind. I am in someone's car... Should I panic?