Hi, y'all!

 Bet you've been wondering what happened to me?  It's a long story.  Started back when Mom and Dad left me in California while they took a  two week cruise in the Mediterranean.  (Dad couldn't stand the thought of me in the Phoenix heat in the middle of August, so  I spent two weeks with friends of my Aunt Joyce in California where the weather was wonderful. 

 Dad had a really good idea, there!)

I  got in some pretty good walks, and lots and lots of Muffin Tin Games.  Aunt Joyce's friends really liked my Muffin Tin Game, and since it means lots of treats for me -- well I like it pretty well too.

Mom and Dad FINALLY came and picked me up from Auntie Joyce's and we all went to a VRBO in Dana Point.  Talk about beautiful weather.  And  we got to walk on the boardwalk about 200 feet above the sea.  

Unfortunately, they weren't as dog friendly as I would have liked.

We did however get to eat in some really nice spots.

But despite all that great exercise, I wasn't eating like I usually do.  Mom tried lots of kinds of dog food -- Purina Canned meats in gravy; Purina canned ground meats; Instinct Freeze Dried food; Fresh Pet and finally, she actually bought me Farmer's Dog.  I ate all of them for a day or two, and then I said forget it.  They didn't taste so good anymore.  By the time we got home, I was 10 pounds lighter.

So guess where we went?  You got it!  The vet.  They did a scan to see what was happening in my stomach.  And they did blood tests.  They decided I did not have Valley Fever and maybe I wasn't digesting my proteins.  So they put me on another kind of dog food.  We did samples, and I liked the Purina Hydrolyzed Protein best.  So I gobbled it down the first couple of days.  Then I didn't.   And mom gives me something called Entice to make me hungry.  I don't much like it, but I have to admit, I'll eat anything and everything after I take the Entice. 

Meanwhile, we left California a couple of days early on September 11, because it was getting cold in California, and the weather looked like it was getting cooler in Arizona.  Unfortunately (or fortunately, as you will soon see), we got another heat wave in Arizona.  So Mom found us a VRBO in Prescott for a few days and we headed up there where the weather was 15 degrees cooler.  It was lovely.  We stayed in a historic cottage, built in 1909 with a fun little garden that I could wander around in.  

There were actually three cottages attached to each other, but we were the only ones there.  I really liked it.  I think my Auntie's would like it too!

Now we're back in Scottsdale.  It's beginning to get cooler finally.  My friends have all started to come back.  One day, I scared two javelinas in the underbrush and one ran in one direction and the other ran the other way.  That meant we had to choose which way to go and either way we chose was going to run into one of the javelinas.  So we continued on until, there he was.  Sitting in the brush just staring at us as if to say, "Please just keep going and pretend you don't see me!" 

 And we did.

Then -- when we got back home and I was just ready to go out the back, but I barked to call Mom.  There on the back wall Bob Katt.  

He got up and winked at me, and then crawled across the wall till he disappeared.  Not very quickly, I don't think he is afraid of us much.  Not like the javelinas.

And yesterday, when Mom and I took a walk in the morning, I stopped real quick again.  In front of us was Bob Katt just staring at us right on the walk.  He wasn't going to let us by and he wasn't going to move.  He looked just like the cats I saw in Prescott who just looked at me and didn't move away.  So Mom and I turned around and went the other way.  I don't think my friend would hurt me, but he might hurt Mom, so it's just as well.  Though I would really like to play with him.

So that's what's been happening here.  I'll try to be better about keeping up.  Hope you all have a good Halloween.  I'm dressing up in a Pumpkin Bandana and then I'm going to go trick or treating at Mr. Grant's and Mrs. Geri's.  I KNOW they will have treats for me, and I will do my Paw trick for them. 

See you in November!

Hee, hee, love, G.

0435

My Magnificent Friends

 You’ve all met some of my friends.  You must remember Bob Katt and Javalina.  There was a rattle snake, too, but Mom doesn’t like me to mention him.  Especially since she paid a lot of money to get me to run the other way when I would see or smell or hear a rattle snake.  Instead I tried to run up and explore it.  She got me going the other way really really really quick!  Then there was the tiny Western Screech Owl that came to play with me on my porch.

Well, now I have a new owl friend.  Actually, make that two owl friends.  Only these guys didn’t come to play with me on my porch.  Mostly because, they probably wouldn’t fit on my porch.  Well maybe I exaggerate a bit, but they are pretty big.  Google says they are Great Horned Owls.  Cool!

Mom said they maybe could pick me up and take me away with them.  But I don’t think they would do that.  They just watched us very, very, very, closely.  I was hoping they would fly out of the tree so I could watch their big wings.  That might have been a bit scary for all of us.  Maybe it was better that we watched them from way down on the ground while they were way up in the trees.  I would worry a lot if I were a smaller dog, like my little friend Baxter.  He’s only about 8 pounds and I bet they could snatch him away in a minute!

I don’t see many of my animal friends around much these days.  It’s just too hot for them.  The rabbits are digging holes and burying themselves in them to keep themselves cooler.  Mom takes me out at 6:00 a.m. and at night we wait till the sun is almost gone.  It’s still hot but it doesn’t burn my feet then.  And I don’t like to put on my booties.  

Yesterday, I was getting bored ‘cuz we can’t take walks in the middle of the day.  I stared at Mom for a full ten minutes to get her to do something about it.  When she wouldn’t do anything, I stared at Dad.  He finally got frustrated and asked Mom what I wanted.  She said, “Well, he’s bored.  Let’s all go take a ride.”  So we went for ice cream in a place that had a lot of misters to keep us all cool.  I got the whipped cream in a cup.  Pretty neat, huh!

Anyway, I kinda got off on my story about my friends.  But since I don’t see them as much, there isn’t a lot more to tell.  So stay cool!

Love, G

I’m On Strike!

 One of my jobs for the last 10 years is to fetch the paper every single morning.  And sometimes when the paper is late, I have to go out two and three times before I can get it in. You remember this video don't you?  

Well maybe not, if you can't see the video, but if you can't, it's me running up the street to grab the paper and run it to the front door.  (By the way, that was four years ago.  I don't run that fast to get the paper anymore.  But I DO run that fast to go see Grant when I know he's on his porch!)  Uh, oh, I'm digressing again.  

Whenever I bring the paper in, I get a treat from Mom.  One lousy, tiny, mini, little treat meant for those tiny little sugar puff dogs that weigh 3 pounds.  On Sundays, I get two.  Well no more.  Last week I started putting my foot down.  

This is me on Wednesday:

I trotted to the paper, then I turned around and said, "Not doing it," and walked to the front door.  Mom looked puzzled, and she brought me the paper to the front door.  I couldn't help myself, I've been doing it for 10 years, you know.  I took the paper and brought it in for my mini treat.  But I gave her a dirty look and she gave me a second one.

On Thursday, I brought the paper in as usual, fully expecting we had a new agreement, but she gave me the one measly treat again.  So on Friday, this was me:

 I started for the paper, then I said, "Whoa", I think someone needs another lesson.  So I trotted to the front door.  I heard Mom say to Dad, "Do you think he wants a raise?"  Sometimes humans are not as dense as they seem.  We went into the house, I brought the paper in, and now I get two treats for regular days and four for Sundays.  (Although, I probably shouldn't get as much for Monday papers.  They're hardly worth the trouble of bringing in!

And don't suggest they read the paper on their ipads!  I need my job!

Hope you are getting paid your due for whatever you do.  Get it?  Due for do.  (No I don't mean doo doo you people with dirty minds!)

Anyway, love, G

Spring Has Sprung

 Yes, indeed:  Spring has sprung; the grass is riz; and I know where the flowers is!!

Hee hee, I might have Spring Fever.  Or else I drank too much of Mom's wine when she wasn't  looking.  No, you know me, I didn't drink Mom's wine.  I just eat her cookies.  They're a lot better than wine any day.

But this week was really cool. 

See, first there was the first cactus flower:

Then Mom just HAD to take my picture with some other flowers.  She says I always need to be in the blog somehow.  So I sat for another photo.

I make sure she knows I don't like it, however.  That's why I won't look at her when she does this.  I don't mind being in pictures.  But NOT with flowers.  Yeck!

Anyway, the next day the ARGETINE GIANT CACTUS FLOWER (or maybe its a night bloomimg cereus cactus - Google couldn't decide) decided to start sprouting:

And then the next day, a few more came out.

And then even more came out the next day.

And of course, Mom had to plant me in front of the flowers!  

But best of all, Mom's Blue Plumbago that got chewed on by the rabbits finally sprouted some pretty blue blossoms, too.

Yes, I do believe that Spring has Sprung.  And look at all the flowers I found!

Hope spring has come to your area.  But stay away from the wine!

Love, G

Fun Fairs

 It's spring!  Well maybe not where you are, but it is here.  I know because the Fairs start in the spring.  You can't have fairs in the winter because it's too cold.  I guess they could do it inside, but where's the fun in that?

So Mom and me went to the Fountain Hills Arts & Craft Fair.  (Wait -- did I do that wrong again.  Mrs Sam says you should just use "me" in the sentence to see if it's correct.  So, Me went to the Fair.  No that's definitely not right.  Don't tell Mom I screwed up the grammar again.  She hates when anyone uses the wrong pronouns in a sentence.  You should here her when the news people do it!  She's fit to be tied!  And what the heck does that mean anyway?  Uh, oh.  I have digressed so far I'm not sure I can get back. )  Wait - We went to the fair in Fountain Hills!  That's where I was.

So Fountain Hills is 30 minutes away and we hardly ever go there.  I was watching carefully to make sure she was going the right way.  Unfortunately she was in the wrong lane when I saw the signs for the Fair.  She was listening to that old GPS she uses.  I keep telling her to just look where she is going.  But does she listen to Me?  Well sometimes.  But anyway, we finally found the fair AND a place to park.

There were soooooo many booths and people and smells.  Especially smells.  We went up and down the streets checking out everything.  I got treats along the way.  Maybe I like that part even more than the smells. Yeah, definitely like that part best.

I saw a t-shirt I tried to get Mom to buy.  It was pretty funny, but she said no.  So she took a picture for me.

I think that's the best excuse for being late for anything.  

She got some ideas for making things.  I'm thinking a bunch of relatives might be getting homemade car trash bags.  Booooring.!  I like her homemade chocolate chip cookies better.  Although for some reason, the pieces of cookie that I get, never have chocolate chips in them.  But they're still pretty yummy.  Dad likes them a lot!

We got back home and I was bushed.  (Also, it started with the thunder - I'm not big on the thunder.  But you all already know that.  I found my spot next to Dad on the couch.  That's where I like to be when the thunder starts.)

Safe and dry!  That's the best place to be when the thunder starts!

Hope you get to go to some fun fairs when your spring starts.  But get inside quick if the thunder starts.

Love, G

Beauty is Fleeting

I decided to change my image for the New Year.  I’m going with permanent blue eyebrows. 

Do you like them?  Well sorry.  I lied!

Those are not my new eyebrows.  I had a little growth above my eye.  It wasn’t very pretty at all.  And it kept getting bigger.  Mom took me to the vet and she said not to worry about it too much.  She thought it was something kind of normal and would just fall off by itself.

Well it didn’t just fall off.  At least not soon enough.  All of our friends and neighbors made comments about my big ugly growth.  Pretty soon, Mom was getting embarrassed about it.  I told her I didn’t care, but she apparently did.

So back to the vet we went to get it off.  And the blue eyebrows is what I came back with.  The vet said I had to wear one of those nasty e-collars for 10 days.  But Mom said if I promised not to rub the eye, then I wouldn’t have to wear it.  So I was good.  But I’m always good, you know that!  

So after that the neighbors made comments about my blue eyebrows.  You can’t win with the neighbors.  They just worry about me all the time.  I guess that’s good.  Now I’m back to my normal eyes.  I think the blue eyebrows were kinda pretty.  And speaking of kinda pretty. 

Last year, Mom had my portrait done from her favorite picture of me.  She finally finally finally got it framed.  Now it greets our visitors just as soon as they open our front door.  It also sits right above our ceramic chocolate labrador.  (Mom always said it looks like all my brothers!)  Here it is.  

Pretty cool, huh?!  

Anyway, Mom says, I’m still my old beautiful self, even without my blue eyebrows!  And I agree!

Hope you think you’re beautiful, too.  Cuz I do!

Love, G