Raindrops on Roses...

 You know that song, don't you?  Mom says it was my Grandpa's favorite song.  It fits today, 'cuz there really are raindrops out there.  They aren't on our roses 'cuz we don't have any roses, but they are all over our Bougainvillea.  We're not going to have a white Christmas, but that's OK.  We don't ever have a white Christmas.  Oh, there I go again.  Digressing!

Raindrops on Roses is a song about Favorite Things.  And at the end of the year I like to think back on my Favorite Things.  Especially when the year has been as wild as ours was this year.  So let me think a minute and come up with some of those things:

First:  Belly Rubs.  I love, love, love. love, Belly Rubs.  And it doesn't just make my belly feel good, I get to scratch my back in the grass when I get a Belly Rub.  Yes, Belly Rubs have to be up there as one of my Favorite Things.

Second:  Pete the Chef.  He's the best!  He comes to make food for Mom & Dad so they get to pick their meals for the day from a whole menu of choices - just like eating out every single night.  But even better is the part where he makes the dishes and lets me test the food.  He makes really really really really good turkey.  And he lets me watch him the whole time.  Yeah, Pete the Chef is another of my absolute favorite things for 2023.

Third:  My very own TV.  I can sit for hours watching my TV.  People go by and dogs go by.  But the best part is when the delivery guys come by.  Then I bark and let Mom know they are coming, but they get really really really really scared.  Sometimes they just throw the package at the door.  I guess they think that I would know how to bit them, but I don't!  Anyway it's fun to watch them.

Fourth:  Eating out with my Mom & Dad.  They take me to breakfast and to lunch and to dinner with them almost every time they go out to eat.  We go to one place, called Vito's where all of the wait staff come rushing out to see me and to say hello.  I'm always the highlight of Mom and Dad's meal out.  Everybody loves to have me there.  (Except that one place they go up the street -- the Country Club won't let me come so they don't go there as often.)

Fifth:  California beaches.  I love love love love love the beaches in California.  I can run and splash and plop in the water.  And I meet all kinds of fun dogs and it's just the very best fun!  I love the California beaches.  I wish we could put one in our back yard.  Mom tried to give me a swimming pool, but it looks more like a bathtub, so I don't play in it.  We need a real beach!

Sixth: The last of the ice cream box.  UMMMM, it's really good.  I keep hoping when Mom takes out the ice cream that it will be almost empty.  It doesn't happen enough, but when it does, I'M RIGHT THERE!!

Seventh:  Sitting in the grass.  Sometimes I make Mom stop and sit on our walks so I can just sit in the shady grass and just veg.  It's good for her too.  She needs to stop and smell the grass just like I do sometimes.  So we just stop and veg.  It's very peaceful.

So that's my favorite things for this year.  And I need to say goodbye with a proper wish to you all.  Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah, Joyous Kwanzaa, Happy Holidays and have the Absolute Best New Year!

All my love,  G

 

Happy Thanksgiving Idea from ME!

 Mom says we've been invited somewhere for Thanksgiving.  One of Dad's friends, I think.  So we've been thinking about what to bring, 'cuz, you know, "Just bring yourselves!"  But Dad thinks we should bring something else as well as "just ourselves".  Course, he put Mom and me in charge of what to bring.

So Mom decided to bake cookies.  My Mom says she hasn't baked cookies since Hercules was around.  Hercules was my former former brother.  Probably before the turn of the century.  (Wow does that sound like a long long long long time ago.)  Anyway, so while Dad was in a golf tournament, me and Mom (I and Mom?  Mom and I?  Mom and me?) made Swedish Cream Wafers.  They were cute, but I didn't get to eat even one.   They don't make a lot.  BUTTTTTT,   if the cookies taste anything like the bowl of icing she let me lick???  They were pretty good.

Later, when Dad came home, he declared we could bring those cookies  to Thanksgiving, even though he likes chocolate chip cookies better.  So to celebrate we had ice cream.  It's still pretty warm here in Scottsdale, so ice cream is always good.

That's when I decided that Thanksgiving should have Ice Cream.  Ice Cream for dinner and then for dessert.  It's easy and it tastes good and it doesn't take as long as baking cookies.  So that's my vote for this Thanksgiving. 

Hope you all have a Happy Thanksgiving with lots and lots of Ice Cream!

Love, G

Cavorting in California

 So I know you just can't wait to hear about our adventures in California.  I am happy to report that Mom and Dad are all better now, and so I can return to my normal activities of describing the more fun aspects of our lives.

Anyway, we stayed in a cute little condo

But the best part of the condo, was where it was located.  First off, it was right across from a very very very very big green spot.  I loved that green spot.  We played frisbee there and wandered all over it.  It even had a big sand volleyball court and I ran through the sand.  Mom and Dad let me sit outside the swimming pool while they took a swim in the adult pool there.  It was so much fun that I made Mom take me out there every hour or so.  (Till she couldn't take it anymore)  This is me reveling in my very big green spot.

We were also very close to two very big lakes, so every morning we went on a walk.  Sometimes we went to the lakes, and sometimes we went around the lakes.  (And sometimes we just went up the street to breakfast.)  There was a pavilion and a bridge and lots of houses on the lake and GEESE.  Once, we were driving and there was a sign that said"Caution:  Geese Crossing" and sure 'nough, we had to wait for a bunch of geese to cross the road.  How come they never have a sign for me to cross the road?

After all that walking every day, I had to take a nap.  Sometimes I snuck in Dad's side of the bed, but when that didn't work, I just found my own spot.  Mom just can't understand why I think this is more comfortable than my own doggie bed (which she hauled all the way from Scottsdale for me), it just is!

There was just one thing I didn't like about this condo.  It was right next to a grumpy person.  You know that I have lived in the Hyatt Regency in Laguna, and the Regis Hotel in Park City, and many more hotels and AirBnB's all over.  Never once did anyone complain that I was too noisy.  But this grumpy person kept coming close to my bedroom window and I kept telling her to go away.  Instead she called the HOA on Mom and Dad.  They just shut the curtain so the mean lady wouldn't bother me any more.  We coulda done without her.

Hope all your neighbors are the friendly kind.

Love, G

We're Finally Back Again!

 And it wasn't MY fault, AGAIN!  This time we were in California for 6 weeks and Dad doesn't like Mom to write about where we are when we are out of town.  He's afraid some one might sneak a peak at my blog and go rob our house.  They couldn't get much, 'cuz all the important things were in California -- Mom, Dad and especially ME!  

So why didn't we post when we got back in the middle of August, you ask?  Well, that was 'cuz Mom did something really stupid.  She went to Lake Tahoe to visit my Auntie Joyce and Auntie Ann and Auntie Joan.  (That's a lot of Aunties.  Guess I'm just a lucky nephew!)  On her trip, she went riding on an Electric Bicycle and fell down and went boom!!   She broke a couple of bones and then Auntie Joyce had to fly home with her.  I was happy to see her, but I wasn't happy that she can't take walks with me.  My poor Dad has to take me out every single time.  (Mom said her Doctor told him, "This is PAYBACK, Len".  

So Mom was going around with a walker for a few days, but now she's using Dad's cane.  But I feel bad for Dad (ooooh, there I go again, doing my great rhyming trick.  Did you get it?  Dad and bad? Well I thought it was pretty good!)  He's working very hard these days.

Anyway, we've had a few people in and out for the last week or so.  But I have a favorite.  His name is Chef Pete.  

Chef Pete spent a few hours at our house and he made the kitchen smell really, really, really, really good!  I didn't tell Mom, but he snuck me a few morsels while he was here.  He even made me my very own Turkey Dinner that Mom gave me some of this evening.  I love, love, love Chef Pete.  I hope he comes back soon and makes the kitchen smell so good again.

The other thing I don't like about all this is that I haven't been out to dinner since we were in California.  And WOW! did I get to go out to dinner there.  I'm going to get back to watching out for Mom, 'cuz she just picked up Dad's can again and she's not very good at it.  But next time I'll tell you all about California.  It was WONDERFUL!

See you soon.  (Well not really; I can't see you at all and you can only see my pictures, but you know what I mean.)

Love, G

Got a New Gig?

 So while I'm waiting to get back to my Autistic Kids, Mom decided I needed to help her.  Now, this is not really in my job description, but I guess when Mom asks, how can I say no.

See, she is trying to grow bushes that are colorful in our yard.  She hasn't been very successful so far.  First she bought these two pretty bushes from Moon Valley.  One was called a Blue Plumbago.  It was definitely blue, but it didn't have any plums, so I don't get the Plum thing.

Then she dug a deep hole and dumped the bush in it.  Followed up with lots of water.  I helped.  What did I do to help, you ask?  I kept Mom company and tried to keep her hopes up though that dumb plumb plant didn't want to grow.  The blue flowers all died and the it looked pretty nasty. 

After a few months, Mom was about to give up, so she cut the bush right down to the ground.  I tried to tell her to not kill her plant, but she wasn't listening to me.  I thought she was just plain mad at the poor plant.  Then she explained that if you cut a plant down, it sometimes grows back better.  I thought about that.  Does that work for animals, too?  If I got cut to the ankles, would I grow back better?  Probably not.  I mean I'm already the best dog in the world, so how could I get any better?  (Hee hee).

Anyway, after a little while, there did appear some tiny little green leaves growing.  Mom was so happy!  But a week later the leaves were gone.  I kinda had a suspicion but I didn't like to tell Mom.  You see, I think my little bunny friends might have had something to do with it.  We waited a little bit and the leaves came back.   But just like the first time, they soon disappeared.  And wouldn't you know it?  Mom suspected my little bunnies too.  So what did she do?  She said I had to guard the plant since it was MY friends that were eating the buds.  

I tried.  

But I really felt stupid out in the hot sun especially when my little bunny friends knew enough not to come near me.  I gave up in about 20 seconds and went back inside.

I told Mom we needed to do something different and I told her my idea.  Mom's no dummy, so she did what I suggested and bought a wire basket.  We put it on top of the plant, and now the little bunnies can't get at it and it's growing new leaves.

Well, maybe you can't see them yet, but they're there.  I'm going to check on them everyday.  That's a better use of my time than chasing away my friendly bunnies!

Hope you have better things to do.

Love, G

Got a New Gig! Got a New Gig!

 Yep!  I'm back in business.  Well sort of.  It's only monthly for now and because of a bunch of stuff I have zero control over, we don't meet again until September.  But let me tell you about it.

I'm working with some tiny two legged puppies who have Autism.  They are between ages of 2 and about 8.  It's way different than my elementary school kids, and the kids at the library.  The first time I went to see them, they were in a big group and some of them were screaming at me.  I didn't like that much, but Mom was right behind me so I just sat and tried to look very calming.  That's my job - to be very calming.  At least I think so.  One of their teachers read a couple of books while the kids petted me.  Well some of them petted me.  The others ran away and hid in the corner.  I don't know why they would do that.  I'm not scary.  But then I showed them how I play Muffin Tin.  That was fun and they laughed when I got all my treats and put my tennis balls back where they belonged.  I did Sit for them and Down.  And Shake and pretty much all my tricks.  But soon we had to leave because some of the kids couldn't pay attention any more.  But I think I did my job.  

Mom wasn't so sure.  I mean she wasn't real sure what my job was supposed to be.  So Mom, being Mom, did what Mom always does when she isn't sure.  She consulted Professor Google and bought 5 new books.  So now she's teaching me new tricks for our future classes.  She's been teaching me BANG which means I'm supposed to fall on my side and play dead.  And after that I'm supposed to learn how to roll onto my back for a belly rub.  (Which I do very well, thank you, but she wants me to do it on command.  I just do it when I want to.)  So we've been playing BANG when I go out to do my business in the green spots down the street.  I didn't have it down by the time we went to see the kiddies again last Friday, so we just decided to do other stuff instead.  

When we got there, they were all in a tizzy.  (I think the teachers are not so organized as they should be -- or else the kids are too much even for them on some days.  Anyway, only one kid had a permission slip to see me, so we did a "One on One."  Sam is 8 years old and is leaving the school to go to a school for older kids soon.  So he was a little sad, and I tried to cheer him up.  He came over to let me sniff his hand, and I gave him my paw to shake.  (Kids always like the Shake thing.  And I do too.)  Then he read to me a little from my very own picture book.  Actually, he wanted Mom to read it, but when she started, he pushed her aside and did it himself to show us all how good he could read.  Which was what we wanted him to do in the first place!  Then he and Mom each took a leash and walked me up and down the halls.  Oh, yeah, I almost forgot.  He also filled up my water bowl so I wasn't thirsty.  I did very much appreciate that!

The school is moving up the street next month, so we won't go back then.  After that guess where I am going?  Back to California to play in the ocean!!!   I love, love, love, love running in the ocean.  I can't hardly wait.  

But Mom says we need to continue working on my new tricks.  Just maybe not so often.  She says I'm gaining too much weight from the treats.  I think she's wrong, but she doesn't listen to me about those things.  

Here's me practicing my BANG trick!

Hope you have fun gigs to do!

Love, G

OBSTRUCTION OF JUSTICE!

 Every day in the news, I hear something about "Obstruction of Justice", and NOT IN A GOOD WAY.  So I know it's bad to obstruct.  So why is Mom obstructing my fun?

See this is how it goes:  I love, love, love, love playing the Muffin Tin Game.  You remember that one.  We invented it, Mom and me, in November.  You can see my video of how I take out all the tennis balls from the muffin tin and then put them all back.  It's the November 22 post. (Of course, I do require treats for this game, which is maybe why I like it so much!)  But anyway, I love it a lot.  And usually, all I have to do to get her to play it with me, is bring her a ball and drop it at her feet.  

Sometimes the tennis ball goes missing and I have to use my blue and orange ball or my green plastic ball, or even sometimes if I can't find any of those, I use my blue wheel.  As long as it's sort of round, Mom understands what I want to do.

Lately, though, Mom acts like she is tired of the game.  Just 'cuz I ask her to play it three times a day every day.  So when I go to ask her to play it with me, I sometimes can't find the ball to drop at her feet.  It's supposed to be in my toy basket.  The other day, I couldn't find any of them in my basket.  So I just looked at Mom.  I think she knows something.

Sometimes I've had to pull out that big rolling thing from the basket to find a ball.  She sometimes hides them under it.  It makes a huge noise on the floor when I do that.  Then I hear her say to Dad, "Guess what he wants now?"  See, she knows she's obstructing my fun.

What I didn't know was what was on the kitchen counter.

I TOLD you she was behind it.  She is trying to Obstruct my Justice and I think we should Lock Her Up!

What do you think?  Shouldn't we Lock Her Up?

Actually, we finally came up with a compromise.  I only ask her once a day and she doesn't hide my balls anymore.  I guess that's working.  At least for now.

Hope no one is obstructing you from having fun!

Love, G.

WE'RE BACK!

 Bet you thought I'd left you for good!  NOT!  The family just had a little bitty issue regarding health problems.  Mom says I was a hero, 'cuz I stayed with my dad in the hospital for 6 days and nights.  He's really ascared of hospitals, so I kept him calm and we got through his surgery and now he's getting stronger and stronger every day.  Mom fell on her A** and fractured her tail bone, so we've all been mostly sitting around home for the last month and a half.  That's OK with me!  I like when everybody stays home with me.

In fact, I had a dog walker for a few weeks.  And boy did she spoil me.  I got so many treats, I gained 4 pounds in 4 weeks.  Unfortunately, Mom decided it was time to walk me herself and I don't get as many treats as I did, but since I just turned 10, I guess I need to watch my health too.  

Anyway, I had some fun times on those walks!  I took Carmen, my dog walker lots of places she didn't know about and she took me to some surprise places too!

First, of course, I had to introduce her to Mr. Grant and Mrs. Gerrie.  There the ones that buy me my very own treats.  I always stop in when we go by there house.  Carmen didn't know why I was taking her there, but she soon learned.  Mr. Grant saw me and came out and explained to her that I am in charge of watching out for Mr. Grant and Mrs. Gerrie, and for that he gives me really good treats.  So now she knows!

 Then Carmen took me to the Easter Eggstravaganza.  That was fun!  

I met the cutest little fluff ball along the way.  I think she kinda liked me.  I still got it!  Even tho' I'm now as old as MOM.  HeeHee!

    

Carmen did really good taking pictures of me.  She especially liked my signature LawnRoll, so she took lots of those pictures.  These are some of my favorites:

Carmen gave me a good workout, too.  She kept me out for an hour every time.  So I often ended the evening like this:

Hope you stay healthy this year.  And if not, hope you have people who can help you out!

Love, G

 

YOGA - GUINNESS STYLE

Mom has taken up yoga again, so to help her out I pulled out my old notes on some of my favorite poses.  Seemed like a good thing to share with you all, too.  I put it together about 8 years ago, so you probably have all forgotten it by now.  Anyway, here it is:  or was:  

OK, I promised to give all you yoga fans my favorite poses.  This will be especially for all of you who have included a healthy living resolution in your 2015 New Year's Resolutions.

Here goes: 

#1.  I always start with the Puppy Splay.  This simple pose lets you really stretch those thigh muscles.  Hold it for 12 seconds.  Ahhhh, doesn't that feel wonderful?  You can add a Kong Toy if you like.  I sometimes do this while working on peanut butter in my Kong.  But I leave that up to you.

 

 

 

#2.   This one is the Wriggle Pose.  It massages the spine and is especially good for when you have an itchy back and you don't have someone to scratch it for you.  It can be done with or without the frizbee.  I prefer with, as it gives me something to shake while I wriggle.

 

 

 

 

#3.  Everyone knows this one!  This is Downward Facing Dog.  We dogs do it so much better than our people, but someday, I'll get Mom to do it almost as good.  Best done with tail in the air as you see me doing.

 

 



 

#4.  This is the Heel To Ear Twist.  Careful not to get your toenails stuck in your earrings, ladies.  I sometimes get caught in my dog park tags.  Notice the nose pointing directly upward.  It takes some practice, but you can do it.

 

 

 

#5.  This is Reverse Tree Pose.  It's reverse 'cuz when humans do Tree Pose, they stand on ONE leg and their other legs are in the air.  Dogs can't do that.  Instead, we stand with THREE legs on the ground and ONE in the air.  This is a very good pose for balance.  It also allows you to do some very necessary functions like answer email on your walks. 

 

 

 



#6.  The final one for today is called Savasana or Resting Pose.  It's really a lot like the Puppy Splay except that you keep your head down and breathe as if you are asleep.  That way people won't bother you and you can really sleep.  But don't snore, 'cuz then they laugh.  And that isn't very restfull.  It's embarrassing!

 

 



 

Namaste everyone! 

'Till next week,

G

If you know anyone who would like to join my blog, just send this to them and tell them to sign up at "Guinnesstherescuedog.blogspot.com ".  The more the Barkier!  (Ha!  I just made that up.)  G

It's Been a Bad Year So Far

Well, Mom and Dad just got back from a 3 week trip.  THREE WHOLE WEEKS.  They left me with a sitter, and he was great, but I really, really, really missed them.  Partly I was worried that Mom might still be mad at me.  

Here is what happened:

I guess I was getting really nervous, 'cuz I knew they were going to leave for a very, very, very long time.  So one night, I heard my stomach gurgling and not in a nice way.  All of a sudden, I had to go and no one was up to let me out.  So I tried to hide it by letting go on the rug near the piano room.  No one goes in that room all that much so I thought it might be OK to do it there. 

It was pretty yucky stuff and it smelled kinda nasty, so I went in another room for the rest of the night.

When Mom and Dad woke up, I went into their bedroom and tried to tell them what happened, but they were just looking at the news on their phones and they didn't pay much attention to me.  So when Cuffy (that's what Dad calls the Robot that vacuums our floors - it's really a Eufy, but he can't see that far down, so he thought her name was Cuffy.)  Anyway, she woke up at 7:30 a.m. to do her job and the first thing she cleaned was the rug that I let go on.  Then she spread it all around the rug and went in to kitchen to clean in there.

Mom got up in a little while and she was like, "OMG, what smells so awful."  I could have told her, but she wasn't asking me.  Then she found Cuffy.  Cuffy was covered in s*** and she was spreading it all over the kitchen and the den.  Mom grabbed her real quick and threw her outside. This is what Cuffy looked like when Mom picked her up.

Even the little grooves in her paws were full of s***.

She tried to clean up the kitchen floor, but then she saw the rug in the piano room.  She tried to wash the mess and then she put the rug outside.  It's like a 7X9 rug, so it wasn't exactly a small one.  Later she tried to bring the rug back in but it still smelled nasty.   

She called a company to come get the rug.  She said the guy laughed his head off when she told him what happened.  I'm glad.  I felt kinda bad.  But if I made someone laugh, then that's OK then!

Anyway, now that they're back, Mom doesn't seem mad at me.  She took Cuffy out today and tried cleaning her.  We don't know yet if it worked.  We'll have to see tomorrow after she's all dried out.  If she still smells, I think she might be outta here!

Hope your year started a little better than mine.  At least I know it can only get better!

Love, G